* How to - TARS-AI-Community/TARS-AI GitHub Wiki

Edit / View the code

I recommend using vscode on the raspberry pi to view and edit the code, there are many useful extensions that can be added too. to install:

sudo apt install code

Once installed, you can open the TARS-AI folder within vscode.

🔒 SSH to the Raspberry Pi

SSH must be enabled on your Raspberry Pi: Go to Preferences → Raspberry Pi Configuration → Interfaces → Enable SSH (or create an empty file named ssh in the boot partition).

Step 1: Find Your Raspberry Pi's IP Address

From the Raspberry Pi itself, run:

hostname -I

Or check your router's admin page for connected devices.

Step 2: Connect via SSH

Open Terminal (macOS/Linux) or Command Prompt/PowerShell (Windows) and type:

ssh [USERNAME]@[RASPBERRY_PI_IP]

Example (replace pi with your username if different):

ssh [email protected]

Default username: pi (or whatever you set during setup) Default password: raspberry

First Connection

Type yes when asked about authenticity, then enter your password. You're now connected!

🖥️ Connecting to RPi via VNC

Step 1: Enable VNC on the Raspberry Pi

  • Open a terminal on your Pi, or use the desktop interface.

  • Run the Raspberry Pi configuration tool:

sudo raspi-config

  • Navigate:

    • Interface Options → VNC → Yes

  • Exit raspi-config and reboot if prompted:

sudo reboot

Step 2: Check the RPi IP address

  • In a terminal, type:
hostname -I

-This will give you an IP address like 192.168.1.42

Step 3: Install VNC Viewer on your computer

Step 4: Connect to your Raspberry Pi

  • Open VNC Viewer on your computer.
  • In the VNC Server field, type the IP address from Step 2, e.g., 192.168.1.42
  • Click Connect.
  • Enter your Raspberry Pi username and password (default: pi / raspberry unless changed).

You should now see your Raspberry Pi desktop remotely.

Step 5 (Optional): Set a Static IP

  • For easier repeated connections, configure a static IP for your Raspberry Pi in your router, so it doesn’t change after reboot.

Tip: Make sure your Pi and computer are on the same network. To connect over the internet, you’d need port forwarding or RealVNC’s cloud service or you can use the new Raspberry pi Connect feature.

💽 Sharing TARS-AI Folder on network

This guide explains how to share a folder from your Raspberry Pi using Samba so that anyone on your local network can access it without a password and has full read/write permissions.

Note: This is assuming you have cloned the TARS-AI repo already and the examples below use the user tars, but your Raspberry Pi username may be different. To check your username, you can look at your home folder name:

ls /home

Your username is the folder name listed there (usually the one you log in with). Replace tars with your username throughout this guide.

Step 1: Install Samba

Run the following commands:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install samba -y

Step 2: Prepare the Shared Folder

Make sure your folder exists and is writable. Replace tars with your Pi username if different:

sudo chown -R tars:tars /home/tars/TARS-AI
sudo chmod -R 0777 /home/tars/TARS-AI

Step 3: Configure Samba

Edit the main Samba configuration file:

sudo nano /etc/samba/smb.conf

Scroll to the bottom and add this section (replace tars with your username if needed):

[TARS-AI]
path = /home/tars/TARS-AI
browseable = yes
writable = yes
guest ok = yes
create mask = 0777
directory mask = 0777
force user = tars

Note:** force user = tars ensures all files are created as your Pi user, avoiding permission issues.

Save and exit (Ctrl+O, Enter, Ctrl+X)

Step 4: Restart Samba

sudo systemctl restart smbd

Step 5: Test the Share**

On Windows:** Open File Explorer and type in the address bar:

\\[RASPBERRY_PI_IP]\TARS-AI

Replace [RASPBERRY_PI_IP] with your Pi's IP address (find it with hostname -I).

On macOS: In Finder, press Cmd+K and enter:

smb://[RASPBERRY_PI_IP]/TARS-AI

On Linux: Open your file manager and navigate to:

smb://[RASPBERRY_PI_IP]/TARS-AI