Raspberry Pi OS

Raspberry Pi OS[3] (formerly Raspbian) is a Debian-based operating system for Raspberry Pi. Since 2015 it has been officially provided by the Raspberry Pi Foundation as the primary operating system for the Raspberry Pi family of compact single-board computers.[4] The first version of Raspbian was created by Mike Thompson and Peter Green as an independent project.[5] The initial build was completed in June 2012.[6]

Raspberry Pi OS
Raspberry Pi OS Logo
DeveloperRaspberry Pi Foundation
OS familyUnix-like
Working stateCurrent
Source modelOpen source
Latest releaseRaspberry Pi OS (32-bit) / 2021-01-11[1]
Marketing targetRaspberry Pi
Available inEnglish
Update methodAPT
Package managerdpkg
PlatformsARM
i386 version available[2]
Kernel typeMonolithic
UserlandGNU
Default user interfaceLXDE
LicenseFree and open-source software licenses (mainly GPL)
Official websitewww.raspberrypi.org/software/operating-systems/
Support status
Supported

Previous Raspberry Pi OS versions were 32bit only and based on Debian, taking the name Raspbian. Since the more recent 64bit versions no longer use Debian, the name was changed to Raspberry Pi OS for both the 64bit and 32bit versions. As of 1 February 2021, the 64-bit version is in beta and is not suitable for general use.[7]

Raspberry Pi OS is highly optimized for the Raspberry Pi line of compact single-board computers with ARM CPUs. It runs on every Raspberry Pi except the Pico microcontroller. Raspberry Pi OS uses a modified LXDE as its desktop environment with the Openbox stacking window manager, along with a unique theme. The distribution is shipped with a copy of the algebra program Wolfram Mathematica[4] and a version of Minecraft called Minecraft: Pi Edition, as well as a lightweight version of the Chromium web browser.

Features

User Interface

Raspberry Pi OS looks similar to many common desktops, such as macOS and Windows. The menu bar is positioned at the top and contains an application menu and shortcuts to Terminal, Chromium, and File Manager. On the right is a Bluetooth menu, a Wi-Fi menu, volume control, and a digital clock.

Package Management

Packages can be installed via APT, the Recommended Software app, and by using the Add/Remove Software tool, a GUI wrapper for APT.

Microsoft Repository Controversy

Because Visual Studio Code can only be downloaded from a Microsoft server,[8] Raspberry Pi OS' raspberrypi-sys-mods package created the files enabling a Microsoft repository without prompting the user and with the source code held back for nearly two weeks.[9] This means Microsoft has access to every updated Pi computer running Raspberry Pi OS with rights to install any package, run any program, or edit any file without prompting the user.[10] A lesser issue that has bothered some users is that on every run of apt update, the Raspbery Pi will send a request to packages.microsoft.com and thereby reveals the IP address for potential use in tracking or marketing efforts.

Components

pcmanfm is a file browser allowing quick access to all areas of the computer, and was redesigned in the first Raspberry Pi OS Buster release (2019-06-20).

Raspberry Pi OS originally used Epiphany as the web browser, but switched to Chromium with the launch of its redesigned desktop.[11]

Raspberry Pi OS comes with many beginner IDEs, such as Thonny Python IDE, Mu Editor, and Greenfoot. It also ships with educational software like Scratch and Bookshelf.

Reception

Jesse Smith from DistroWatch reviewed Raspberry Pi OS (then Raspbian) in 2015:[12]

Though I did not intend to run the Raspberry Pi as a desktop computer, the Raspbian operating system does provide users with the LXDE desktop environment. The Pi does not have a great deal of processor speed or memory, but it does have enough resources to run LXDE and a handful of applications. So long as the user does not wish to do a lot at once, the Pi offers a fairly responsive desktop interface. I probably would not run heavier programs such as LibreOffice or Firefox on the Pi, but Raspbian does provide the Epiphany web browser and a few other desktop programs.

Based on download statistics from the Raspberry Pi Imager, Raspberry Pi OS is by far the most used operating system on the Raspberry Pi, accounting for 71.88% of all OS downloads in the past month as of 1 February 2021.

