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When we talk about the Raspberry Pi we are talking about one of the most popular micro-computers that we can find. The board, power supply and storage must be budgeted separately, and available functions depend on the model; a device can be used, both to program and to mount our own home server, have a retro-console or carry a computer in our pocket. One of the strongest pillars of the RPi is the freedom it offers us when choosing the operating system that we are going to use. And although on the network we can find a large number of distros for this micro-computer, it has its official distro: Raspberry Pi OS .
Raspberry Pi OS is the official Debian-based operating system for Raspberry Pi. The older name Raspbian refers to its earlier history; use the current Raspberry Pi software downloads rather than an old image selected only by that name.
Raspberry Pi OS Features
Raspberry Pi OS is a Debian based Linux distro . Its managers use this distro as a base and, on it, implement all its improvements and features. The main difference of Raspberry Pi OS compared to other Linux distros is that it is optimized to work on ARM processors , specifically that of the Raspberry Pi, with board-specific software and firmware. This does not guarantee that every application, peripheral or old image works on every board.
The desktop implementation has changed since the older PIXEL/LXDE screenshots below. Consult the current Raspberry Pi OS documentation; the current release is based on Debian Trixie and uses the modern Raspberry Pi desktop stack. Screenshots of older releases illustrate earlier interfaces.
Another of its best features is the ” raspi-config ” program. With it we will be able to configure the distro and the Raspberry Pi very easily. The configurations that are usually made through the terminal can be done with this tool, such as changing the password, managing startup, updating or overclocking the RPi.
3 editions to choose from
- Desktop: a graphical desktop with the main applications.
- Full: the desktop plus additional recommended applications.
- Lite: a command-line system without a desktop, suitable for a server or a smaller installation.
Download size and installed space change by release. Choose the board first in Raspberry Pi Imager so the offered image matches it; do not use the old 2.5GB/1.1GB/400MB figures as current requirements.
When to use this distro
Raspberry Pi OS, Raspbian, is usually the gateway for most users. Almost all those who buy a micro-computer usually opt for this distro to start testing it. Later, when they already have it controlled, they can keep it or choose much more specific alternatives. But, almost always, you usually start with this distro.
If we want to use our Raspberry Pi a bit for everything , especially with its graphical interface, then this OS is one of the most complete that we will find. And it will offer us a very good performance, when the selected image matches your board and workload. Raspberry Pi 5 also needs a compatible image. If we have an old version, we can choose the Lite edition, which is smaller and more customizable.
Raspberry Pi Desktop for PCs is a separate x86 download. The current PC release is 64-bit amd64, not an image for every Mac or an Apple Silicon installer. Compare lightweight Linux for old PCs when choosing an operating system for a different machine.
Download Raspberry Pi OS
Get Raspberry Pi Imager and supported images from Raspberry Pi software downloads. Select your device, OS and target storage; writing an image erases that target. Back up its contents and check the selected drive before writing. Set up the requested user, network and remote-access options deliberately, then verify the written image and boot using the appropriate power supply.
Requirements
Use the 64-bit image for supported 64-bit boards, such as Pi 3, 4 and 5, or the appropriate 32-bit image for older hardware and software needs. Pick Desktop, Full or Lite according to available memory and intended applications. Board revisions and specialist distributions can have different support.
Choose storage with room for the image, updates and your files, using the current download requirements. Use the board-appropriate power supply and any display/input devices needed by your setup. Raspberry Pi recommends a fresh image on new boot media for a major OS upgrade; keep a backup and recovery copy. Read our backup options before replacing a working installation.
Best alternatives
It is true that there is nothing like the official distro if we want to use the micro-computer a bit for everything. However, if we have a specific idea of the use that we are going to make of the computer, we may be more interested in using a specialized distro for this purpose. In this way we will avoid having unnecessary programs and resources and the operation of the micro-computer will be 100% focused on that objective.
Ubuntu Server
Although Raspberry Pi OS Lite is a much smaller distro than the normal one, if you want to set up your own home server (for example, to download, a VPN, storage, etc.), compare the supported board images and packages of each server distribution. Canonical has a special version of Ubuntu Server for the Raspberry Pi.
This distro, which we can download from here , offers us a minimal environment which we can configure and customize to our liking. Thus we can install only the programs, services and packages that we need and nothing else.
LibreELEC
Another of the most common uses of the Raspberry Pi is for entertainment. For this reason, LibreELEC allows us to convert this micro-computer into a complete multimedia center with Kodi (and nothing else) so that we have a media-focused installation; check board support, video output and the TV input before installing.
We can download LibreELEC from the following link .
Lakka / Recalbox
Continuing with entertainment, one of the most popular uses of this device is also to turn it into a retro-console. We can install the Libretro emulators on practically any system, but, as expected, there are distros for the Raspberry Pi specially designed for this purpose.
Lakka , on the one hand, is the official Libretro distro to allow us to turn the device into a retro console, with emulators and settings included, so we only have to put the games in and start spending hours playing. And for users that Lakka may find somewhat complicated, Recalbox brings us a much simpler, complete and intuitive interface to carry out this work.