Build a camera and CCTV product

By the end of this workshop, a customer named Acme Farm can sign in to your portal, open North Yard Camera, watch live video, and scrub the recording timeline. You do that without opening inbound ports or building your own video cloud.

Finished result: live video and a recording timeline in the customer portal.

How to use this page

Do Path A first. It uses a colour-bar test pattern, so you do not need a camera. When Path A works, optionally continue to Path B (real camera) or Path C (two-camera entrance inspection Product Application).

Path	What you prove	Camera needed?
A. Sellable CCTV loop (required)	Device Class, Software, install, customer, live view, recordings	No
B. Real camera (optional)	Same loop with a CSI or USB sensor	Yes
C. Entrance inspection app (optional)	Product Application that captures entry then lobby snapshots	Prefer two cameras

Names used everywhere in this guide (copy them exactly so screenshots and steps match):

Thing	Exact name
Device Class	SiloSentry Camera
Camera Software example	Video generator (sim) (video-gen-sim)
Physical / provisioned device	North Yard Camera
Customer organisation	Acme Farm
Customer network (site)	Site Entrance
Example product brand	SiloSentry

Your organisation gets its own hosted portal domain such as your-vendor.dvcmgr.com. Always use your domain from Customer journey > Customer Portal, not example hostnames from screenshots.

Dataplicity owns the outbound connection, video delivery, product definition, and customer portal. You still own camera hardware, privacy design, retention, installation, pricing, and support.

Unfamiliar terms such as Device Class, Software, allocate, Network, or Enabled are defined in Platform nomenclature.

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Path A: Sellable CCTV loop (do this first)

What you need

• A Linux computer that can reach the internet on HTTPS (Raspberry Pi 4 or 5 with Raspberry Pi OS 64-bit Bookworm is the documented bench; any supported Linux with Docker works for the test pattern)
• An official or reliable power supply and network connection
• A Dataplicity organisation where you can open:
  • Engineering > Device classes
  • a Device Class Software tab
  • Engineering > Devices
  • Customer journey > Customer Portal
  • Customer journey > Customers
• A second email address you control for the customer Admin (must not be your vendor Dataplicity login email)

You do not need a camera for Path A.

Success rule

Do not move to the next step until the Done when checklist for the current step is true. A green fleet list is not enough. Path A finishes only when the customer can see live video and scrub recordings.

Step 1. Prepare the Linux host

On Raspberry Pi OS, sign in and run:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y docker.io ffmpeg
sudo systemctl enable --now docker
sudo docker version

Done when: sudo docker version prints a Client and Server section without errors.

On other Linux distributions, install a supported container runtime and FFmpeg with that distribution's packages, then confirm the runtime works the same way.

Recording disk (optional for Path A)

For a short demo, the Software can store clips on the root filesystem. For continuous recording later, mount durable media at /mnt/dataplicity-media before you rely on long retention, then confirm with findmnt /mnt/dataplicity-media and df -h /mnt/dataplicity-media.

Step 2. Create the Device Class

1. Sign in at dataplicity.com.
2. Open Engineering > Device classes.
3. Choose New device class.
4. Name: SiloSentry Camera.
5. Description: Managed customer camera with live view and recorded timeline.
6. If architecture choices appear, select the one that matches the host (linux/arm64 for current Raspberry Pi OS 64-bit).
7. Create the class.

A Device Class is the reusable product definition. Every camera unit of this model is one instance of that class.

Create SiloSentry Camera from Engineering > Device classes.

Done when: SiloSentry Camera appears in the Device classes list.

Step 3. Attach the camera Software

1. Open SiloSentry Camera.
2. Open the Software tab.
3. Choose Add container.
4. Keep Use an example selected.
5. Select Video generator (sim) (video-gen-sim).
6. Choose Add example.

Attaching this example adds:

• the camera_video video stream and video widget
• camera events
• Start recording, Stop recording, and Rotate video actions
• a Software set the class can ship to devices

If the UI says no release is available, stop. That is a publishing problem in the environment, not a Pi problem. See Example simulators.

When attach succeeds, Dataplicity often creates and ships the current Software set automatically. If it does not:

1. Open Builds (or the Software sets list on the class).
2. Create a build that pins the video-gen-sim version you just attached.
3. Choose Make current for the class default (or pin to a staging tag if you use cohorts).

Video generator (video-gen-sim) attached on the class Software tab.

Camera settings for Path A

Open the attached Video generator and set:

Setting	Value for Path A
Capture mode	Test pattern
Second camera	Off
External media mount	leave /mnt/dataplicity-media (falls back to root storage if that mount is absent)

Save the settings.

Set Capture mode to Test pattern and turn Second camera Off for Path A.

