openhabian

Noteworthy changes since last image release:

• Spinning animation while waiting for apt-get update to run
• Updates for upstream zram changes
• General bug fixes
• GitHub Actions dependency upgrades

A NOTE IF YOU HAVE ANY TROUBLE getting openHABian to work: please check out the DEBUG guide.

Full Changelog: v1.7.2...v1.7.3

You'll find the image below under assets ⤵︎

We had to change Java from Zulu to OpenJDK on pretty short notice.
Sorry for that but Azul (the company to provide Zulu) keeps changing their download API often, resulting in Java being unable to install, leaving new openHABian users in the dark so we decided to switch there a little earlier than we intended.
Zulu will remain as an alternative Java provider for the time being, be aware however that it may fail to install at any time thanks to Azul.
(please drop a note if you notice this is happening but don't expect this to get fixed soon).

A NOTE IF YOU HAVE ANY TROUBLE getting openHABian to work: please check out the DEBUG guide.

Noteworthy changes since last image release:

• default Java provider changed to OpenJDK
• some bug fixes

What's Changed

• Add update docs action by @Confectrician in #1633
• Change Java providers and add support for Java 17 by @ecdye in #1632
• Upgrade setuptools for HABApp by @spacemanspiff2007 in #1636
• create ~root/.ssh to fix adminkey for root by @mstormi in #1639
• Test if Amanda storage area is writable by @mstormi in #1643
• Ask to remove storageDir when removing SD mirroring by @mstormi in #1644
• re-add default mosquitto auth config on setup by @mstormi in #1649
• Support Homegear on Bullseye by @ecdye in #1641

Full Changelog: v1.7.1...v1.7.2

We have upgraded our base operating system to Raspberry Pi OS Bullseye.

As usual upgrades on supported systems will be unaffected, use the openhabian-config menu to apply any updates available to your system.
We will not automatically update your current base system (i.e buster -> bullseye) - don't fix what ain't broken.
Debian buster will be at least supported two more years. If you are eager to upgrade, read up on dist-upgrade or reinstall your system. Please note that if you choose to upgrade and not reinstall, you are on your own, don't expect to get support from the developers of openHABian if something goes wrong.

A NOTE IF YOU HAVE ANY TROUBLE getting openHABian to work: please check out the DEBUG guide.

Noteworthy changes since last image release:

• New base OS: Raspberry Pi OS Bullseye
  Use 1.7.1 image as this image has the proper settings for cloning the openHABian repo.
• Added support for Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W
• Ability to update zram without reinstalling it
• More robust Java install routine (with Java 17 experimental support coming soon)
• Fixed Amanda install not prompting for email address to send reports to
• General bug fixes

Known bugs:

• Homegear is currently broken on Bullseye (complain to their devs)

You'll find the image below under assets ⤵︎

We have upgraded our base operating system to Raspberry Pi OS Bullseye.

As usual upgrades on supported systems will be unaffected, use the openhabian-config menu to apply any updates available to your system.
We will not automatically update your current base system (i.e buster -> bullseye) - don't fix what ain't broken.
Debian buster will be at least supported two more years. If you are eager to upgrade, read up on dist-upgrade or reinstall your system. Please note that if you choose to upgrade and not reinstall, you are on your own, don't expect to get support from the developers of openHABian if something goes wrong.

Noteworthy changes since last image release:

• New base OS: Raspberry Pi OS Bullseye
• Added support for Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W
• Ability to update zram without reinstalling it
• More robust Java install routine (with Java 17 experimental support coming soon)
• Fixed Amanda install not prompting for email address to send reports to
• General bug fixes

Known bugs:

• Homegear is currently broken on Bullseye (complain to their devs)

You'll find the image below under assets ⤵︎

We have upgraded our base operating system to Raspberry Pi OS Bullseye.

As usual upgrades on supported systems will be unaffected, use the openhabian-config menu to apply any updates available to your system.
We will not automatically update your current base system (i.e buster -> bullseye) - don't fix what ain't broke.
Debian buster will be at least supported two more years. If you are eager to upgrade, read up on dist-upgrade or reinstall your system. Please note that if you choose to upgrade and not reinstall, you are on your own, don't expect to get support from the developers of openHABian if something goes wrong.

