PiNetBeacon

Platform Built with Interface Status Open Source

Welcome! 👋

PiNetBeacon is a lightweight, Raspberry-Pi–friendly network monitor that helps you see what your home internet is actually doing - latency, uptime, DNS health, and small outages - without heavy stacks, containers, or databases.

PiNetBeacon runs tiny checks from a Raspberry Pi (including the Zero 2 W), logs the results as simple JSON Lines, and optionally serves a small web dashboard so you can browse your recent history in a browser.

It’s simple, transparent, and built for learning just as much as monitoring.

Why PiNetBeacon?

Most monitoring stacks assume you want dashboards, databases, exporters, half a dozen services, and 10 ports open.

PiNetBeacon is the opposite: it’s small, approachable, and aimed at people who want answers to real-life questions like:

  • “Is my internet actually flaky, or is it just that one site?”
  • “What does latency mean for the way I use the internet?”
  • “How often is my connection dropping when I’m not watching?”

If you’d like a tiny Pi quietly watching your network - and explaining what it’s seeing - you’re in the right place.

Key features

  • 🕒 Lightweight scheduled checks
    Tiny ping + DNS tests that won’t stress even a Pi Zero W.

  • 📄 Clean local JSONL logs
    One check per line, easy to tail, grep, or feed into other tools.

  • 📊 Optional web dashboard
    A simple, self-hosted UI that reads your log file and shows recent checks.

  • 🧪 Built to teach
    Docs explain the “why”, not just “paste this command”.

  • 🧹 Automatic log cleanup
    Optional cron-based cleanup to keep your SD card tidy.

  • 🧩 Extensible
    Add your own modules or tweak the existing ones.

  • 🧸 No bloat. No containers. No databases.
    The entire project is tiny, transparent, and approachable.

Start here

  • 👉 Getting started - set up PiNetBeacon on a Raspberry Pi (Zero 2 W included)
  • 🧠 How it works - plain-language explanations of ping, DNS, and outage logic
  • 🔍 Monitoring modules - what PiNetBeacon checks and why
  • 📊 Dashboard - load and browse your recent logs visually
  • 🤖 Automation - cron, systemd, and automatic log cleanup
  • 🔐 Secure remote access - optional Cloudflare Tunnel guide
  • ❓ FAQ - common questions and troubleshooting tips

What makes PiNetBeacon different?

PiNetBeacon is intentionally small and transparent.

Instead of hiding complexity behind a huge stack, it leans into:

  • clear configuration
  • small scripts you can read in one sitting
  • documentation that explains how things work under the hood

This way, you’ll understand both what you’re doing and why it matters.

Think of PiNetBeacon as:

A tiny Raspberry Pi watching your network…
and a friendly guide helping you make sense of it.