Something I had overlooked in my previous entries was the lack of any guide to SSH (Secure Shell). This basically enables you to access a computer (including, of course, your Raspberry Pi) using a command line interface on another computer connected via a network - so like running the Terminal application directly on your Pi, but on another computer. This is very useful if you’re running your machine without a screen but need administer it without using VNC.

If you’ve installed Raspbian (and if you’re a beginner like me, I highly recommend you do) you’re given the option to switch this on the first boot up. If you didn’t, you can start the SSH service by entering the following into the Terminal, the reboot your machine:

sudo mv /boot/boot_enable_ssh.rc /boot/boot.rc
reboot 

With the SSH service now running, you need the Raspberry Pi’s IP address to connect. Enter “ip addr show” and your IP address should be on the last line after the word “inet” (see here for more details).

Next you need to connect to your Raspberry Pi using an SSH client. 

  • Unix/Linux users: I’m surprised you’re reading this guide, you probably know what to do. :-)
  • Mac users: Terminal is in your Utilities folder, in Finder select Go from the menu bar, locate it in Launch Pad or just use Spotlight.
  • Windows users: A quick Google search revealed a free SSH client called PuTTY. You are probably done here, I’m not familiar with Windows clients but will try and update this post within a couple of days with more info for Windows users.

With your client open and ready to go, connect to your Raspberry Pi. The following assumes you’re using the default username “pi”. Enter:

ssh pi@xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx (where xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx is your Raspberry Pi’s IP address)
Then enter your password - the default is “raspberry”. 

You should now see a different prompt, “pi@raspbmc:~$”, and you’re ready to enter commands. Type “ls” to list the files in the current directory. Type in any other commands you would in a regular Terminal window, such as in any of the guides on this Tumblr. When you’re done, just type “exit” and you’ll return to the normal prompt, such as “compname:~ username$”

Notes:

  • On Raspbmc I found I had to go through an initial configuration the first time I connected - choosing locale, etc - which is all possible using the SSH session.
  • I created this post in preparation for a lengthy one on Raspbmc which will require some SSH-ing.  I hope to publish the article within the next week.