Raspberry Pi - Kiosk

Configure kiosk mode 
 Checked 7 Oct 2026 against Raspberry Pi OS 2026-10-06 (Debian 13 "Trixie"). Since the 2024-10-22 release, every Raspberry Pi model runs a Wayland desktop with the labwc compositor by default, and the Chromium package/command is now chromium (it used to be chromium-browser ). The old X11 tools ( xset , xdotool , unclutter , DISPLAY=:0 ) do not work on a default install. The old method is kept at the bottom under "Older Raspberry Pi OS (Bullseye / X11)". 
 Raspberry Pi OS no longer has a default pi user (removed in April 2022). Use the username you set in Raspberry Pi Imager and work in that user's home directory ( ~ ). 
 1. Base setup 
 Flash Raspberry Pi OS (64-bit) with Raspberry Pi Imager. In OS customisation set the hostname, username/password and Wi-Fi, and turn on SSH. Kiosk mode needs a Raspberry Pi 3 or newer with at least 1 GB RAM. 
 Change hostname if not already done 
 sudo hostnamectl set-hostname <new-hostname>
sudo reboot 
 Update the system 
 sudo apt update
sudo apt -y full-upgrade 
 2. Boot to the desktop with auto login (labwc) 
 sudo raspi-config 
 
 1 System Options > S5 Boot → B2 Desktop 
 1 System Options > S6 Auto Login → answer Yes to "automatically log in to the desktop" 
 6 Advanced Options > A7 Wayland → W2 Labwc (already the default; older Bookworm images on Pi 4/5 used Wayfire, so switch them to labwc) 
 
 3. Turn off screen blanking 
 In sudo raspi-config : 2 Display Options > D2 Screen Blanking → No . (Desktop alternative: Control Centre > Display > turn Screen Blanking off.) 
 4. Install wtype (only needed to rotate tabs) 
 wtype is the Wayland replacement for xdotool . It simulates the Ctrl+Tab keypress. 
 sudo apt -y install wtype 
 5. Clear Chromium cache (optional) 
 rm -rf ~/.cache/chromium ~/.config/chromium 
 6. Start Chromium in kiosk mode from the labwc autostart file 
 mkdir -p ~/.config/labwc
nano ~/.config/labwc/autostart 
 Add these two lines (replace the URLs; use one URL and drop the second line if you don't need to rotate tabs) 
 chromium https://YOUR-URL-1 https://YOUR-URL-2 --kiosk --noerrdialogs --disable-infobars --no-first-run --enable-features=OverlayScrollbar --start-maximized &
~/switchtab.sh 
 The & at the end of the first line is required so the tab-switch script also runs. Flags: --noerrdialogs hides error dialogs, --disable-infobars hides info bars, --no-first-run skips the first-run screens, --enable-features=OverlayScrollbar uses overlay scrollbars, --start-maximized starts full screen. 
 7. Tab switch script (only for 2+ URLs) 
 nano ~/switchtab.sh 
 Paste the following in 
 #!/bin/bash
# Find Chromium browser process ID
chromium_pid=$(pgrep chromium | head -1)
# Check if Chromium is running
while [[ -z $chromium_pid ]]; do
 echo "Chromium browser is not running yet."
 sleep 5
 chromium_pid=$(pgrep chromium | head -1)
done
echo "Chromium browser process ID: $chromium_pid"
# Loop to send keyboard events
while true; do
 # Send Ctrl+Tab using `wtype` command
 wtype -M ctrl -P Tab -p Tab
 sleep 10
done 
 Make it executable (no sudo / 777 needed) 
 chmod +x ~/switchtab.sh 
 Firefox instead of Chromium (optional) 
 Use this as the first line of ~/.config/labwc/autostart instead of the Chromium line. If you also use switchtab.sh , change both pgrep chromium to pgrep firefox . 
 firefox --kiosk --private-window https://YOUR-URL & 
 8. Reboot 
 sudo reboot 
 The Pi should log in, start labwc and open the browser full screen. No systemd service is needed. The labwc autostart file replaces the old kiosk.service . 
 Mouse cursor 
 unclutter is X11-only and does nothing under labwc/Wayland. Run the kiosk without a mouse attached; plug one in only to dismiss cookie pop-ups, then unplug it. labwc 0.8.4 and newer (Trixie) also has a HideCursor action you can bind to a key in ~/.config/labwc/rc.xml ; the cursor comes back when the pointer moves (see labwc-actions(5) ). 
 Hardening (optional) 
 
 Use SSH keys and set PasswordAuthentication no in /etc/ssh/sshd_config . 
 Make the SD card read-only: sudo raspi-config → 4 Performance Options > P2 Overlay File System → Yes. Turn it off again before making changes or running updates. 
 Put the Pi in a case that blocks access to the USB ports. 
 
