How to Run a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W Headless

We've got two parts coming up:

1. Headless for just SSH (skippable with v1.7 of the Raspberry Pi Imager)
2. Headless for VNC (like Remote Desktop)

Headless for SSH

1. Make sure you've already imaged your SD card. Check out this post for the how to.
2. In the boot partition of the SD card create an empty file just called ssh
3. Also in the boot partition, create a file named wpa_supplicant.conf and throw the following into it (with your own Wi-Fi name and password):

country=US
ctrl_interface=DIR=/var/run/wpa_supplicant GROUP=netdev
update_config=1

network={
    scan_ssid=1
    ssid="wifi_name"
    psk="wifi_password"
}

Note: The Zero 2 W is 2.4GHz only.

Headless for VNC

Setting up VNC on the Pi

1. Open PuTTY (or similar)
2. SSH to your Pi. See just below for defaults
3. Run sudo raspi-config to bring up the configuration menu
4. Scroll down to "3 Interface Options"
5. Enable "P3 VNC" or "I3 VNC" (depending on version)

Default username and password for the Pi:

username: pi
password: raspberry

Doing the above looks like:

Setting up VNC on your PC

1. Download and install VNC Viewer
2. Add a new connection to your Pi's local IP address
3. Click on the connection
4. Enter the username and password

For more nitty gritty Pi setup, see the official documentation:

Raspberry Pi Documentation - Configuration

The official documentation for Raspberry Pi computers and microcontrollers

Raspberry Pi