Noteworthy changes since last image release:

• New base OS: Raspberry Pi OS Bullseye
• Ability to update zram without reinstalling it
• More robust Java install routine (with Java 17 experimental support coming soon)
• Fixed Amanda install not prompting for email address to send reports to
• General bug fixes

Known bugs:

• Homegear is currently broken on Bullseye (complain to their devs)

You'll find the image below under assets ⤵︎

We have upgraded our base operation system to Raspberry Pi OS Bullseye.

As usual you will get upgrades unaffected by updating from the openhabian-config menu.
We will not automatically update your already installed base system (i.e buster -> bullseye) - don't fix what ain't broken.
Debian buster will be at least supported two more years. If you are eager to upgrade read up on dist-upgrade or reinstall your system. Please note that if you choose to upgrade, you are on your own, don't expect to get support from the developers of openHABian if something goes wrong.

Noteworthy changes since last image release:

• New base OS: Raspberry Pi OS Bullseye
• Homegear is currently broken on Bullseye (complain to their devs)
• General bug fixes

You find the image below under assets ⤵︎

Maintenance release

to contain all bugfixes to date.
You will need to use this image if you want to install openHAB2 from start using clonebranch=stable .

This release is essentially a cumulated set of patches.

These include the important replacement of the Bintray repository.
Bintray was shutdown on May 1st, 2021, and this also broke openHABian image based installations as they contained Bintray as a hardcoded source, that now was changed to point to the current active repo.

• New frontail theme, with improved UI support thanks to @Interstellar0verdrive

• Many bug fixes

• Branches

  • openHAB3 is the default branch for openHAB 3 and is considered stable
  • main is the development branch for openHAB 3 and may or may not be stable
  • stable is our legacy openHAB 2 branch and is considered stable
  • master is deprecated and will be removed on our next release, if you need openHAB 2 support please switch to the stable branch

• Java 8 new install capability removed (existing will keep working)

• lots of bugfixing

• On branches: We ended openHABian development for openHAB 2.
  Use the stable branch if you want to run openHAB version 2. It was updated to include the latest set of patches and will only be modified in case of critical issues that would need fixing.
  The master branch of OH2 is now deprecated and will be removed in the future. If you are still using it, please move over to stable or upgrade to OH3 right away. For OH3, the openHAB3 branch is the new stable one you should be using.
  Early adopters may choose to use the new main branch but be aware you do so at your own risk.

Use the v1.6.3b images, v1.6.3 are provided as fallback.

Ready to give openHAB 3 a start !

Use the 1.6.2b versions of the image. 1.6.2 versions are provided as a fallback.

Note the 64 bit version is unsupported and untested. It's provided just as-is.

This is openHABian v1.6.1.
It's an image for Raspberry Pi single-board computers and a manually installable version for Debian based systems.

• Based on latest Raspberry Pi OS
• all Raspberry models supported (incl. RPi400)
• openHAB 3.0 migration support
• WiFi hotspot to connect the system to your wireless LAN
• Auto backup to mirror your SD card and take automated backups
• WireGuard and Tailscale VPN options to securely operate remote openHAB(ian) instances

As usual you will keep being offered upgrades if available when you start openhabian-config.

This is the new openHABian v1.6 release.
It's an image for Raspberry Pi single-board computers and a manually installable version for Debian based systems.

• Now based on Raspberry Pi OS as of August, 2020 (* formerly known as Raspbian)
• 8GB RPi4 and CM models now supported
• Enhanced documentation, now also stating supported HW and OS (see README.md)
• Improved debugging capabilities including a debug guide
• Choice of branches: stable or latest-'n-greatest (master)
• Choice of Java VM: Azul Zulu 8, 11 or AdoptOpenJDK 11
• ZRAM enabled by default on new installations
• Auto backup to mirror your SD card and take automated backups
• Offline Installation to allow for installing the core components without Internet access
• WireGuard VPN server to securely connect to and operate remote openHAB(ian) instances
• FIND Framework for Internal Navigation and Discovery updated to v3
• 64bit version (for testing only, DO NOT USE IN PRODUCTION)
• Quality improvements: a tremendous amount of work went into refactoring all of the code.
  It now is automatically lintered and tested on unit and integration level using a cloud based Continuous Integration build pipeline.
• lots of invisible enhancements and several bug fixes

As usual you will keep being offered upgrades if available when you start openhabian-config.

Enjoy !

