since a day or more I try to get my RaspberryPi 5 running with my Brewblox Spark 4, with no success.
I set up my Paspberry 5 with Raspberry PI OS (64 Bit) (recommended). It is working so far, and my Raspberry Shows up in my SSH Client, it’s visible in my Network and I cn log in.
After restarting the Raspberry and logging in I receive error messages:
Debian GNU/Linux comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by applicable law. Last login: Tue Mar 17 16:06:35 2026 from 192.168.178.135 -bash: warning: setlocale: LC_CTYPE: cannot change locale (en_GB.UTF-8): No such file or directory -bash: warning: setlocale: LC_CTYPE: cannot change locale (en_GB.UTF-8): No such file or directory -bash: warning: setlocale: LC_COLLATE: cannot change locale (en_GB.UTF-8): No su ch file or directory -bash: warning: setlocale: LC_CTYPE: cannot change locale (en_GB.UTF-8): No such file or directory -bash: warning: setlocale: LC_CTYPE: cannot change locale (en_GB.UTF-8): No such file or directory -bash: warning: setlocale: LC_COLLATE: cannot change locale (en_GB.UTF-8): No su ch file or directory -bash: warning: setlocale: LC_CTYPE: cannot change locale (en_GB.UTF-8): No such file or directory -bash: warning: setlocale: LC_CTYPE: cannot change locale (en_GB.UTF-8): No such file or directory -bash: warning: setlocale: LC_COLLATE: cannot change locale (en_GB.UTF-8): No su ch file or directory -bash: warning: setlocale: LC_CTYPE: cannot change locale (en_GB.UTF-8): No such file or directory -bash: warning: setlocale: LC_CTYPE: cannot change locale (en_GB.UTF-8): No such file or directory -bash: warning: setlocale: LC_COLLATE: cannot change locale (en_GB.UTF-8): No su ch file or directory
and typing “brewblox-ctl” with any additional part I receive “command not found”.
The Raspberry and the Spark 4 are connected via USB, the Spark Shows the IP address. But Nothing else is possibre.
What did I wrong? Or is that an issue in the System?
winfried@braueraspberry:~ $ wget -qO - https://www.brewblox.com/install | bash INFO Brewblox dir is “/home/winfried/brewblox” INFO Brewblox release is “edge” WARN /home/winfried/brewblox already exists, but is not a Brewblox directory.
winfried@braueraspberry:~ $ cd /home/winfried/brewblox && brewblox-ctl --help -bash: brewblox-ctl: command not found winfried@braueraspberry:~/brewblox $
or:
winfried@braueraspberry:~/brewblox $ cd /home/winfried/brewblox && brewblox-ctl --help -bash: brewblox-ctl: command not found winfried@braueraspberry:~/brewblox $
I re-started from scratch (re-wrote my SD-Card completely new), retsrted z´the Paspi and again I received the following message:
Last login: Thu Mar 19 15:13:43 2026 from 192.168.178.135
winfried@braueraspberry:~ $ brewblox-ctl add-spark
-bash: brewblox-ctl: command not found
winfried@braueraspberry:~ $
… what is going wrong …? There’s nothing I can do differently as far I can see. But I’m not a Paspberry- and also not a BrewPi-specialist. On the other hand a system sold to everybody should be able to be configured without a master degree in IT …
If you re-wrote the SD card, you’d have lost the entirety of the brewblox/ directory.
The error “sudo apt-get upgrade -y returned non-zero exit status” implies that the system did not receive the expected exit code. Most likely, a choice needed to be made by the user so the script exited.
Assuming you still have a fresh install of Raspberry Pi OS, run the following commands:
Hit:1 Index of /debian trixie InRelease
Get:2 Index of /debian trixie-updates InRelease [47.3 kB]
Hit:3 Index of /debian trixie InRelease
Hit:4 Index of /debian-security trixie-security InRelease
Fetched 47.3 kB in 0s (204 kB/s)
163 packages can be upgraded. Run ‘apt list --upgradable’ to see them.
