Get Started in 10 Minutes

Follow this step-by-step guide to set up your Lights Pi lighting controller

What You'll Build

A fully functional web-based DMX lighting controller

⏱ Time: ~15 minutes•📊 Skill Level: Beginner

Step 1

Prepare SD Card

⏱ 5 minutes

Download Raspberry Pi Imager from raspberrypi.com
Select Raspberry Pi OS Lite (64-bit)
Configure hostname: lights
Enable SSH with password or key
Configure WiFi credentials
Write to SD card

Step 2

Provision Pi

⏱ 5 minutes

Insert SD card into Pi and power on
Wait 2-3 minutes for first boot
SSH into Pi: ssh pi@lights.local
Clone repository or download setup script
Run: make provision
Wait for automatic configuration

.env configuration

cp .env.example .env # Edit .env with your settings

Full provisioning

WIFI1_SSID="SetupNet" WIFI1_PSK="setup-pass" \
WIFI2_SSID="StudioNet" WIFI2_PSK="studio-pass" \
./lightsctl.sh setup-full

Verify installation

./lightsctl.sh doctor
./lightsctl.sh test-dmx

Step 3

Connect Hardware

⏱ 2 minutes

Plug ENTTEC USB Pro into Raspberry Pi
Connect DMX cable from ENTTEC to first fixture
Daisy-chain additional fixtures if needed
Power on all fixtures

Step 4

Access Web UI

⏱ Ready!

Open browser to https://lights.local:9999
Accept self-signed certificate (first time)
Configure your fixtures in QLC+
Create your first scene
Start controlling your lights!

Open web interface

./lightsctl.sh open-web

Or manually navigate to: https://lights.local:9999

🎉 You're All Set!

Your Lights Pi controller is ready. Here's what to do next:

→Explore the QLC+ interface and create more scenes
→Set up HTTPS for secure access (optional)
→Join our Discord community for support
→Share your setup in the showcase gallery

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