Step-by-Step Setup to create a Wifi HotSpot with a Raspberry Pi using NetworkManager’s nmcli (no hostapd/dnsmasq/dhcpcd) in 2025

Create a Wi-Fi Access Point named hotspot with password ******** that:

Shares internet from Ethernet if connected
Serves local apps (like this example web app running on port 3000) even if no Ethernet
Uses NetworkManager and nmcli only (no hostapd/dnsmasq/dhcpcd)

Prerequisites

Raspberry Pi OS with NetworkManager installed and running
nmcli CLI tool available
Node.js app or other local services listening on 0.0.0.0:3000

Step 0: Verify connections

Verify remaining connections:

nmcli connection show

should give you

Wired connection 1  c61e9bfe-c634-3354-95bd-d257f7800b6c  ethernet  eth0
MyPrivateWLAN       edaf8d6e-29cd-4c51-83eb-806e50547623  wifi      wlan0
lo                  0a78e945-7563-4f93-a852-6fde5fa167d6  loopback  lo
preconfigured       72a7caee-a05e-4145-9560-6768ab9da58d  wifi      --

Step 1: Create the Wi-Fi Access Point

Create a new Wi-Fi AP connection with SSID my-hotspot and password ********:

sudo nmcli connection add type wifi ifname wlan0 con-name my-hostpot ssid hostpot
sudo nmcli connection modify hostpot mode ap
sudo nmcli connection modify hostpot 802-11-wireless.band bg
sudo nmcli connection modify hotspot 802-11-wireless.channel 6
sudo nmcli connection modify hotspot wifi-sec.key-mgmt wpa-psk
sudo nmcli connection modify hotspot wifi-sec.psk "**********"
sudo nmcli connection modify hotspot ipv4.addresses 192.168.4.1/24
sudo nmcli connection modify hotspot ipv4.method shared
sudo nmcli connection modify hotspot connection.autoconnect yes

The ipv4.method shared enables DHCP and NAT for the Wi-Fi clients.
Clients connecting to the AP get IPs in the 192.168.4.x range.
The Pi’s AP IP is 192.168.4.1.

Step 2: Configure Ethernet (if needed, specially if you cannot access the Pi with a monitor and a keyboard)

Create or ensure Ethernet connection exists and uses DHCP:

sudo nmcli connection add type ethernet ifname eth0 con-name ethernet
sudo nmcli connection modify ethernet ipv4.method auto
sudo nmcli connection up ethernet

Step 3: Start the Access Point

Bring the AP connection up:

sudo nmcli connection up hotspot

Step 4: Verify the Setup

Check that wlan0 is in AP mode:

iw dev

Expected output snippet:

Interface wlan0
        ifindex 3
        wdev 0x1
        addr 2c:cf:67:f9:25:e2
        ssid hotspot
        type AP
        channel 6 (2437 MHz), width: 20 MHz, center1: 2437 MHz
        txpower 31.00 dBm

Check device status:

nmcli device status

Expected output:

DEVICE         TYPE      STATE                   CONNECTION
wlan0          wifi      connected               hotspot
eth0           ethernet  connected               ethernet
lo             loopback  connected (externally)  lo

Step 5: Connect and Test

Connect any Wi-Fi device to SSID: hotspot
Use password: **********
Check that the device gets IP like 192.168.4.x
Access your Node.js app at: http://192.168.4.1:3000 or http://hotspot.local:3000
If Ethernet is plugged in, internet access is shared automatically

Step 6: Enable Autoconnect on Boot

Make sure connections start on boot:

sudo nmcli connection modify hotspot connection.autoconnect yes
sudo nmcli connection modify ethernet connection.autoconnect yes

Step 7: Make sure your Pi’s hostname is hotspot

Check hostname:

hostname

If it’s not hotspot, set it:

sudo hostnamectl set-hostname hotspot

Then reboot or restart hostname services.

Step 8: Ensure avahi-daemon (mDNS) is installed and running

avahi-daemon provides .local hostname resolution on the local network, even without internet.

Install and start:

sudo apt install avahi-daemon
sudo systemctl enable avahi-daemon
sudo systemctl start avahi-daemon

Step 9: Add a fallback static IP entry for hotspot.local on clients (optional)

If your clients don’t support mDNS or .local resolution:

Access the Node.js app directly via IP: http://192.168.4.1:3000

Or add a manual hosts file entry on each client mapping hotspot.local to 192.168.4.1

Notes

If you are on a Mac or on an iPad / iPhone, make sure Private Relay is disabled, otherwise your machine cannot connect to Private Relay and gives you no access to `http://hotspot.local:3000`.