Install themes into Pi Zero

FlyingTomahawk

Pi Model or other hardware: Pi Zero 1.3
Power Supply used: 2.5A PSU with 2.4A microUSB cable
RetroPie Version Used: 4.1
Built From: retropie-4.1-rpi1_zero.img
USB Devices connected: iBuffalo SNES controller
Controller used: iBuffalo SNES controller

Is there a way to install themes on a Pi Zero without internet connection? Maybe via USB?
If yes, how?

dudleydes

@FlyingTomahawk I suggest a method for transferring via USB in this post. You can place your theme folder in /opt/retropie/configs/all/emulationstation/themes in addition to /home/pi/.emulationstation/themes.

FlyingTomahawk

Thanks for your reply.
I read that before but can't really understand what you meant by this

place the es-theme-carbon-master folder in the /home/pi/.emulationstation/themesfolder on your pi

I know I can download the themes from github or any other repo but where on the USB stick do I put them? Or in which folder structure should they be so that my Pi Zero finds them once I plug in the USB stick in?

Right now my USB stick has the following folder structure in it;

retropie/BIOS
retropie/configs/from_retropie
retropie/configs/to_retropie
retropie/roms

dudleydes

@FlyingTomahawk I don't believe it matters as the theme folder isn't copied automatically as roms are. I haven't tried this myself but I'm sure you could use the File Manager in the RetroPie Menu or command line to copy across the theme folder from your USB stick.

FlyingTomahawk

Ah I see... so it would be necessary to have a USB hub to be able to plug in the USB and at the same time have access to a keyboard or controller.
Thanks for your help, I see what I can come up with. Worst case I'll just get a WiFi dongle and access the Pi from my PC via FTP.

FlyingTomahawk

I could access my RPi Zero via FTP and Putty by using the WiFi dongle.
Well nothing special right? But have you ever done this with only 1 USB port?
I could not wait until I get a USB hub that works on a Pi Zero so I started to go through the RetroPie docs to see if there was a way to somehow insert the WiFi settings manually.

First I connected my keyboard to the USB port then while in Emulationstation I pushed F4 to access the Linux command prompt area.
there I did the following steps

sudo nano /etc/network/interfaces

once inside I changed it to the following.

auto lo

iface lo inet loopback
iface eth0 inet dhcp

allow-hotplug wlan0
auto wlan0
iface wlan0 inet dhcp
   wpa-ssid "NETWORK_NAME"
   wpa-psk "NETWORK_PASSWORD"***

of course replace NETWORK_NAME and NETWORK_PASSWORD with your real WiFi info.

Ctrl+X -> Y -> Enter to save
Then type sudo reboot
Now this must be done quick before it boots up again, while it is rebooting/shutting down pull out the keyboard and plug in the WiFi dongle.
Now during the boot up it should show something about dhcp and that should end with OK. Once in ES don't bother setting up the controller just access now your Pi Zero either via Putty, FTP or the home network or what ever you like to use.
Now you will be able to transfer themes and anything else into your RPi Zero.
Once done just use Putty to type sudo reboot and again during the shut down and start up procedure just swap the WiFi dongle with the controller and you are good to go again.

I hope this will help out another fellow out there that tries to do the same.
Good luck.

Zigurana

Thanks for leaving this out here, so others can learn from it!

dudleydes

@FlyingTomahawk I'm glad you managed to get everything sorted to transfer themes to your Pi Zero. I have seen this question asked several times so leaving details of your fix is appreciated.

You can also shut down your pi with the command sudo shutdown -h now, then swap the keyboard for the WiFi dongle before powering up your pi.

FlyingTomahawk

@dudleydes

Yeah, you're right. Just simply shut down the Pi once and swap the keyboard with the WiFi dongle and vice versa is the more comfortable way to do it without the need to hurry.