Verdict
ZeroClaw Lite + Phi-3 mini on a Pi 5 (8 GB) is genuinely useful for narrow workflows: filesystem reads, structured queries, sensor data interpretation. It is not useful for general-purpose agentic tasks — Phi-3 mini's 35% pass rate on our suite is the ceiling.
Setup notes
Install Ollama for ARM. Pull Phi-3 mini 3.8B Q4. Install ZeroClaw Lite. Configure egress deny by default. Pair with the NVMe HAT for sustained operation.
Performance
Idle: 6W. Sustained inference: 11-13W. Phi-3 mini Q4: 6 tok/s. Realistic for small batch/cron-style tasks, not for interactive use.
What breaks
- Multi-step planning beyond 2 hops
- 7B+ models
- Browser automation
Want to know more
See the full ZeroClaw Lite review and the Raspberry Pi 5 buyer's notes.