Installation¶

MainsailOS Users

Sonar is already pre-installed on MainsailOS. You do not need to follow this guide. Simply enable Sonar in its configuration file and you are good to go.

This guide walks you through installing Sonar on a Raspberry Pi OS or any other Debian-based Linux distribution running on a single-board computer (SBC).

Prerequisites¶

A Debian-based Linux system (Raspberry Pi OS, Armbian, etc.)
An active WiFi connection
Git installed (sudo apt install git if not already present)

Step 1: Clone the Repository¶

Connect to your system via SSH and clone the Sonar repository into your home directory:

cd ~
git clone https://github.com/mainsail-crew/sonar.git

Step 2: Run the Configuration Script¶

Before installing, you need to generate a configuration for the installer. This tells Sonar where your printer_data directory is and whether to add a Moonraker update manager entry automatically.

cd ~/sonar
make config

The interactive configurator will guide you through the following prompts:

Prompt 1: Continue?¶

 #### Sonar Install Configurator ####

This will guide you through install configuration
After successful configuration use

    sudo make install

to install Sonar ...
Continue? [Y/n]:

Press enter (or type Y and then press **enter) to continue.

Prompt 2: Printer Data Path¶

Please specify path for printer_data directory

    NOTE: Skip trailing backslash!
    Default: /home/<your-user>/printer_data

Hit ENTER to use default.
Please enter path:

Press enter to accept the default path (~/printer_data). If your printer_data directory is in a different location, type the full path (without a trailing /).

Prompt 3: Moonraker Update Manager Entry¶

Should the update_manager entry added to your moonraker.conf?

    NOTE:
    This will only work if your moonraker.conf
    shares the same path as your Sonar.conf!!!

If you want/have to do that manually,
please see 'resources/moonraker_update.txt'
Copy the content in your moonraker.conf

Add update_manager entry? [Y/n]:

Press enter (or type Y and then press **enter) to have the installer automatically add the Sonar update manager section to your moonraker.conf. This allows Moonraker to update Sonar through its built-in update manager.

Note

This only works if your moonraker.conf is located in the same directory as sonar.conf (typically ~/printer_data/config/). If your setup differs, type N and add the entry manually (see Moonraker Update Manager below).

Step 3: Install Sonar¶

Run the installer with root privileges:

sudo make install

The installer will:

Install the required system dependency (iputils-ping)
Copy the default sonar.conf to ~/printer_data/config/ (if none exists)
Install the systemd service file and environment file
Enable and start the sonar service
Set up logrotate for persistent log files
Optionally add the Moonraker update manager entry (if selected in Step 2)

After installation, you will be asked whether to reboot:

Installation successful.

    To take changes effect, you need to reboot your machine!

Reboot NOW? [y/N]:

Warning

A reboot is recommended to ensure all services start correctly.

Step 4: Enable Sonar¶

By default, Sonar is disabled after a fresh installation. You need to enable it in the configuration file. See the Configuration guide for details.

Moonraker Update Manager¶

If you chose not to add the update manager entry during installation, or if you need to add it manually, append the following to your moonraker.conf:

[update_manager sonar]
type: git_repo
path: ~/sonar
origin: https://github.com/mainsail-crew/sonar.git
primary_branch: main
managed_services: sonar
system_dependencies: resources/system-dependencies.json

This allows Moonraker to check for Sonar updates and apply them through the Mainsail update manager interface.

Verify the Installation¶

After rebooting, you can check whether Sonar is running:

sudo systemctl status sonar

To view the logs:

sudo journalctl -u sonar -f