Raspberry Pi · cell node
Run a cell node on a Raspberry Pi
Run a cell node, earn sponsored DUST → free, private, gasless transactions.
DUST sponsorship starts once the Midnight Select Treasury is set up. It covers network fees for your own transactions; it isn’t payment or wages, and it’s for personal use only.
A Raspberry Pi is a small, quiet computer about the size of a deck of cards. Set it up once, plug it in, and it helps carry Midnight Select’s sealed messages day and night, using about as much power as a phone charger.
Five steps, about 20 minutes
Get a Raspberry Pi
A Raspberry Pi 5 or 4 is best, but older ones work too. See what to buy below.
Download the image
One file with everything already inside. Get it below.
Flash it
Write the image to a microSD card with the free Raspberry Pi Imager or balenaEtcher: choose the file you downloaded, choose your card, and click Write.
Add your Midnight Select account
In the app, open Cells › Run a cell on a Raspberry Pi and copy your setup code. Then open the SD card’s boot drive (called “bootfs”) on your computer, open midnight-cell.txt, and paste the code in, together with your Wi‑Fi name, password and two-letter country code (like US or GB). Save the file. Your Pi reads it every time it starts.
About Wi‑Fi- Using Raspberry Pi Imager? You can enter your Wi‑Fi in its settings instead of in midnight-cell.txt.
- Using an Ethernet cable to your router? Skip the Wi‑Fi lines: it just works.
Insert the card and plug in power
Put the card in the Pi and connect power. Give it a few minutes: you’re a cell node. The app tells you when your new cell is linked.
No setup file, or the Wi‑Fi won’t connect?
Your Pi opens its own open Wi‑Fi hotspot (no password) called “MidnightCell-Setup-XXXX”, ending in 4 characters: after about 2 minutes with no network, or about 6 minutes if the Wi‑Fi details you gave don’t connect. Join it with your phone and a setup page appears. The hotspot closes after 15 minutes.
Check it
On your home network, open midnight-cell.local in a browser to see your cell’s status page (view only). While the Pi isn’t linked yet, for the first 2 hours after you switch it on, that page also lets you type your setup code or shows a QR code to scan in the app. Running two Pis? The second one is at midnight-cell-2.local. The Pi’s pages and midnight-cell.txt come in English, Spanish, French and Portuguese, following your browser’s language.
See it from anywhere
In the app, open Cells › See your cells on the website for a private link to your cells’ live status.
Download the image
Raspberry Pi image 2026.10.10.2 · released Oct 12, 2026
Size: 642.4 MB · Works on: Raspberry Pi 5, Raspberry Pi 4, Raspberry Pi 400, Raspberry Pi 3B+, Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W
Download the image 642.4 MB36d59030a43bebdca18fbdf23a1dd89063e06e9f81e9798eb95ef76e1e7d3dc4How to verify your download
Make sure the file arrived complete and unchanged. Open a terminal in the folder with the file, run the command for your computer, and compare the result with the fingerprint above. They must match exactly.
- Windows (Command Prompt)
certutil -hashfile midnight-select-cell-pi-2026.10.10.2.img.xz SHA256- macOS (Terminal)
shasum -a 256 midnight-select-cell-pi-2026.10.10.2.img.xz- Linux (Terminal)
sha256sum midnight-select-cell-pi-2026.10.10.2.img.xz
Optional: Raspberry Pi Imager can list our image and check the fingerprint for you. In Imager’s options, choose a custom content repository and enter: https://relay.midnightselect.app/download/pi/imager.json
DUST sponsorship: Not started: the Midnight Select Treasury isn't set up on Midnight's test network yet.
What to buy
Already have a Pi? It probably works. If you’re buying, here’s what to get.
| Part | What to get | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Raspberry Pi | Raspberry Pi 5 (4 GB) or Raspberry Pi 4 (2–4 GB or more) | Recommended. A Raspberry Pi 400 works too. |
| Smaller Pi | Raspberry Pi 3B+ (1 GB) or Zero 2 W (512 MB) | The minimum. Runs in light mode, carrying less traffic. |
| Power supply | The official Raspberry Pi USB‑C power supply | Pi 5: 27 W. Pi 4: 15 W. Phone chargers often can’t keep up. (Pi 3B+ and Zero 2 W use the official micro‑USB supply.) |
| microSD card | 32 GB or more, rated A1 or A2, from a known brand such as SanDisk or Samsung | Cheap no-name cards wear out sooner. |
| Case | A case with a fan or heatsink | Optional. Keeps the Pi cool. |
| Network | An Ethernet cable to your router | Recommended: steadier than Wi‑Fi. Wi‑Fi works too. |
What it costs to run
A Raspberry Pi 4 or 5 running a cell idles at about 3–5 watts, less than an LED bulb.
- 3 W × 24 hours × 365 days ≈ 26 kWh a year
- 5 W × 24 hours × 365 days ≈ 44 kWh a year
- 26–44 kWh × $0.15 per kWh ≈ $4–$7 a year
Your cost depends on your electricity price: multiply 26–44 by what you pay per kWh.
Troubleshooting
It isn’t showing online after 10 minutes
Look at the green light on the Pi. Solid on: it’s starting up or installing an update, so wait 2 minutes. A double blink, like a heartbeat: it’s running and online, all good. A slow blink, about once a second: it’s running but not linked yet, so add your setup code. A fast blink: no internet. Check your Wi‑Fi name and password (capitals matter), remember that older Pis only see 2.4 GHz Wi‑Fi, not 5 GHz, or use an Ethernet cable. Only the normal flicker of the SD card: the light is turned off in midnight-cell.txt, or the helper isn’t running, so unplug the power and plug it back in.
It shows an under-voltage warning
The Pi isn’t getting enough power, which causes random restarts. Use the official power supply (27 W for a Pi 5, 15 W for a Pi 4), not a phone charger or a computer’s USB port.
My setup code expired
A code works once and lasts 7 days. Get a new one in the app (Cells › Run a cell on a Raspberry Pi). Then put it in midnight-cell.txt on the card and start the Pi again, or type it on midnight-cell.local within 2 hours of switching the Pi on.
I re-flashed the card. Is it the same cell?
No. Re-flashing makes a brand-new cell with a new code. You can remove the old one in the app, under Cells.
Do I need to update it?
No. Updates signed by Midnight Select install automatically at a quiet moment, and roll back by themselves if something goes wrong.
How do I factory reset it?
Flash the image onto the card again and add a new setup code. Everything on the card is wiped and it starts fresh, as a new cell.
Privacy
- No account names on the networkOther cells and this website only ever see a pseudonym: never your username, phone number or account ID.
- Tied to a private owner keyYour Pi is linked to a key that only your app holds. Your Pi and your app both sign the link, so nobody else can claim your cell.
- Status is just online or offlinePlus the version and whether it’s relaying. Never IP addresses, who you talk to, or what passes through.
Prefer a computer you already have? Run a cell on Windows, Mac or Linux.