This is a prerelease of the next openHABian image for Raspberry Pi single-board computers.
You might want to try this if you use a 8GB RPi4 or if you have problems related to the recent major change in Raspbian kernel version.
We welcome anyone to help with testing. Drop us your feedback via GitHub issue.

• now based on Raspberry Pi OS as of May, 2020 (* formerly known as Raspbian)
• 8GB RPi4 and CM models now supported
• enhanced documentation, now also stating supported HW and OS (yes overdue, but now here it is)
• choice of branches: stable or latest-'n-greatest (master)
• improved debugging capabilities including a debug guide
• choice of Java VM: Azul Zulu 8, 11 and AdoptOpenJDK 11
• ZRAM enabled by default on new installations
• 64bit version (for testing only, DO NOT USE IN PRODUCTION)
• new features in BETA (i.e. under test):
  • Wireguard VPN
  • FIND3
  • automatic backup
• lots of invisible enhancements: code lintered, automated unit testing, a Travis based CI build pipeline
• several bug fixes

Finally, we have Raspberry Pi 4 support! 🚀
To achieve that we have upgraded our base operation system to Raspbian Buster.

As usual you will get upgrades continuously by updating the tool from the openhabian-config menu.
We will not automatically update your already installed base system (i.e stretch -> buster) - don't fix what ain't broken. Debian stretch will be at least supported two more years. If you are eager to upgrade read up on dist-upgrade or reinstall your system.

Noteworthy changes since last image release:

• New base OS: Raspbian Buster
• Java versions will now update again on ARM devices (was stalled).
• Newer version of Grafana is installed (also stalled).
• InfluxDB and Grafana have a more flexible and automated installation procedure.
• Changed to openhab as default hostname in favor of openhabian.
• Pre-built PINE64 image has been dropped. Users are recommended to install an Armbian Buster system and manually apply openHABian explained here.
• A feature called ZRAM is added as an optional package to minimize wearout on your SD card.

You find the image below under assets ⤵︎

Please find the Release Notes at: https://community.openhab.org/t/openhabian-v1-4-released/37398

Downloads:

• Raspberry Pi image: openhabianpi-raspbian-201804031720-gitdba76f6-crc9e93c3eb.img.xz
• Pine A64 image: openhabianpine64-xenial-201712171744-git30faec3-crcbe7fc062.img.xz
• All other Debian/Ubuntu based systems: Read more...

Please find the Release Notes at: https://community.openhab.org/t/openhabian-v1-4-released/37398

(Sadly GitHub does not offer hosting for *.img.xz any longer)

A few months have passed and it's time for a new official version of the openHABian scripts and images.
openHABian v1.3 packs many small changes and improvements in both the base images and the openHABian configuration tool.

Changes since v1.2

All git commits can be found here.

• The RPi ua-netinst image is discontinued
• The openHABian configuration tool openhabian-config received a complete menu overhaul, with submenus and usage specific sections, including a menu for manual setups
• Add a function to switch over to the latest openHAB 2.0 unstable snapshot
• Add the openHAB Log Viewer (based on frontail), is now a default component
• Add the Amanda backup system, preconfigured by @mstormi (#127)
• Add optional component NodeRED by @kubawolanin (#152)
• Warn about and add fix for FireMotD cron job related DDoS (#142)
• Warn about ua-netinst kernel panic (#153)
• Mount all relevant openHAB folders under /srv (bind mounts) for ease of use and for backups (incl. correct permissions, see README inside)
• The folder /srv is accessible via Samba as "openHAB-share"
• Set all relevant passwords (user, samba, openHAB console) function by @EliasGabrielsson (#141)
• Serial Port function on latest jessie fixed (#155)
• Add openhab(ian) users to group gpio
• Add bluetooth packages (RPi3, RPi0W) (#156)
• RPi: heartbeat removed (upstream error), successful build indicated by openHAB dashboard
• PineA64: Save initial random mac as permanent mac (#160)
• Add an empty file authorized_keys for SSH PKI users
• Samba veto file directive included
• The documentation is up to date and includes many hints and answers to questions asked by users in the past few months
  *many more small fixes and improvements

Please check the commit history and the documentation for more details.

Attention Existing Users

In the past couple of weeks two problems arose you SHOULD be aware of.

1. A wrongly configured cron job created DDoS like request spikes at other servers.
2. A recent kernel update breaks a ua-netinst based RPi system.

