Troubleshooting
Quick reference
| Endpoint | Purpose |
|---|---|
POST /api/v1/events/{event_id}/start | Begin recording |
POST /api/v1/events/{event_id}/mark | Log an event during recording |
POST /api/v1/events/{event_id}/stop | End recording |
GET /api/v1/events/{event_id} | Check status |
GET /api/v1/events/{event_id}/video | Fetch the finished clip |
GET /api/v1/health | Liveness check |
GET /api/v1/camera/status | On-demand camera reachability check — same as the test page's "Test camera" button |
Checking logs on the Pi
ssh pi@recording-pi.local
sudo journalctl -u recording-pi -f
Camera not found automatically
The Recording Pi looks for the camera via ONVIF at startup. If the startup log doesn't show a line like ONVIF discovery: resolved RTSP URL from camera at ...:
- Confirm the camera and Pi are on the same network segment (ONVIF discovery doesn't cross routers/VLANs)
- Confirm ONVIF is enabled on the camera and using the shared admin credentials — see Camera Setup
- Power-cycle the camera, then restart the service:
sudo systemctl restart recording-pi
Test page shows "failed" after stopping a recording
Check the service logs (above) for the specific error. Common causes are the camera going offline mid-recording, or the SD card running low on space.
Can't reach the test page at all
- Confirm the Pi is powered on and connected — check your router's device list for its hostname
- Confirm the service is running:
sudo systemctl status recording-pi - Try the Pi's IP address directly instead of
recording-pi.local, if.localnames don't resolve on your network
SSH connection fails
ssh -v pi@recording-pi.local
The -v flag shows where the connection is failing — usually either the Pi isn't on the network yet, or the hostname doesn't resolve (try its IP address instead).