Why Test pattern, not Automatic detection

Automatic detection (recommended) tries a real camera first and falls back to colour bars if nothing is found. That fallback looks like success even when the sensor is missing. For Path A, choose Test pattern on purpose.

Done when:

• video-gen-sim is listed on the class Software tab
• Capture mode is Test pattern
• Second camera is Off
• a current Software set includes that container version

Step 4. Install Dataplicity on the host

1. Open Engineering > Devices.
2. Choose Add a new device or Add device.
3. Select SiloSentry Camera.
4. Copy the management-plane installer command (shape below). Do not use a classic Python installer.

curl -fsSL https://install.dataplicity.com/install/REDACTED.sh | sudo bash

Treat the installer command as a secret

The real command contains a private provisioning key. Do not paste it into tickets, screenshots, chat logs, source control, or documentation.

5. Paste the command into the Linux host terminal and wait for it to finish.
6. Stay on the Add device panel until Dataplicity reports that the device connected.
7. Open the new device and rename it to North Yard Camera.

Always provision into the vendor organisation first. Customer portal organisations cannot mint new devices. Ownership changes only through allocation later.

Done when all of these are true on North Yard Camera:

• status is Online
• inventory architecture matches the host (for example arm64)
• a container runtime is present
• video-gen-sim is Running
• the camera_video widget appears
• live view shows colour bars (SMPTE test pattern)

Colour bars are correct for Path A.

If the picture is sideways later with a real camera, use Rotate video. Rotation applies to live and recorded output.

Step 5. Confirm the Customer Portal

1. Open Customer journey > Customer Portal.
2. Confirm:
   • portal is enabled
   • title is your product brand (for this walkthrough, SiloSentry)
   • hosted domain is shown (example shape: your-vendor.dvcmgr.com)
   • logo and sign-in copy are present
3. Open that hosted login URL once in a private browser window and confirm the branded sign-in page loads.

If the portal does not exist yet, create it before inviting customers. Choose the subdomain carefully: it is permanent.

Done when: the branded portal sign-in page loads on your hosted domain.

Step 6. Create the first customer

1. Open Customer journey > Customers.
2. Choose Add customer.
3. Organization name: Acme Farm.
4. Org admin email: an address the customer (or your test mailbox) controls.
5. Select your Customer Portal.
6. Create the customer.

The Org admin email cannot be the vendor operator's Dataplicity email. The customer receives an invitation or password-setup flow for your portal host.

Create Acme Farm under Customer journey > Customers.

Done when: Acme Farm exists and the customer Admin invitation or password setup email is available.

Step 7. Create the customer site network

Use a private browser window or a separate browser profile.

1. Open https://your-vendor.dvcmgr.com/login (use your real hosted domain).
2. Complete password setup from the invitation.
3. Sign in as the Acme Farm Admin.
4. Open Networks.
5. Choose Add network.
6. Name it Site Entrance.
7. Create it.

A claimed online camera with no network is Ready. It becomes Enabled and app-active only after an Admin assigns it to a network.

Done when: Site Entrance appears under Networks.

Step 8. Allocate the camera to Acme Farm

Return to the vendor workspace:

1. Open Engineering > Devices.
2. Find North Yard Camera.
3. Choose Allocate to customer.
4. Select Acme Farm.
5. Confirm.

Allocation hands ownership to Acme Farm without changing the Device Class.

Allocation changes ownership only. It does not install the agent or camera Software. That is why live colour bars must already work in Step 4.

Done when: North Yard Camera is owned by Acme Farm.

Step 9. Place the camera and verify as the customer

Still in the private customer browser session:

1. Open Devices.
2. Find North Yard Camera in the Ready state.
3. Assign it to Site Entrance.
4. Confirm it becomes Enabled.
5. Open Networks > Site Entrance, then open North Yard Camera.
6. Stay on Controls for live view and recordings.
   • Status is identity and connection context.
   • Diagnostics is connection tests.
   • Rename and removal are in the ⋮ menu.
7. Select Live.
8. Wait for live HLS. JPEG-over-WebSocket may appear briefly while HLS warms up.
9. Leave live mode and scrub the timeline backward until at least one recorded chunk appears.
10. Run Stop recording, confirm live view continues, then Start recording.

Devices separates Enabled cameras from Ready cameras waiting for a network.

Live view and recordings live on device Controls.

Useful portal URL shapes (replace the domain and ids with yours):

Purpose	URL shape
Device list	https://your-vendor.dvcmgr.com/devices
One device	https://your-vendor.dvcmgr.com/devices/<device-hash>
Network-scoped device	https://your-vendor.dvcmgr.com/networks/<network-hash>/devices/<device-hash>

Path A finish line

You are done with the required workshop when all of these are true:

• [ ] Acme Farm Admin can sign in on your hosted portal domain
• [ ] North Yard Camera is Enabled on Site Entrance
• [ ] Live view shows colour bars
• [ ] The timeline has at least one recorded chunk you can scrub
• [ ] Stop recording / Start recording behave as expected

That is a sellable CCTV loop on Dataplicity. Everything below is optional.

