# Cameras

A web interface for discovering and managing Hikvision and Annke IP cameras on your local network.

## Securing the web interface

The dashboard and its API are protected by a single admin login. The login is stored in a
file, **never** in plain text: the password is hashed with [scrypt](https://nodejs.org/api/crypto.html#cryptoscryptpassword-salt-keylen-options-callback)
(random salt, N=65536, r=8, p=1), so it can't be recovered from the file.

| Setting | Default |
| --- | --- |
| `ADMIN_AUTH_FILE` (environment variable, e.g. in `.env.local`) | `./.data/admin.json` |

If the file doesn't exist, the app starts **unsecured**: anyone who can reach it can view your
cameras and change their logins. To avoid ever running it that way, create the admin file
before the first start (below).

### Setting it up from the browser instead

With no admin file, the server prints a **one-time setup code** in its console at startup:

```
====================================================================
  No admin login is set up: the camera dashboard is NOT secured.

  To secure it from a browser, open /setup and enter this one-time code:

      XLZ7-Q4MB
  ...
```

Opening the app sends you to `/setup`, which asks for that code plus the new admin username
and password. Only someone who can see the server console can claim the login. After 5 wrong
codes a new one is printed.

You can also choose **Skip for now and run unsecured**. Every page then shows a red warning
banner, the API stays open to anyone on the network, and the setup prompt returns the next
time the browser is restarted.

### Signing in

Once an admin exists, every page and API call needs a session: pages redirect to `/login`,
and the API answers `401`. A session lasts **12 hours from your last activity**. After 10
wrong passwords from one address (or 100 from all addresses) within 15 minutes, logins are
paused for up to 15 minutes. **Sign out** (top right) ends the session in that browser; to
sign out everywhere, change the password.

### Create the admin login (recommended)

```bash
npm run admin:create
```

It asks for a username and a password (at least 12 characters; typing is hidden, and you
confirm it), then writes the file with owner-only permissions (`0600`). Options:

```bash
npm run admin:create -- --username admin      # only ask for the password
npm run admin:create -- --force               # replace the existing admin (reset the password)
printf '%s\n' "$PW" | npm run admin:create -- --username admin   # non-interactive, e.g. provisioning
```

### Without npm: a Node one-liner

Any Node 24+ can produce the same file. The password is read from the terminal without
echoing, so it never appears in your shell history or the process list:

```bash
(read -rs PW && export PW && umask 077 && mkdir -p .data && node -e '
const c = require("node:crypto"), N = 65536, r = 8, p = 1, salt = c.randomBytes(16);
const key = c.scryptSync(process.env.PW, salt, 64, { N, r, p, maxmem: 256 * N * r });
const passwordHash = ["scrypt", N, r, p, salt.toString("base64"), key.toString("base64")].join("$");
console.log(JSON.stringify({ version: 1, username: "admin", passwordHash }, null, 2));
' > .data/admin.json)
```

The parentheses run it in a subshell, so the password variable and the stricter `umask` end
with it.

Change `username: "admin"` to taste. Usernames are 1–64 letters, digits, or `. _ @ -`.

### File format

```json
{
  "version": 1,
  "username": "admin",
  "passwordHash": "scrypt$65536$8$1$<salt, base64>$<64-byte key, base64>"
}
```

A file that exists but is malformed stops the app from authenticating anyone rather than
quietly turning security off; fix it or delete it.

### Forgot the password?

Run `npm run admin:create -- --force` (or delete the file and create it again). Changing the
password signs out every existing session.

## Live video (MediaMTX)

Browsers can't play the cameras' RTSP streams, so live video goes through
[MediaMTX](https://github.com/bluenviron/mediamtx), a single MIT-licensed binary that
the app will run on this machine only (localhost). Install the pinned build with:

```bash
npm run video:install
```

This downloads the MediaMTX release pinned in `src/lib/mediamtx-install.ts` for your
platform (macOS or Linux, Intel or ARM), checks its SHA-256 against the value committed
there, and puts the binary in `./bin/` (not checked in). A download that doesn't match
is refused and nothing is written. Re-running it does nothing if that build is already
installed.

To upgrade, change `version` in `MEDIAMTX_RELEASE` and replace every `sha256` with the
values from that release's `checksums.sha256` on GitHub (cross-check them against the
per-file digests on the release page), then run `npm run video:install` again.

## Motion recording

When a camera reports motion over ONVIF, the app records a clip and stops a few seconds
after the motion ends. Clips are fragmented MP4 and play in the browser.

| Variable | Default | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `RECORDINGS_DIR` | `.data/recordings` | Where clips are written; point it at an external drive or NAS if you like. One folder per camera. |
| `RECORD_STREAM` | `sub` | Which stream is recorded. `sub` is about 5 MB per minute of motion, `main` about 38 MB. |
| `RECORD_KEEP_DAYS` | `7` | Clips older than this are deleted by an hourly sweep. |
| `MOTION_RECORDING` | on | Set to `off` to record nothing. |

There is no pre-roll: a clip starts when the camera reports motion, which is a second or
two after movement begins. Recording pulls the camera only while motion lasts.

---

This is a [Next.js](https://nextjs.org) project bootstrapped with [`create-next-app`](https://nextjs.org/docs/app/api-reference/cli/create-next-app).

## Getting Started

First, run the development server:

```bash
npm run dev
# or
yarn dev
# or
pnpm dev
# or
bun dev
```

Open [http://localhost:3000](http://localhost:3000) with your browser to see the result.

You can start editing the page by modifying `app/page.tsx`. The page auto-updates as you edit the file.

This project uses [`next/font`](https://nextjs.org/docs/app/building-your-application/optimizing/fonts) to automatically optimize and load [Geist](https://vercel.com/font), a new font family for Vercel.

## Learn More

To learn more about Next.js, take a look at the following resources:

- [Next.js Documentation](https://nextjs.org/docs) - learn about Next.js features and API.
- [Learn Next.js](https://nextjs.org/learn) - an interactive Next.js tutorial.

You can check out [the Next.js GitHub repository](https://github.com/vercel/next.js) - your feedback and contributions are welcome!

## Deploy on Vercel

The easiest way to deploy your Next.js app is to use the [Vercel Platform](https://vercel.com/new?utm_medium=default-template&filter=next.js&utm_source=create-next-app&utm_campaign=create-next-app-readme) from the creators of Next.js.

Check out our [Next.js deployment documentation](https://nextjs.org/docs/app/building-your-application/deploying) for more details.