To use Pi-hole across your home network, install it on a Raspberry Pi with a stable IP address, then configure your router to give that address to clients as their DNS server. Installing Pi-hole alone does not redirect other devices’ DNS requests; the router’s DHCP settings—or Pi-hole’s DHCP server as a fallback—make the network-wide setup work.
What you need before installing Pi-hole
Pi-hole lists Raspberry Pi OS as a supported operating system. It supports only actively maintained versions of supported distributions. Its published minimums are 512 MB of RAM and 2 GB of free disk space, with 4 GB of free disk space recommended. Pi-hole’s prerequisites describe the software as lightweight.
- A Raspberry Pi running a supported, actively maintained Raspberry Pi OS version.
- A stable IP address. Set one on the Pi or create a DHCP reservation for it in your router. A reservation keeps the address consistent while the router continues assigning addresses.
- Available DNS ports. Pi-hole needs TCP and UDP port 53. Check that another DNS service on the host is not already using them.
Install Pi-hole on Raspberry Pi OS
Pi-hole’s standard installation guide documents this automated command:
curl -sSL https://install.pi-hole.net | bashThis downloads the installer and passes it directly to Bash. Pi-hole notes that this approach is controversial because you cannot review the script before it runs. If you want to inspect the installer first, the official guide also documents cloning the repository and running basic-install.sh, or downloading that script and invoking it with sudo bash. Follow the current instructions on the official page for the exact commands.
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Complete the installer’s prompts, including its network and DNS selections. The installer’s screens and available choices can change; use the settings shown on your Pi rather than assuming a particular prompt or upstream DNS option.
Check Pi-hole after installation
Pi-hole provides a web interface and the pihole command for administration. Its getting-started documentation includes these command examples:
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- Includes 128GB Micro SD Card pre-loaded with 64-bit Raspberry Pi OS, USB MicroSD Card Reader
- CanaKit Turbine Black Case for the Raspberry Pi 5
- CanaKit Low Noise Bearing System Fan
- Mega Heat Sink - Black Anodized
pihole status— check Pi-hole’s status.pihole version— display version information.pihole update— run the documented update command.
Use the web interface or command line to manage the installation. Before changing network settings, note the Pi’s stable IP address; that is the address clients need for DNS.
Make devices across your home network use Pi-hole
Configure the router’s DHCP or LAN settings to distribute the Pi-hole address as the DNS server. Menu names vary by router, so look for DNS settings associated with its LAN or DHCP configuration. This lets devices that receive their network settings from the router use Pi-hole without configuring each device individually.
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- CanaKit Raspberry Pi 5 Essentials Starter Kit
- Open your router’s administration interface and find its LAN or DHCP settings.
- Set the DNS server handed to clients to the Raspberry Pi’s stable Pi-hole IP address.
- Save the setting. Renew clients’ network connections or leases so they receive the updated DNS setting.
- Check a connected device’s network details to confirm it received the Pi-hole address as DNS.
Router interfaces differ, and the documentation does not establish a universal menu path. If the router cannot distribute a custom DNS server, Pi-hole’s documented fallback is to use Pi-hole’s built-in DHCP server instead.
Fallback: use Pi-hole for DHCP
Do not run the router’s DHCP service and Pi-hole’s DHCP service at the same time on the home LAN. If you use Pi-hole to assign network settings, disable DHCP on the router first, then enable and configure Pi-hole DHCP. Two active DHCP servers can give devices conflicting network settings.
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Standard installation or Docker?
The normal installation runs Pi-hole on the Raspberry Pi OS host. Docker is a separate deployment path, with additional decisions about networking, ports and persistent configuration. Pi-hole’s Docker configuration guide documents the following considerations:
| Choice | What to consider |
|---|---|
| Install on Raspberry Pi OS | Uses the host operating system directly. The standard installer is the documented route; ensure no other host DNS service occupies TCP or UDP port 53. |
| Run in Docker | Requires port mappings or a networking mode that exposes DNS to the LAN, plus persistent volumes for configuration. The guide’s example exposes DNS on TCP and UDP port 53 and web interfaces on ports 80 and 443, and recommends automatic restart. |
| Docker bridge networking with DHCP | DHCP broadcasts do not cross from the container network to the LAN. Pi-hole’s guide says DHCP works best with host networking unless the router supports DHCP relay or another suitable network design is in place. |
For a first installation whose goal is network-wide DNS, the host-OS method avoids Docker’s extra port and network-mode decisions. Choose Docker if you already manage container networking and can provide the necessary LAN access and persistent storage.
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What Pi-hole can and cannot do for ad blocking
Pi-hole filters DNS requests using its configured blocking lists. When devices use it as their DNS server, it can block requests to domains on those lists across the network. It is not a universal ad blocker: ads served from the same domain as wanted content, or content that does not rely on DNS requests, may not be blocked. The setup described here makes Pi-hole available as network DNS; it does not guarantee that every device or every ad will be filtered.
Quick Recap
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