🛡️ Getting Started with OpenSentry-LVM: Turn Any Linux Device into a Smart Security Camera

Nov 11

By S’Bussiso Dube

🌒 A New Age of Private Security

When you set up a “smart” home camera, you’re usually surrendering two things — privacy and control.

Most modern camera systems, from Ring to Nest, push your footage through corporate servers. They promise safety but demand surveillance. But what if your home security could be entirely yours — no cloud, no subscriptions, no hidden data collection?

That’s exactly what OpenSentry-LVM makes possible.

🔍 What Is OpenSentry-LVM?

OpenSentry-LVM is a lightweight, self-hosted motion-detection and live-video monitoring system for Linux. It transforms any device — a desktop, mini-PC, or Raspberry Pi — into a privacy-first smart security camera.

It’s fast, minimal, and open source. No servers to trust. No APIs to leak data. Just your camera, your network, and your rules.

✨ Features at a Glance

🎥 Live streaming via a sleek web dashboard (mobile-friendly).
🧠 Motion detection powered by OpenCV’s MOG2 background subtraction.
📸 Snapshots — manual or automatic when motion is detected.
🔐 Authentication options: local or OAuth2 (for SSO).
🌐 mDNS discovery — find cameras automatically on your LAN.
🐋 Docker-ready for easy container deployment.
⚙️ Fully configurable with a single config.json or environment variables.

👉 GitHub Repository: https://github.com/Sbussiso/OpenSentry-LVM

🧰 What You’ll Need

Before you begin, prepare the essentials:

Requirement	Description
Linux device	Raspberry Pi 4/5, desktop, or server
Camera	USB webcam or Pi Camera (shows up as `/dev/video0`)
Python 3.12+	Required for source deployment
Docker (optional)	Simplifies container deployment
Network access	So you can reach the web interface

On Raspberry Pi, enable the camera interface first:

sudo raspi-config
# Interface Options → Camera → Enable

Then check it’s detected:

ls /dev/video*

🚀 Step 1: Clone the Repository

Let’s grab OpenSentry-LVM from GitHub:

git clone https://github.com/Sbussiso/OpenSentry-LVM.git
cd OpenSentry-LVM

🧩 Step 2: Choose Your Setup

You have two ways to deploy OpenSentry-LVM: directly from source, or with Docker.

🐍 Option A — Run from Source

This method gives you full control and visibility.

python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt
uv run server.py

Once it starts, visit:

👉 http://127.0.0.1:5000

Default login:

Username: admin
Password: admin

(Use your device’s IP instead of 127.0.0.1 if accessing from another machine.)

🐳 Option B — Run via Docker

Prefer a clean container setup? It’s just as easy:

docker compose -f compose.yaml build --pull
docker compose -f compose.yaml up -d

Then open: 👉 http://<device data-preserve-html-node="true"-ip>:5000

🖥️ Step 3: Explore the Dashboard

Once you log in, you’ll see:

A live video feed from your camera
Real-time motion detection overlays
Options for snapshots, settings, and authentication

Wave your hand in front of the camera — you’ll instantly see colored boxes showing detected motion. It’s immediate, visual, and surprisingly smooth even on low-power boards.

⚙️ Step 4: Configure the System

Settings are simple and human-readable, stored in config.json.

Here’s a sample:

{
  "auth": { "auth_mode": "local" },
  "motion_detection": {
    "min_area": 500,
    "pad": 10,
    "mog2_var_threshold": 16,
    "mog2_history": 500
  },
  "snapshots": {
    "enabled": true,
    "cooldown": 15,
    "directory": "snapshots"
  },
  "video": { "width": 640, "height": 480, "fps": 15 },
  "stream": { "jpeg_quality": 75, "raw_fps": 15 }
}

Tweak these values to match your device’s performance:

Lower the resolution for a smoother experience on Raspberry Pi.
Adjust min_area for sensitivity (larger = less sensitive).
Modify cooldown for snapshot frequency.

🧪 Step 5: Test Motion Detection

Ready to test?

Keep the dashboard open.
Move an object in view.
Watch for motion boxes and snapshot triggers.

You’ll see the system react in real time, highlighting movement and saving images when motion exceeds your threshold.

🔒 Step 6: Secure & Optimize

Before you leave it running 24/7, take a few minutes to lock it down.

🧱 Change Default Credentials

export OPENSENTRY_USER="yourname"
export OPENSENTRY_PASS="strongpassword"

🕸️ Add HTTPS

Use a reverse proxy like Nginx, Caddy, or Traefik for SSL.

📴 Disable Discovery (optional)

If you don’t need LAN auto-discovery:

export OPENSENTRY_MDNS_DISABLE=1

🔑 Integrate OAuth2

Perfect if you’re using OpenSentry in a corporate or multi-user environment.

🧰 Common Fixes

Issue	Fix
Camera not found	Run `ls /dev/video*`; verify hardware detection.
High CPU usage	Lower FPS, reduce resolution, or JPEG quality.
Segfaults on ARM	Use `opencv-python-headless` with `gevent`.
Port already in use	Change `OPENSENTRY_PORT`.
OAuth2 fails	Check redirect URIs and credentials.

🧱 Optional: Auto-Start on Boot (Raspberry Pi)

If you want OpenSentry-LVM to launch automatically:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/opensentry.service

Paste:

[Unit]
Description=OpenSentry-LVM
After=network.target

[Service]
User=pi
WorkingDirectory=/home/pi/OpenSentry-LVM
ExecStart=/usr/bin/python3 server.py
Restart=always

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Then:

sudo systemctl enable opensentry
sudo systemctl start opensentry

Now, your Pi becomes a self-booting security camera.

📸 The End Result

You’ve just created a private, self-contained surveillance system that:

Detects motion in real time
Captures snapshots of activity
Streams video securely over your local network
Stores everything locally, under your full control

No subscriptions. No tracking. No silent uploads.

Just you — and your sentry.

🧭 Summary

Step	Action
1	Clone the GitHub repo
2	Choose source or Docker setup
3	Run the service and log in
4	Configure your settings
5	Test and adjust
6	Secure and automate

You can set up a reliable home or lab camera system in under 15 minutes — and keep every frame private.

💡 Final Thoughts

OpenSentry-LVM isn’t just a camera app — it’s a statement. It’s a reminder that open source can give us tools as polished as commercial ones, without the trade-offs of surveillance capitalism.

If you value privacy, autonomy, and a bit of hacker spirit, OpenSentry-LVM is a perfect weekend project.

🔗 Try it now: github.com/Sbussiso/OpenSentry-LVM

Sbussiso Dube