openstatus.dev
Openstatus
www.openstatus.dev
feat: blog raspberry pi (#1461)
* feat: blog raspberry pi
* fix: typo
* fix: typo
* fix: og description
* chore: update banner
* fix: typo
authored by
Maximilian Kaske
and committed by
GitHub
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apps/web/public/assets/posts/deploy-private-locations-raspberry-pi/dashboard-create-private-location.png
apps/web/public/assets/posts/deploy-private-locations-raspberry-pi/dashboard-create-private-location.png
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apps/web/public/assets/posts/deploy-private-locations-raspberry-pi/dashboard-response-logs.png
apps/web/public/assets/posts/deploy-private-locations-raspberry-pi/dashboard-response-logs.png
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apps/web/public/assets/posts/deploy-private-locations-raspberry-pi/raspberry-htop.png
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apps/web/src/app/(pages)/(content)/layout.tsx
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apps/web/src/app/(pages)/(content)/layout.tsx
···
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function Banner() {
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return (
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<div className="border-b bg-muted/50 px-2 py-3 backdrop-blur-3xl">
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<Link href="/blog/new-dashboard-we-are-so-back">
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<Link href="/blog/deploy-private-locations-raspberry-pi">
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<div className="group mx-auto flex w-full max-w-4xl flex-row items-center justify-between">
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<p className="font-medium">
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We Are So Back - New Dashboard. More Monitors.
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Monitor from anywhere. Literally anywhere.
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</p>
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<div className="text-nowrap">
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<span className="mr-1">Read more</span>
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apps/web/src/content/posts/deploy-private-locations-raspberry-pi.mdx
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apps/web/src/content/posts/deploy-private-locations-raspberry-pi.mdx
···
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---
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title: Deploy private locations on a Raspberry Pi
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description: An 8.5MB Docker image running uptime checks from home.
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author:
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name: Maximilian Kaske
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url: https://x.com/mxkaske
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avatar: /assets/authors/max.png
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publishedAt: 2025-10-17
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image: /assets/posts/deploy-private-locations-raspberry-pi/raspberry-pi.png
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tag: engineering
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---
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We just pushed the first version of **Private Locations** at openstatus - and I had to test it on my old **Raspberry Pi 3**.
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Since **2016**, I've been using the Pi for **AirPlay** to connect to my receiver but other than that, it's been sitting around without any other use case.
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Time to revive it!
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<ImageWithCaption
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src="/assets/posts/deploy-private-locations-raspberry-pi/raspberry-pi-receiver.jpg"
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alt="bare metal raspberrypi on a receiver"
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caption="My bare metal Raspberry Pi on top of the receiver I use for AirPlay"
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/>
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---
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## Deployment Guide
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Obviously connecting to the Raspberry Pi via `ssh` - and if you're like me, the default password is secure enough:
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```shell
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$ ssh pi@raspberrypi.local
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> password: raspberry
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```
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### Hardware Specs
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I didn’t know exactly which Debian version it was running, but it was _very_ old - so I took the opportunity to clean everything up and upgrade to the latest available version.
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Model:
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```shell
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$ cat /proc/device-tree/model
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> Raspberry Pi 3 Model B Rev 1.2
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```
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Linux Kernel:
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```shell
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$ uname -a
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> Linux raspberrypi 6.12.47+rpt-rpi-v8 #1 SMP PREEMPT Debian 1:6.12.47-1+rpt1 (2025-09-16) aarch64 GNU/Linux
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```
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Operating System:
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```shell
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$ cat /etc/os-release
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> PRETTY_NAME="Debian GNU/Linux 13 (trixie)"
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> NAME="Debian GNU/Linux"
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> VERSION_ID="13"
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> VERSION="13 (trixie)"
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> VERSION_CODENAME=trixie
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> DEBIAN_VERSION_FULL=13.1
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> ID=debian
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> HOME_URL="https://www.debian.org/"
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> SUPPORT_URL="https://www.debian.org/support"
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> BUG_REPORT_URL="https://bugs.debian.org/"
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```
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I'm running the OS on a **16GB micro SD** card. The Pi has **1GB of RAM**, which is perfectly enough for this use case.
