Download Raspbian-OpenFlexure

For your microscope you will need to download our custom operating system for the Raspberry Pi. It comes with all necessary software pre-installed.

There are two versions of the OpenFlexure operating system:

Raspbian OpenFlexure

If you aren't sure, use this one!

Full desktop OS.

Includes full graphical microscope control software.

Required:

Raspberry Pi 2 Model B (1GB RAM)
(or better)
We do not yet support the Raspberry Pi 5

Recommended:

Raspberry Pi 4 Model B (2GB RAM)
(or better*)

Raspbian OpenFlexure Lite

Minimal OS without desktop - requires remote control over the network.

You will need another computer to control the microscope.

Required:

Raspberry Pi 1 Model B+ (512mb RAM)
(or better)
We do not yet support the Raspberry Pi 5

Recommended:

Raspberry Pi 2 Model B (1GB RAM)
(or better*)

*The maximum RAM in Raspbian-OpenFlexure is 4GB. 8GB Rasberry Pis will work, but will only use 4GB of RAM

Write your SD card

Once you have downloaded your choice of the OpenFlexure operating system image from the links above, you need to install it on the Raspberry Pi.

The is quite a bit of guidance on the Raspberry Pi website for installing operating systems.

For the OpenFlexure operating system the recommended install method is:

  • Unzip the downloaded file to get a .img file
  • Install the Raspberry Pi Imager software, if you have not already got it.
  • Plug your [micro SD card] into your computer, using a compatible adapter if required.
  • Open the Raspberry Pi Imager software.
  • You do not need to select anything in the ‘CHOOSE DEVICE’ section.
  • In the ‘CHOOSE OS’ section, scroll down through the many software options to the bottom and select ‘Use custom’, then find the .img file that you just unzipped.
  • In the ‘CHOOSE STORAGE’ section select the SD card that you have plugged in.
  • Click ‘NEXT’
  • Click ‘EDIT Settings’ when given an option to ‘Use OS Customisation’.
  • Set a new username and password. You can also set up WiFi settings.
  • Click ‘YES’ to install the OpenFlexure software with your edited settings.
  • When the install process is complete, remove the SD card from your computer.

Managing the microscope server

Our installer includes various commands to simplify common tasks when using the OpenFlexure Microscope. From the terminal on your Raspberry Pi, you will have available commands such as:

ofm start - Start the server background service

ofm stop - Stop the server background service

ofm update - Pull and install the latest version of the OFM CLI itself

ofm upgrade - Pull and install the latest version of the server

For a complete list of available commands, run ofm help

Raspberry Pi configuration

Additional Raspberry Pi configuration options, such as network and interface settings, can be accessed by running sudo raspi-config from your terminal.

Source

Source code for the OpenFlexure Microscope server is available on GitLab.

Legacy versions

Previous versions of the OpenFlexure Microscope server can be found on the build server. Previous versions of Raspbian-OpenFlexure can be found on the build server.

The OpenFlexure Microscope server is licensed under the GNU General Public License (v3). Installed our software? See our privacy policy.