Raspberry Pi Introduction
A tour of the Raspberry Pi for anyone who has never touched one before — what the board actually is, and what it is capable of.
What the Raspberry Pi actually is
The Raspberry Pi is a full computer on a single small circuit board — it has a processor, RAM, USB ports, HDMI output and network connectivity, and it boots a real operating system from an SD card rather than an internal drive.
Because it's small, cheap and low-power, it ends up being the base for a huge range of projects instead of just a curiosity — anything from a home server to a robot brain.
The different models and what they're good for
Different Pi models trade off price, processing power and connectivity. Newer, more powerful boards suit things like servers or media playback, while the smaller, cheaper boards suit simple sensor or automation projects where you don't need much horsepower.
What you can build with one
Once you have a Pi running, the door opens to home servers, retro game emulation, media boxes, network tools, robotics controllers and IoT hubs — most of it using nothing more than the Pi, an SD card and some free software.
Want to get started yourself?
The guide below covers picking accessories and getting your first Pi booted, and the downloads page has the tools you need.