Banana Pi Cheat Sheet Cheatsheet

Getting Started with Banana Pi

Initial Setup

1. Hardware Requirements:

Banana Pi board
MicroSD card (minimum 8GB, Class 10 recommended)
MicroSD card reader/writer
Power adapter (5V/2A recommended)
HDMI cable and monitor
USB keyboard and mouse
Ethernet cable (optional, for network connection)

2. Download Operating System Image:

Choose an OS image from the Banana Pi website or a trusted source (e.g., Armbian, Debian, Ubuntu).
Download the .img file.

3. Flash the OS Image to the MicroSD Card:

Use a tool like Balena Etcher, Rufus, or dd command-line tool.
Select the downloaded .img file and the MicroSD card as the target.
Flash the image.

4. Booting the Banana Pi:

Insert the MicroSD card into the Banana Pi.
Connect the HDMI cable to the monitor.
Connect the USB keyboard and mouse.
Connect the Ethernet cable (if using).
Plug in the power adapter to boot the device.

5. Initial Configuration:

Log in using the default username and password (usually root and bananapi or 1234).
Change the default password immediately.
Configure network settings (if not using DHCP).
Update the system using apt update && apt upgrade.

Basic Commands

`sudo apt update`	Update the package list.
`sudo apt upgrade`	Upgrade installed packages.
`sudo apt install <package_name>`	Install a new package.
`sudo apt remove <package_name>`	Remove a package.
`sudo apt autoremove`	Remove automatically all unused packages.
`ifconfig` or `ip addr`	Display network interfaces and IP addresses.

Networking and SSH

Configuring Network Interfaces

Edit the /etc/network/interfaces file (or /etc/dhcpcd.conf for DHCP configuration) to configure static IP addresses, gateway, and DNS servers.

Example:

auto eth0
iface eth0 inet static
address 192.168.1.100
netmask 255.255.255.0
gateway 192.168.1.1
dns-nameservers 8.8.8.8 8.8.4.4

Restart the networking service:

sudo systemctl restart networking

Alternatively, use netplan for network configuration (on systems that use it):

Edit /etc/netplan/01-netcfg.yaml and apply the changes:

sudo netplan apply

Enabling SSH

SSH (Secure Shell) allows remote access to the Banana Pi.

Install the SSH server:
```
sudo apt install openssh-server
```

Enable and start the SSH service:

sudo systemctl enable ssh
sudo systemctl start ssh

Access the Banana Pi from another computer using an SSH client (e.g., PuTTY, Terminal):

ssh username@<banana_pi_ip_address>

To disable password authentication and use SSH keys (recommended for security):

Generate an SSH key pair on the client machine.
Copy the public key to the Banana Pi using ssh-copy-id or manually add it to ~/.ssh/authorized_keys.
Disable password authentication in /etc/ssh/sshd_config by setting PasswordAuthentication no and restart the SSH service.

Firewall Configuration (UFW)

UFW (Uncomplicated Firewall) is an easy-to-use firewall management tool.

Install UFW:
```
sudo apt install ufw
```
Enable UFW:
```
sudo ufw enable
```

Allow SSH connections:
bash sudo ufw allow ssh
Allow specific port:
bash sudo ufw allow 80

Check UFW status:
bash sudo ufw status

GPIO and Hardware

Accessing GPIO Pins

Accessing GPIO pins requires proper libraries and permissions.

WiringPi: A popular library for accessing GPIO pins (may not be available on all Banana Pi models).
libgpiod: A modern library for GPIO access using character devices.

Using libgpiod:

Install libgpiod:
```
sudo apt install libgpiod-dev gpiod
```

Identify the chip and pin number using gpioinfo:
```
gpioinfo
```

Set a GPIO pin as output:

gpioset <chip> <pin>=1  # Set high
gpioset <chip> <pin>=0  # Set low

Read the state of a GPIO pin:
```
gpioget <chip> <pin>
```

Interacting with Hardware

I2C	Install i2c-tools: `sudo apt install i2c-tools` Detect I2C devices: `sudo i2cdetect -y 1`
SPI	Enable SPI in `/boot/config.txt` (if necessary). Use libraries like spidev (Python) or similar tools to interact with SPI devices.
Serial (UART)	Serial communication is often available on specific GPIO pins. Use tools like `minicom` or libraries to communicate over serial.

Example Python Script (libgpiod)

import gpiod
import time

LED_PIN = 18  # Replace with the actual GPIO pin number
CHIP = 'gpiochip0'  # Replace with the correct chip name

# Get the GPIO chip and line
chip = gpiod.Chip(CHIP)
led_line = chip.get_line(LED_PIN)

# Configure the pin as output
led_line.request(consumer='led-blink', type=gpiod.LINE_REQ_DIR_OUT, default_val=0)

try:
    while True:
        led_line.set_value(1)  # Turn on the LED
        time.sleep(1)
        led_line.set_value(0)  # Turn off the LED
        time.sleep(1)
except KeyboardInterrupt:
    led_line.release()

Troubleshooting and Advanced Configuration

Common Issues and Solutions

1. Banana Pi Not Booting:

Check the MicroSD card for corruption.
Ensure the OS image is flashed correctly.
Verify the power supply is adequate (5V/2A recommended).
Try a different MicroSD card.

2. No Network Connection:

Check the Ethernet cable and router.
Verify the network configuration (IP address, gateway, DNS).
Ensure the network interface is enabled.

3. SSH Connection Refused:

Ensure the SSH server is installed and running.
Check the firewall settings.
Verify the correct IP address is being used.

4. GPIO Issues:

Verify the correct GPIO pin numbers are being used.
Ensure the proper libraries are installed and configured.
Check for permission issues.

Advanced Configuration

Overclocking	Edit `/boot/config.txt` (if available) to adjust CPU frequency and voltage. Be cautious, as overclocking can lead to instability and overheating.
Kernel Updates	Update the kernel using `rpi-update` (if available) or by manually building a new kernel. Ensure compatibility with the hardware and OS.
Bootloader Configuration	The bootloader (e.g., U-Boot) can be configured to customize the boot process. Modify the bootloader configuration files to change boot parameters and device tree settings.
Device Tree Overlays	Device tree overlays allow customization of the hardware configuration without modifying the base device tree. Use overlays to enable or disable specific hardware features.

Monitoring System Resources

Use htop or top to monitor CPU usage, memory usage, and running processes.
```
sudo apt install htop
htop
```

Use df -h to check disk space usage.
```
df -h
```

Use vcgencmd measure_temp (if available) to check the CPU temperature.
```
vcgencmd measure_temp
```