
PocketC.H.I.P. was designed to be customizable to your own personal taste, so it’s great to see Pocketeers like Marshmallow share their additions on the NTC forums.
Thanks to his work, you can modify the PocketC.H.I.P. home screen in a number of ways: add icons for your favorite programs, change the background color or add a wallpaper, and even add additional pages of applications. The software also offers nice additions to the user interface, such as the ability to delete icons from the home screen and a display of the remaining battery in an easy-to-read percentage.
Here’s how to install Marshmallow’s software and add an application and custom icon. Fire up your PocketC.H.I.P. and let’s head straight to hell with this community favorite: Doom!
1. Update Your System Package Lists
Make sure your PocketC.H.I.P. is connected to the internet, then open the Terminal application and update the package information. Type the following command and pressing enter.
sudo apt update
1.5 (Optional) Install SSH
It’s possible to do this project completely on PocketC.H.I.P., but some of the URLs are a bit tedious to type in. Instead, I installed SSH on PocketC.H.I.P., so that I can easily cut and paste the longer commands from my computer into an SSH terminal.
Install SSH.
sudo apt install ssh
Note: SSH is not pre-installed on PocketC.H.I.P., because we didn’t want thousands of devices to have SSH servers running with a widely known default password. It’s always a good idea to change your password once you get a device. This is especially true when your device runs a service that allows anyone who knows your IP address and password access.
2. Change your Passwords
Change the password for both the root and chip users on your PocketC.H.I.P.. For full details, consult this section in the docs.
3. Download and Use Marshmallow’s Installer
Open an SSH connection from your computer (or laptop) to PocketC.H.I.P., or you can type all of this in directly to PocketC.H.I.P., it’s up to you.
Note: If you need help, check the docs for details on using SSH.
Type cd to make sure you’re in the home directory.
cd
Note: cd without a directory path after the command will always take you to your home directory. Another way to do this is to type cd ~ or cd /home/chip.
Once you’re connected and have a command-prompt, use wget to download the text of Marshmallow’s installation script.
wget -O install-pockethome http://bit.ly/29zN90q
Back at the command-line, use chmod to change the permissions of install-pockethome. This will let you execute the file as a program.
chmod +x ./install-pockethome
Now run the installation script.
./install-pockethome
Reboot PocketC.H.I.P. and Marshmallow’s home screen will start right up. You’ll know you’re running his software when you see the battery icon has a percentage by it.
sudo reboot
Note: If you’re curious to look at Marshmallow’s source code, take a look at his GitHub repository.
4. Install Doom
From the command-line, install Doom and the shareware map files (called WAD files) for the game.
sudo apt install prboom doom-wad-shareware
Note: For those curious, Doom is open source software and you can read every line of this class game on id Software’s GitHub repository.
5. Download a Doom Icon

The Icon Archive has a nice Doom icon that’s perfect for the home screen. Use wget to download and rename the file as Doom.png.
Type cd to make sure you’re in the home directory.
cd
Download the image.
wget -O Doom.png http://icons.iconarchive.com/icons/3xhumed/mega-games-pack-26/256/Doom-1-icon.png
Note: Enter the command above without a line break in the URL.
Once the icon is downloaded, you won’t need to use the SSH connection. Grab your PocketC.H.I.P. and tap and touch you way through the rest of the project.
6. Adding a Doom Icon to the Home Screen
Tap the settings sprocket in the bottom right corner of the screen and then tap the Personalize button.

Adding the Doom icon to PocketC.H.I.P. home
Tap the Add button and fill in the name of the icon, the path to the icon, and the command that should run when the icon is tapped.
- Name: Doom
- Icon Path:/home/chip/Doom.png
- Command:prboom
Tap Apply and then reboot your PocketC.H.I.P. for the settings to take effect. When your PocketC.H.I.P. reboots, you should have an arrow at the bottom of the screen. Tap it and you’ll see the Doom icon.

Doom is just a start! Once you’ve added Marshmallow’s software to yourPocketC.H.I.P., make sure to share screen shots on Twitter, Facebook, and in the forums.

