Server Only Installation

This guide walks you through installing just the Smart Panel backend and admin interface on a server or headless device. Display panels on other devices will connect to this server over your local network.

This is the ideal setup when you want a central server with one or more displays around your home.

Prerequisites

• A Linux device with systemd (Raspberry Pi, mini PC, NAS, VM, etc.)
• Network connectivity (Wi-Fi or Ethernet)
• SSH access to the device (or a local terminal)

Option 1: One-Liner Install Script (Recommended)

The fastest way to get started. This script handles everything — installs Node.js if needed, downloads the Smart Panel package, and configures the systemd service.

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

curl -fsSL https://get.smart-panel.fastybird.com | sudo bash -s -- --port 8080

That’s it! Skip ahead to Post-Installation below.

Option 2: Manual NPM Install

If you prefer more control over the installation process, follow these steps.

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_lts.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt install -y nodejs

node --version

sudo npm install -g @fastybird/smart-panel

sudo smart-panel-service install

sudo smart-panel-service install \
	--port 8080 \
	--admin-username admin \
	--admin-password mysecurepassword

Option 3: Manual Tarball Install

For environments where npm is not available or you prefer a self-contained installation.

sudo mkdir -p /opt/smart-panel
sudo chown -R ${USER}:${USER} /opt/smart-panel
cd /opt/smart-panel

curl --http1.1 -L -C - -o smart-panel.tar.gz \
	https://github.com/FastyBird/smart-panel/releases/latest/download/smart-panel.tar.gz
tar -xzf smart-panel.tar.gz -C .
rm smart-panel.tar.gz

curl -LO https://github.com/FastyBird/smart-panel/releases/latest/download/smart-panel.sha256
sha256sum -c smart-panel.sha256

sudo mkdir -p /var/smart-panel
sudo chown -R ${USER}:${USER} /var/smart-panel

cd /opt/smart-panel
npm run migration:run

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

[Unit]
Description=Smart Panel Backend & Admin Service
After=network.target
 
[Service]
User=pi
WorkingDirectory=/opt/smart-panel
ExecStart=npm start
Restart=always
Environment=NODE_ENV=production
 
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

sudo systemctl enable smart-panel-backend
sudo systemctl start smart-panel-backend

Optional: Install InfluxDB

If you want to store time-series data (temperature history, energy usage, etc.), install InfluxDB v1.8:

wget -qO- https://repos.influxdata.com/influxdata-archive_compat.key | sudo tee /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/influxdata.asc
echo "deb https://repos.influxdata.com/debian bookworm stable" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/influxdata.list
sudo apt update
sudo apt install influxdb=1.8.10-1 -y
sudo systemctl enable influxdb
sudo systemctl start influxdb

Then configure the connection in your Smart Panel environment:

sudo nano /etc/smart-panel/environment

Add:

FB_INFLUXDB_URL=http://localhost:8086
FB_INFLUXDB_DATABASE=smart_panel

Restart the service to apply:

sudo smart-panel-service restart

Optional: Allow Reboot & Power Off

To allow the backend to reboot or shut down the device without a password prompt:

sudo visudo

Add this line at the bottom:

pi ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: /sbin/reboot, /sbin/poweroff

Post-Installation

Verify the Service

sudo smart-panel-service status

You should see the service running with its PID, uptime, and memory usage.

Access the Admin Interface

Open a browser and navigate to:

http://<device-ip>:3000

Service Management

# Check status
sudo smart-panel-service status
 
# View logs
sudo smart-panel-service logs -f
 
# Restart
sudo smart-panel-service restart
 
# Update to latest version
sudo smart-panel-service update

Configuration

Environment variables are stored in /etc/smart-panel/environment:

What’s Next?

Your server is running. Now either:

• Add display panels by following the Display Only guide on your display devices
• Create your admin account by following the Onboarding guide