Raspberry Pi OS & GPIO Cheat Sheet

For Raspberry Pi OS (Bookworm, Debian-based) on Pi 3/4/5/Zero 2. For general Linux commands see the Bash and apt sheets.

26 entries
7 sections
Updated 1 Oct 2026
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26 entries

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Setup #

Task	How
Flash the SD card	Raspberry Pi Imager: set hostname, user, Wi-Fi and enable SSH in OS customisation
Connect	(or use the IP address)
Config tool	(interfaces, locale, boot, expand filesystem)
Update
Find the IP
Reboot / shut down	/

Pi-Specific Commands #

Command	Action
	GPIO header map in the terminal
	CPU temperature
	`0x0` = OK; anything else = under-voltage / overheating
	Exact Pi model
	Read GPIO 17 state
/ `dl`	GPIO 17 as output, drive high / low
	Scan the I²C bus for devices
	Take a photo (camera module)
	Record 10 s of video

Important Files #

File	Use
`/boot/firmware/config.txt`	Hardware settings (overlays, display, overclock)
`/boot/firmware/cmdline.txt`	Kernel boot options
`dtparam=i2c_arm=on` (config.txt)	Enable I²C (or use raspi-config)
`dtoverlay=w1-gpio` (config.txt)	1-Wire sensors (DS18B20) on GPIO 4

GPIO Header (BCM numbering) #

Function	BCM GPIO	Physical pin
3.3 V power	—	1, 17
5 V power	—	2, 4
Ground	—	6, 9, 14, 20, 25, 30, 34, 39
I²C SDA / SCL	2 / 3	3 / 5
UART TX / RX	14 / 15	8 / 10
SPI MOSI / MISO / SCLK / CE0	10 / 9 / 11 / 8	19 / 21 / 23 / 24
Hardware PWM	12, 13, 18, 19	32, 33, 12, 35

⚠ GPIO pins use 3.3 V logic and are not 5 V tolerant. Use a level shifter or a voltage divider for 5 V signals.

Python GPIO (gpiozero) #

python3 -m venv --system-site-packages ~/venv   # access the preinstalled gpiozero/lgpio
source ~/venv/bin/activate

from gpiozero import LED, Button, PWMLED, DistanceSensor
from signal import pause

led = LED(17)            # BCM numbering
button = Button(27)      # internal pull-up enabled by default

button.when_pressed = led.on
button.when_released = led.off

fade = PWMLED(18)
fade.pulse()             # breathing effect

pause()                  # keep the script running

On the Pi 5, the old RPi.GPIO library does not work. Use gpiozero (or lgpio).

Run a Script at Boot (systemd) #

# /etc/systemd/system/myapp.service
[Unit]
Description=My app
After=network-online.target

[Service]
User=milan
WorkingDirectory=/home/milan/myapp
ExecStart=/home/milan/venv/bin/python main.py
Restart=always

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now myapp
journalctl -u myapp -f        # logs

Tips #

Use a good power supply (official 27 W USB-C for the Pi 5). Many "random" crashes are under-voltage.
Make a backup image of the SD card once everything works.
Remote desktop: enable VNC in raspi-config, or use Raspberry Pi Connect.

Option	What it does
`-p 2222`	Port (default 22)
`-i ~/.ssh/key`	Use a specific private key
`-l user`	User name (same as `user@host`)
`-J jump@bastion`	Go through a jump host
`-L 8080:localhost:80`	Local port forward: your 8080 → remote 80
`-R 9000:localhost:3000`	Remote port forward: server 9000 → your 3000
`-D 1080`	SOCKS proxy on local port 1080
`-N`	No remote command (just tunnels)
`-f`	Go to the background after logging in
`-t`	Force a terminal (for `ssh host -t htop`)
`-A`	Forward your SSH agent (use with care)
`-X` / `-Y`	Forward graphical apps (X11)
`-C`	Compress traffic (slow connections)
`-o ServerAliveInterval=60`	Any config option on the command line
`-F file`	Use another config file
`-q`	Quiet
`-v` / `-vv` / `-vvv`	Debug output (connection problems)
`-4` / `-6`	IPv4 / IPv6 only

