#Configure raspberry pi xscreensaver how to#
#Configure raspberry pi xscreensaver full#
#Configure raspberry pi xscreensaver code#

Root.attributes('-fullscreen', fullscreen) # Toggle between fullscreen and windowed modes # Global variable to remember if we are fullscreen or windowed On your Raspberry Pi (in your home directory, /home/pi), open a new document with the name clock.py: language:shellĬopy in the following code: language:python

#Configure raspberry pi xscreensaver how to#

We'll use this program when we want to demonstrate how to start a program on boot that requires the X windows system (for example, you want to make a graphical dashboard that is displayed on boot). The next example that we'll use is slightly more complicated, as it relies on a GUI made with the Tkinter package. Connect an LED and a 330 Ω resistor between GPIO12 and GND on the Raspberry Pi. While external connections to hardware is not necessary to show how to run a program on boot, it can be a useful way to show that something is running in the background, even if you do not see anything on the screen.

Understanding the Linux Boot Process (YouTube Video).An Introduction to the Linux Boot and Startup Processes.If you would like to learn more about it, check out these links: The Linux boot sequence is a fairly complex sequence of events, which can easily be its own article for another time. So, rc.local for a GUI program is not the right tool, and you should try another method. For example, using rc.local, while easy, does not give you access to the X server (the thing that gives you a GUI desktop). Note that any program (compiled, script, etc.) can be used, but choosing the right method for starting your script is important. In the rest of the tutorial, we will show starting Python programs on boot with two examples: blink.py and clock.py. If you aren't familiar with the following concepts, we recommend checking out these tutorials before continuing:

#Configure raspberry pi xscreensaver full#

If you would like a full desktop setup, we recommend the following: Suggested Reading

#Configure raspberry pi xscreensaver code#

If you plan to make a dashboard (or clock, as given by the example code in the next section), you will need a monitor and keyboard for your Pi. As such, it is a robust way to create and manage services that run in the background.Īt a bare minimum, you will need a Raspberry Pi, SD card, and power supply for this tutorial. networking, graphical desktop), or simply restart your program over and over again until it works. It is definitely the most complicated of the three, but it allows you to run before LXDE starts, wait until you have access to other processes (e.g. systemd - The new and popular way to automatically start programs in Linux.It's slightly more complicated than rc.local, but it lets you run programs that require graphical elements. autostart - Used to automatically run your programs once LXDE (graphical desktop environment used by Raspbian) starts.The downside is that tasks started with rc.local happen before the X windows system starts, which means you will not have access to graphical user interface (GUI) elements. rc.local - Likely the easiest and simplest way to get your program to run on boot.The three methods covered in this tutorial are: It's much harder to track down bugs in your code when it runs as part of the boot process. Other versions may affect how some of the steps in this guide are performed.īefore adding your program to any startup script, it's extremely important that you test it first on its own! Run it with just the python command to make sure there are no problems with your program. Notice: This tutorial was written with Raspbian version 'June 2018' and Python version 3.5.3.