FPP Quick Start Guide

This section gives you the basic configuration to get up and running. It may not be the ultimate configuration you need for your finished show — refer to the rest of this manual, and in particular General Overview and Navigation, for in‑depth explanations of each function and setting.

The essential steps are:

1. Prepare the hardware – gather a supported board, a suitable micro‑SD card and power supply (see Hardware Needed).
2. Write the FPP image to the SD card (see Installing the FPP Software). The easiest route is the Raspberry Pi Imager, which can download the correct FPP image for you.
3. Boot and connect – insert the card, power on, and browse to http://fpp.local/ (or the device's IP address). The first boot takes a few minutes while the filesystem expands.
4. Set the network – give the device a fixed IP (or a router reservation) and a memorable host name (see Initial Network Configuration).
5. Choose the mode – set FPP Mode to Player for your main controller, or Remote for a follower (see The Status Page and MultiSync).
6. Set the time zone – on FPP Settings → Localization, so schedules run at the right time.
7. Configure your outputs – tell FPP how your lights are connected on Input/Output Setup → Channel Outputs.
8. Add content – upload sequences and media on Content Setup → File Manager.
9. Build and schedule a playlist – create a playlist on Content Setup → Playlists and set it to run on Content Setup → Scheduler.

Each of these steps is covered in detail in the chapters that follow.