Raspberry Pi OS
The official system for Raspberry Pi boards.
What is Raspberry Pi OS?
Raspberry Pi OS, formerly Raspbian, is the Debian-based system maintained by Raspberry Pi Ltd. It is tuned for Raspberry Pi hardware, including GPIO, camera, and display support, and comes in desktop and Lite editions. Raspberry Pi Imager writes and preconfigures it on a microSD card.
Who is Raspberry Pi OS for?
Raspberry Pi OS fits best for education, development and servers. Where it ranks in our lists:
- #8 of 13: best Linux distros for servers
- #11 of 22: best Linux distros for beginners
- #18 of 29: best Linux distros for programming and development
Pros
- Best hardware support on Raspberry Pi
- Imager preconfigures Wi-Fi and SSH
- Large educational community
Cons
- Only for Raspberry Pi hardware
- Desktop performance depends on the board
Raspberry Pi OS system requirements
For a comfortable desktop with a modern web browser, plan for about 1 GB of RAM, and less is workable with a light desktop. Raspberry Pi OS is available for aarch64, armhf. Leave at least 25 GB of storage for the system and applications. These figures are editorial guidance; check the official documentation for minimums.
Try Raspberry Pi OS before you install
Write the image to a USB stick and boot it as a live session to test Wi-Fi, graphics, sound, and suspend on your own computer. A browser trial on DistroSea shows the desktop, but cannot verify your hardware.
Compare Raspberry Pi OS with…
Best Raspberry Pi OS alternatives
Raspberry Pi OS: common questions
What is Raspberry Pi OS based on?
Raspberry Pi OS is based on Debian Stable. It uses APT for software and systemd as its init system.
Is Raspberry Pi OS good for beginners?
Yes. Raspberry Pi OS is one of the more approachable distributions: best hardware support on raspberry pi.
How much RAM does Raspberry Pi OS need?
We suggest about 1 GB of RAM for a comfortable desktop experience with a modern browser. This is editorial guidance, not the project’s official minimum, which can be lower. It runs on aarch64, armhf.
What desktop does Raspberry Pi OS use?
Raspberry Pi OS lets you choose your own desktop environment during or after installation.
Is Raspberry Pi OS a rolling release?
No. Raspberry Pi OS uses fixed releases; you upgrade to a new version periodically.
Is Raspberry Pi OS free?
Yes, Raspberry Pi OS is free to download and use.