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0986bb admin 2026-07-24 15:20:02
pi alpine headless install
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# Raspberry Pi
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## Headless Alpine Installation
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Flash SD card with Alpine Linux using `rpi-imager`
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Mount the SD card and drop the following files on the root of the card:
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- [headless.apkovl.tar.gz](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/macmpi/alpine-linux-headless-bootstrap/refs/heads/main/headless.apkovl.tar.gz)
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- `wpa_supplicant.conf`
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```
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country=CA
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network={
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key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
30e54f admin 2026-07-24 21:42:24
setup alpine
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ssid="<network-name>"
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psk="<password>"
0986bb admin 2026-07-24 15:20:02
pi alpine headless install
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}
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```
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Find Pi's IP:
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```
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nmap -sn 192.168.1.0/24
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```
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SSH will be enabled by default, you can login as `root` with no password.
30e54f admin 2026-07-24 21:42:24
setup alpine
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Run the setup script to install the system:
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```
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setup-alpine
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```
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When you reach the "Disk & Install" phase use the following options:
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```
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Disk & Install
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----------------
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No disks available. Try boot media /media/mmcblk0p1? (y/n) [n] y
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Available disks are:
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mmcblk0 (32.0 GB )
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Which disk(s) would you like to use? (or '?' for help or 'none') [none] mmcblk0
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The following disk is selected:
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mmcblk0 (32.0 GB )
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How would you like to use it? ('sys', 'data', 'crypt', 'lvm' or '?' for help) [?] sys
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WARNING: The following disk(s) will be erased:
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mmcblk0 (32.0 GB )
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WARNING: Erase the above disk(s) and continue? (y/n) [n] y
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```
871c23 admin 2026-07-24 21:48:24
tmpfs overlay
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## Read-only root filesystem with tmpfs overlay
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Makes root filesystem read-only reducing wear on SD card. Simply add `overlaytmpfs=yes` to `/boot/cmdline.txt`:
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```
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sed -i 's/$/ overlaytmpfs=yes/' /boot/cmdline.txt
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reboot
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```
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Make root writable again:
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```
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sed -i 's/ overlaytmpfs=yes//' /boot/cmdline.txt
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reboot
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```
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# References
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- https://wiki.alpinelinux.org/wiki/Raspberry_Pi
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- https://wiki.alpinelinux.org/wiki/Installation_on_a_headless_host
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- https://wiki.alpinelinux.org/wiki/OverlayFS#Immutable_root_with_tmpfs_overlay