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Dashboard

Custom Home Dashboard

This project contains the configuration files needed to automatically take an inexpensive single board computer such as an Orange or Raspberry Pi and turn it into a visually appealing home dashboard. This is built using Magic Mirror and contains the following open source libraries:

Prerequisites

  • TV or Monitor for display (with at least one available HDMI port)
  • A single board computer, preferences + prices listed below in order of increasing cost and compatability
    • Orange Pi Zero 2
      1. At $47.99, this kit is the cheapest you will find a single board computer compatible with this project.
    • Orange Pi 3 LTS
      1. At $60, this kit is only $12 more than the Orange Pi Zero 2, but has an Armbian image built with the 5.15LTS linux kernel. Additionally, this board has improved hardware specs, a full sized HDMI port, multiple USB ports, and will ultimately allow for a much smoother experience.
    • Raspberry Pi 3B+
      1. Now that Raspberry Pi's are actually available, the 3B+ at $47 is a great deal which will provide an excellent platform for this project. Unlike the Orange Pi models above, software supportability will not be an issue here and there will be widespread community support for any issues that arise.
      2. You will also need a power supply since this only comes with the board itself.
      3. I recommend that you spend $4-5 more for a case/fan/power supply kit
  • Micro SD Card or this 2 pack
  • USB Keyboard for initial setup, but I assume most people have a USB keyboard already somewhere in their house.
  • Balena Etcher software, used to flash the OS onto your SD Card
  • MicroSD Card Reader

Total Price

  • Orange Pi Zero 2 - $57.98
    • $47.99 board + case + power supply
    • $10.99 Micro SD Card
  • Orange Pi 3 LTS - $70.99
    • $60 board + case + power supply
    • $10.99 Micro SD Card
  • Raspberry Pi 3B+ - $71.98
    • $47 - Board
    • $13.99 - Case + Fan + power supply
    • $10.99 - MicroSD Card

Instructions

Download the appropriate image

Flash the OS onto your SD card

  • Insert your MicroSD card into your computer
  • Open Balena Etcher and select the image from the previous step
  • Click "Select Drive" and select your SD card
  • Click "Flash" and wait for the program to complete writing the image.
  • Remove the SD card from the computer

Boot your Single Board Computer

  • Insert the MicroSD card into your Pi
  • Connect an HDMI cable from the Pi to a monitor
  • Plug in a USB keyboard
  • OPTIONAL: Connect an ethernet cable to your router or switch to get internet access (necessary for updates and downloading packages)
  • Plug in the power cord & your device should boot

Configure Initial OS Settings

  • Follow on screen prompts to create a root password, initial user, and set timezone/language

Initial Software Setup

  • Run the following to complete initial package installations
  • This will install a desktop environment, MagicMirror, and configure Light DM to auto-login
sudo curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Robert-litts/home-dashboard/main/initial_setup.sh | sudo bash
  • This script does pipe directly into sudo bash, so if you'd like to examine the file's contents, use the following
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Robert-litts/home-dashboard/main/initial_setup.sh
less -N initial_setup.sh