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Add Your Raspberry Pi to Rastrack

Learn how to submit an approximate Raspberry Pi location to the Rastrack community map using raspi-config, with privacy guidance and troubleshooting.

What Rastrack Does

Rastrack is a community mapping project that displays voluntarily submitted Raspberry Pi locations on an online map. It provides a geographic view of Raspberry Pi ownership and participation.

Rastrack does not automatically discover the physical position of your Raspberry Pi. The map uses the location information that you choose to submit. Depending on the submission method, that information may be an address, city, postcode, neighborhood, or map coordinates.

Before You Register

You need a Raspberry Pi running Raspberry Pi OS, the operating system commonly used on Raspberry Pi computers. You also need raspi-config, the Raspberry Pi OS configuration utility, or an official web-based submission route if the integration is not included in your release.

Requirement	Why it is needed	How to check
Raspberry Pi OS and raspi-config	The guided registration option, when supported, is launched from raspi-config.	Open a terminal and run `sudo raspi-config`.
Internet connectivity	The registration wizard communicates with an external service.	Confirm that the Pi can browse the internet or resolve a known domain.
Rastrack option or current manual registration path	Some Raspberry Pi OS releases may not include the integration.	Look for the option in raspi-config, then check the official service site if it is absent.
Location information	The wizard needs the geographic location you want to submit.	Decide whether city-, neighborhood-, region-, or address-level information is appropriate.
Privacy decision	The submitted information may become visible on a public map.	Review the service's current privacy policy, submission fields, and visibility settings.

Choose the Location Precision Carefully

A geographic location is a place represented on a map, such as a city, postcode, address, or coordinate. If you do not want to reveal your exact home, school, or workplace, choose city- or neighborhood-level information when the service permits it.

Before confirming, consider who could use the information and whether the resulting marker would identify your routine location. Review the service's current privacy policy and any available controls for visibility, editing, or removal.

Open raspi-config

From a locally connected Raspberry Pi desktop, open a terminal and run:

sudo raspi-config

You can also run the same command after connecting to the Pi through SSH. SSH is a secure remote terminal connection; it lets you operate the Pi from another computer without a locally connected display and keyboard.

raspi-config is a menu-driven utility. Use the arrow keys to move through entries, Tab to move between controls, Enter to select an item, and Escape to go back or cancel where supported. Menu labels and their placement can differ between Raspberry Pi OS versions.

Register Through the Rastrack Option

Start raspi-config with sudo raspi-config.
Inspect the menus for a Rastrack-related registration option. Treat this entry as optional because it may not exist in your release.
Select the option if it is present. This should launch an interactive wizard, which is a guided sequence of prompts for completing a setup task.
Enter the requested location information. Use an appropriately approximate location if you do not want an exact public marker.
Read the confirmation prompts carefully, especially any explanation of public visibility.
Confirm the submission only after checking that the location precision is acceptable.
Allow the wizard to finish and report whether the submission succeeded.

When the integration works, the external service should process the submission and place a public map marker for the device. The marker represents the submitted location; it is not proof that Rastrack detected the Pi's physical position.

Example: A Locally Connected Screen

Open a terminal from the Raspberry Pi OS desktop.
Run sudo raspi-config.
Find the Rastrack option if the installed version provides it.
Follow the prompts and select a city or neighborhood-level location instead of a precise address when appropriate.
After the wizard completes, open the official Rastrack website in a browser and browse or search the submitted area.

Example: Registration Over SSH

Connect to the Raspberry Pi using SSH.
Run sudo raspi-config in the SSH terminal.
Use the keyboard to find and select the Rastrack option if available.
Complete the interactive wizard and confirm the intended location precision.
Use a browser on the other computer to inspect the map afterward.

Verify the Map Entry

Open the official Rastrack website and search or browse the area you submitted. A new marker may not appear immediately because the service may need to process the submission or refresh its map data.

If you do not see it at once, wait, refresh the map, and search the broader submitted region. Check different zoom levels because markers may be grouped, hidden at some zoom levels, or displayed differently after a service update.

Verification should include both of these checks:

The submission appears in the intended general area.
The displayed marker does not reveal more detail than you meant to publish.

When the Rastrack Option Is Missing

Third-party integrations can be removed, renamed, unavailable, or unsupported in newer Raspberry Pi OS and raspi-config releases. Do not assume that every system contains a Rastrack menu entry.

If the option is absent:

Confirm that raspi-config is installed and usable by running sudo raspi-config.
Check the current Rastrack website for an official manual submission process.
Check local raspi-config help or package documentation for release-specific information.
Do not install unofficial scripts or provide credentials to untrusted sites to recreate a missing menu option.

If the service remains available and offers a web-based submission route, use that current official process instead of trying to modify raspi-config manually.

Finish the Configuration Session

After the registration has completed, use the menu's finish or back controls to leave raspi-config. If the utility asks whether to reboot, follow its instruction only if a reboot is explicitly requested. A location registration normally does not require a reboot.

Troubleshooting

Outcome	Likely meaning	Recommended action
Registration completes successfully	The wizard accepted the submitted information.	Open the official map, allow for processing time, and verify the marker's area and precision.
Rastrack menu option is absent	Your Raspberry Pi OS version may not include the integration, or the integration or service may have changed.	Check the current official website and local raspi-config documentation. Do not add unsupported menu entries manually.
Network connection fails	The Pi may be offline, or DNS, proxy, firewall, captive-portal, or service problems may block the wizard.	Verify internet access, test name resolution and browser access, then retry later if the external service is unavailable.
Map marker is not visible yet	There may be a processing delay, incomplete submission, unsuitable zoom level, or changed display behavior.	Wait, refresh, search the broader region, and repeat registration only when the service indicates that doing so is safe.
Displayed location is too precise	An exact location was submitted, or the service converted the supplied information into a precise point.	Use the service's editing or removal process, contact its operator if necessary, and use less precise details in future.

Connection or Submission Failure

First confirm that the Pi has a working internet connection. DNS problems can prevent a service name from resolving, while a proxy, firewall, or captive portal can block access even when the Pi appears connected. If local connectivity works but the wizard still fails, the external service may be temporarily unavailable. Retry later and use the service's official status or contact route if one is provided.

Overly Precise Marker

If the marker exposes an exact private address, use the service's supported correction or removal method. Contact the service operator if no self-service option exists. For future public-map submissions, prefer a broader location that does not identify a private residence or sensitive site.

Key Points

Rastrack is a voluntary community map of submitted Raspberry Pi locations.
It records the location you submit; it does not automatically discover where the Pi is.
Use sudo raspi-config and look for the Rastrack option only when it is present.
Menu availability varies by Raspberry Pi OS and raspi-config release.
Choose approximate location information when exact public disclosure is not appropriate.
Allow time for processing and verify the map marker's precision after submission.

For related Raspberry Pi configuration and connectivity guidance, continue with the Rastrack registration guide.