Setup Wizard Guide

Setup Wizard Guide

The Setup Wizard runs the first time you open http://dashusb.local. You can re-run it from Settings → System → Setup Wizard. Existing settings are the starting point, and destructive storage changes require confirmation.

1. Welcome

Confirms the device is reachable. From here you can also restore a configuration backup (a .json backup exported from a previous Dash USB install) or upload an existing dashusb.conf — either pre-fills every later step.

Click Get Started.

2. Privacy

Lists outbound data flows and offers an Analytics opt-in choice. Leaving it unanswered remains opted out.

• Opted out (default) — no fingerprint is included in future update checks; identifier-free checks continue.
• Opted in — a one-way salted hash of the board serial is attached to update-check telemetry for unique-install counts.

Either choice takes effect immediately and persists if you back out of the wizard. You can change it any time at Settings → System → Analytics opt-in. Full per-flow disclosure is on the Privacy page.

3. Network

• WiFi — configured during SD card imaging (Raspberry Pi Imager), not here. To change it later, re-flash with new settings or use nmcli over SSH.
• Device Hostname — defaults to dashusb. Leave it unless you have a reason to change. The Pi is reachable at http://<hostname>.local.

4. Storage

• Dashcam Size — the virtual USB drive the car records to. Keep the 64 GB default unless necessary: GM requires ≥64 GB total with 32 GB available, and remaining capacity is used for retained snapshots.
• External Data Drive (optional) — store recordings on a USB or NVMe drive instead of the SD card. The selected drive will be wiped.

The drive is always FAT32 — that's what GM requires, and Dash USB handles the formatting.

5. Archive

Choose where recordings are backed up. Without an archive, snapshots remain local and rotate as space is needed.

Option	What it is
CIFS / SMB	Network share on a Windows PC, Mac, or NAS
rsync	SSH-based file sync — for Linux/Unix servers
rclone	Cloud storage (Google Drive, S3, Backblaze, Dropbox, etc.)
NFS	Network File System — common on Linux NAS devices
None	No archiving — snapshots stay on the SD card until space runs out

For rsync, the wizard generates an SSH key for the Pi and shows you the public key to paste onto your server, then lets you test the connection. See Archive Methods for setup details for each backend.

6. Notifications

Pick one or more push notification providers. Dash USB will notify you when archiving starts, finishes, or fails, and when temperature thresholds trip.

Providers are enabled by filling their fields. The wizard rejects incomplete credentials. You can also edit providers later under Notifications → Delivery. See Notifications for provider setup.

7. Security

Set a Web Username and Web Password for the web UI. Set both or neither — the wizard won't let you fill in just one.

Leave both empty to disable web auth entirely — only do this if your network is fully trusted.

8. Advanced

• Time Zone — pick yours from the searchable list, or leave it on auto (used for log timestamps and notification times).
• Archive Delay (seconds) — how long to wait after Wi-Fi connects before archiving starts (default: 20).
• Snapshot Interval (seconds) — how often the Pi snapshots the recordings the car has written. Default 900 (15 minutes) gives ~8 capture chances per segment inside GM's 2-hour rolling-delete window. Lower it for a smaller worst-case capture gap; don't raise it above roughly half the rolling window or footage can age out before it's captured.
• Measurement System — Metric or Imperial for temperature readouts and the temperature monitor thresholds.
• Temperature Monitoring — optional Warning and Caution thresholds, a fixed log interval, and a post-archive temperature notification toggle.
• RTC Battery (Pi 5 only) — enable the Pi 5's built-in real-time clock if you've fitted a battery on the J5 header; trickle charging is offered behind an explicit "my battery is rechargeable" acknowledgement.
• System Tuning — Increase Root Size (fresh installs only), CPU Governor.
• Update Source — GitHub repo for OTA updates, plus the tracking branch for non-binary support files (runtime patches, migration fallback). Binaries always come from tagged Releases. Leave at the defaults unless you run a fork.

9. Review

Final summary of every choice. Click Apply & Run Setup to write the configuration and run setup — the Pi reboots several times during this, which is normal, and the page reconnects automatically.

Before applying, the wizard:

• Checks free space — incompatible drive sizes produce an inline error and a link to snapshot management.
• Detects destructive changes — changes that recreate disk images require explicit confirmation or can be skipped.

When it finishes, the Pi comes back up at http://dashusb.local (or your custom hostname).