Skip to content

Quick Start

Jump to bottom
Griffen Fargo edited this page May 16, 2026 · 4 revisions

Quick Start

Get your Lights Pi up and running in minutes.

Prerequisites

  • Raspberry Pi 3B+ or Pi 4
  • MicroSD card (16GB+ Class 10)
  • ENTTEC DMX USB Pro (or compatible)
  • WiFi network credentials

Step 1: Prepare the SD Card

Flash Raspberry Pi OS Lite to your MicroSD card using the Raspberry Pi Imager. Enable SSH and configure WiFi during the imaging process.

Step 2: Clone and Configure

git clone https://github.com/gfargo/lights-pi.git
cd lights-pi
cp .env.example .env

Edit .env with your Pi's hostname/IP and WiFi credentials:

PI_HOST=lights.local
PI_USER=pi
WIFI1_SSID=YourNetwork
WIFI1_PSK=YourPassword

Step 3: Provision

Run the full setup command to install QLC+, configure the system, and harden security:

./lightsctl.sh setup-full

This runs setup (base install) followed by harden (firewall, watchdog, unattended upgrades).

Step 4: Verify

./lightsctl.sh doctor    # Full health check
./lightsctl.sh health    # Quick status
./lightsctl.sh open-web  # Open QLC+ web UI

Step 5: Install the Control Server (Optional)

Adds an AI-powered web UI at http://lights.local:5000 for natural-language commands, fixture groups, scene save/snapshot, and the live virtual console.

./lightsctl.sh control-install

See Control-Server for full details on what this adds.

Step 6: Install the MCP Server (Optional)

Exposes the rig as a Model Context Protocol endpoint so Claude Desktop, ChatGPT, Cursor, or any custom agent can drive the lights via structured tool calls.

./lightsctl.sh mcp-install

Then add http://lights.local:5001/mcp to your MCP client's config. See MCP-Server for the full tool catalog (48 tools as of v2.9.0) and client wiring examples.

Next Steps

Getting Started

Usage

Advanced

Clone this wiki locally