Raspberry Pi Projects

By far the most popular video game emulation library on the Pi, RetroPie is free, can be installed in minutes, and allows you to play thousands of your favorite vintage video games -- from tons of different systems (even the obscure ones). Not a fan of retro gaming? How about setting up your own Raspberry Pi Minecraft server instead?

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USB gamepad

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Kodi (formerly XBMC) is a free and open-source media center that allows you to access a full library of movies, TV shows, music, and more. Installing Kodi on the Raspberry Pi is a breeze.

Kodi Plugins give you access to a wider range of functionality -- like additional channels and movies. You can also install Kodi on RetroPie for a more seamless setup!

Be sure to check out our Raspberry Pi Kodi video as well:

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If you're into 3D printing and the Raspberry Pi, OctoPrint is a must-have. OctoPrint allows you to control and monitor your 3D printer remotely—no more dropping files onto an SD card for you.

Simply install OctoPrint, connect your Pi to your printer's USB port, and connect an optional Raspberry Pi camera and you're good to go!

OctoPrint video

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Raspberry Pi camera

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Raspberry Pi camera extension cable, 610mm

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Plex is a free and open-source media and streaming server, allowing you to stream video, audio, photos, and more directly from your Pi. Plex runs on a variety of devices and operating systems but you can set up your own Raspberry Pi Plex server in minutes.

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Network-attached storage (NAS) is a popular choice for storing and sharing files on your home or work network. Rather than buying an expensive NAS device, you can make your own Raspberry Pi NAS instead. It takes only minutes to get running and works on Windows, Mac, or Linux!

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In 2015, Valve released Steam Link, a small computer that allowed you to stream video games over your network to your TV, tablet, or phone. In 2018, Valve announced that they'd be discontinuing the hardware.

Later that year, they officially released Steam Link for the Raspberry Pi, allowing you to continue streaming your favorite video games across your network.

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You don't need to spend hundreds on eBay to mess around with vintage computers. Our guide on Raspberry Pi retro computer emulation features the most popular vintage computers that can be emulated on the Pi; check it out (and if we're missing your favorite, let us know in the comments section).

Many systems can be emulated directly in RetroPie; other systems require their own image to be loaded in order to run. Either way, it only takes a few clicks and keystrokes and you'll be in monochrome heaven. While you're there, you can even play some of your favorite retro computer games. ;)

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Pi-Hole is a free network-wide ad blocking library.

What does this mean? While traditional ad blockers block ads after they've already passed through your network, Pi-Hole essentially allows your Pi to act as a DNS server, blocking ad network scripts before they use your precious network bandwidth.

Many users report seeing as much as a 25% reduction in network traffic -- in other words, 25% of their former traffic was ad-related. Check out our Pi-Hole setup tutorial to get started!

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Have you seen those Raspberry Pi magic mirrors making the rounds? A clever two-way mirror setup overlaid over an old computer monitor creates a holographic effect; a futuristic display showing the day's weather, traffic, calendar, and more!

The magic mirror is then mounted on the wall or set on a table. The most popular platform for building the smart mirror "dashboard" is MichMich's MagicMirror^2.

You can also install the Magic Mirror dashboard and display it on your normal computer monitor without the mirror effect.

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Why not talk to your mirror and have it talk back? Google Assistant can be installed on any Raspberry Pi using the Google AIY Voice Kit; so a Google Home-enabled magic mirror is an obvious choice. :)

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All you need to build your own Raspberry Pi Amazon Echo is a USB microphone and your Pi! This is a fun, easy project that's a great introduction into running third-party voice control systems on the Pi.

You can even use it to turn a Furby into an Amazon Echo:

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Make your own DIY Raspberry Pi security camera using motionEyeOS, a customized Linux distribution for turning your Pi into a surveillance camera.

motionEyeOS is powered by the Motion library, giving you powerful, stable control over your Pi's camera. Video feeds can be accessed remotely and uploaded automatically to a server for backup.

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Raspberry Pi camera

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Build your own standalone Raspberry Pi calendar and mount it on your desk or wall! This is super handy for families to stay on top of their appointments and activities (and great for individuals too).

There's just something nice about a dedicated display showing your most important upcoming events.

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Clap on! Clap off! Pi Clapper! 👏👏

As annoying as that commercial was, you have to admit The Clapper was pretty cool. Now you can control your Pi (and other things) with your very own Raspberry Pi clapper.

Shut down your Pi, send a Tweet, turn off your lights, activate a servo motor, or anything else you can come up with -- all with a clap or two.

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USB microphone, small

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Build your own DIY smart alarm clock using a Raspberry Pi!

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The Retrobox is an all-in-one Raspberry Pi arcade joystick. The basic parts for this project include a housing, arcade button kit, and a thin piece of plexiglass.

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Arcade button/joystick USB kit, illuminated (LED)

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A Raspberry Pi is mounted inside the housing. Holes are then drilled through the housing and plexiglass to securely mount the buttons and joystick. Finally, the buttons are connected directly to the Pi via USB.

