Skip to content
SkyCacheSkyCache
Seal Ops

Install a village node

Software v1.35.0 ships seal doctor, status, printable board, and kit plus the golden SD flash kit. Not a multi-GB raw image in git. Flash Raspberry Pi OS Lite, bake, verify, optionally seal on Linux - still not free commercial broadband.

PIN and image honesty

Never ship admin PIN 2468, 0000, or 1234 on field images. Sealed .img.xz files are operator-built and operator-hosted; register metadata only with pi-image sealed-manifest.

Hardware baseline

  • Raspberry Pi 4/5 or similar (2-4 GB RAM) + 32-128 GB microSD
  • Ethernet for first boot; Wi-Fi AP or USB adapter for phones
  • Optional: RTL-SDR + V-dipole for free-to-air weather products
  • Optional solar later - power sheet ships with the product

Golden path (on the Pi)

  1. Flash Raspberry Pi OS Lite 64-bit (Imager: enable SSH, set hostname/user)
  2. Copy the golden SD kit zip or clone the software repo
  3. Set a strong PIN and bake:
    export SKYCACHE_ADMIN_PIN='your-strong-pin'   # never 2468
sudo bash deploy/pi-image/bake-golden.sh
# or: install-village-fabric.sh + first-boot --yes --pin ... --sim
sudo systemctl enable --now skycache.service
bash bake/golden-pi-verify.sh
skycache partner readiness
  4. Phone without cell data: join hub Wi-Fi, open the portal
  5. Optional fleet seal on a Linux host:
    # power off Pi; identify disk carefully
sudo dd if=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress | xz -T0 > skycache-village-pi.img.xz
skycache pi-image hash skycache-village-pi.img.xz
skycache pi-image sealed-manifest \
  --url https://YOUR_HOST/skycache-village-pi.img.xz \
  --path skycache-village-pi.img.xz

CLI on any laptop

# Seal Ops product surface
python -m skycache seal doctor
python -m skycache seal status
python -m skycache seal export --out data/ops/seal-board.html
python -m skycache seal kit --out data/seal-kit

# Legacy pi-image tools
python -m skycache pi-image plan
python -m skycache pi-image write --out data/pi-bake
python -m skycache pi-image bundle --out data/pi-download
# Windows/macOS: kit path only; seal/dd on Linux

Full operator paths: how to use | partner kits | pi-image README.