First Boot & Initial Setup

Relax. We'll talk through this in plain words — no textbook voice.

What you'll walk away with

Understand first boot & initial setup, no intimidation required
Get comfortable running your own hardware wiring and code
Apply this concept right away in a real project

Let's think about it this way for a moment

On first boot, Raspberry Pi OS runs a setup wizard that walks you through steps like choosing country/language/timezone, changing the password (don't keep the default), connecting to a Wi-Fi network, and checking for software updates. If you already pre-configured SSH/Wi-Fi through the advanced options (from the previous lesson), this wizard gets skipped and you can connect straight from the terminal as soon as boot finishes.

Let's connect this to a real-world scenario

If you boot in desktop mode (with an HDMI monitor connected), you'll see the GUI wizard on screen and just click through it — this is a great place to put the password-strength concept from the Linux tutorial into practice (change the default 'raspberry' password to a strong one right away).

First-boot wizard = country/language/timezone, password, Wi-Fi, updates
Change the default password ('raspberry') right away (recall the password lesson from the Cybersecurity tutorial)
Run the software update right from first boot

Let's look at an example together

bash

# After first boot GUI wizard, or via terminal:
sudo raspi-config

# Change password
passwd

# Update system
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

You should see

The first-boot wizard is complete, the password is changed, and you can see the system updating in the terminal.

5-Minute Try-It

Run the raspi-config tool (if you have a Pi) — scroll through the menu options (Localization, Interface Options, Advanced Options) and list out what you can configure.

A quick word of caution

If you plan to expose your Raspberry Pi to the internet (port forwarding, a public IP), changing the default password immediately is absolutely essential — recall the 'Threat Landscape' lesson from the Cybersecurity tutorial: a small device is not automatically a safe device.

Easy traps

Leaving the device on the network with the default password ('raspberry') still set — attackers actively scan for default credentials
Skipping the first-boot update and continuing to use outdated software

Try It Yourself

Run the raspi-config tool (if you have a Pi) — scroll through the menu options (Localization, Interface Options, Advanced Options) and list out what you can configure.

You'll know it worked when: The first-boot wizard is complete, the password is changed, and you can see the system updating in the terminal.