What you will need
- a Raspberry Pi;
- a microSD card or an SSD with a USB adapter;
- a computer with a card reader or USB port;
- an internet connection.
For most users, a microSD card is the easiest option to start with. The screenshots show an SSD connected via USB, but the writing process is nearly identical for both types of storage.
1. Select your Raspberry Pi model
Launch Raspberry Pi Imager. At the Device step, find and select your Raspberry Pi model.
This example uses a Raspberry Pi 5.
After selecting the device, click Next.
2. Select Ubuntu
At the OS step, select Other general-purpose OS.
In the next list, select Ubuntu.
For everyday use with a graphical interface, we recommend selecting the latest Ubuntu Desktop LTS (64-bit) release. LTS releases receive long-term support and are generally better suited for regular use.
If your Raspberry Pi will run as a server without a monitor, you can select Ubuntu Server LTS (64-bit) instead.
Select the appropriate image and click Next.
3. Select the storage device
At the Storage step, select the storage device to which Ubuntu will be written.
The screenshot shows an SSD connected via USB. If you are installing Ubuntu on a microSD card, select the card from this list instead.
After selecting the storage device, click Next.
4. Customise the system
At the Customisation step, you can set the username, password, Wi-Fi connection, time zone, and keyboard layout in advance.
If the Raspberry Pi will be used without a monitor and keyboard, we also recommend enabling SSH for remote access.
5. Write the image
At the Writing step, check the selected Raspberry Pi model, Ubuntu version, and storage device once again.
If everything is correct, click Write and confirm that the data may be erased. Raspberry Pi Imager will download the image, write it to the storage device, and verify the result.
Do not disconnect the SSD or remove the microSD card until the process is complete.
6. Complete the installation
When the Write complete! message appears, the image has been written successfully. Raspberry Pi Imager will automatically eject the storage device, after which you can safely disconnect it from the computer.
Click Finish, insert the microSD card into the Raspberry Pi or connect the prepared SSD via USB, and then turn on the power.
First boot
The first boot may take several minutes while Ubuntu prepares the file system and applies the initial settings.
After signing in, we recommend installing the available updates:
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade -y