---
layout: page
title: "Camera"
description: "Instructions on how to integrate cameras within Home Assistant."
date: 2015-11-09 08:36
sidebar: true
comments: false
sharing: true
footer: true
ha_release: 0.7
---
The camera component allows you to use IP cameras with Home Assistant. With a little additional work you could use [USB cameras](/blog/2016/06/23/usb-webcams-and-home-assistant/) as well.
### {% linkable_title Services %}
Once loaded, the `camera` platform will expose services that can be called to perform various actions.
Available services: `turn_on`, `turn_off`, `enable_motion_detection`, `disable_motion_detection`, `snapshot`, and `play_stream`.
#### {% linkable_title Service `turn_on` %}
Turn on camera. Not all camera models support this service, please consult individual camera page.
| Service data attribute | Optional | Description |
| ---------------------- | -------- | ----------- |
| `entity_id` | yes | Name(s) of entities to turn on, e.g., `camera.living_room_camera`. |
#### {% linkable_title Service `turn_off` %}
Turn off camera. Not all camera models support this service, please consult individual camera page.
| Service data attribute | Optional | Description |
| ---------------------- | -------- | ----------- |
| `entity_id` | yes | Name(s) of entities to turn off, e.g., `camera.living_room_camera`. |
#### {% linkable_title Service `enable_motion_detection` %}
Enable the motion detection in a camera.
| Service data attribute | Optional | Description |
| ---------------------- | -------- | ----------- |
| `entity_id` | yes | Name(s) of entities to enable motion detection, e.g., `camera.living_room_camera`. |
#### {% linkable_title Service `disable_motion_detection` %}
Disable the motion detection in a camera.
| Service data attribute | Optional | Description |
| ---------------------- | -------- | ----------- |
| `entity_id` | yes | Name(s) of entities to disable motion detection, e.g., `camera.living_room_camera`. |
#### {% linkable_title Service `snapshot` %}
Take a snapshot from a camera.
| Service data attribute | Optional | Description |
| ---------------------- | -------- | ----------- |
| `entity_id` | no | Name(s) of entities to create a snapshot from, e.g., `camera.living_room_camera`. |
| `filename` | no | Template of a file name. Variable is `entity_id`, e.g., {% raw %}`/tmp/snapshot_{{ entity_id }}`{% endraw %}. |
The path part of `filename` must be an entry in the `whitelist_external_dirs` in your [`homeassistant:`](/docs/configuration/basic/) section of your `configuration.yaml` file.
For example, the following action in an automation would take a snapshot from "yourcamera" and save it to /tmp with a timestamped filename.
{% raw %}
```yaml
action:
service: camera.snapshot
data:
entity_id: camera.yourcamera
filename: '/tmp/yourcamera_{{ now().strftime("%Y%m%d-%H%M%S") }}.jpg'
```
{% endraw %}
#### {% linkable_title Service `record` %}
Make a `.mp4` recording from a camera stream. Requires `stream` component to be set up.
Both `duration` and `lookback` options are suggestions, but should be consistent per camera. The actual length of the recording may vary. It is suggested that you tweak these settings to fit your needs.
| Service data attribute | Optional | Description |
| ---------------------- | -------- | ----------- |
| `entity_id` | no | Name(s) of entities to create a snapshot from, e.g., `camera.living_room_camera`. |
| `filename` | no | Template of a file name. Variable is `entity_id`, e.g., {% raw %}`/tmp/{{ entity_id }}.mp4`{% endraw %}. |
| `duration` | yes | Target recording length (in seconds). Default: 30 |
| `lookback` | yes | Target lookback period (in seconds) to include in addition to duration. Only available if there is currently an active HLS stream. Default: 0 |
The path part of `filename` must be an entry in the `whitelist_external_dirs` in your [`homeassistant:`](/docs/configuration/basic/) section of your `configuration.yaml` file.
For example, the following action in an automation would take a recording from "yourcamera" and save it to /tmp with a timestamped filename.
{% raw %}
```yaml
action:
service: camera.record
data:
entity_id: camera.yourcamera
filename: '/tmp/{{ entity_id }}_{{ now().strftime("%Y%m%d-%H%M%S") }}.mp4'
```
{% endraw %}
#### {% linkable_title Service `play_stream` %}
Play a live stream from a camera to selected media player(s). Requires [`stream`](/components/stream) component to be set up.
| Service data attribute | Optional | Description |
| ---------------------- | -------- | ----------- |
| `entity_id` | no | Name of entity to fetch stream from, e.g., `camera.living_room_camera`. |
| `media_player` | no | Name of media player to play stream on, e.g., `media_player.living_room_tv`. |
| `format` | yes | Stream format supported by `stream` component and selected `media_player`. Default: `hls` |
For example, the following action in an automation would send an `hls` live stream to your chromecast.
```yaml
action:
service: camera.play_stream
data:
entity_id: camera.yourcamera
media_player: media_player.chromecast
```
### {% linkable_title Test if it works %}
A simple way to test if you have set up your `camera` platform correctly, is to use 
**Services** from the **Developer Tools**. Choose your service from the dropdown menu **Service**, enter something like the sample below into the **Service Data** field, and hit **CALL SERVICE**.
```json
{
"entity_id": "camera.living_room_camera"
}
```
### {% linkable_title Preload Stream %}
If your camera supports it, and the [`stream`](/components/stream) component is setup, You will notice a "Preload Stream" option in the top right of the dialog when clicking to view the camera stream. This option will keep the stream alive, and preload the feed on Home Assistant startup. This will result in reduced latency when opening the stream in the frontend, as well as when using the `play_stream` service or Google Assistant integration. It does, however, utilize more resources on your machine, so it is recommended to check CPU usage if you plan to use this feature.
Example showing the Preload Stream option in the camera dialog.