# raspberrypi/noobs

NOOBS (New Out Of Box Software) - An easy Operating System install manager for the Raspberry Pi

Repository: https://github.com/raspberrypi/noobs
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/noobs
Homepage: http://www.raspberrypi.org/downloads
Language: Makefile
License Family: other
Archived: true
Last push: 2023-02-27T15:06:46+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 10/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4839, "days_push": 1283, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: archived, no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2223, forks 428 (observed 2026-08-28T04:06:27.746817+00:00)

## What it is
NOOBS (New Out Of Box Software) is a first-boot operating system install manager for the Raspberry Pi that repartitions the SD card and lets users select and install OSes from a simple menu, either from local files or a remote repository. The project is officially deprecated: the README states it is no longer supported or recommended, and points users to Raspberry Pi Imager (or the PINN fork for multi-boot).

## Use cases
- install an operating system on a raspberry pi without manually imaging an sd card
- beginner-friendly first-boot os selection for a new raspberry pi
- choose which os to install on a raspberry pi sd card from a list
- reinstall or switch the raspberry pi os from a boot-time recovery menu
- install oses offline from images placed on the sd card
- set up a raspberry pi sd card without a separate computer or imaging tool

## When to choose
- You are following legacy documentation or tutorials that specifically reference NOOBS
- You need a first-boot OS picker on older Raspberry Pi models NOOBS supports
- You want to install an OS entirely offline from OSes placed in the /os directory on the SD card

## When to avoid
- You are setting up any Raspberry Pi today - use Raspberry Pi Imager, the officially recommended replacement
- You need multi-boot functionality - the README recommends the PINN fork instead
- You need ongoing support, updates, or support for newer Raspberry Pi hardware, since the project is explicitly no longer supported
- You need a general-purpose imaging tool for writing arbitrary OS images to SD cards

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: abandoned
- function: deployment
- domain: operating-systems, embedded-systems, hardware, developer-tools
- platform: embedded
- tags: raspberry-pi, os-installer, boot-manager, sd-card, recovery-environment, multi-boot, deprecated, single-board-computer, linux

## Member repositories
- raspberrypi/noobs (main) score 10

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:27.746817+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T02:45:44.214067+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/raspberrypi/noobs (fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:27.746817+00:00, sha e0dad515f6f4)
  - homepage: http://www.raspberrypi.org/downloads (fetched 2026-08-29T10:25:47.630312+00:00, sha 41c27b5178dc)
  - site_page: https://www.raspberrypi.com/documentation/computers/getting-started.html (fetched 2026-08-29T10:25:47.640630+00:00, sha de10c04c6963)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.