Before you flash, confirm you have:

Item	Notes
Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W (or Pi Zero W)	Vol 2 §1; the Zero 2 W is strongly preferred
40-pin GPIO header soldered	Pre-soldered (WH variant) or you’ve soldered one yourself
Waveshare 2.13” e-paper HAT v4	Or chosen alternative; Vol 3 §3
microSD card, 16+ GB, real	SanDisk High Endurance / Samsung PRO Endurance; Vol 2 §7
LiPo + PowerBoost or PiSugar 3	For portable use; not needed for first-boot via USB power
micro-USB data cable	The OTG-SSH workflow lives or dies on this — a power-only cable will silently not work
Workstation with internet + a microSD reader/writer	Windows / macOS / Linux all fine

2. Download the jayofelony image

The canonical source: https://github.com/jayofelony/pwnagotchi/releases

Pick the image matching your Pi:

• pwnagotchi-bookworm-arm64-vX.Y.Z.img.xz for Pi Zero 2 W (64-bit; the right modern choice)
• pwnagotchi-buster-armhf-vX.Y.Z.img.xz for original Pi Zero W (32-bit; older)

Image sizes are ~1.5-2 GB compressed, ~5-7 GB uncompressed. SHA-256 sums are published alongside; verify them. A corrupted image is a frustrating debug.

# After download:
sha256sum pwnagotchi-bookworm-arm64-v2.9.X.img.xz
# Compare to the SHA256SUM file from the release page.

3. Flash with Raspberry Pi Imager

Raspberry Pi Imager is the recommended flasher because of its “advanced options” panel — you can pre-seed configuration without manually mounting the boot partition.

1. Download Raspberry Pi Imager from https://www.raspberrypi.com/software/. (Available for Windows, macOS, Linux.)
2. Launch. Click “CHOOSE OS” → “Use custom” → pick your downloaded .img.xz (Imager handles xz decompression).
3. Click “CHOOSE STORAGE” → select your microSD.
4. Click the gear icon (advanced options) before “WRITE”. Set:
   • Hostname: pwnagotchi
   • Enable SSH → Use public-key authentication only → paste your ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub (or id_rsa.pub)
   • (Optional) Configure Wi-Fi: this is for the control network the Pi joins when not in monitor mode. Useful for first-time OTA updates; not needed for OTG-SSH first-boot.
   • Set username + password (optional override of pi / raspberry)
5. Click “WRITE”. Confirm the overwrite. Wait ~3-5 min depending on USB speed and SD-card class.

If you’re using dd instead (Linux power-user route):

xz -d pwnagotchi-bookworm-arm64-v2.9.X.img.xz
sudo dd if=pwnagotchi-bookworm-arm64-v2.9.X.img of=/dev/sdX bs=4M conv=fsync status=progress
sync

(Replace /dev/sdX with your actual SD card device. Get this wrong and you’ll overwrite a host drive. lsblk first.)

4. Pre-boot tweaks (optional)

Before unmounting the SD card, you can drop files into the boot/ partition to override boot-time behavior:

• ssh (empty file) — already enabled by Pi Imager’s advanced options, but if you flashed via dd you need this. Just touch /boot/ssh.
• wpa_supplicant.conf — to join a Wi-Fi network on first boot. Format:

  country=US
  ctrl_interface=DIR=/var/run/wpa_supplicant GROUP=netdev
  update_config=1
  
  network={
      ssid="MyHomeNet"
      psk="HomeNetPassword"
      key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
  }

5. First boot

1. Eject the microSD from your workstation. Insert it into the Pi.
2. Attach the e-ink HAT to the Pi’s 40-pin GPIO header. Push down firmly until the connector seats fully — every pin should mate. If the HAT sits crooked or pins look bent, stop and reseat.
3. Connect a known-good micro-USB data cable from the Pi’s inner micro-USB port (the OTG one — closer to the SD slot) to your workstation. Do not connect a separate power supply.
4. Wait ~90 seconds. You should see:
   • The Pi’s ACT LED blinking actively (it’s booting).
   • After ~30-45 seconds, the e-ink display refreshes once (flashes black-white-content) showing the boot face.
   • On the workstation, a new network interface enumerates as “RNDIS/Ethernet Gadget” (Windows), usb0 (Linux), or en6 / en7 (macOS).
5. The Pi assigns itself 10.0.0.1 and offers DHCP to your workstation on 10.0.0.0/24. Confirm with ipconfig (Windows) or ifconfig (Linux/mac) — your workstation should have an IP like 10.0.0.2 or similar.

