Advanced Camera Page

Advanced Camera Page is a lightweight Flask-based web gallery intended to run on a Raspberry Pi or similar small Linux host. It serves a local Cam_Now directory containing still images and MP4/MOV video files, groups matching image/video files into camera cards, and uses a user-editable CSV file for camera descriptions and metadata.

A camera card is the visible gallery tile for one camera/source. Each camera card can contain:

one still image
one video file
an optional LIVE link
or a matched still image + video file pair with an optional LIVE link

The still image and video are grouped together when they share the same filename base / group.

Example:

KJ6DZB-G5.jpeg  -> group: KJ6DZB-G5
KJ6DZB-G5.mp4   -> group: KJ6DZB-G5

These two files display together inside one camera card. If KJ6DZB-G5 has a live_url in descriptions.csv, the same camera card also shows a LIVE button.

The current design is meant for a simple camera-wall / mesh-camera workflow:

Drop current image/video files into one folder.
The app discovers them automatically.
Matching still/video pairs are grouped into one camera card.
Optional LIVE links are read from CSV metadata.
The app keeps a metadata CSV in sync.
The user edits descriptions, enable/disable status, live URLs, and notes in that CSV.
The web page reflects the metadata without hardcoding cameras into HTML.

Core Paths

Default install paths used by the current Raspberry Pi deployment:

/opt/camnow_gallery/app.py
/opt/camnow_gallery/templates/index.html
/opt/camnow_gallery/descriptions.csv
/home/kj6dzb/2/MSE-87/Cam_Now

The app expects these environment variables:

MEDIA_ROOT=/home/kj6dzb/2/MSE-87/Cam_Now
DESCRIPTIONS_FILE=/opt/camnow_gallery/descriptions.csv
HOST=0.0.0.0
PORT=8080

MEDIA_ROOT is required. DESCRIPTIONS_FILE is optional and defaults to:

/opt/camnow_gallery/descriptions.csv

Supported Media Files

Images:

.jpg .jpeg .png .gif .webp .bmp

Videos:

.mp4 .m4v .mov

The app ignores:

hidden files beginning with .
.tmp files
zero-byte files
files with unsupported extensions
unreadable or broken media entries
files whose names contain conflict anywhere, case-insensitive

Examples of ignored conflict files:

4cam (conflict).jpeg
KJ6DZB-G5_conflict.mp4
conflict-test.png
MyCamera-CONFLICT.mov

Conflict files are excluded from display, auto-discovery, CSV onboarding, and direct /media/ serving.

Camera Cards and Media Grouping

The gallery displays media as camera cards.

A camera card is created from a discovered media group. The group is normally the filename without the extension.

Examples:

4cam.jpeg       -> camera card/group: 4cam
4cam.mp4        -> camera card/group: 4cam

KJ6DZB-G5.jpeg  -> camera card/group: KJ6DZB-G5
KJ6DZB-G5.mp4   -> camera card/group: KJ6DZB-G5

SFWEM_meshy.png -> camera card/group: SFWEM_meshy

When a still image and video file share the same group, they display together inside one camera card:

4cam.jpeg
4cam.mp4

Result:

Camera Card: 4cam
  - still image
  - video
  - LIVE link if live_url is configured

The template intentionally groups by the f.group value produced by app.py, not by hardcoded HTML. This keeps image/video pairing consistent and lets the backend control grouping rules if they change later.

How Auto-Discovery Works

Auto-discovery happens automatically whenever the main page is loaded and when the /discover endpoint is requested.

The app scans the top level of MEDIA_ROOT and identifies valid media files. For each file, it derives a camera group from the filename without the extension.

Example:

KJ6DZB-G5.jpeg     -> group: KJ6DZB-G5
KJ6DZB-G5.mp4      -> group: KJ6DZB-G5
SFWEM_meshy.png    -> group: SFWEM_meshy
KJ6DZB_4_MAP.png   -> group: KJ6DZB_4_MAP

Files containing conflict in the filename are skipped before discovery, so they do not create camera cards and are not added to descriptions.csv.

If a discovered group is missing from descriptions.csv, the app automatically adds a new row with blank metadata:

group,description,enabled,sort_order,live_url,notes
KJ6DZB-G5,,yes,,,auto-discovered

The app does not overwrite descriptions or metadata that the user has already entered. It only appends newly discovered groups.

This means onboarding a new camera can be as simple as copying a new image or video into Cam_Now and refreshing the page or visiting /discover.

Metadata CSV Format

The metadata file is:

descriptions.csv

Current column format:

group,description,enabled,sort_order,live_url,notes

Column meanings:

Column	Purpose
`group`	Required. Must match the filename base without extension. This is the camera card ID.
`description`	Human-readable camera card label shown above the media.
`enabled`	Use `yes` to show a camera card, `no` to hide it. Blank defaults to `yes`.
`sort_order`	Optional numeric sort hint for CSV organization. Lower numbers sort earlier in the CSV.
`live_url`	Optional live camera/feed URL associated with the camera card.
`notes`	Freeform admin notes. Not required for display.

Example:

group,description,enabled,sort_order,live_url,notes
KJ6DZB-G5,KJ6DZB LG G5 Portable,yes,10,,portable camera
KJ6DZB_4_MAP,Xastir screen print from KJ6DZB-4,yes,20,,map snapshot
SFWEM_meshy,SFWEM mesh status graphic,yes,30,,
old-test-camera,Old test camera,no,999,,hidden from gallery

Live URL Support

Each camera group can optionally have a live_url in descriptions.csv.

