Raspberry Pi OS: Set a Static IP Address

A static IP address ensures your Raspberry Pi is always reachable at the same network address instead of receiving a new one from the router each time it boots. This is particularly important when the Pi provides a service that other devices must reliably find, such as SSH access, a web server, Home Assistant, Pi‑hole, a Minecraft server or anything behind a port‑forward on your router.

When to use a static IP on the Pi vs. a DHCP reservation on the router:

• Use a static IP on the Pi when you fully control the device and network segment or when your router can’t create DHCP reservations.
• Prefer a DHCP reservation (a “static lease”) on the router if possible. The router will still hand out the address via DHCP but always assign the same one to the Pi’s MAC address. This avoids address conflicts and centralizes IP management.

If you configure the address on the Pi, choose one outside the DHCP pool of your router. Otherwise the router may hand the same address to another device.

Which method applies to your Raspberry Pi OS version?

Raspberry Pi OS changed its network stack with Bookworm (released in October 2023):

• Bookworm and later use NetworkManager. /etc/dhcpcd.conf no longer exists there and editing it has no effect.
• Bullseye and earlier use dhcpcd.

Check your version and the active network service:

1grep VERSION_CODENAME /etc/os-release
2systemctl is-active NetworkManager

If NetworkManager is active, follow the NetworkManager section. Otherwise use the dhcpcd section.

The examples use 192.168.1.100/24 as the Pi’s address and 192.168.1.1 as router and DNS server. Replace these values with the ones of your network.

Bookworm and later: NetworkManager

1. List the connections and note the name of the one you want to change:

nmcli connection show

The wired connection is usually named Wired connection 1; a Wi-Fi connection is usually named after its SSID.

2. Set the static address, gateway and DNS server:

sudo nmcli connection modify "Wired connection 1"   ipv4.method manual   ipv4.addresses 192.168.1.100/24   ipv4.gateway 192.168.1.1   ipv4.dns 192.168.1.1

3. Reactivate the connection to apply the change:

sudo nmcli connection up "Wired connection 1"

If you are connected via SSH, the session drops when the address changes. Reconnect to the new address.

As an alternative to the command line, sudo nmtui offers a text-based UI for the same settings.

Bullseye and earlier: dhcpcd.conf

1. Open the dhcpcd.conf file in a text editor:

sudo nano /etc/dhcpcd.conf

2. Add the following lines at the end of the file, replacing eth0 with your network interface (use ip a to find your interface name; Wi-Fi is usually wlan0):

1interface eth0
2static ip_address=192.168.1.100/24
3static routers=192.168.1.1
4static domain_name_servers=192.168.1.1

3. Save the file and exit the text editor. Ctrl + X, then Y and Enter

4. Restart the dhcpcd service:

sudo systemctl restart dhcpcd

As with NetworkManager, an SSH session drops when the address changes.

Verify the configuration

Check that the interface has the new address and that the router is reachable:

1ip a
2ping -c 3 192.168.1.1

Conclusion

A static IP address is particularly useful when you want to ensure that your Raspberry Pi is always reachable at the same address on the network. This is important for applications that require a constant network connection, such as servers, IoT devices or remote control. On current Raspberry Pi OS versions you configure it with NetworkManager, on older versions through dhcpcd.conf. The address stays the same across reboots; if the Pi moves to a different network, the static configuration has to be adjusted or removed.