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Tutorial

David Steele edited this page May 2, 2024 · 28 revisions

This page describes how to install a Raspbian image containing the Comitup package - the preferred method for installing Comitup. It is also possible to install the package on an existing environment.

Get any required Host software

The host device will need a web browser and a Secure Shell (SSH) application. For some operating systems, a Zeroconf Browser is helpful. Refer to the table.

OS SSH ZeroConf Browser
Windows Putty Bonjour Browser
Mac (included) (not required)
Linux (included) avahi-discover (not required)
IOS Termius (not required)
Android JuiceSSH he.net - Network Tools (optional)

Equip the Target

Comitup is primarily intended for Raspberry Pi models with built-in Wifi. Otherwise, you will need to take some care in selecting the Wifi Adapter.

Download the Comitup Image

Find the link on the Comitup Home Page for the download links. You may want a Bittorrent Client for the download.

Once the image is downloaded, use an unzip utility to restore the original image.

Copy the image to a microSD card

The microSD card must be larger than 4GB (except for the 'lite' image).

For Windows, this is covered in the Raspberry Pi Quick Start Guide, steps 3 & 4.

The Raspberry Pi Website has copying instructions for Linux, Mac OS, and Windows.

Boot the Raspberry Pi

Insert the microSD card into the Raspberry Pi, and apply power. The first boot will take a couple of minutes, while the system makes some initial configuration changes.

Connect to the Comitup Hotspot

Using a Wifi-enabled computer, smart phone, or tablet, view a list of available Wifi Access Points. You should see one named 'comitup-' followed by a number of digits (remember this number). Connect to this Hotspot.

If all you want to do is connect with the Pi, you are done at this point. Connect via ssh to [email protected] or comitup@comitup-<nnn>.local, or to [email protected] (where "comitup" is the default user on the Comitup Image).

If you want your Pi and workstation to also have connectivity to the Internet, continue to the next step.

Connect the Raspberry Pi to your Wifi Access Point

If your OS supports captive portal detection, you will be automatically prompted by a web page to select an upstream Access Point. Such detection is supported by Android and IOS/Mac, and by Firefox on other operating systems.

Otherwise, while connected to the Comitup Access Point, browse to http://comitup-nnn.local (using the digits from earlier) or to 'http://raspberrypi.local'. If you are using an operating system that does not understand these '.local' addresses, you can cheat and use http://10.41.0.1.

You should see a list of available Access Points. Select one, enter a password if necessary, and click on 'Connect'.

Start Computing!

Connect your computer/phone/tablet to the same Access Point. Use SSH to open a terminal session to [email protected], or to pi@comitup-<nnn>.local, where <nnn> is the digits from the access point earlier. If the name is not recognized, use a Zeroconf Browser to identify the Raspberry Pi IP address.

A good first step at this point is to update your operating system to the latest packages:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

The default password for the "comitup" user is "comitup". Be sure to change it once you have logged in:

passwd

Your Pi will remember the WiFi configuration, and will automatically connect the next time you boot. If you configure it for multiple AP's/locations, it will find the correct AP and connect.

Enjoy!