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github-actions[bot] edited this page Jul 27, 2026 · 3 revisions

Dash USB Wiki

Turn a Raspberry Pi into a smart USB drive for your GM vehicle's built-in dashcam (Surround Vision Recorder). The car limits footage to a rolling 2 hours no matter how big the drive is — Dash USB snapshots the recordings before the car deletes them and archives everything to your own server. A web UI lets you review and back up footage — no SSH, no config files.

Install in one line

No prebuilt SD card image yet. The install path is: flash stock Raspberry Pi OS Lite (64-bit), SSH in, and run the one-liner below. A prebuilt image will come later — for now this is the only supported install route. Full step-by-step in Getting Started.

On a Pi already running Pi OS:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo -i
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Sentry-Six/Dash-USB/main/install-pi.sh | bash

Refresh the apt cache first — Pi OS images bake in package lists that go stale as Debian publishes point releases, and a stale cache makes the install hit 404 errors.

Then open http://dashusb.local and the Setup Wizard takes you the rest of the way.

What you need

Tier Boards Notes
Recommended Raspberry Pi 4B, Raspberry Pi 5 USB 2.0 OTG — fastest archiving, best web UI responsiveness
Should work Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W, Raspberry Pi 3 (A+/B/B+) USB 2.0 OTG — works, slower archive speeds

Plus:

  • A high-endurance MicroSD card, 256 GB or larger (512 GB recommended — GM records roughly 5 GB per hour of driving, all of which Dash USB keeps until space runs out)
  • A USB-C data cable (not charge-only) — Pi to any of the car's USB-C ports
  • WiFi network with internet (for first-time setup, updates, and archiving)

Your vehicle needs GM's Surround Vision Recorder feature (the built-in rolling dashcam on newer GM EVs and ICE vehicles). Confirmed working on a 2026 model — the car accepts the Pi's USB 2.0 gadget even though GM's spec sheet says USB 3.0.

Quick Links

Page What's on it
Getting Started Install in 10 minutes
Setup Wizard Guide Every wizard step explained
Archive Methods CIFS, rsync, rclone, NFS
Notifications Push notifications to your phone
Privacy What we send, when, and why — and how to opt out
Troubleshooting Things that go wrong
FAQ Common questions

Links

Dash USB is the GM sibling of the Tesla project Sentry USB, from the Sentry Six project. Not affiliated with General Motors.

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