Display Only Installation

This guide walks you through installing the Smart Panel display app on a device that connects to an existing Smart Panel server on your network.

Use this when you already have a server running and want to add one or more display panels around your home.

Prerequisites

A Smart Panel server already running on your network
The server’s IP address or hostname (e.g., 192.168.1.100 or smart-panel.local)
A display device: Raspberry Pi with a screen, Linux PC, or Android device

Choose Your Platform

Raspberry Pi

Raspberry Pi (via flutter-pi)

The panel app runs on Raspberry Pi using flutter-pi — a lightweight Flutter runtime that renders directly to the display without needing X11 or Wayland.

One-Liner Install


curl -fsSL https://get.smart-panel.fastybird.com/panel | sudo bash \
	-s -- --backend http://YOUR_SERVER_IP:3000

Replace YOUR_SERVER_IP with the IP address of your Smart Panel server.

The script will automatically detect that you’re on a Raspberry Pi and install the correct flutter-pi variant. Add --kiosk to start the display automatically on boot.

That’s it! The display app will be installed and configured. Skip to Post-Installation below.

Manual Installation

If you prefer to install manually:

Install flutter-pi Dependencies


sudo apt install cmake libgl1-mesa-dev libgles2-mesa-dev libegl1-mesa-dev \
	libdrm-dev libgbm-dev libsystemd-dev libinput-dev libudev-dev \
	libxkbcommon-dev git -y

Build and Install flutter-pi


sudo mkdir -p /opt/flutter-pi
sudo chown -R ${USER}: /opt/flutter-pi
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/ardera/flutter-pi.git /opt/flutter-pi
cd /opt/flutter-pi
mkdir build && cd build
cmake ..
make -j$(nproc)
sudo make install

Configure Display Access

Give your user permission to access 3D acceleration:


sudo usermod -a -G render ${USER}

⚠️

This is a security-sensitive operation. If you prefer not to do this, run the display app with sudo instead.

Enable KMS/DRM

Open the boot config:


sudo nano /boot/firmware/config.txt

Make sure this line is present and not commented out:


dtoverlay=vc4-kms-v3d

If you see dtoverlay=vc4-fkms-v3d (fake KMS), remove or comment it out.

Reboot to apply:


sudo reboot

Download the Display App

After reboot, download the pre-built display app from GitHub Releases:


ARCH=$(uname -m)
case $ARCH in
	armv7l|armv6l) ASSET="smart-panel-display-armv7.tar.gz" ;;
	aarch64|arm64) ASSET="smart-panel-display-arm64.tar.gz" ;;
esac
 
sudo mkdir -p /opt/smart-panel-display
curl -sL "https://github.com/FastyBird/smart-panel/releases/latest/download/${ASSET}" \
	| sudo tar -xzf - -C /opt/smart-panel-display

Create Systemd Service


sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/smart-panel-display.service

Paste this configuration:


[Unit]
Description=Smart Panel Display App
After=network.target
 
[Service]
User=root
WorkingDirectory=/opt/smart-panel-display
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/flutter-pi --release /opt/smart-panel-display
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=5
SupplementaryGroups=video render input
 
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

💡

Want to rotate the display? Add the -r flag to the ExecStart line:


ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/flutter-pi -r 270 --release /opt/smart-panel-display

Valid rotation values: 0, 90, 180, 270

Enable and start the service:


sudo systemctl enable smart-panel-display
sudo systemctl start smart-panel-display

Linux (x64)

Linux x64 (Headless or Desktop)

The display app can run on x64 Linux machines in two modes:

eLinux DRM-GBM — renders directly to the display without a desktop environment (kiosk-style)
Linux Desktop — runs as a regular GTK window application

One-Liner Install


curl -fsSL https://get.smart-panel.fastybird.com/panel | sudo bash \
	-s -- --backend http://YOUR_SERVER_IP:3000 --kiosk

The installer auto-detects your platform. Add --platform linux to force desktop mode, or --platform elinux to force headless DRM mode.

