The 6th edition of our Beginner’s Guide is available now!
- 5th Dec 2025
- Brian Jepson
It was just over two years ago that we introduced the 5th edition of Gareth Halfacree’s The Official Raspberry Pi Beginner’s Guide. That edition featured the latest and greatest of our hardware and software at the time: Raspberry Pi 5 and Raspberry Pi OS Bookworm. Since then, we’ve released many shiny new things, and the time was right for a major update. The 6th edition is available now, featuring Raspberry Pi 500 and 500+, and Raspberry Pi OS Trixie. We’ve also incorporated numerous improvements, clarifications, and corrections.
Everything you need to get started
The book begins with a guided tour of Raspberry Pi hardware, covering the features and capabilities of the latest Raspberry Pi computers. After that, you’ll learn how to set up your Raspberry Pi and prepare it for its first boot. You’ll also get to know the desktop environment and find out how to install software (including the must-play games from Code the Classics Volume I and Volume II). And that’s just the first three chapters, which feature all-new full-colour images of Raspberry Pi 500+ and Raspberry Pi OS Trixie.
Write code with Python and Scratch
Chapters 4 through 7 introduce you to programming with Scratch and Python. You’ll start by writing simple programs that don’t require any extra hardware or peripherals. After you’ve mastered the basics of the two programming languages, you’ll move on to creating programs that interact with the outside world, taking your first step into physical computing with inputs such as push buttons and outputs such as LEDs. From there, you’ll progress to programming with the Sense HAT, an optional Raspberry Pi accessory that features on-board sensors and an LED matrix for visualisation.
Accessorise your Raspberry Pi
The rest of the book continues the theme of “things you can wire up to your Raspberry Pi.” The penultimate chapter shows you how to use a Raspberry Pi Camera Module, while the final chapter covers the Raspberry Pi Pico 2 microcontroller board, building on the Python and physical computing skills you learned earlier. Finally, the Beginner’s Guide wraps up with some useful reference appendices.
Get it today
The Official Raspberry Pi Beginner’s Guide, 6th edition, is out today. You can pick up your copy from our store for just £19.99. It’s also available from online retailers such as Amazon US and UK, and from other booksellers who have exceptional taste in books. If you’re interested in an electronic version, we’ve got several ways you can get your hands on a PDF or ePUB.
After you add this new book to your shopping cart, be sure to check out the many other books we offer in our online shop.
