diff --git a/blog/posts/shared-browser-raspberry-pi-hermes-agent.html b/blog/posts/shared-browser-raspberry-pi-hermes-agent.html index 225115a..3c53377 100644 --- a/blog/posts/shared-browser-raspberry-pi-hermes-agent.html +++ b/blog/posts/shared-browser-raspberry-pi-hermes-agent.html @@ -123,12 +123,20 @@
Install Raspberry Pi OS Lite (no desktop needed — the browser runs headless-on-headless). SSH into the Pi and install Chromium:
+Install Raspberry Pi OS Lite. SSH into the Pi and install Chromium, a lightweight desktop environment, and xrdp for remote desktop access:
sudo apt update
-sudo apt install chromium-browser -y
+sudo apt install chromium-browser xfce4 xrdp -y
- That's it. No desktop environment, no X server, no VNC. Chromium runs in headless mode with the debugging port exposed.
+Enable xrdp and start it:
+ +sudo systemctl enable --now xrdp
+
+ That's the entire install. xfce4 gives you a minimal desktop, xrdp serves it over RDP, and Chromium is the browser your agent will drive.
+ +xorgxrdp with a basic window manager like openbox instead of xfce4. The Pi only needs to display a browser — you don't need a full desktop environment. But xfce4 is the simplest path and works well on a Pi 4 or 5.
+ You should get a JSON response with the browser version, WebSocket URL, and available pages. If you see the JSON, the tunnel is working.
-To see the browser visually from your local machine, open Chrome or Brave and navigate to chrome://inspect. Click "Configure" and add localhost:9222 (or the Pi's local IP if you're on the same network). You'll see all open tabs and can inspect them live.
Now that xrdp is running on the Pi, you can log into its full desktop from any machine on your local network. This is where you'll log into your accounts — Stripe, LinkedIn, Google, whatever your agent needs to access.
+ +On your main workstation, install Remmina:
+ +sudo apt install remmina -y
+
+ Open Remmina and create a new RDP connection:
+ +192.168.1.100)pi or your custom user)Click Connect. You'll see the xfce4 desktop of your Raspberry Pi. From here you can:
+ +chrome://inspect inside the RDP session to see all active tabs--user-data-dir=/home/pi/profiles/stripe and keep them all running in separate windows.
+ To see the browser visually from your local machine without RDP, you can also open Chrome or Brave and navigate to chrome://inspect. Click "Configure" and add localhost:9222 (or the Pi's local IP if you're on the same network). You'll see all open tabs and can inspect them live.