DSC-BRAIN USER GUIDE · SETUP

Flash the SD image and first boot

Download the release image, write it with Raspberry Pi Imager, boot the Pi and find the dashboard.

●  verified for 9.0.0 · firmware train 8.2.0.0

●  last verified 2026-09-17 · mirrored 2026-09-15

Read this first

Do not use the 8.0.0 AlphaPi image. It shipped empty kit firmware and cannot flash a kit. Use the newest image listed on the Firmware page (8.1.0 is the oldest usable one). Surface-only tags such as 8.2.0 have no image: flash the previous image and update from Settings.

1. Download

Alpha testers get a download link for their build by email after they join the alpha. Released images are listed on the Firmware page. The file is named dsc-hub-<version>-arm64.img.xz.

2. Write the card

  1. Open Raspberry Pi Imager → Use custom → pick the .img.xz file (no need to unpack it).
  2. Choose the microSD card and write. Do not apply Imager's own OS customisation; the image is already configured (hostname dsc-brain).

3. First boot

  1. Insert the card, connect Ethernet if you have it, then power the Pi.
  2. Wait 3–5 minutes. The first boot preloads the container images and forms the Pi's hotspot. If the image was baked with the product libraries (DSC-KitLib, DSC-NuteLib), first boot installs them; if not, install them from Settings › Integrations › Libraries once the kit has internet.
  3. Open the dashboard:
Your network Open this
Ethernet is plugged in the dashboard address on the kit card (port 8787) — or the Pi's LAN IP on port 8787 if your router does not resolve .local names
No Ethernet Join the Pi's Wi-Fi hotspot named on the kit card (password there too), then open the hotspot dashboard address on the kit card
  1. The dashboard opens on the Overview desk. Go to #/setup (or Settings › System › Kit setup) to start the wizard.

What the hotspots are

  • DSC-Brain is the Pi's hotspot. It exists so you can reach this dashboard with no router. It is not the fleet network.
  • DSC-Setup-XXXX is the hub's hotspot, used once to tell the fleet which Wi-Fi to join. See Fleet Wi-Fi join.

If the dashboard does not answer

  • Give it five minutes on a fresh card; the first boot is slow.
  • Confirm the Pi has a link light on the Ethernet port, or that your phone is on the Pi hotspot and not falling back to mobile data.
  • Try the IP form (the hotspot dashboard address on the kit card on the hotspot). Some phones block .local names.
  • See Troubleshooting › Cannot reach the dashboard.

Guide contents  ·  Setup  ·  Troubleshooting  ·  Digital Stealth Care

DSC-Brain user guide · Flash the SD image and first boot · this page is edited on the site; the Notion original was retired after the mirror