Example:

group,description,enabled,sort_order,live_url,notes
chabot-cam,Chabot Space & Science Center,yes,50,http://camera-host.local/live,live camera link

The Flask app loads live_url values and passes them to the template as live_urls.

The template shows a LIVE button/link when a live URL exists for a camera card.

Suggested Jinja usage inside a card loop:

{% set live_url = (live_urls.get(base, '') or '').strip() %}
{% if live_url %}
  <a class="btnlink live-link" href="{{ live_url }}" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LIVE</a>
{% endif %}

This allows live camera links to be added without editing Python or HTML. Only the CSV needs to change.

Disabled-Camera Support

A camera card can be hidden without removing its image/video files.

Set enabled to no:

group,description,enabled,sort_order,live_url,notes
old-camera,Old test camera,no,999,,not currently used

Behavior:

enabled=yes or blank: camera card is visible.
enabled=no: camera card is hidden from the gallery.
The row remains in the CSV, so it can be re-enabled later.
Auto-discovery does not delete disabled rows.

This is useful for cameras that are temporarily offline, retired, or under test.

Conflict Filename Exclusion

The app excludes any media file whose filename contains:

conflict

The match is case-insensitive.

This is intended to prevent sync/merge conflict artifacts from appearing as duplicate camera cards or being added to descriptions.csv.

Excluded files are skipped in four places:

gallery display
/discover auto-discovery
automatic CSV onboarding
direct /media/<file> serving

The active exclusion list is also reported by /health and /discover as:

"excluded_name_substrings": ["conflict"]

Health Checking

The app provides a simple health endpoint:

/health

Example:

curl http://127.0.0.1:8080/health

Example response:

{
  "ok": true,
  "media_root": "/home/kj6dzb/2/MSE-87/Cam_Now",
  "media_root_exists": true,
  "descriptions_file": "/opt/camnow_gallery/descriptions.csv",
  "descriptions_file_exists": true,
  "excluded_name_substrings": ["conflict"]
}

Use /health to quickly verify that:

the Flask app is running
the configured media directory exists
the descriptions CSV exists
the active filename exclusion rules are loaded

This is useful for systemd checks, troubleshooting, and quick status checks from another host.

Discovery Endpoint

The app also provides a discovery endpoint:

/discover

Example:

curl http://127.0.0.1:8080/discover

Example response:

{
  "media_root": "/home/kj6dzb/2/MSE-87/Cam_Now",
  "descriptions_file": "/opt/camnow_gallery/descriptions.csv",
  "added_new_groups": ["new-camera"],
  "groups_found_in_media_folder": ["KJ6DZB-G5", "new-camera"],
  "known_groups_in_csv": ["KJ6DZB-G5", "new-camera"],
  "unreadable": [],
  "excluded_name_substrings": ["conflict"]
}

/discover is useful when adding or troubleshooting cameras because it shows exactly what the app sees in the media folder, what it added to the CSV, and which filename exclusions are active.

Typical New Camera Onboarding Workflow

Copy the camera's current image and/or video into Cam_Now.

Example:

/home/kj6dzb/2/MSE-87/Cam_Now/NewCam.jpeg
/home/kj6dzb/2/MSE-87/Cam_Now/NewCam.mp4

Visit:
```
http://<pi-ip>:8080/discover
```
Confirm that NewCam appears in added_new_groups.
Edit:
```
/opt/camnow_gallery/descriptions.csv
```

Add description and optional metadata:

NewCam,North ridge test camera,yes,40,http://newcam.local/live,temporary test

Refresh the gallery page.

The new camera card should now appear with its description, grouped still/video media, and optional live link.

If the filename contains conflict, it will be ignored and will not be onboarded.

Running Locally

python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt
export MEDIA_ROOT=/home/kj6dzb/2/MSE-87/Cam_Now
export DESCRIPTIONS_FILE=/opt/camnow_gallery/descriptions.csv
python app.py

Then open:

http://127.0.0.1:8080/

Service Restart

If installed as a systemd service:

sudo systemctl restart camnow-gallery
sudo systemctl status camnow-gallery --no-pager
journalctl -u camnow-gallery -e --no-pager

Template-only changes usually require only a browser refresh. Python changes require a service restart.

Current Design Notes

A visible gallery unit is called a camera card.
Camera cards are grouped by exact filename base / backend f.group.
A still image and video with the same group display together in one camera card.
Camera cards can include optional LIVE links from live_url.
New camera cards are added to CSV automatically.
Existing descriptions are preserved.
Disabled camera cards are hidden but not deleted.
Files containing conflict are excluded from display, discovery, onboarding, and direct media serving.
Live links are metadata-driven.
/health and /discover are intended for operation and troubleshooting.
Xastir capture tools are intentionally not included in this repo at this stage.

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 9 Commits
templates		templates
LICENSE		LICENSE
README.md		README.md
app.py		app.py
requirements.txt		requirements.txt

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Repository files navigation

Advanced Camera Page

Core Paths

Supported Media Files

Camera Cards and Media Grouping

How Auto-Discovery Works

Metadata CSV Format

Live URL Support

Disabled-Camera Support

Conflict Filename Exclusion

Health Checking

Discovery Endpoint

Typical New Camera Onboarding Workflow

Running Locally

Service Restart

Current Design Notes

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Advanced Camera Page

Core Paths

Supported Media Files

Camera Cards and Media Grouping

How Auto-Discovery Works

Metadata CSV Format

Live URL Support

Disabled-Camera Support

Conflict Filename Exclusion

Health Checking

Discovery Endpoint

Typical New Camera Onboarding Workflow

Running Locally

Service Restart

Current Design Notes

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