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<ImageWithCaption
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src="/assets/posts/deploy-private-locations-raspberry-pi/raspberry-htop.png"
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alt="htop stats"
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caption="Statistics from htop command"
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/>
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### Install Docker Image
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Let's freshly install **Docker** using the official Debian repository instructions:
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https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/debian/#install-using-the-repository
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Once installed, Docker should already be running.
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You can verify it with:
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```shell
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$ sudo systemctl status docker
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```
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### Pull and Run the OpenStatus Container
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Let's grab the image:
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```shell
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$ sudo docker pull ghcr.io/openstatushq/private-location:latest
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```
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If you have access to Private Locations in the **Dashboard**, create one - it'll will provide you a `token` to use as an environment variables:
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<ImageWithCaption
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src="/assets/posts/deploy-private-locations-raspberry-pi/dashboard-create-private-location.png"
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alt="dashboard create private location form"
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caption="Create a private location"
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/>
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Add the `token` to your shell profile:
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```bash
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$ echo 'export OPENSTATUS_KEY=<token>’ >> ~/.bashrc
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```
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Reload the shell profile:
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```bash
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$ source ~/.bashrc
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```
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If you are using `oh-my-zsh` you might be using the `~/.zshrc` file instead.
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Check that it worked:
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```bash
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# print the env var
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$ echo $OPENSTATUS_KEY
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```
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### Run the Container
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Now let's launch it:
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```shell
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$ sudo docker run -d \
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--name openstatus-private-location \
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--restart=always \
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-e OPENSTATUS_KEY=$OPENSTATUS_KEY \
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ghcr.io/openstatushq/private-location:latest
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```
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What these flags do:
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- `-d`: run in background (detached mode)
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- `--restart`: auto-start on reboot
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- `--name`: give it a nice readable name
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- `-e`: pass your env var into the container
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> Don't sleep on `--restart=always`! How often I had to quickly switch position of and need to reboot the Raspberry, this is a game changer.
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To see live logs:
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```shell
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$ sudo docker logs -f openstatus-private-location
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```
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---
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### What Happens Next
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Once the container is up, openstatus automatically fetches the endpoints you've chosen for this private location and starts monitoring them.
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Every few minutes (`last_seen_at`), the agent refreshes its internal database to stay up-to-date with any changes - like added monitors or updated headers.
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The responses of the pings are sent to our ingest endpoint for storage and aggregation.
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<ImageWithCaption
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src="/assets/posts/deploy-private-locations-raspberry-pi/dashboard-response-logs.png"
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alt="response logs in the openstatus dashboard"
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caption="Access your logs within the openstatus Dashboard."
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/>
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### Light on Resources
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Our Docker image is just **8.5 MB** in size. Compare that to 1GB+ for some competitors (yes, they pack more features, but still 🤯).
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It's wild that a tiny 1 GB-RAM device from 2016 can now handle this so easily.
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### Why Private Locations?
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Running a private probe means your checks happen **from within your own network** - not just from public cloud servers.
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It’s useful for:
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- Monitoring internal applications or databases
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- Testing network latency from real-world locations (like your office or home)
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- Running low-cost monitoring nodes on tiny devices (e.g. in agriculture or industrial setups)
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---
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## Closing Thoughts
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And that’s it - my **Raspberry Pi (2016)** is officially back in action. Running quietly next to my receiver, it’s now part of the openstatus network, checking endpoints from my home.
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Not bad for a 9-year-old piece of hardware.
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If you'd like to try this out yourself, contact us ([discord](https://openstatus.dev/discord), [email](mailto:ping@openstatus.dev)) and head over to:
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https://github.com/openstatusHQ/openstatus/pkgs/container/private-location
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Private locations are currently in **beta** and we're gathering feedback from early users. If you've got an old Raspberry Pi lying around - this is your excuse to bring it back to life.
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---
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**A few more useful Commands**
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```shell
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# stop running
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$ docker stop openstatus-private-location
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# remove the container, not the image or data:
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$ docker rm openstatus-private-location
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# remove unused images (docker keeps old images even after pulling updates)
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$ docker image prune -f
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# check docker image statistics
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$ docker stats
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# check the CPU / RAM usage (each work)
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$ htop
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$ top
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# update docker image
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$ docker stop openstatus-private-location
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$ docker rm openstatus-private-location
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$ docker pull ghcr.io/openstatushq/private-location:latest
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$ docker run ... # same command as before
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```