Raspberry Pi Full Screen Browser (2015)
Running full screen browser on boot
This is part of a series on running a browser full screen on a Raspberry Pi at boot.
The most current version is here:
Raspberry Pi Full Screen Browser (2020-05-27-raspios-buster)
After Imaging, Before First Boot
Before installing the card in the Raspberry Pi, edit the `config.txt` file in the FAT32 partition and add to the bottom:
# ADDED framebuffer_depth=32 framebuffer_ignore_alpha=1 hdmi_force_hotplug=1 hdmi_drive=2
This sets the color depth and some hdmi properties.
First Boot, raspi-config
On first boot `/usr/bin/raspi-config` is run. The Raspbian distribution defaults to en_GB.UTF-8 UFT-8, in my experience en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8 presents fewer issues.
As a result, my instructions setup en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8 and a Generic 101 keyboard.
The device will also automatically login to the Desktop with user pi.
Replace the password and timezones with appropriate values.
- Expand Filesystem: Yes
- Change User Password: SEEKRIT
- Enable Boot to Desktop/Scratch: Desktop Log in as user ‘pi’ at the graphical desktop
- Internationalisation Options:
- Change Locale:
- Unselect en_GB.UTF-8 UFT-8, Select en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8
- Default locale for the system environment en_US.UTF-8
- Change Timezone: America, Toronto
- Change Keyboard Layout:
- Generic 101-key PC
- Other
- English (US)
- English (US)
- The Default for the keyboard layout
- No compose key
- Use Control+Alt+Backspace to terminate the X server? No
- Change Locale:
- Advanced Options: SSH: Enable
Then finally, reboot the Raspberry Pi.
Get Latest Updates
Always update the system:
sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get upgrade sudo apt-get dist-upgrade sudo reboot sudo apt-get autoremove sudo reboot
Install Packages
Install the Chromium browser, additional fonts and some x11 utilities.
- chromium-browser installs Google’s Chrome browser
- ttf-mscorefonts-installer adds common web fonts
- unclutter is used to hide the mouse
- x11-xserver-utils installs xset, which is used to disable screen blanking
sudo apt-get install chromium-browser ttf-mscorefonts-installer unclutter x11-xserver-utils
Edit Startup Scripts
Edit autostart to add chromium, unclutter, disable the screensaver and prevent screen blanking.
sudo vi /etc/xdg/lxsession/LXDE-pi/autostart
# CHANGED #@xscreensaver -no-splash # BEGIN ADDED # Chromium parameter references: # http://peter.sh/experiments/chromium-command-line-switches/ @/usr/bin/chromium-browser --kiosk --start-maximized https://google.com # Hide mouse @unclutter # Disable screensaver @xset s off # Disable screensaver blanking @xset s noblank # Disable DPMS (Energy Star) features @xset -dpms # END ADDED
Conclusion
That’s it! You might consider changing the background wallpaper with something branded and perhaps deleting the desktop icons.