If the e-ink shows nothing after 90 seconds:

• Check the HAT is fully seated.
• Confirm the SD card is properly seated and the image flashed cleanly.
• ssh [email protected] and see if you can reach the Pi at all — if SSH works but e-ink doesn’t, the display config is wrong (Vol 3 §11).

6. First SSH

ssh [email protected]
# Default password (if you didn't set one in Imager): raspberry
# Default username: pi (or what you set in Imager)

If your SSH key was pre-seeded in Imager you should not be prompted for a password. If you do get prompted, use the password you set (or raspberry if you accepted the default).

First commands once in:

sudo systemctl status pwnagotchi
sudo systemctl status bettercap
sudo systemctl status pwngrid-peer
sudo journalctl -u pwnagotchi -n 50

You’re looking for all three units to be active (running). If pwnagotchi.service is “activating (auto-restart)” — the daemon is crash-looping. Usually it’s a display driver mismatch; check the journal.

7. Confirm monitor mode is working

sudo iw dev

Expected output includes something like:

phy#0
    Interface mon0
        ifindex 3
        wdev 0x2
        addr xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx
        type monitor

If you don’t see type monitor, the brcmfmac firmware isn’t the patched build, or monitor mode failed to enable. Try:

sudo systemctl restart pwnagotchi
sudo iw dev

If still no monitor mode, see Vol 9 §5 — fix_brcmf plugin.

8. Walk through config.toml

The default jayofelony config.toml is well-commented. Below are the fields you should review on first install, in order of importance:

8.1 The bare minimum

main.name = "MyFirstGotchi"               # rename from the default

main.whitelist = [
    "MyHomeNetwork",                       # name of your own SSID — don't harvest yourself
    "aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff",                   # BSSID of your AP (more precise)
]

[ui.web]
enabled = true
username = "admin"
password = "<CHANGE-THIS-NOW>"             # mandatory

[ui.display]
type = "waveshare_4"                       # match your panel
rotation = 0

After editing, sudo systemctl restart pwnagotchi and tail the journal. Check the e-ink shows the new gotchi name.

8.2 Mode selection

[personality]
mode = "ai"                                # ai (RL — default) / auto (no RL, autonomous) / manu (manual / static)
advertise = true                           # broadcast on pwngrid; turn off at public venues

If you’re going to use AI mode, also confirm [personality.ai] enabled = true further down (it should be by default).

8.3 Common plugins to enable

[main.plugins.grid]                         # the pwngrid plugin (peer discovery)
enabled = true
report = false                              # don't upload to pwnagotchi.ai/grid (defunct)

[main.plugins.auto-update]
enabled = false                             # disable for reproducibility; enable if you want OTAs

[main.plugins.pisugar]                      # only if you have the PiSugar 3 HAT
enabled = true

[main.plugins.gps]
enabled = false                             # enable if you have a UART GPS attached

9. Calibrating the e-ink

If the e-ink shows ghosting (residual from a previous image), force a deep-cleaning refresh:

sudo systemctl stop pwnagotchi
python3 -c "from pwnagotchi.ui.hw.waveshare_4 import WaveshareV4; w = WaveshareV4(); w.init(); w.clear()"

(Replace the import with your driver class as appropriate.)

Then sudo systemctl start pwnagotchi. The next boot face renders clean.

If the e-ink shows wrong rotation, set [ui.display].rotation and restart. The valid values are 0 / 90 / 180 / 270 (degrees).

