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Getting Started with Device Provisioning

This guide walks you through provisioning a Raspberry Pi, configuring networking, flashing the system image, and getting the device online with Thymis.

ℹ️ The same process applies to other supported hardware — just select the correct device type in step 1.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have:

  • Access to a running Thymis Controller (Cloud or Self‑Hosted).
  • A supported device (list) — here: Raspberry Pi (3, 4, or 5).
  • An SD card (8 GB minimum recommended) or device‑specific storage.
  • An SD card reader connected to your workstation.
  • A stable network connection for your device:
    • Wi‑Fi SSID and password, or
    • Ethernet LAN connection.
  • A tool for flashing images — we recommend:
    • USBImager (GUI, cross‑platform), or
    • dd (CLI, Linux/macOS).

1. Create a New Device Configuration

  1. In the Thymis UI sidebar, click Configs.
  2. Click Create Device Configuration at the top.
  3. Enter a name for your configuration.
  4. Select your hardware type (e.g. Raspberry Pi 4).

Config Page — Create

Once created, click Configure to open its settings.

2. Set Networking (Wi‑Fi)

  1. In the Core Device Configuration section, find the Wi‑Fi options.
  2. Enter your SSID and password.

Wi‑Fi Settings Wi‑Fi Settings filled in

💡 If you’re planning to use Ethernet (LAN), you can skip Wi‑Fi settings for now.

3. Download the System Image

  1. At the top of the configuration page, click Download Device Image.
  2. If prompted, Commit your pending changes.

Download Device Image

Thymis will start a Build Image for Device task.

  • First builds may take several minutes.
  • Subsequent builds are faster thanks to caching.

When complete, a download link for the image will appear in the task output.

4. Flash the Image to Your Device’s Storage

Insert your SD card and use:

  • USBImager: Select the downloaded image file and the SD card, then click Write. USBImager Screenshot
  • dd (Linux/macOS CLI): 
    sudo dd if=/path/to/device-image.img of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress conv=fsync

    Replace /dev/sdX with your SD card’s device path — careful, this will erase it.

5. Boot the Device

  1. Insert the flashed SD card into your Raspberry Pi.
  2. Connect Ethernet or ensure Wi‑Fi coverage.
  3. Power on the device.

Within a couple of minutes, it should connect to the Thymis Controller and appear in:

  • Configs → current configuration
  • Devices tab, showing live status

Running Device

Troubleshooting

If the device does not appear:

  • Double‑check SSID/password in Core Device Configuration.
  • Try connecting via Ethernet for initial onboarding.
  • Connect a keyboard/mouse/monitor to the device and log in as root (password from Core Device Configuration). Use: 
    journalctl -xe
    to review connection logs.

See Troubleshooting Guide for more help.

Next Steps

Once your device is online, you can:

See also

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