Requirements¶
To ensure a smooth experience with Pimarchy, ensure your hardware and software meet the following requirements.
Hardware¶
| Component | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| Device | Raspberry Pi 5 / Pi 500 | Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB) |
| Cooling | Active Cooling (Fan) | Official Active Cooler |
| Storage | 8 GB MicroSD / USB | 16 GB+ NVMe or High Speed USB |
| Power | 5V 5A (Official PSU) | 27W Official Raspberry Pi PSU |
Target Hardware
While Pimarchy is designed to work on the Raspberry Pi 5 series (including 4GB and 8GB models), the lead developer (Ray) is building and testing exclusively on a 16GB Raspberry Pi 500+.
Will it work on a Pi 4?
Technically, much of the configuration is compatible with the Raspberry Pi 4. However, the installer is specifically tuned for the Pi 5's VC4/V3D graphics and performance profiles. We do not officially support the Pi 4 at this time, but we welcome community feedback if you attempt an installation on older hardware.
Cooling is Essential
Pimarchy is designed to push the Pi 5 to its full potential. Without active cooling, the system may throttle or become unstable during high-performance tasks or if you choose the Overclocking option.
Software¶
Pimarchy is built specifically for: - Operating System: Raspberry Pi OS Lite (64-bit) - Codename: Debian Trixie - Kernel Version: 6.6+ (Standard in Trixie)
Do Not Use Pi OS Desktop
Pimarchy is an automated transformation tool for Pi OS Lite. Running it on a system that already has a desktop environment (like GNOME or KDE) may lead to conflicting configurations and broken packages.
Network¶
An active internet connection is required during installation to: - Update the system packages. - Add external repositories (Debian Sid, Docker, NodeSource). - Download programming languages (Go, Node.js) and OpenCode.