10. First capture — testing the pipeline

To verify capture works without waiting hours for a chance handshake:

1. Bring a personal phone or laptop within ~10 m of the Pwnagotchi.
2. Disconnect the device from your home Wi-Fi (turn off Wi-Fi, then turn back on — forces a fresh association).
3. Watch journalctl -u pwnagotchi -f in the SSH session.
4. Within ~30-60 seconds you should see a log line like:

   [pwnagotchi] saw new AP "MyHomeNet" (aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff) on ch 6
   [pwnagotchi] captured handshake aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff

5. The e-ink face should briefly change to “happy” / “excited”.
6. Confirm the .pcap file:

   ls -la /root/handshakes/

   You should see MyHomeNet_aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff.pcap.

If steps 1-5 don’t produce a capture in ~10 minutes despite a confirmed association, see Vol 5 §9 diagnostics.

NOTE — your own network only. This first-capture test should target your network exclusively. Targeting a neighbor’s AP or a venue Wi-Fi is illegal in most jurisdictions. The whitelist you set in §8.1 specifies which networks to ignore; here you’re testing against a NON-whitelisted network — which can be your phone’s hotspot, your laptop’s hotspot, or your home AP with the whitelist temporarily disabled.

11. Transferring captures to your workstation

# From workstation:
rsync -avz [email protected]:/root/handshakes/ ~/pwnagotchi-loot/

Now you have your .pcap files locally. Standard hashcat workflow:

# Convert pcap to hashcat 22000 format:
hcxpcapngtool -o my_handshakes.22000 *.pcap

# Then crack:
hashcat -m 22000 my_handshakes.22000 /path/to/rockyou.txt

(Cracking is out of scope for this deep dive; see hashcat docs.)

12. Disconnecting from OTG, going portable

Once configured and tested:

1. SSH in.
2. sudo poweroff. Wait for the ACT LED to stop blinking.
3. Disconnect USB.
4. Connect the LiPo + boost / PiSugar / battery.
5. Power on (PiSugar has a power button; PowerBoost is always-on once battery connected).
6. The Pi boots, the gotchi face renders, capture begins.

Subsequent SSH access:

• Via Wi-Fi if you pre-seeded wpa_supplicant.conf — the Pi joins the configured network and you SSH to its DHCP-assigned address.
• Via USB-OTG-as-Ethernet by plugging back into the workstation (poweroff first or you’ll have two power sources).
• Via the web UI at http://<gotchi-ip>:8080/ from any browser on the same network.

13. The “I bricked it” recovery

The Pwnagotchi is hard to fully brick because the SD card is removable. Recovery procedure:

1. Power off.
2. Pop the SD card out of the Pi, into your workstation.
3. Mount the boot partition (FAT32 — Windows / macOS / Linux all see it).
4. Edit /boot/config.txt or replace files as needed.
5. Re-insert SD into Pi. Boot.

If everything’s wedged, re-flash the image — at most you lose configuration + captures. Save /root/handshakes/ and /etc/pwnagotchi/config.toml first (mount the rootfs partition for this; only works from Linux as the partition is ext4).

14. First-run checklist

Before declaring the install “done”:

• Pi boots, e-ink renders boot face within ~90 sec of power-on
• pwnagotchi, bettercap, pwngrid-peer all active (running) per systemctl
• iw dev shows a monitor interface (mon0, type monitor)
• journalctl -u pwnagotchi -n 100 is clean — no recurring errors
• config.toml has your name, whitelist, web UI password, correct display driver
• Web UI accessible at http://10.0.0.2:8080/ (or your gotchi’s address) with the new credentials
• First test capture against your own (non-whitelisted) network succeeded
• .pcap file present in /root/handshakes/
• Gotchi disconnects from USB and runs cleanly on battery

If all eight are green, the install is done. The Pwnagotchi is now functional. Proceed to Vol 9 (plugins) or Vol 10 (operations) depending on what you want to do next.

15. Cheatsheet updates from this volume

Items to roll into Vol 12 (laminate-ready cheatsheet):

• “Flash jayofelony bookworm-arm64 image. Pre-seed SSH key + hostname in Pi Imager.” (§3)
• “First boot via inner micro-USB to workstation; SSH [email protected].” (§5, §6)
• “Always change [ui.web] password before going portable.” (§8.1)
• “Whitelist your own SSIDs in main.whitelist.” (§8.1)
• “Confirm monitor mode with iw dev before declaring the install done.” (§7)