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Path B: Switch from test pattern to a real camera

Do Path A first. Only then attach hardware.

B1. Wire and prove the camera locally (Raspberry Pi CSI)

1. Shut the Pi down completely:

sudo poweroff

2. Wait for activity LEDs to stop, disconnect power, and earth yourself before touching the camera board.
3. Use the correct ribbon:
   • Pi 4 and earlier flagship boards: 15-pin connector on the Pi
   • Pi 5 and Pi Zero: smaller 22-pin connector on the Pi (use a Standard-Mini cable)
   • Official camera boards: 15-pin at the camera end
4. Seat the ribbon:
   • open the connector flap
   • insert the ribbon straight and fully
   • at the Pi, metallic contacts face away from the flap
   • at the camera, metallic contacts face toward the camera board
   • close the flap evenly; do not crease the ribbon
5. Reconnect power, update, and reboot:

sudo apt update
sudo apt full-upgrade -y
sudo reboot

6. After login:

rpicam-hello --list-cameras
rpicam-still -n -o "$HOME/camera-test.jpg"
ls -lh "$HOME/camera-test.jpg"

Done when: the list shows a sensor such as imx708, imx219, imx477, imx296, or imx500, and camera-test.jpg exists with a non-zero size.

Prove the OS can see the camera before changing Dataplicity settings.

Compute Module boards

Normal Pi 4 / Pi 5 boards usually auto-detect official CSI cameras. Compute Module boards do not. If rpicam-hello --list-cameras reports no cameras while the ribbon looks correct, edit /boot/firmware/config.txt (or /boot/config.txt on older images):

camera_auto_detect=0
dtoverlay=imx477,cam0

Match the overlay to the sensor, not the marketing name:

Camera	Overlay
Camera Module 3 / Module 3 NoIR	imx708
HQ Camera	imx477
Camera Module 2	imx219
Global Shutter Camera	imx296
AI Camera	imx500

Reboot and run rpicam-hello --list-cameras again. Wrong overlays fail with I2C probe errors even when the cable is fine.

USB camera instead of CSI

ls -l /dev/video*
ffmpeg -hide_banner -f v4l2 -list_formats all -i /dev/video0

Note the correct /dev/video* path if it is not video0.

B2. Approve camera roles on the Device Class

Real capture needs host camera mounts. Softwares request roles; they never ask for raw /dev/videoN paths themselves.

1. Open SiloSentry Camera > Software.
2. Open Video generator (sim).
3. Find Camera roles (host privileges / approval section).
4. Approve primary for a one-camera product.
5. Approve secondary only if you will enable a second camera.
6. Choose Approve and save.

Until roles are approved, devices will not receive camera mounts for that Software.

B3. Change Capture mode

Still on Video generator Camera settings:

Setting	CSI camera that passed B1	USB camera that passed B1
Capture mode	Raspberry Pi CSI camera (or Automatic detection after local proof)	USB / V4L2 camera
Primary camera device	usually unused for CSI	the /dev/video* path you noted
Primary camera index	0 unless you selected another	0 unless you selected another
Second camera	Off unless a second sensor is fitted and approved	Off unless a second sensor is fitted and approved

Prefer an explicit CSI or USB mode after Path B1 succeeds, so a missing sensor fails visibly instead of silently falling back to colour bars.

B4. Re-check the device, then the customer

1. On North Yard Camera in the vendor workspace, confirm video-gen-sim is Running and live view shows the real scene, not colour bars.
2. Sign in as Acme Farm and confirm the same live image and timeline on Controls.

Privacy note: aim or mount so private areas are never captured. Browser rectangles are not privacy masks. The unmasked recording would still exist. Software privacy masks are not a product setting on this example Software.

Camera picker for later product design:

Camera	Best use	Connection
Camera Module 3	Default; autofocus; standard or wide	CSI ribbon
Camera Module 3 NoIR	Night with suitable IR illuminator	CSI ribbon
HQ Camera	Long range or chosen lens	CSI + lens
Global Shutter Camera	Fast machinery, gates, belts, vehicles	CSI + lens
Camera Module 2	Low-cost fixed focus	CSI ribbon
USB UVC webcam	Fastest lab proof on V4L2	USB

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Path C: Optional two-camera entrance inspection application

Path A already gives live view and recordings on device Controls. Path C adds the shipped Camera access Product Application: a customer workplace that captures an entry snapshot, waits, then captures a lobby snapshot.

