Set up software dependencies on Raspberry Pi 5 for Ollama and LLMs

Overview

In this section, you’ll prepare your Raspberry Pi 5 by installing Python, required libraries, and Ollama, so you can run large language models (LLMs) locally.

Connect to your Raspberry Pi 5

Option 1: Use a display

The easiest way to work on your Raspberry Pi is by connecting it to an external display through one of the micro‑HDMI ports. This setup also requires a keyboard and mouse.

Option 2: Use SSH

You can also use SSH to access the terminal. To use this approach, you need to know the IP address of your device. Ensure your Raspberry Pi 5 is on the same network as your host computer. Access your device remotely via SSH using the terminal or any SSH client.

Replace <user> with your Pi’s username (typically pi), and <pi-ip> with your Raspberry Pi 5’s IP address.

    

        
        
ssh <user>@<pi-ip>

    

Install Python and system dependencies

Create a directory called smart-home in your home directory and navigate into it:

    

        
        
mkdir -p "$HOME/smart-home"
cd "$HOME/smart-home"

    

The Raspberry Pi 5 includes Python 3 preinstalled, but you need additional packages:

    

        
        
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt install -y python3 python3-pip python3-venv git curl build-essential gcc python3-lgpio

    

Configure a virtual environment

Create and activate a Python virtual environment to isolate project dependencies:

    

        
        
python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate

    

Install the required libraries:

    

        
        
pip install ollama gpiozero lgpio psutil httpx orjson numpy fastapi uvicorn uvloop

    

Install Ollama

Install Ollama using the official installation script for Linux:

    

        
        
curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/install.sh | sh

    

Verify the installation:

    

        
        
ollama --version

    

If installation was successful, the output should be similar to:

    

        
        ollama version is 0.11.4

        
    

Run a test LLM with Ollama on Raspberry Pi 5

Ollama supports various models. This guide uses deepseek-r1:7b as an example, but you can also use tinyllama:1.1b, qwen:0.5b, gemma2:2b, or deepseek-coder:1.3b.

The run command sets up the model automatically. You will see download progress in the terminal, followed by an interactive prompt when ready.

    

        
        
ollama run deepseek-r1:7b

    

With the model set up through Ollama, move on to the next section to start configuring the hardware.