Updates and system
Install updates, restart and shut down.
Backup and restore
Download backups, restore them, and keep your saved passwords.
EpilykosOS
The operating system that runs Epilykos on a Raspberry Pi like an appliance.
Updates
Settings → Updates shows which version you're running and whether a newer one is out. Updates come in two kinds:
- A new release brings new features and fixes, and comes with a list of what changed.
- Security updates: every Monday the released image is rebuilt, so the system underneath and the tools that come with it (Node.js, Tailscale, cloudflared, Python packages) pick up their latest fixes. Nothing changes in how Epilykos itself works.
Epilykos checks once a day, and sends the Update available notification once for each new
build. You can switch the daily check off on the same page, or with UPDATE_CHECK=off. The check only
downloads a small file listing the latest builds; nothing about your installation is sent anywhere.
Check now checks straight away.
Installing an update
| Your setup | How it works |
|---|---|
| Docker, with the Docker socket mounted | Update now asks for your admin password, downloads the new image and restarts Epilykos on it, keeping your settings, volumes and devices. If the new version doesn't report that it's healthy within three minutes, the previous one is started again and the page tells you. |
| Docker, without the socket | The page shows you the two commands to run: docker compose pull, then docker compose up -d. |
| EpilykosOS | The box installs signed Epilykos releases itself, and goes back to the previous version if the new one isn't healthy. |
The Docker socket gives Epilykos full control of Docker on that computer, so leave its line out of the compose file if you're not comfortable with that. See Install with Docker.
Automatic installation (EpilykosOS)
Install updates automatically starts switched off. Turning it on asks for your admin password, and it needs the daily check to be on. Only a verified, signed release is ever installed. If an update fails, it's rolled back and not tried again on its own, though you can retry it by hand. Switching the daily check off also pauses automatic installation.
EpilykosOS system updates
When an update to EpilykosOS itself is offered, the box installs it into a spare system slot while it carries on monitoring as normal; nothing changes until you restart. If the new system doesn't start properly, the box switches back to the previous one by itself.
System
Settings → System appears on both Docker and EpilykosOS.
Restart
Restart stops Epilykos cleanly and starts it again, and the page reloads once it's back.
- On Docker with the socket mounted, Docker restarts the container.
- On Docker without the socket, Epilykos stops, and the container's restart policy
(
restart: unless-stoppedin the compose file) starts it again.
EpilykosOS only
| Section | What it does |
|---|---|
| Power | Restart or Shut down the whole box. After shutting down, wait until the green light on the board stops flashing, then unplug it. |
| Time and storage | Shows the SD card's size, the time zone and whether the clock is synchronised. Cards smaller than 32 GB get a warning; 64 GB is recommended. You can correct the clock from your browser, and changing the time zone restarts Epilykos. |
| Bluetooth devices | Pair a Bluetooth device opens a five-minute window for pairing devices that need a PIN or passkey. Forget removes a pairing. |
| SSH maintenance login | Off to start with. When it's on, you can log in as epilykos (which can use sudo) with a password of 8 to 128 characters, or with public keys. Root can never log in over SSH. |
| Factory reset | Erases everything the box keeps and restarts it as if it had just been set up. See Password and factory reset. |
Epilykos also checks its database a minute after an unexpected stop, and once a week, without getting in the way of the dashboard. It tells you about problems; it doesn't try to repair them.
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