Version history
Release Date Debian Version Linux Kernel GCC apt X Server Pi 1/1+ Pi 2 Pi 3 Pi

Zero W

Pi 3+ Pi 4
2013-09-27 7

(Wheezy)

 3.6 4.7.2 0.9.7 7.7
2013-10-07
2013-12-24 3.10
2014-01-09
2014-06-22 3.12
2014-07-08
2014-09-12
2014-10-08
2014-12-25
2015-02-02 3.18
2015-02-17
2015-02-18
2015-05-07
2015-05-12
2015-09-28 8

(Jessie)

 4.1 4.9 1.0.9.8.1
2015-11-24
2016-02-08
2016-02-09
2016-02-29
2016-03-18
2016-05-13 4.4
2016-05-31
2016-09-28
2016-11-29
2017-02-27 4.9
2017-03-03
2017-04-10
2017-06-23
2017-07-05
2017-08-17 9

(Stretch)

 6.3 1.4.6
2017-09-08
2017-11-29
2018-03-13
2018-04-18 4.14 1.4.8
2018-06-29
2018-10-09
2018-11-13
2019-04-08 1.4.9
2019-06-24 10

(Buster)

 4.19 8.3 1.8.2
2019-07-10
2019-09-30
2020-02-07
2020-02-14
2020-05-27
2020-08-20 5.4.51
2020-12-02 5.4.79 1.8.2.1
2021-01-11 5.4.83 1.8.2.2
Release Date Debian Version Linux Kernel GCC apt X Server Pi 1/1+ Pi 2 Pi 3 Pi

Zero W

 Pi 3+ Pi 4

Versions

Raspberry Pi OS has 3 installation options:

  • Raspberry Pi OS Lite
  • Raspberry Pi OS
  • Raspberry Pi OS Full

Raspberry Pi OS Lite is the smallest version and doesn't include a Desktop Environment.

Raspberry Pi OS includes the Pixel Desktop Environment.

Raspberry Pi OS Full also comes pre-installed with additional productivity software.

All versions are distributed as .img disk image files. These files can then be flashed on to micro SD cards where Raspberry Pi OS runs. In March 2020, the Raspberry Pi Foundation also published the Raspberry Pi Imager,[13] a custom disk flasher that allows for the installation of Raspberry Pi OS as well as other operating systems designed for the Raspberry Pi, including RetroPie, Kodi OS, and others.

Version size

The Raspberry Pi documentation recommends at least a 4GB micro SD card for Raspberry Pi OS Lite, an 8GB micro SD card for Raspberry Pi OS, and a 16GB micro SD card for Raspberry Pi OS Full.[14] The image files themselves are 438MB, 1,171MB, and 2,863MB respectively.

See also

References
  1. "Release Notes". RaspberryPi.org.
  2. "Raspberry Pi Desktop for PC and Mac". RaspberryPi.org.
  3. Upton, Eben (28 May 2020). "8GB Raspberry Pi 4 on sale now at $75". Raspberry Pi Blog. Retrieved 28 May 2020. Both our 32-bit and 64-bit operating system images have a new name: Raspberry Pi OS. As our community grows, we want to make sure it’s as easy as possible for new users to find our recommended operating system for the Raspberry Pi. We think the new name will help more people feel confident in using our computers and our software.
  4. "Download Raspberry Pi OS for Raspberry Pi". RaspberryPi.org. Mathematica and the Wolfram Language are included in this release under license and with permission of Wolfram Research, Inc. and may be used for non-commercial purposes only.
  5. "RaspbianAbout - Raspbian". www.raspbian.org. Retrieved 2016-06-05.
  6. "FrontPage - Raspbian". www.raspbian.org. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  7. "Raspberry Pi OS (64 bit) beta test version". RaspberryPi.org.
  8. "License - Visual Studio Code". code.visualstudio.com. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
  9. "Where is the 20210125 update ??". Github. 2021-02-05.
  10. "Why Microsoft repo is needed?". Github. 2021-02-04. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  11. Long, Simon (2016-09-28). "Introducing PIXEL". Raspberry Pi Blog. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  12. Smith, Jesse (22 June 2015). "DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 615, 22 June 2015". DistroWatch. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  13. Hollingworth, Gordon (2020-03-05). "Introducing Raspberry Pi Imager, our new imaging utility". Raspberry Pi Blog. Retrieved 2021-02-02.
  14. "SD cards - Raspberry Pi Documentation". RaspberryPi.org. Retrieved 2021-02-02.
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