You can use the Retrobox as a normal USB device as well -- on your computer or another Pi (this means you can even build a second one for a second player). This is definitely a cool project and one of the most fun ones we've ever created.

This one requires a lot of pieces and parts, so check to see if there any deals going on at our Raspberry Pi Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals page.

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When thinking about home automation, controlling your garage door is a pretty obvious first. This guide will teach you how to create your own Raspberry Pi garage door opener so that you can open and close your garage door remotely using your phone!

This is indeed a neat approach -- one of your original garage door remotes is connected via a relay directly to the Pi. A small webpage running on the Pi can be accessed via your phone or computer.

When you tap the button on the webpage, the Pi triggers a relay connected to the garage door opener and your garage door opens or closes. A sensor monitors your garage door's state (open, closed, or partially open) so it knows which command to send.

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SainSmart relay module

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Kickstart your digital music career by creating your own Raspberry Pi synthesizer powered by a MIDI keyboard! All you need is a [musical] keyboard with a USB port and program called Pure Data.

Short demo video

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MIDI keyboard

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If you have an outdoor project that you'd like to run continuously (or just think alternative energy sources are really freaking cool), then you might want to power your Pi using solar power.

In a nutshell, a rechargeable battery pack and power management board are connected to your Pi; then, a solar panel is connected to the power management board, allowing your Pi to operate in rain or shine. You can also connect the solar panel directly to the Pi but depending on the size of the solar panel and the cloud cover where you live, this might lead to continuous, unexpected shutdowns.

Either way, this is a fun project that will teach you a ton about electricity, solar panels, batteries, and powering DC electronics portably.

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Build your own Raspberry Pi retro gaming rig inside an original Nintendo cartridge. The Pi Cart is a fun, quick project that requires no soldering. When you're done, connect the Pi Cart to your TV or monitor and start gaming. You'll need a Raspberry Pi Zero or Zero W for this, which is currently on sale for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

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The Gamepad Zero is a Raspberry Pi Zero inside an original NES controller. The original controller is soldered directly to the Pi's GPIO pins, meaning the original NES controller's printed circuit board is used as the controller. Additional controllers can also be connected for multiplayer action!

You'll need access to a 3D printer for this project! Don't have one? Check out the guide for other options to get your model printed.

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Similar to the Gamepad Zero, but with more buttons! The Super Gamepad Zero uses a Super Nintendo controller in place of the original NES one, giving you access to better ergonomics and more buttons, allowing you to emulate more games than the original Gamepad Zero.

Once again, you'll need access to a 3D printer for this project. If you don't have one, check out the guide for other options to get your model printed.

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Why shell out money every month for a private VPN service when you can build your own Raspberry Pi VPN? Create your own Raspberry Pi OpenVPN server in under an hour.

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If your Pi project requires consistent power, build your own Raspberry Pi UPS to ensure your project isn't interrupted by power outages and fluctuations.

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Hockey fan? Make your own Raspberry Pi NHL scoreboard that will automatically update with live game data as well as pregame and postgame states. Be sure to check out our video too!

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If you love arcade cabinets, then you'll love this: my portable Raspberry Pi arcade cabinet in a hard case. The AdventurePi features a waterproof hard case, portable display, power supply, and even optional arcade controls. Watch my AdventurePi video for a demo:

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Make your dumb old wired 2D printer a bit smarter by adding the ability to print wirelessly using any Raspberry Pi model. Check out our Raspberry Pi wireless printer guide to learn how! This project requires a full-sized printer but if you have a mini thermal printer, you can always make a Raspberry Pi fortune teller.

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Safely shutting down your Pi is critical to protecting your SD card. This Raspberry Pi power button makes it easy to turn off your Pi with confidence. If you do find you need a new MicroSD card, there's a great one on sale at our Raspberry Pi Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals page.

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This project adds a status LED to your Raspberry Pi project, making it possible to monitor the status of your Raspberry Pi at a glance.

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LED matrix panels have an awesome retro look! And building an LED matrix panel is the first step to a number of Raspberry Pi builds, such as a ticketing system display, an NHL scoreboard, a stock ticker, a clock, etc.

This guide was specifically designed to make something that can be complicated easier for a beginner Raspberry Pi user.

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There are several IR camera sensors now available to electronics hobbyists that allow you to measure thermal radiation. All it takes is the addition of a microprocessor (Raspberry Pi) to turn an off the shelf sensor into a full-fledged thermal camera.

This is a nice easy setup guide that could certainly turn into something amazing. We're imagining some awesome home security setup where you can see visitors even at night! But we're sure there's more you can do here!

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For more Pi projects, check out the Raspberry Pi interest here on Howchoo!

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The Raspberry Pi is a small, inexpensive computer developed by the Raspberry Pi Foundation in the United Kingdom.

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