Error: dpkg was interrupted, you must manually run ‘sudo dpkg --configure -a’ to correct the problem.
winfried@braueraspberry:~ $
Then I did:
sudo dpkg --configure -a
as suggested in the error message.
It started a process - seems ok ….no error messages - and then disconnected.
INFO Brewblox dir is “/home/winfried/brewblox”
INFO Brewblox release is “edge”
WARN /home/winfried/brewblox already exists, but is not a Brewblox directory.
winfried@braueraspberry:~ $
I entered:
winfried@braueraspberry:~ $ cd brewblox/ && brewblox-ctl --help
and received:
-bash: brewblox-ctl: command not found
winfried@braueraspberry:~/brewblox $
Thank you for the ongoing support - I were lost without.
I did as you suggested, but finally- after running the update command ~ $ sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade -y && sudo shutdown -r now
and then sudo dpkg --configure -a
it now ends with the Raspi disconnecting and closing down - the LED is flickering green and then switches to red.
Re-starting the Raspi manually with the built-in button has no further results - the LED is flickering green and then switches to red.
Dis- and reconnecting the Raspi has the same result.
I start again from scratch, means I write the SSD completely new. …
What is it what goes wrong?
Raspberry Pi 5 ist he one you can buy, and Raspberry PI OS (64 Bit) ist the operating system what is recommended.
BrewPi Spark 4 is also the one you actually can buy, and Brewbloxx is THE software to run on that combination.
My conclusion is that all this has to work together without ongoing issues and circling around as i do now since Monday …
Hi there John,
After doing as decribed above I received the same as every time:
ERROR CalledProcessError(Command ‘sudo apt-get upgrade -y’ returned non-zero exit status 100.) ERROR winfried@braueraspberry:~ $ sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade -y && sudo shutdown -r now Hit:1 Index of /debian trixie InRelease Hit:2 Index of /debian trixie-updates InRelease Hit:3 Index of /debian trixie InRelease Hit:4 http://deb.debian.org/debian-security trixie-security InRelease 131 packages can be upgraded. Run ‘apt list --upgradable’ to see them. Error: dpkg was interrupted, you must manually run ‘sudo dpkg --configure -a’ to correct the problem. winfried@braueraspberry:~ $ wget -qO - https://www.brewblox.com/install | bash INFO Brewblox dir is “/home/winfried/brewblox” INFO Brewblox release is “edge” WARN /home/winfried/brewblox already exists, but is not a Brewblox directory. winfried@braueraspberry:~ $ cd brewblox/ && brewblox-ctl --help -bash: brewblox-ctl: command not found winfried@braueraspberry:~/brewblox $
A reboot is required after installation. Do you want to be prompted before that happens? [Press ENTER for default value ‘yes’]
INFO Generating brewblox.yml … INFO Installing apt packages … Hit:1 Index of /debian trixie InRelease Hit:2 Index of /debian trixie-updates InRelease Hit:3 http://deb.debian.org/debian-security trixie-security InRelease Hit:4 Index of /debian trixie InRelease Reading package lists… Done E: dpkg was interrupted, you must manually run ‘sudo dpkg --configure -a’ to correct the problem. ERROR CalledProcessError(Command ‘sudo apt-get upgrade -y’ returned non-zero exit status 100.) ERROR winfried@braueraspberry:~ $
and then:
winfried@braueraspberry:~ $brewblox-ctl add-spark -bash: A: command not found -bash: INFO: command not found -bash: INFO: command not found -bash: Hit:1: command not found -bash: Hit:2: command not found -bash: Hit:3: command not found -bash: Hit:4: command not found -bash: Reading: command not found -bash: E:: command not found -bash: syntax error near unexpected token `(’ -bash: ERROR: command not found -bash: winfried@braueraspberry:~: command not found winfried@braueraspberry:~ $
May be Elco can help (I hope soooo).
Best regards
Winfried
One observation, you have to run brewblox-ctl from the brewblox folder, it won’t work from the root folder. Whenever you reboot, you need to type cd brewblox before running brewblox-ctl commands. In your previous attempts, you have done this but not in the latest (winfried@braueraspberry:~ $ is shown and it should be winfried@braueraspberry:~/brewblox $).
