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On Raspberry Pi OS Trixie, Control Centre is the desktop app for common appearance, display, and other settings. Open it from Raspberry Pi menu > Preferences > Control Centre. If you use Bookworm, the equivalent app is called Raspberry Pi Configuration; on Raspberry Pi OS Lite or a headless system, use raspi-config or the relevant command-line configuration instead.
What is the Raspberry Pi OS Control Centre?
Control Centre brings several settings applications together in one place in the Trixie release of Raspberry Pi OS. Raspberry Pi’s Simon Long described the change in the Trixie release article as replacing Raspberry Pi Configuration, Appearance Settings, Mouse and Keyboard Settings, Screen Configuration, and Printer with a single Control Centre application.
The app has a lightweight core that loads features from plugin libraries at runtime, so functionality can be added as new tabs. The change applies to the Trixie-era desktop; it does not mean every Raspberry Pi OS version has the same app or interface.
Where is Control Centre in Raspberry Pi OS?
- On the Raspberry Pi desktop, select the Raspberry Pi menu icon.
- Choose Preferences > Control Centre.
- Open the relevant settings page, such as Appearance or Screens, and adjust the available options.
Raspberry Pi’s configuration documentation identifies Raspberry Pi Configuration as the corresponding app in Raspberry Pi OS Bookworm. If an older guide tells you to open that app, it may be correct for Bookworm even though Trixie uses Control Centre.
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What can you configure in Control Centre?
Desktop appearance
The documented desktop styles are Taskbar, Taskbar/Dock, and Dock. Taskbar is the Trixie default. Appearance options are accessed through Control Centre; the available settings may vary with the OS version.
Displays and screen orientation
In the desktop Screens settings, you can configure resolution, refresh rate, orientation, and scaling. Which modes are offered depends on the Raspberry Pi model and the connected monitor, so a resolution or refresh rate shown on one setup may not be available on another. Follow the display instructions for your OS release and hardware.
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Screen blanking
The desktop setting lets you turn screen blanking on or off. When blanking is enabled, Raspberry Pi documentation gives 600 seconds (10 minutes) as the default inactivity period. That setting is for desktop sessions. Blanking on a text console is controlled separately by the consoleblank kernel command-line parameter; changing the desktop option does not configure console blanking. See Raspberry Pi’s screen-blanking instructions for the distinction and configuration details.
Touch Display 2 brightness
If you use the optional Raspberry Pi Touch Display 2, its brightness control is under Preferences > Control Centre > Screens. Right-click the display representation and select Brightness, following Raspberry Pi’s Touch Display 2 instructions. The Control Centre itself is software and does not require a touchscreen or any particular display.
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Which configuration route should you use?
| Route | Best fit | Important limit |
|---|---|---|
| Control Centre | Desktop users changing common visual settings | Requires the desktop; some settings are elsewhere or not exposed in the GUI |
sudo raspi-config |
Lite or headless setups, and users who prefer a terminal-based menu | Some configuration still requires direct CLI commands or file edits |
| Direct CLI or configuration-file edits | Advanced settings or console-only configuration | Requires care with the correct file, syntax, hardware, and OS version |
For Raspberry Pi OS Lite or a headless system, launch the menu with sudo raspi-config. For a desktop session, use Control Centre for the settings it provides. Some desktop settings live outside the app—for example, Wi-Fi can be managed from the system-tray wireless icon—and advanced settings may require CLI configuration. The appropriate route depends on the setting and the OS release, as Raspberry Pi’s configuration documentation explains.
Can you configure a headless Raspberry Pi without Control Centre?
Yes. A headless system has no desktop from which to open Control Centre. Use sudo raspi-config for its menu-based terminal options, or use the documented CLI or configuration-file method when the setting is not available there. Display configuration is also different in console-only setups, so use instructions that match your OS version and hardware rather than applying a desktop workflow to a headless device.
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