Camsnap
A straightforward CLI for pulling frames and video clips from RTSP and ONVIF cameras without wrestling with ffmpeg syntax yourself. You store camera credentials in a config file, then grab snapshots or timed clips with simple commands. The motion watch mode is nice if you want to trigger actions based on camera activity. It's Homebrew installable and the doctor command helps debug connectivity issues before you waste time on a long capture. Mainly useful if you're building home automation stuff or need programmatic access to IP cameras and want something more ergonomic than raw ffmpeg invocations.
- installs
- 2.6K
- GitHub stars
- 382.8K
- last updated
- Jul 14, 2026
Install
$ npx -y skills add steipete/clawdis --skill camsnap --agent claude-codeInstalls into .claude/skills of the current project.
Files
camsnap
Use camsnap to grab snapshots, clips, or motion events from configured cameras.
Setup
- Config file:
~/.config/camsnap/config.yaml - Add camera:
camsnap add --name kitchen --host 192.168.0.10 --user user --pass pass
Common commands
- Discover:
camsnap discover --info - Snapshot:
camsnap snap kitchen --out shot.jpg - Clip:
camsnap clip kitchen --dur 5s --out clip.mp4 - Motion watch:
camsnap watch kitchen --threshold 0.2 --action '...' - Doctor:
camsnap doctor --probe
Local webcams (macOS)
- List devices:
camsnap devices - Snapshot from a local camera:
camsnap snap --device 0 --out webcam.jpg - PTZ position and ranges:
camsnap ptz status --device 0 - Move a gimbal camera:
camsnap ptz goto --device 0 --pan 45 --tilt -18 - Also
camsnap ptz move(relative deltas) andcamsnap ptz home.
Notes
- Requires
ffmpegon PATH. - Prefer a short test capture before longer clips.
- PTZ needs macOS Camera permission: these cameras only service UVC controls while streaming, so
camsnapholds a capture session open for the operation. - Motion commands verify the settled position and exit non-zero if the camera did not reach it. On-camera AI framing can override manual positioning; disable tracking if moves keep missing.
Sponsors
Details
- Repository
- github.com/steipete/clawdis
- First seen
- Apr 16, 2026