Once in the brewblox folder, type ls and see what you get. Also, if brewblox installed correctly, you have to type brewblox-ctl up to start it.
I’ve recently successfully installed brewblox on a Pi 5 with Trixie so I know it works even with some of the changes made that did cause one weird problem (now sorted). Any reason you have the Pi and Spark 4 connected over USB rather than your network wifi?
In the instructions regarding discovering Sparks, note that USB connections are not supported by the Spark 4, and the controller will not be discovered this way. If you are just using USB to power the Spark and also have the wifi configured, then Brewblox will discover it.
However if you are going to drive multiple devices from the GPIO (e.g., relays, SSRs, pumps, etc), then I recommend using a dedicated power supply to run the Spark using the external power option.
Thank you for your hints.
I have now done like you suggested.
Please see the outcome:
Last login: Sun Mar 22 17:05:31 2026 from 192.168.178.135 winfried@braueraspberry:~ $ cd ./brewblox winfried@braueraspberry:~/brewblox $ ls brewblox.yml winfried@braueraspberry:~/brewblox $ brewblox-ctl up -bash: brewblox-ctl: command not found winfried@braueraspberry:~/brewblox $
Should I rather re-write my SD card and start agaain from scratch?
The ls command lists the files and folders in the current location. There should be a lot more than your result so brewblox hasn’t installed successfully. I have encountered this once before but, rather than reinstalling the operating system, I just deleted the brewblox folder and then reran the script which worked.
You should always run sudo apt update and full-upgrade after a fresh install followed by a reboot but John had you do that previously and it didn’t solve the problem. Mind you, my experience suggests removing the brewblox folder and contents from a failed install is also important.
Another option is it could be an issue with the Trixie installation we are unaware of. As mentioned, I recently did a fresh install on a Pi 5 with Trixie and it worked fine. However, I couldn’t restore a large Snapshot from the Pi 4 I was replacing because the way the tmp folder is handled in the new OS (mounted in memory). Once I figured it out, it was an easy fix.
So yes, try again with a fresh install on your SD card but ensure you follow the instructions on the Pi website. I.e., use the Pi Imager app, then run update followed by upgrade to ensure you have the latest updates, run sudo raspi-config to resize the partitions on the SD card and reboot before installing brewblox. I’ve probably set up 6 Pis (4s and 5s) with brewblox and only had the issue you have been seeing once. To minimise the variables, I’d also do this without the Spark 4 connected to the USB port.
If you still have a problem, you could also try installing the 64 bit version of Bookworm instead but I’d recommend joining the Discord channel and asking Elco as he is really good at trouble-shooting installation issues and mostly monitors Discord rather than here.
Our most recent installation was the 64 bit desktop version of Trixie on a Pi 5. Brewblox recommendations installing the headless version to lower the demands on the system but we display the UI locally on a monitor attached to the Pi. All previous installations were Bookworm on Pi 4s and we have used both desktop and headless versions.
I find Trixie an improvement as an operating system but it is newer and probably not used in very many Brewblox systems yet so not tested thoroughly with the system. Regardless, the issue we found is the only issue I’ve seen reported to date and it ended up being an easy fix.
If you have no plans to hook up a monitor directly to the Pi, then I’d recommend the headless version of Trixie. Otherwise, the desktop version does run quite smoothly on a Pi 5, at least on our 4GB version and the tools in it do make some of the configuration changes fairly easy (such as setting a static IP address). Also, even with the desktop installation, you can configure it to boot to CLI mode when the desktop environment isn’t needed.
I only mentioned Bookworm as an option if there is some weird issue with Trixie causing your installation problems. Also, I’d suggest not connecting the Spark 4 to the Pi USB until Brewblox has been successfully installed. And if you plan to switch relays, SSRs and/or pumps from the Spark 4, it is better to use a separate power supply and not the Pi USB port to run the Spark.
