Show HN: CheapSecurity – Lightweight, Self-Hosted CCTV for Linux SBCs

This project provides a lightweight, self-hosted CCTV solution designed for Linux-based single-board computers (SBCs) and standard USB webcams. It offers an affordable, privacy-focused alternative for home monitoring by keeping your video data entirely under your control. Project Philosophy

Live MJPEG stream with a web dashboard Motion detection with frame differencing Automatic recording with a pre-motion buffer Email alerts with a snapshot picture when motion starts Telegram integration : Automatic video upload after motion is recorded Bot commands: /snapshot , /video <seconds> , /help Night mode low-light enhancement (software CLAHE + brightness/contrast boost) Recordings bulk actions : select all, send to Telegram, download ZIP, delete Storage cleanup by age, total size, and emergency low-disk cleanup systemd autostart ready Licensed under GNU AGPLv3 Requirements Python 3.10 or newer OpenCV with V4L2 support (see installation options below) A USB webcam ( /dev/video0 by default) Optional: a Telegram bot token for Telegram notifications Optional: SMTP credentials for email alerts Quick start Verify OpenCV is available:

python3 -c " import cv2; print(cv2.__version__) " If OpenCV is not installed, you have two options:

Create and activate the virtual environment and install the app:

This creates a venv that can see the system site-packages, so the system cv2 is available inside the venv.

cd $HOME /CheapSecurity python3 -m venv venv --system-site-packages source venv/bin/activate pip install -e . Option B: install everything via pip Use this if you do not have a system OpenCV or prefer a self-contained venv.

cd $HOME /CheapSecurity python3 -m venv venv source venv/bin/activate pip install opencv-python-headless pip install -e . Note: On some older ARM boards the pip opencv-python-headless wheel may not be available or may be slow. If that happens, install OpenCV from your distribution’s package manager instead and use Option A.

Find your webcam device (usually /dev/video0 ):

v4l2-ctl --list-devices Copy config.json.example to config.json and edit it:

cp config.json.example config.json nano config.json Set camera device, resolution, and frame rate Fill in SMTP credentials if you want email alerts Fill in Telegram bot token and chat ID if you want Telegram uploads Security: config.json is listed in .gitignore and must never be committed. It contains passwords and tokens. Always edit config.json , not config.json.example . If you add a new setting, update both files so the example stays in sync.

./venv/bin/python -m cheapsecurity.app Open the dashboard in a browser:

http://<odroid-ip>:5000 Configuration Edit config.json :

1. Create a bot Open Telegram and message @BotFather . Send /newbot and follow the prompts to choose a display name and username. Copy the bot token (looks like 123456789:ABCdefGHIjklMNOpqrsTUVwxyz ). Keep this token secret — anyone with it can control your bot. 2. Get your chat ID Start a private chat with your new bot and send any message (for example, /start ). Open this URL in a browser, replacing <YOUR_BOT_TOKEN> with the real token: https://api.telegram.org/bot<YOUR_BOT_TOKEN>/getUpdates Look for "chat":{"id":123456789 . The number is your chat ID . If getUpdates is empty, send another message to the bot and refresh. If you want to use a group chat, add the bot to the group first and send a message there; the chat ID will be negative for groups. Copy the chat ID exactly, including the - sign if it is a group. 3. Configure the app Fill in the telegram section of config.json :

"telegram" : { "enabled" : true , "bot_token" : " 123456789:ABCdefGHIjklMNOpqrsTUVwxyz " , "chat_id" : " 123456789 " , "send_video" : true , "min_interval_minutes" : 5 , "poll_commands" : true } Then restart the service:

sudo systemctl restart cheapsecurity@ $( whoami ) .service Automatic uploads After a motion clip is saved, the video is uploaded to your Telegram chat. Uploads are rate-limited by min_interval_minutes .

The bot only responds to your configured chat_id .

Motion has priority: if the system is already recording because motion was detected, a /video request will not interrupt it. The bot will reply that a motion video is in progress and will be uploaded automatically.

