How to Farm Chia with a Raspberry Pi (Step-by-Step Guide)

 Chia (XCH) is a unique cryptocurrency that relies on proof of space and time rather than energy-hungry proof of work. Unlike traditional crypto mining, Chia farming requires pre-plotted storage drives instead of heavy computational power.

One of the best ways to run a low-power, always-on Chia farmer is with a Raspberry Pi. Thanks to its efficiency, the Pi can maintain your plots and keep farming 24/7 without racking up high electricity bills.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to set up a Chia farm on Raspberry Pi, connect external drives, and keep your node running smoothly.

Why Farm Chia on a Raspberry Pi?

• Low power consumption – run your farm continuously at just a few watts.
• Compact and quiet – no noisy GPUs or bulky rigs.
• Cost-efficient – Raspberry Pi 4 or 400 is much cheaper than a full PC.
• Cross-platform – Chia software works on Linux, so Pi is fully supported.

⚠️ Note: You cannot plot Chia drives on a Pi (it’s too slow). You’ll need pre-plotted drives created on a more powerful PC.

Step 1: Install a 64-bit OS on Raspberry Pi

Chia requires a 64-bit operating system, so use:

• Raspberry Pi OS 64-bit, or
• Ubuntu Server 64-bit

After flashing the OS, update your packages:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

Step 2: Install Required Dependencies

Install the essential packages:

sudo apt install git build-essential python3-dev

• git → clone Chia blockchain repo
• build-essential → compilers for Chia installation
• python3-dev → Python headers for building extensions

Step 3: Clone Chia Blockchain

Clone the official Chia repository:

git clone https://github.com/Chia-Network/chia-blockchain.git -b latest
cd chia-blockchain

Step 4: Install and Initialize Chia

• Run the installation script:

sh install.sh

• Enter the virtual environment:

. ./activate

• Initialize Chia:

chia init

Step 5: Add Your Chia Keys

You’ll need your 24-word mnemonic key created when plotting your drives.

• If you already have keys:

chia keys add

• If you want to generate new keys:

chia keys generate

⚠️ Store this seed phrase securely! Anyone with it can access your wallet.

Step 6: Start the Chia Farmer

Once configured, start farming with:

chia start farmer

Step 7: Add Plots to Your Farm

1. Connect your external drive containing plots.

2. Find its path (example: /media/pi/plots):

ls -l /media/pi/

3. Add the directory:

chia plots add -d /media/pi/plots

4. Verify plots:

chia plots check

Step 8: Auto-Start Chia on Boot

Create a systemd service to run Chia automatically:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/chiafarmer.service

Paste the following:

[Unit]
Description=Chia Farmer
Wants=network-online.target
After=network.target network-online.target

[Service]
Type=forking
Restart=always
RestartSec=1
User=pi
Environment=PATH=/home/pi/chia-blockchain/venv/bin:${PATH}
ExecStart=/usr/bin/env chia start farmer -r
ExecStop=/usr/bin/env chia stop all -d

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Save and enable:

sudo systemctl enable chiafarmer
sudo systemctl start chiafarmer

Step 9: Monitor Your Chia Farm

Activate your virtual environment:

cd ~/chia-blockchain
. ./activate

Check node status:

chia show -s -c

Check farm summary:

chia farm summary

Step 10: Update Your Chia Farmer

To keep Chia up-to-date:

sudo systemctl stop chiafarmer
cd ~/chia-blockchain
git pull
sh install.sh
. ./activate
chia init
sudo systemctl start chiafarmer

You’ve now set up a Raspberry Pi as a Chia farmer! 

• Low power consumption makes Pi perfect for 24/7 farming.
• Just plug in your pre-plotted drives and keep farming.
• Regularly update your Chia software for stability.

With this setup, you can passively farm Chia coins while keeping your energy usage minimal.