Getting Started
Software Setup
Use the Raspberry Pi Imager tool to flash an SD card with the latest Raspberry Pi OS image
- Choose OS - Raspberry Pi OS (other) - Raspberry Pi OS Lite (32-bit) image
- Click the gear icon ⚙ to set up a new user, WiFi, and enable SSH
Update Beepy's firmware
- Download the latest firmware image
- Slide the power switch off (left if facing up)
- Connect the Beepy to your computer via USB-C
- While holding the "End Call" key (top right on the keypad), slide the power switch on
- The Beepy will present itself as a USB mass storage device, drag'n'drop the new firmware (i2c_puppet.uf2) into the drive and it will reboot with the new firmware
SSH into the Pi and install driver packages. The LED will remain green until drivers are installed and the system has rebooted
curl -s --compressed "https://ardangelo.github.io/beepy-ppa/KEY.gpg" | gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/beepy.gpg >/dev/null \
&& sudo curl -s --compressed -o /etc/apt/sources.list.d/beepy.list "https://ardangelo.github.io/beepy-ppa/beepy.list" \
&& sudo apt update \
&& sudo apt-get -y install beepy-kbd sharp-drm \
&& sudo shutdown -r now
Your Beepy is now ready, enjoy!
- Review the default symbol keymap
Hardware Setup
If you are installing your own Raspberry Pi Zero or any other SBC, make sure all the mounting pins are properly aligned to each hole before tightening the screws. If you cannot see the pin through a header hole, then it is not properly mounted. You can move the board around until all the pins "click" into place.

The USB-C port at the bottom powers and charges the Beepy. Do not power the Raspberry Pi Zero through its Micro-USB port (PWR IN).
Additional Details
- In
/boot/cmdline.txt
, editfbcon=font:VGA8x8
to change the font/size. See fbcon for more details - Long holding the "End Call" key (5 seconds) will trigger the key
KEY_POWER
and safely shutdown the Pi- The LED will turn red until OS shutdown has completed
- Wait another few seconds until the disk activity light on the Pi has turned off to ensure disks are synced
- After shutting down using the "End Call" key, holding the key for 1 second will turn the Pi back on