Configure the notifications section in config.json . A picture from the moment motion starts is attached. Alerts are rate-limited by min_interval_minutes .

Google no longer allows "less secure apps" to use your regular Gmail password. You must create an App Password .

"notifications" : { "enabled" : true , "smtp" : { "server" : " smtp.gmail.com " , "port" : 465 , "username" : " you@gmail.com " , "password" : " abcdefghijklmnop " , "use_tls" : true }, "from" : " you@gmail.com " , "to" : " you@gmail.com " , "subject" : " CheapSecurity motion alert " , "min_interval_minutes" : 5 } Use the App Password (no spaces) in the password field, not your Google account password. For Google Workspace accounts, the username is usually your full email address. The app uses implicit TLS ( SMTP_SSL ) on the port you configure. Gmail accepts this on port 465. Multiple recipients "to" : [ " you@gmail.com " , " family@example.com " ] Night mode Night mode combines:

Toggle it from the dashboard. It is applied to the live stream, recordings, and alert pictures.

Important: most USB webcams do not expose ISO/gain/exposure controls via V4L2, so FPS/gain adjustments may be ignored. True night vision requires an IR-sensitive camera and an IR illuminator .

Recordings are saved in recordings/ . Recordings older than max_age_days are deleted during periodic cleanup, not on startup (unless delete_old_on_startup is true ). If free disk space drops below emergency_free_space_gb , the oldest emergency_delete_count recordings are deleted before starting a new clip. Recordings older than max_age_days or exceeding max_size_gb are removed during periodic cleanup. Web interface Live stream Status panel (resolution, FPS, recording state, motion state) Settings toggles: night mode, email notifications, Telegram uploads, built-in basic auth Recordings list with per-row checkboxes and bulk actions: Select all Send to Telegram Download selected (ZIP) Delete selected Production deployment Do not expose Flask's development server to the internet. Use Gunicorn behind the built-in auth or another reverse proxy you trust.

It is already defined in pyproject.toml :

cd $HOME /CheapSecurity source venv/bin/activate pip install -e . 2. Run with systemd + Gunicorn Copy the service template and enable it from a user shell:

sudo cp cheapsecurity.service /etc/systemd/system/cheapsecurity@.service sudo systemctl daemon-reload sudo systemctl enable --now cheapsecurity@ $( whoami ) .service This binds Gunicorn to 0.0.0.0:5000 with one worker and four threads , so the dashboard and stream are reachable directly on your network. Only one worker is used because the camera must be opened by a single process.

Security: if you expose this to the internet, put a reverse proxy with HTTPS and authentication in front of Gunicorn. If you only access it locally, keep the built-in auth enabled.

sudo journalctl -u cheapsecurity@ $( whoami ) .service -f Project structure CheapSecurity/ ├── src/ │ └── cheapsecurity/ # Python package │ ├── app.py # Development launcher │ ├── cctv.py # Motion detection, recording, alerts, Telegram bot │ ├── web.py # Flask dashboard and APIs │ ├── wsgi.py # Production WSGI entry point │ ├── diagnose.py # Diagnostic/troubleshooting script │ ├── templates/ # HTML templates │ └── static/ # CSS/JS ├── tests/ # Test suite ├── config.json # Your local settings (gitignored, never commit) ├── config.json.example # Example settings template (committed) ├── pyproject.toml # Package metadata and dependencies ├── cheapsecurity.service # systemd template ├── LICENSE # GNU AGPLv3 └── recordings/ # Saved videos Troubleshooting If recordings stop appearing:

sudo systemctl status cheapsecurity@ $( whoami ) .service Check logs: sudo journalctl -u cheapsecurity@ $( whoami ) .service -f Run the diagnostic script: source venv/bin/activate python -m cheapsecurity.diagnose Try lowering motion.min_area if no motion is detected. License This project is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 or later (AGPLv3). See LICENSE .