Hunting down demons on PocketC.H.I.P.
A great way to snap a picture on PocketC.H.I.P. is by using the built-in screenshot tool. Open the Terminal and run the following command.
xfce4-screenshooter
Thank you for the easy step-by-step guide to installing this great mod by Marshmallow! And we get a bonus guide to install DOOM as well! Always looking forward to your blog posts, so many rabbit holes, so little time!
Thanks, Senkun!
There’s so much great work being done by forum users, it makes it easy to write-up fun blog posts.
when PayPal will be?
Hi Mariusz,
We don’t have a timeline for adding new payment options.
So there is a little translation issue with the script; where ‘&’ and ‘>’ have the HTML encoding as ‘&’ and ‘>’
Here is a fixed version:
echo ‘Downloading new package link’
wget -O /tmp/package.txt ‘https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=0B1jRc4IqT9kiSVVIOE8wd2w4Zkk’
echo ‘Checking if new version is available’
cat /tmp/package.txt | head -1 & /tmp/version
cat /tmp/package.txt | tail -1 > /tmp/link
(diff /tmp/version ~/.pocket-home/.version && echo ‘Already up-to-date.’) || \
(echo ‘Updating…’ && \
mkdir -p ~/.pocket-home/ && \
cp /tmp/version ~/.pocket-home/.version &&\
rm -f /tmp/package.deb && \
wget -O /tmp/package.deb -i /tmp/link && \
sudo dpkg -i /tmp/package.deb && \
echo ‘Installation finished.’)
Thanks James!
I appreciate that you caught the issue. I’ll update the post’s copy to reflect your correction.
Scriptified these instructions. If anyone wants to be lazy about it. http://roa.st/q0i
Let me know on there if there are any issues. 🙂
Newbie here. How do I use this to do the install on my PocketCHIP?
Keep getting a syntax error from ./install-pockethome, so am looking for an alternative.
Any help would be appreciated.
What is the error?
Mike,
newbie as well, i got to install perfectly. i didn’t use SSH, just typed the lines in the terminal.
try it step by step.
Ahh …. found the syntax error in the gist. I was missing a } in the marsh function.
It works now. Just ran it on 2 Pocket C.H.I.Ps 😀
Success! Thanks very much for your assistance.
looking forward to some pocket Doom action.
Cool article. I was interested to see which engine you opted for, was there any particular reason you chose prboom over chocolate-doom, for instance?
This would be much easier to do if Next Thing Co. shipped my Pocket C.H.I.P. lol
hi.. I am also getting a syntax error with the above at ./install-pockethome … any thoughts?
Fixed the script. Everything works in the script.
Whenever I attempt to run it, I see:
./install-pockethome: syntax error neat unexpected token
('
converted ‘http://bit.ly/29zN90q’ (ANSI_X3.4-1968) -> ‘http://bit.ly/29zN90q’ (UTF-8)’./install-pockethome: line 1:
On rebooting, nothing has changed.
That should read “near expected token”
Deleted and retried and it worked today. The wget command provided no visible output last time, so I must have messed up and the command line parameters got piped into the file somehow?
hmm.. seems there is a problem resolving drive.google.com.. I managed to get the script to run after hitting the syntax error, but looks like the actual location of the download is unreachable?
I am not an expert.. so I am sure someone can point out the way forward….
I probably have the same problem with sean; “chmod: invalid option — ‘p’
FYI, i am also typing this on the Pocket keyboard as I don’t want SSH on it.
Thanks,
Ok, solved my problem. In the command line (“wget”), there is no space between install and -pockethome. It should be install-pockethome and not install-pockethome.
Hi, how can i add an icon to Dwd browser? Can anyone help me? I installed the app but i don’t see the icon with this new home screen.
3. DOWNLOAD AND USE MARSHMALLOW’S INSTALLER
I ran this script and it bricked my Chip. It booted up but had no icons on the home screen at all. Tried re-flashing it and ran into so many problems with cables/usb3 so trying to rescue it from an older laptop.
Hi – noob here…
Was doing everything via my PocketCHIP. When I tried step 4 (installing DOOM), all I got was this:
You might want to run ‘apt-get -f install’ to correct these:
The following programs have unmet dependencies:
pocket-home : Depends: xinput-calibrator but it is not going to be installed
pr-boom : Depends: prboom-plus but it is not going to be installed
Depends: prboom-plus-game-server but it is not going to be installed
E: Unmet dependencies. Try ‘apt-get -f install’ with no packages (or specify a solution).
Help! Thanks…
Hey – just letting you know I worked it out! Seems I had not installed xinput-calibrator…guess this is how you learn!
Thanks…
Hi! I ran into this exact issue at that step but I don’t know where to install xinput-calibrator. What would I enter into the command line to install it?
Thank you
I’m having this same problem. I’m a newb. How do I install the xinput calibrator?
Try doing what it is suggesting and run ‘apt-get -f install’ and then continue with the script.
Yo obtuve el mismo error, pero utilicé este comando:
sudo apt-get clean
Después continué con la instalación sin problemas.
Funcionó…!!
When I try to run Doom it loads for a minute then gos back to my home screen
i was able to get marshmallows software
I’m getting this too. I don’t think it can find “prboom” command…shouldn’t this just be “doom” to start the game?
Weird…I ran the installer again and now it working!
I had to re-run the installer too to get it to work.
can’t add the icon (personalization doesn’t seem available to me in the setting screen)but the doom game works. thanks so much for this
I managed to get Doom running which is pretty neat, but now I can’t get back to my home screen. I get an error message saying
“Cannot launch Pocket-Home
There was an error parsing the configurat (it gets cut off here)
a syntax error)
Do you want to launch a terminal now to (rest of text is cut off)
?”
Yes No
launching terminal is all I can do now, please help. I’m a newbie and don’t want to risk messing with anything for fear of making things worse ):
I also get the issue where the loading circle appears and then just goes back to the home screen, i tried running ‘apt-get -f install’
And I get the following response:
“E: Could not open lock file /var/lib/dpkg/lock – open (13: Permission denied)
E: Unable to lock the administration directory (/var/lib/dpkg/), are you root?”
I strongly recommend to drop prboom for chocolate-vanilla, highly better performance and fps.
This does not work for me 🙁
Jarrod,
Sorry you’re having issues with the instructions. Please provide me with more information about what isn’t working and I can help you out.
I tried this, but I don’t think the installation of marshmallow went as planned. It looked like some files had been moved on the server. At any rate, once I rebooted…. no percentage sign. ANd no “personalize” button.
What am I missing?
Many thanks.
Hey! Great tutorial, and it totally worked for me, but a couple of days later i turn on my pocket chip and all the customization i had done to the home screen was gone, any ideas what happened?