Bananian

Bananian Linux for Banana Pi and Banana Pro

Summary

Bananian was a lightweight, Debian-based Linux distribution specifically optimized for the Banana Pi and Banana Pro single-board computers. Designed with a minimal installation footprint and headless server operation in mind, Bananian provided a pre-configured, stable environment that required very little setup. Its dedicated bananian-config tool streamlined common administration tasks. Please note that Bananian is no longer actively maintained; users seeking a similar experience should consider Armbian as a modern, actively developed alternative.

Who This Is For

This guide is for users who have existing Bananian deployments, those researching the history of Banana Pi distributions, or anyone looking to understand the Bananian workflow before migrating to a supported alternative such as Armbian or standard Debian.

What You'll Do

You will download the Bananian image, verify its integrity, flash it to a microSD card, complete the first boot with default credentials, configure the system using the bananian-config utility, and understand migration paths to modern distributions.

Requirements

  • Banana Pi or Banana Pro board
  • A microSD card (4 GB or larger, Class 10 recommended)
  • A reliable 5V/2A micro-USB power supply
  • Ethernet cable for network connectivity
  • A computer with a microSD card reader for flashing
  • SSH client for headless access (PuTTY on Windows, or a terminal on Linux/macOS)

Download and Verification

The Bananian image can be obtained from archived mirrors or mirror.lemaker.org if still available. Download the compressed image file and the accompanying SHA-256 checksum file. Verify integrity by running sha256sum bananian-latest.zip and comparing the output to the published hash. Extract the image with unzip bananian-latest.zip to obtain the raw .img file.

Flash Procedure

Insert your microSD card into the card reader. On Linux, identify the device with lsblk and flash using dd if=bananian-latest.img of=/dev/sdX bs=1M status=progress. On Windows, use Win32DiskImager or Etcher. Double-check the target device before writing. Safely eject the card after the write completes.

First Boot Steps

Insert the microSD card into the Banana Pi or Banana Pro, connect the Ethernet cable, and apply power. Bananian is designed for headless operation, so no display is required. Wait approximately 60 seconds for the board to boot and obtain a DHCP address. Check your router's DHCP lease table or use nmap to find the board's IP. Connect via SSH using the default credentials: username root, password pi. You will be prompted to change the password on first login.

Post-Boot Configuration

Run bananian-config to access the interactive configuration menu. This tool allows you to set the hostname, configure timezone and locale, expand the filesystem to fill the entire microSD card, enable or disable services, and configure network settings. Update the system with apt-get update && apt-get upgrade. Install additional packages as needed. For headless server use, consider installing packages such as htop, tmux, and ufw for monitoring and firewall management.

Troubleshooting

  • Cannot find board on network: Verify Ethernet connectivity, check that the LED indicators on the board show activity, and confirm your DHCP server is operational.
  • SSH connection refused: Wait an additional 30 seconds for boot to complete. Re-flash the image if issues persist.
  • Filesystem not expanded: Run bananian-config and select the expand filesystem option, then reboot.
  • Package repository errors: Bananian's repositories may be offline. Edit /etc/apt/sources.list to point to standard Debian Jessie archives or migrate to Armbian.

Related Guides

Author: LeMaker Documentation Team
Last updated: 2026-02-10