 Sources 
 
 Raspberry Pi tutorial: How to use a Raspberry Pi in kiosk mode 
 Raspberry Pi OS release notes (labwc default 2024-10-22, chromium-browser renamed to chromium, Trixie 2025-10-01) 
 Raspberry Pi documentation: Configuration (screen blanking, boot to desktop, auto login, Wayland/labwc, overlay file system) 
 Firefox kiosk mode (Mozilla) 
 
 Other community kiosk projects 
 https://reelyactive.github.io/diy/pi-kiosk/ 
 https://github.com/debloper/piosk 
 Older Raspberry Pi OS (Bullseye / X11) 
 Legacy method. Only use it on Bullseye or older, or on a Pi switched to X11 ( raspi-config > 6 Advanced Options > A7 Wayland > W1 X11 , not recommended by Raspberry Pi). It depends on X11 tools and on the old chromium-browser command and pi user, so it does not work on a default Trixie or current Bookworm install. 
 Install the following 
 sudo apt install xdotool unclutter 
 Create a kiosk file 
 sudo nano /home/pi/kiosk.sh 
 Paste the following in for chromium 
 #!/bin/bash

xset s noblank
xset s off
xset -dpms

unclutter -idle 0.5 -root &

sed -i 's/"exited_cleanly":false/"exited_cleanly":true/' /home/pi/.config/chromium/Default/Preferences
sed -i 's/"exit_type":"Crashed"/"exit_type":"Normal"/' /home/pi/.config/chromium/Default/Preferences

#/usr/bin/chromium-browser --noerrdialogs --disable-infobars --kiosk https://www.raspberrypi.com/ https://time.is/London &
#/usr/bin/chromium-browser --no-sandbox --window-size=1024,768 --kiosk --window-position=0,0 https://hdrcameras.onling.com:5001/webman/3rdparty/SurveillanceStation/?launchApp=SYNO.SS.App.VideoViewerVue.Instance&SynoToken=W9ZwQIG7NiF1Q &
#/usr/bin/chromium-browser --window-size=1080,720 --kiosk --window-position=0,0 https://www.hammerdownrange.com/lobby/index.php &
/usr/bin/chromium-browser --window-size=1080,720 --kiosk --window-position=0,0 https://www.hammerdownrange.com/lineup/lineup.php &
 
while true; do
 xdotool keydown ctrl+Tab; xdotool keyup ctrl+Tab;
 sleep 10
done 
 Paste the following in for firefox 
 # Disable screen blanking and power management (X11 only)
xset s noblank
xset s off
xset -dpms

# Hide mouse cursor (X11 only)
unclutter -idle 0.5 -root &

# Optional: Clean any crash flags (Firefox is more forgiving, but harmless to keep)
sed -i 's/"exited_cleanly":false/"exited_cleanly":true/' ~/.mozilla/firefox/*.default*/prefs.js 2>/dev/null || true

# Launch Firefox in kiosk mode
# -kiosk → Fullscreen kiosk (hides UI, prevents exiting easily)
/usr/bin/firefox --kiosk --private-window https://synology.onling.com/webman/3rdparty/SurveillanceStation/login.cgi?SynoToken=nQhMc44EQyoEpeg &

# Optional: Cycle tabs / refresh every 10 seconds (your original behavior)
# If you only have one URL, you can comment this out or change it to a refresh instead
while true; do
 # Send Ctrl+Tab to cycle tabs (if you open multiple tabs)
 xdotool keydown ctrl+Tab; xdotool keyup ctrl+Tab;
 sleep 10
done 
 Make it executable 
 sudo chmod +x /home/pi/kiosk.sh 
 Make a service file to auto startup 
 sudo nano /lib/systemd/system/kiosk.service 
 Paste the following in 
 [Unit]
Description=Firefox Kiosk Mode
After=graphical.target
Wants=graphical.target

[Service]
Type=simple
Environment=DISPLAY=:0
ExecStart=/home/pi/kiosk.sh
Restart=always
RestartSec=5
User=pi
WorkingDirectory=/home/pi

[Install]
WantedBy=graphical.target 
 Make it so it auto starts and start it 
 sudo systemctl enable kiosk.service
sudo systemctl start kiosk.service