Usage	What it does
`sudo raspi-config`	Menus: interfaces, localisation, boot, display, performance
`nonint do_i2c 0`	Enable I²C (`1` = disable)
`nonint do_spi 0`	Enable SPI
`nonint do_ssh 0`	Enable SSH
`nonint do_vnc 0`	Enable VNC
`nonint do_serial_hw 0`	Enable the serial port hardware
`nonint do_hostname pi4`	Change the host name
`nonint do_expand_rootfs`	Use the whole SD card
`nonint do_boot_behaviour B1`	Boot to console (`B3` = desktop)

Command / option	What it does
`update`	Refresh the package lists (do this first)
`upgrade`	Upgrade installed packages
`full-upgrade`	Upgrade, allowing packages to be added or removed
`install pkg…`	Install (`./file.deb` installs a local file with dependencies)
`reinstall pkg`	Reinstall
`remove pkg`	Remove, keep config files
`purge pkg`	Remove including config files
`autoremove`	Remove dependencies that are no longer needed
`search word`	Search packages
`show pkg`	Package details
`list --installed` / `--upgradable`	Installed / upgradable packages
`edit-sources`	Edit the repository list
`-y`	Answer "yes" to every question
`--no-install-recommends`	Skip recommended extras (smaller installs)
`-s`, `--simulate`	Show what would happen, change nothing
`--fix-broken`	Repair broken dependencies (`apt --fix-broken install`)
`--only-upgrade pkg`	Upgrade one package, don't install new ones
`-t bookworm-backports`	Install from a specific release / repo
`-q`	Less output

Option	What it does
`hostname`	The host name
`-I`	All IP addresses of this machine (Linux)
`-i`	IP address the name resolves to
`-f`	Full domain name (FQDN)
`-s`	Short name
`sudo hostnamectl set-hostname pi4`	Change it permanently (systemd)

Usage	What it does
`shutdown now`	Power off now (`-h` / `-P` mean the same)
`shutdown -r now`	Restart now (same as `reboot`)
`shutdown +10`	Power off in 10 minutes
`shutdown 22:30`	Power off at a set time
`shutdown -r +5 "Updating"`	Restart in 5 minutes with a message to logged-in users
`shutdown -c`	Cancel a scheduled shutdown
`reboot` / `poweroff`	Restart / power off immediately

Option	What it does
(none)	Board picture + pin table for the Pi you're on
`-c`, `--color` / `-m`, `--monochrome`	With / without colours
`-r a020d3`, `--revision`	Show a different board revision
`-x`, `--xyz`	Open pinout.xyz in the browser

Command	What it does
`measure_temp`	CPU temperature
`get_throttled`	`0x0` = fine; bit 0 = under-voltage now, 1 = frequency capped, 2 = throttled, 3 = soft temp limit; bits 16–19 = happened since boot
`measure_clock arm`	CPU clock speed in Hz (`core`, `v3d`…)
`measure_volts core`	Voltage
`get_mem arm` / `get_mem gpu`	Memory split
`get_config int`	All numeric `config.txt` settings in use
`version`	Firmware version
`display_power 0` / `1`	Turn the HDMI output off / on
`commands`	List every command

Option	What it does
`-n`	Number every line
`-b`	Number non-empty lines only
`-s`	Squeeze multiple empty lines into one
`-A`	Show invisible characters: tabs as `^I`, line ends as `$`
`-E`	Show `$` at every line end (spot trailing spaces)
`-T`	Show tabs as `^I`
`cat a b > ab`	Join files into a new one
`cat >> notes.txt`	Type text and append it (end with `Ctrl + D`)

Usage	What it does
`pinctrl` / `pinctrl get`	State of every pin
`pinctrl get 17`	State of GPIO 17 (BCM number)
`pinctrl set 17 op dh`	Output, drive high
`pinctrl set 17 op dl`	Output, drive low
`pinctrl set 27 ip pu`	Input with pull-up (`pd` = pull-down, `pn` = none)
`pinctrl set 18 a5`	Alternate function 5
`pinctrl funcs 18`	Which functions a pin supports
`-p`	Use physical pin numbers instead of BCM
`pinctrl help`	Full help