I'm a beginner and I'm really afraid that my work won't be wasted and I won't have to set everything up from scratch again. I installed on the BPI-M5 Armbian_25.2.1_Bananapim5_noble_current_6.12.13_ubuntu-server. But I need the server to simply log in when it reboots and start working without my participation. Please tell me if it would be correct to set up autologin as described below???
Step-by-step manual configuration of autologin, user "pi"
Step 1: Verify that the pi user exists
If you haven't created a pi user yet, do it.:
sudo adduser pi
If there is already a user, proceed to the next step.
Step 2: Create an override for the getty@tty1 service
Do it:
sudo systemctl edit getty@tty1.service
This command opens the editor (nano or vim by default) and creates an override.conf file.
Step 3: Paste the following contents into the opened file:
[Service]
ExecStart=
ExecStart=-/sbin/agetty --autologin pi --noclear %I $TERM
📌 Explanation:
ExecStart= — an empty line resets the standard getty launch.
The second line is a new startup command with an autologin for pi.
Step 4: Save the file and log out
In the nano editor:
Press Ctrl+O, then Enter to save.
Press Ctrl+X to exit.
Step 5: Restart systemd services
sudo systemctl daemon-reexec
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
Step 6: Make sure the service is enabled
sudo systemctl enable getty@tty1.service
Step 7: Reboot the system
sudo reboot
✅ Result
After restarting, Armbian will automatically log into the console (tty1) under the user pi, without asking for a password.