What to do:
Please update the openHABian configuration tool (on SSH console type sudo openhabian-config, then select "Update"). Afterwards waning messages will show up automatically if you are affected by one of these issues.
Follow along the instructions give.

New setups are not affected.

As always for existing setups there is no need to install openHABian anew. To be up to date you should however update openHABian and execute the "Upgrade" option. Next you can go through the menu and execute interesting options as you wish.

New Menu, New Options

The menu of the openHABian configuration tool was growing out of its size. With it's new submenus and sections for specific topics it's now ready for new additions, platforms and further optional components.

• openHAB Log Viewer

  openHABian always claimed to make working with openHAB easier and to hide the Linux world from the end user. However looking at the log files openhab.log and events.log was something different. As important that is during items and sitemap definition and rule development, these were best viewed via SSH, e.g. via the alias command openhablog.

  The openHAB Log Viewer is a webpage to interactively view the logs. The component is automatically installed with a new setup or can be selected from the menu for existing setups. Check it out! More details can be found in documentation.

• Backups (Thanks to Amanda)

  Often asked for openHABian now finally includes a backup option. You can learn more about this new component in its dedicated README

  At this point I also want to point out the other backup options you have. Under the new Samba share "openHAB-share" you'll find all your openHAB files. You can simply create a backup from these files from another device.

openHABian v1.3 includes many more changes and improvements. Learn about them in the changes log above and the documentation article.

Feel free to update your system, Install the image or try a manual setup.

The v1.2 release changes and adds a few details in openHABian for a more intuitive experience for beginners and with new hardware, including devices connected by Wifi. The most important change with this release is the addition of a Raspbian Lite based image.

Changes since v1.1

All git commits can be found here.

• A new Raspberry Pi build based on Raspbian Lite
• All needed modifications for the new Raspberry Pi Zero W
• A way to configure Wifi before first boot (Pi0W, Pi3 and Pine64)
• An improved timezone function: Autodetect timezone, Overwrite option, Interactive mode
• Menu entries for timezone, locale and hostname, resolves https://github.com/openhab/openhabian/issues/59
• Clarify "setup not finished yet" for impatient users
• raspi-config removed and replaced by a hint to use openhabian-config
• Slight improvements to all build scripts
• Contains Vagrantfile for a build environment
• Fixes bug https://github.com/openhab/openhabian/issues/110 / improves https://github.com/openhab/openhabian/issues/100 https://github.com/openhab/openhabian/issues/101

Raspberry Pi Zero W

A few days back the Raspberry Pi Zero W (Pi0W) was released. The Pi0 is a cheaper and smaller Raspberry Pi with only a few external connectors and only one 1GHz core. The latter, especially the lack of a network port, made the Pi0 uninteresting as a "hassle-free" SBC for openHABian. The Pi0W changes that because of it's integrated Wifi/Blueooth module.

openHABian v1.2 brings full support for the Pi0W in unattended/headless mode. Read about Wifi setup below.

The Raspberry Pi Zero W is powerful enough to run openHAB and to control your small and mid-sized home / home automation system. It is also a great device as a slave system, e.g. only interacting with your heating system or the garage devices. If you can live with the limited count of connectors and the main uplink via Wifi, the cheap RPi0W might be a good choice for your openHAB(ian) installation.

Raspbian Lite base

If you payed close attention, you know that openHABian for the Raspberry Pi started as a project based on raspbian-ua-netinst, a minimal unattended network installer, perfect for what openHABian was aiming for. You will however also remember, that this rather special system had some restrictions and quirks. A "hassle-free" system should be as predictable as possible, however the differences to a standard Raspbian system confused some openHABian users. Another problem was the need for the support of a Wifi connection with the Pi0W.

With openHABian v1.2 we are introducing a Raspbian Lite based image in parallel to the raspbian-ua-netinst based image. The Raspbian image will take longer to flash but will overall be quicker to configure the system and start openHAB. Additionally it allows for a setup purely via Wifi and therefore is the only option for the RPi0W. As it is based on Raspbian as we know it, I expect this system to create less problems with GPIO or other issues known from the old base. The raspbian-ua-netinst based image is still fully supported and if you were happy with it so far, don't hesitate to stick with it.