Manual Installation (eLinux DRM-GBM)

For kiosk-style deployment without a desktop environment:

Install Dependencies


sudo apt install -y libegl1-mesa libgles2-mesa libxkbcommon0 \
	libdrm2 libgbm1 libinput10 libudev1 libsystemd0

Download the Display App


sudo mkdir -p /opt/smart-panel-display
curl -sL "https://github.com/FastyBird/smart-panel/releases/latest/download/smart-panel-display-elinux-x64.tar.gz" \
	| sudo tar -xzf - -C /opt/smart-panel-display
sudo chmod +x /opt/smart-panel-display/fastybird_smart_panel

Create Systemd Service


sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/smart-panel-display.service


[Unit]
Description=Smart Panel Display (eLinux DRM-GBM)
After=multi-user.target
 
[Service]
User=root
WorkingDirectory=/opt/smart-panel-display
Environment=FLUTTER_DRM_DEVICE=/dev/dri/card0
ExecStart=/opt/smart-panel-display/fastybird_smart_panel --bundle=/opt/smart-panel-display --fullscreen --no-cursor
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=5
SupplementaryGroups=video render input
 
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target


sudo systemctl enable smart-panel-display
sudo systemctl start smart-panel-display

Manual Installation (Linux Desktop)

For running as a windowed application on a desktop:

Install Dependencies


sudo apt install -y libgtk-3-0 libblkid1 liblzma5

Download and Run


sudo mkdir -p /opt/smart-panel-display
curl -sL "https://github.com/FastyBird/smart-panel/releases/latest/download/smart-panel-display-linux-x64.tar.gz" \
	| sudo tar -xzf - -C /opt/smart-panel-display
sudo chmod +x /opt/smart-panel-display/fastybird_smart_panel

Run it directly:


/opt/smart-panel-display/fastybird_smart_panel

Or set it up as a kiosk service using cage :


sudo apt install -y cage

Then create a systemd service with cage wrapping the app for fullscreen kiosk mode.

Android

Android (via ADB)

You can sideload the Smart Panel display app onto Android devices such as wall-mounted tablets.

Install ADB

On your computer (not the Android device):


sudo apt install android-tools-adb

Enable USB Debugging

On the Android device:

Go to Settings > About phone and tap Build number 7 times
Go to Settings > Developer options and enable USB debugging
Connect the device to your computer via USB

Download and Install the APK


curl -sL "https://github.com/FastyBird/smart-panel/releases/latest/download/smart-panel-display.apk" \
	-o /tmp/smart-panel-display.apk
adb install -r /tmp/smart-panel-display.apk

Configure the Backend

Launch the app on the Android device. On first run, you’ll be prompted to enter the backend server URL (e.g., http://192.168.1.100:3000).

To set the app as the default launcher (kiosk mode), go to Settings > Home app on the Android device and select Smart Panel.

Post-Installation

Verify the Display Service

For Linux-based installations:


sudo systemctl status smart-panel-display

To view logs:


sudo journalctl -u smart-panel-display -f

Connect to Your Server

On first launch, the display app will either:

Auto-discover the server via mDNS (if the server has FB_MDNS_ENABLED=true)
Prompt you to enter the server address manually

If the display can’t find the server, make sure both devices are on the same network and that port 3000 (or your configured port) is accessible.

Managing the Service


# Start the display
sudo systemctl start smart-panel-display
 
# Stop the display
sudo systemctl stop smart-panel-display
 
# Restart the display
sudo systemctl restart smart-panel-display
 
# Disable auto-start on boot
sudo systemctl disable smart-panel-display

Updating the Display App

To update to the latest version, re-run the install script:


curl -fsSL https://get.smart-panel.fastybird.com/panel | sudo bash

Or manually download the new release and replace the files in /opt/smart-panel-display/.

What’s Next?

Your display is connected to the server. Head over to the Onboarding guide to create your admin account and start configuring your dashboard.