Turn a Raspberry Pi Zero W into a Tiny Web Server with SSH, Nginx & Ngrok

What is Raspberry Pi Zero W?

Raspberry Pi (RPi) is a credit‑card‑sized Linux‑based micro‑computer. The Zero W model is a mini version about one‑third the size of a Pi 3 B+, featuring a 1 GHz single‑core CPU, 512 MB RAM, Wi‑Fi/Bluetooth, micro‑USB power and OTG, mini‑HDMI, GPIO pins, and a micro‑SD slot.

Choosing the hardware

The author selected a low‑cost Zero W (≈100 CNY) after finding the standard 3 B+ board too expensive.

Preparing the system

Required items:

16 GB or 32 GB SanDisk micro‑SD card

Standard USB‑type‑A cable (not Type‑C)

SD card formatter (e.g., SDFormatter)

Win32DiskImager

Raspbian Stretch Lite image (official, no desktop)

The Lite image is a 360 KB zip that expands to a ~1.7 GB .img file.

Writing the image

Insert the SD card into a reader, open Win32DiskImager, select the .img file, choose the device, and click “Write”.

Configuring boot files

After writing, the SD card shows a boot partition (≈40 MB). Create two empty files in this partition:

ssh – an empty file to enable SSH on first boot.

wpa_supplicant.conf – containing Wi‑Fi credentials:

country=CN
ctrl_interface=DIR=/var/run/wpa_supplicant GROUP=netdev
update_config=1

network={
    ssid="YOUR_WIFI_NAME"
    psk="YOUR_WIFI_PASSWORD"
}

First boot and SSH access

Insert the card into the Zero W, power it via a USB cable, wait for the LED to stay solid, then find its IP (e.g., 192.168.0.104) on the router. Connect with an SSH client (e.g., PuTTY) using username pi and password raspberry.

System optimisation

Changing package sources

Replace the default apt sources with a domestic mirror (e.g., USTC) by editing /etc/apt/sources.list and /etc/apt/sources.list.d/raspi.list, then run:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade

Setting timezone

sudo dpkg-reconfigure tzdata

Select Asia → Shanghai.

Enabling SSH on boot

Method 1: sudo raspi-config → Interfacing Options → SSH → Enable.

Method 2: Add /etc/init.d/ssh start before exit 0 in /etc/rc.local.

Installing Nginx

# Install
sudo apt-get install nginx
# Start
sudo /etc/init.d/nginx start
# Restart
sudo /etc/init.d/nginx restart
# Stop
sudo /etc/init.d/nginx stop

Visit http://<em>your_pi_ip</em> in a browser to see the default Nginx page.

Exposing the server to the internet

Use a tunneling service such as ngrok, ittun, or natapp. The author chose the arm version of ittun’s ngrok, running it inside a screen session for background execution.

Additional notes

The Zero W can run other projects beyond a web server; many resources are available on the Raspberry Pi Lab website.