Wifi Setup

If you own a RPi3, RPi0W or a Pine A64, you can setup and use openHABian v1.2 purely via Wifi. You'll need to make your SSID and password known to the system before the first boot in just a few steps:

• Flash the system image to your micro SD card
• Access the first partition from your file explorer
• You'll find the file openhabian.conf, open it in a text editor
• Uncomment and fill in wifi_ssid= and wifi_psk=
• Save, Unmount, Insert, Boot, Enjoy.

More clarity

The openHABian setup was always quite reliable. Still there were exceptions of cause. In these cases the current state of the installation and a possible error and its solution were not always easy to identify for a new user (at least not without further knowledge of the system).
With v1.2 we've added a tiny but useful little addition. The configuration and setup process takes between 5 and 60 minutes (based on device, connection type and bandwidth). During that time you can log in via ssh and will be presented with the configuration progress log, washing away all unclarity.

Internationalization

openHABian promotes a hassle-free system you can use instantly without further modification. There were however three topics not yet covered by openHABian as good as expected by some users: Hostname, Locale and Timezone.

Version 1.2 finally brings openhabian-config menu entries to change the system's hostname, to adjust the timezone and to change the system language, if en_US.UTF-8 is not what you are satisfied with. Besides these menu entries the local time zone will now automatically be detected based on your IP, making a manual change mostly obsolete. With these additions raspi-config is now finally abandoned from the Raspberry Pi openHABian system.

Next Steps

As always: If you are on a previous openHABian release, you just have to execute sudo openhabian-config followed by the "Update" menu entry to gain access to all the latest changes. Please report all problems you encounter.

New users and Raspbian Lite image switchers:
Follow the instructions under http://docs.openhab.org/installation/openhabian.html.
Choose the right image below, use Etcher to flash the compressed image files (.img.xz)!

RPi Download Note

Because of the above mentioned reasons we recommend the "openhabianpi-raspbian" image for your "hassle-free" openHAB experience on the Raspberry Pi.

After making the Raspberry Pi a stable and versatile platform for openHAB, we went ahead with the aim of a hassle-free openHAB setup. openHABian v1.1 is the first release to officially support a wider range of Debian/Ubuntu based systems. With version 1.1 we now also provide a Pine A64 ready to run SD card image!

All you need to know about openHABian in general can now be found in the official documentation article, updated regularly: http://docs.openhab.org/installation/openhabian.html

Changes since v1.0

A list of all git commits can be found here. Here's the heavy stuff:

• Includes all previously announced changes for the openHAB 2.0 final release
• The build tool chain for the RPi image was removed as a fixed part and will be temporarily created
• A build process for the Pine A64 platform was added next to the RPi build. This brought A LOT of small changes and improvements to both images as well as to the general setup process, which I can not simply list 😅
• All openhabian-config menu options are now considering certain platform restrictions and additionally needed installation steps. Menu entried, which are hardware specific, are no accessible on other platforms
• A configuration file for openHABian was added under /etc/openhabian.conf
• The end users linux username is not hardcoded as before but can now differ between systems and will be stored in the config file. For the RPi and Pine64 images this will be done automatically, a manually installed system will prompt for a username on first execution of openhabian-config
• The default username and password combination has changed to openhabian:openhabian
• The way timezone and locale are set should now comply with the normal way of changing these. An option to change them inside the openHABian configuration tool will come soon, check the docs article till then
• Oracle Java was replaced by the Zulu Embedded Java runtime (which is in general the better choice for openHAB and by the way made the openHABian installation on the RPi a whole lot easier and also a bit faster)
• The Zulu installation includes the Charts widget bug fix
• The login screen FireMotD received a few tweaks to support the Pine A64
• Many small improvements and fixes

Updating

If you are already running openHABian on your system, just select the "Update" menu entry behind sudo openhabian-config, then execute "Upgrade System" and "Basic Setup" - That should be all.

You do not need to switch over to Zulu, if you are currently using Oracle Java. If you want to switch, please remove Oracle Java before doing so. You will have to do so manually:

sudo apt purge oracle-java8-installer oracle-java8-jdk
sudo apt-get autoremove
sudo rm -f /etc/apt/sources.list.d/webupd8team-java.list

Fresh Setup

Setting up your openHABian system should be as hassle-free as always. Please visit the documentation to find all you need to know:
http://docs.openhab.org/installation/openhabian.html

Enjoy and Happy Hacking!!