camsnap

camsnap keeps the surface tight: discover, snap, clip, watch, doctor. The `doctor --probe` verb is the underrated part, because RTSP failures are usually network or credential problems that look identical to a camera fault, and probing separates them before you spend time on a long clip. RTSP URLs are credentials-in-URL by nature, so the config file at ~/.config/camsnap/config.yaml deserves the same protection as any secret store. Two dependencies to note: ffmpeg must be on PATH, and a short test capture before a long one is explicitly recommended.

Use case: On-demand snapshots and short motion clips from RTSP cameras, with a preflight probe.

# camsnap preflight Camera failures are mostly network or credential problems wearing a hardware costume. Run the cheap checks first. ## Configure once The config lives at the standard XDG path and cameras are registered by name: ```bash camsnap add --name kitchen --host 192.168.0.10 --user user --pass pass ``` ## Discover and probe before capturing ```bash camsnap discover --info camsnap doctor --probe ``` `doctor --probe` separates a reachability or auth failure from an actual camera fault. Doing this before a long clip saves the wait. ## Capture ```bash camsnap snap kitchen --out shot.jpg camsnap clip kitchen --dur 5s --out clip.mp4 camsnap watch kitchen --threshold 0.2 --action '...' ``` Start with a short test clip before a long one, and remember that the config file holds camera credentials in plain form, so protect it the way you would any secret store.