The starter in the UI is titled Two-camera entrance inspection. It is not required for basic CCTV.

C1. Prerequisites

• Path A complete
• Prefer two camera devices of class SiloSentry Camera (you can bind the same class twice while testing)
• On the Device Class UI Components tab, confirm a trigger action the kit can map as Capture snapshot. If video-gen-sim only seeded recording actions, add a trigger action such as capture_snapshot / Capture snapshot that your device Software implements, or map the kit only after that action exists

C2. Create the application from the starter

1. Open Developer > Product Applications.
2. Create an empty application (or open the overview starter cards).
3. Choose Two-camera entrance inspection / Camera access and Use this example.
4. In the kit dialog, map both required slots to SiloSentry Camera:
   • Entry camera → SiloSentry Camera, snapshot action mapped
   • Lobby camera → SiloSentry Camera, snapshot action mapped
5. Apply the kit.
6. Review Build > Hardware and Access > Customer portal.
7. Publish version 1 under Release.
8. Attach that version under Attached portals.

Bind the same camera Device Class to both entry and lobby roles.

Attach the published version so each portal customer gets an isolated instance.

C3. Verify in the customer portal

As Acme Farm Admin:

1. Open the Site Entrance network workplace.
2. Confirm camera roles / checks appear for the site.
3. Run the entrance capture operation once both cameras are Enabled on the network.
4. Confirm a capture record is created for success or failure.

The network workplace is the site-wide camera checks surface from the kit.

Live CCTV and recordings remain on each device's Controls tab. The Product Application adds the inspection workflow and site workplace on top.

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Optional later: local plate sightings

Turning live images into plate sighting records is a separate connected-product extension. It needs edge-video-analytics-sim, an explicit shared image mount, a Product Instance id, authored records/rules/processes, and privacy review.

Do not start that work until Paths A and B are solid. For the contract and limits of the example analytics runtime, see Example simulators. Keep the edge.vision.* event contract stable if you replace the prototype OCR algorithm later.

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Handover checklist

Hardware

• [ ] Camera ribbon fully seated and strain-relieved (if fitted)
• [ ] Enclosure, focus, field of view, and night illumination correct
• [ ] Stable power and network
• [ ] Continuous recording uses durable media, not only the root SD card

Platform

• [ ] Device Online
• [ ] Camera Software Running
• [ ] Expected image present (colour bars only when Capture mode is Test pattern)
• [ ] Live view and archive both work for the customer
• [ ] Camera has a customer-friendly name
• [ ] Device allocated to the intended customer and Enabled on the right network

Privacy and security

• [ ] No inbound port or public camera web server exposed
• [ ] Provisioning command never shared
• [ ] Customer uses their own portal identity
• [ ] Private areas excluded by framing or mounting where required
• [ ] Retention, access, signage, consent, and local surveillance law reviewed

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Troubleshooting without guessing

"No cameras available" on the Pi

• Power off before reseating the ribbon
• Verify 15-pin versus 22-pin cable
• Verify contact direction
• Update Raspberry Pi OS
• Re-run rpicam-hello --list-cameras
• On Compute Module boards, set camera_auto_detect=0 and the correct dtoverlay= for the sensor

Portal or OEM view shows colour bars

• If Capture mode is Test pattern, colour bars are correct. Continue Path A.
• If you expected a real camera:
  • prove the camera locally first (Path B1)
  • approve Camera roles (Path B2)
  • set Capture mode to CSI or USB, not Automatic detection with a missing sensor
  • confirm the container runtime can access the approved camera mounts

Software is not running

• Confirm Docker (or another supported runtime) works on the host
• Confirm the example has a published release for your architecture
• Confirm a current Software set includes video-gen-sim
• Open the device Software runtime panel for the reported error

Live works but history is empty

• Wait for at least one short archive chunk to finish and upload
• Confirm recording is started
• Check free space and the resolved buffer directory
• Confirm the agent's video buffer is uploading

Customer cannot sign in

• Use your tenant host (*.dvcmgr.com), not the core Dataplicity login
• Confirm the customer was created against your Customer Portal
• Resend password setup
• Do not reuse the vendor operator email

Product Application kit will not apply

• Map both Entry camera and Lobby camera slots
• Map the required snapshot action on each slot
• Confirm Product Applications is available on your plan
• Publish a version, then attach it under Attached portals

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Related

• Use the customer portal for your product
• Example simulators
• Device classes
• Build a class container
• Design a device class page
• Customer portal
• Camera product design notes
• SiloSentry
• Stream live video from a device
• Raspberry Pi camera hardware: raspberrypi.com/documentation/accessories/camera.html