Raspberry Pi Headless SSH Guide

Raspberry Pi OS broadcasts itself via mDNS/Bonjour. No scanning needed.

If it replies, use raspberrypi.local as the hostname in SSH commands. That's it.

If the default name doesn't work (you may have changed it), try variants:

Or browse all SSH services on your network:

The Pi may already be in your Mac's ARP table. Check for Pi MAC address prefixes.

Look for lines matching these Raspberry Pi MAC prefixes:

Quick filter:

Log into your router — it has a complete list of every device with an IP address. This never fails.

First, find your router's IP:

Or:

Then open these URLs in your browser (try each one):

Once logged in, look for sections named:

• "Connected Devices" or "Device List"
• "DHCP Client List" or "LAN Settings"
• "Attached Devices"

Look for a device named raspberrypi or matching a Pi MAC OUI from the table above.

Install nmap, then scan your local network. This finds every live device.

Find your Mac's IP first:

Then scan your subnet. Replace the IP range with yours:

Look for entries labeled "Raspberry Pi Trading" or "Raspberry Pi Foundation" in the MAC Address field. Those are your Pi.

Also useful — scan specifically for SSH port:

arp-scan queries every IP directly with ARP packets. It's faster and shows vendor names clearly.

Find your network interface:

Run the scan:

Or scan all interfaces:

Look for lines with Raspberry Pi in the Company field.

Browse for all SSH services advertised on your network via Bonjour:

Leave it running for 30 seconds. It will list any device advertising SSH.

Or resolve a known hostname:

Once you have the IP, SSH in:

Or by hostname (if mDNS resolved earlier):

Verbose mode (if something goes wrong):

Non-standard port (if you changed SSH port on the Pi):

Generate a key on your Mac (if you don't have one):

If that returns "No such file or directory," generate one:

Copy the key to the Pi (run this on your Mac, enter password when asked):

Or if ssh-copy-id isn't available:

Now SSH in without a password:

Create a shortcut in ~/.ssh/config so you never type the IP again:

Host pi
    HostName 192.168.1.47
    User pi
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
    Port 22

Save that to ~/.ssh/config, then just type ssh pi from then on.

Once logged in via SSH, run these on the Pi:

Change the default password immediately.

Update everything to the latest version.

Show all IP addresses (WiFi + ethernet).

Check which Pi model and OS version you're running.

The Raspberry Pi Imager handles SSH enable + WiFi config + user creation all at once. No manual file editing.

Or download from raspberrypi.com/software

In the Imager:

1. Select your Pi model and OS
2. Click the gear icon (Advanced options) before clicking Write
3. Set hostname, enable SSH, create username/password
4. Enter your WiFi SSID and password
5. Configure wireless LAN country (e.g., US)
6. Click Write — Imager handles the rest

After flashing the OS image to the SD card, mount the boot partition on your Mac. It usually auto-mounts as /Volumes/bootfs (Bookworm) or /Volumes/boot (older).

Enable SSH by creating an empty file:

That's it. The presence of this file tells Pi OS to enable SSH on first boot.

Create a WiFi config file on the boot partition:

For hidden networks or 5GHz, add scan_ssid=1 inside the network={} block.

Add a fallback network (e.g., your phone hotspot):

Modern Pi OS has no default pi user. Create one via the SD card:

Create the user config file on boot partition:

Format is username:password_hash — one line, no spaces.

Mount the rootfs partition and copy your public key so passwordless login works on first boot:

Then mount and copy the key:

Eject safely:

The Pi's SSH server isn't running. Re-enable it via SD card:

Then remount/eject and power cycle the Pi.

You reflashed the Pi and the old host key doesn't match anymore:

Answer yes to accept the new host key.

The Pi and your Mac are on different subnets. Check both are connected to the same router/LAN. If your Mac is on WiFi and the Pi is on ethernet, they should still be on the same subnet (same router).

Some routers block multicast traffic that mDNS needs. Use the IP directly instead:

Can't log in because you forgot the password. Reset it via the SD card:

Then create /Volumes/bootfs/userconf.txt with:

Boot the Pi with this SD card — the password is now newpassword.

Set a static IP reservation on your router (router admin panel, DHCP settings) — tie the Pi's MAC address to a fixed IP. Or set a static IP on the Pi itself:

Add at the bottom:

interface eth0
    static ip_address=192.168.1.100/24
    static routers=192.168.1.1
    static domain_name_servers=8.8.8.8

interface wlan0
    static ip_address=192.168.1.101/24
    static routers=192.168.1.1
    static domain_name_servers=8.8.8.8

Pick an IP outside your router's DHCP range. Then update your ~/.ssh/config with the new IP.

Find the Pi

SSH In

Key Setup

Fix Stale Host Key

SD Card Prep (Headless)

On the Pi (First Login)