OneStepSetup.md

One-step setup

This is a streamlined process for setting up the Pi. You'll flash a preconfigured version of Raspbian Buster Lite and then fill out a config file.

Notes

• Assumes your Pi has access to Wifi, with internet access (during setup). (But all setup methods do currently.) USB networking is still enabled for troubleshooting or manual setup
• This image will work for either headless (tested) or manual (tested less) setup.
• Currently not tested with the rsync/rclone methods when using headless setup, however you can specify 'none' as the archive method in the config file, which will configure the pi as a wifi-accessible USB drive, so you can then configure rclone/rsync and rerun the setup-teslausb script.

Configure the SD card before first boot of the Pi

1. Flash the latest image release using Etcher or similar.

2. Mount the card again, and in the boot directory create a teslausb_setup_variables.conf file to export the same environment variables normally needed for manual setup (including archive info, Wifi, and push notifications (if desired). A sample conf file is located in the boot folder on the SD card. The latest sample is also available from GitHub via pi-gen-sources/00-teslausb-tweaks/files/teslausb_setup_variables.conf.sample. The sample file contains documentation and suggestions for values. NOTE: when creating/editing the configuration file on Windows, ensure that it is saved with the correct extension. It is recommended to disable the "hide extensions for known file types" option in Windows so you can see the full file name.

   Be sure that all values, especially your WiFi SSID and password are properly quoted and/or escaped according to bash quoting rules, and that in addition any &, / and \ are also escaped by prefixing them with a \. If the password does not contain a single quote character, you can enclose the entire password in single quotes, like so:

   export WIFIPASS='password'
   

   even if it contains other characters that might otherwise be special to bash, like \, * and $ (but note that the \ should still be escaped with an additional \ in order for the password to be correctly handled)

   If the password does contain a single quote, you will need to use a different syntax. E.g. if the password is pass'word, you would use:

   export WIFIPASS=$'pass\'word'
   

   and if the password contains both a single quote and a backslash, e.g. pass'wo\rdyou'd use:

   export WIFIPASS=$'pass\'wo\\rd'
   

   Similarly if your WiFi SSID has spaces in its name, make sure they're escaped or quoted.

   For example, if your SSID were

   Foo Bar 2.4 GHz
   

   you would use

   export SSID=Foo\ Bar\ 2.4\ GHz
   

   or

   export SSID='Foo Bar 2.4 GHz'
   

3. Boot it in your Pi, give it a bit, watching for a series of flashes (2, 3, 4, 5) and then a reboot and/or the CAM/music drives to become available on your PC/Mac. The LED flash stages are:

Stage (number of flashes)	Activity
2	Verify the requested configuration is creatable
3	Grab scripts to start/continue setup
4	Create partition and files to store camera clips/music)
5	Setup completed; remounting filesystems as read-only and rebooting

The Pi should be available for ssh at pi@teslausb.local, over Wifi (if automatic setup works) or USB networking (if it doesn't). It takes about 5 minutes, or more depending on network speed, etc. The default password for user pi@teslausb.local is raspberry. It is recommended that you modify the default password after logging in by issuing the command passwd and making it your own.

If plugged into just a power source, or your car, give it a few minutes until the LED starts pulsing steadily which means the archive loop is running and you're good to go.

You should see in /boot the TESLAUSB_SETUP_FINISHED and WIFI_ENABLED files as markers of headless setup success as well.

Troubleshooting

• ssh to pi@teslausb.local (assuming Wifi came up, or your Pi is connected to your computer via USB) and look at the /boot/teslausb-headless-setup.log.
• Try sudo -i and then run /etc/rc.local. The scripts are fairly resilient to restarting and not re-running previous steps, and will tell you about progress/failure.
• If Wifi didn't come up:
  • Double-check the SSID and WIFIPASS variables in teslausb_setup_variables.conf, and remove /boot/WIFI_ENABLED, then booting the SD in your Pi to retry automatic Wifi setup.
  • If you are using a WiFi network with a hidden SSID, edit /boot/wpa_supplicant.conf.sample and uncomment the line scan_ssid=1 in the network={...} block.
  • If still no go, re-run /etc/rc.local
  • If all else fails, copy /boot/wpa_supplicant.conf.sample to /boot/wpa_supplicant.conf and edit out the TEMP variables to your desired settings.
• Note: if you get an error about read-only filesystem, you may have to sudo -i and run /root/bin/remountfs_rw.

More troubleshooting information in the wiki

Background information

What happens under the covers

When the Pi boots the first time:

• A /boot/teslausb-headless-setup.log file will be created and stages logged.
• Marker files will be created in boot like TESLA_USB_SETUP_STARTED and TESLA_USB_SETUP_FINISHED to track progress.
• Wifi is detected by looking for /boot/WIFI_ENABLED and if not, creates the wpa_supplicant.conf file in place, using SSID and WIFIPASS from teslausb_setup_variables.conf and reboots.
• The Pi LED will flash patterns (2, 3, 4, 5) as it gets to each stage (labeled in the setup-teslausb script).
• After the final stage and reboot the LED will go back to normal. Remember, the step to remount the filesystem takes a few minutes.

At this point the next boot should start the Dashcam/music drives like normal. If you're watching the LED it will start flashing every 1 second, which is the archive loop running.

NOTE: Don't delete the TESLAUSB_SETUP_FINISHED or WIFI_ENABLED files. This is how the system knows setup is complete.

Image modification sources

The sources for the image modifications, and instructions, are in the pi-gen-sources folder.