From Raspberry Pi to Full‑Screen YouTube Kiosk in 5 Minutes with Thymis

Introduction

Managing Raspberry Pis and other edge devices often means juggling SD cards, Wi‑Fi setups, and SSH commands.
Thymis changes that experience completely — but you need a Thymis Controller instance running first.

Whether you use Thymis Cloud (hosted for you) or a self‑hosted controller, every device needs something to connect back to.

Once you have a Thymis instance available, you can take a fresh Raspberry Pi, flash a single image, and in under 5 minutes it will:

• Connect back to your Thymis Controller,
• Provision itself with Wi‑Fi and kiosk settings,
• And launch a fullscreen YouTube video — zero manual setup.

What You’ll Need

• ⚡ A running Thymis Controller instance
  • Easiest: sign up for Thymis Cloud
  • Advanced: deploy self‑hosted
• Raspberry Pi (3, 4, or 5)
• Power cable
• Screen + HDMI/display cable
• Micro‑SD card
• Card reader/writer for your laptop
• Laptop or PC with internet access

That’s it — no extra hardware, no fiddly SSH commands.

Step 1: Create a Device Configuration (in your Thymis Instance)

In your Thymis UI:

1. Go to Configs → Create Device Configuration.
2. Name it pi-youtube-demo.
3. Select Raspberry Pi 4 (or whichever model you’re using).
4. Add your Wi‑Fi credentials in the Core Device Configuration module so the Pi can connect automatically.

Step 2: Add the Kiosk Module

• Add the Kiosk module.
• Paste your YouTube embed URL with autoplay enabled:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/xPPLbEFbCAo?autoplay=1&mute=1&fs=1&loop=1&playlist=xPPLbEFbCAo

This makes the device boot straight into a fullscreen Chromium session playing your chosen video.

Step 3: Build & Flash the Image

In your Thymis instance:

1. Click Download Device Image.

   First build takes ~4 minutes, later builds are cached and faster.

2. Flash the .img to your SD card with USBImager or dd.

Step 4: Boot & Watch the Magic ✨

• Insert SD card into the Raspberry Pi.
• Connect HDMI and power.
• On boot: the Pi connects back to your Thymis Controller instance, applies the configuration, and launches YouTube in fullscreen.

In the Thymis UI, you’ll see the device register itself and become fully managed.

Optional: Remote Viewing with VNC

Want to see what’s on the screen remotely?

• Enable VNC in the Kiosk module
• Deploy the config
• Open the VNC tab in the Thymis UI → see a live feed/private remote control, even if the Pi is behind NAT

Why This Matters

This small demo highlights the bigger promise of Thymis:

• Zero‑touch provisioning with automatic device enrollment
• Manage fleets at scale — update video content once, sync everywhere
• Secure remote access (VNC/SSH tunneled via the Controller)
• Full lifecycle management, from first boot to decommission

Perfect for digital signage, kiosks, restaurant menus, and interactive displays.

Conclusion

With just a Raspberry Pi, a screen, and a running Thymis instance, you can deliver reliable, reproducible kiosks that stay in sync and evolve OTA.

👉 Get started instantly with Thymis Cloud, or, if you prefer full control, self‑host your own controller.