--- url: /plugins.md --- # Plugins Most of what camera.ui does beyond live view comes from plugins: the [AI backends and motion engines](/detection/) behind detection, audio detection, smart-home bridges like [HomeKit](/plugins/homekit), and camera-brand integrations. Managing plugins is an admin task. ## Two things, kept separate * **Installing a plugin** adds it to your server, once. This page covers that. * **Assigning a plugin** to a camera decides which camera uses it, for example which motion engine a camera runs. That's done per camera, in [Set up sensors](/sensors/setup). ## Managing plugins **Plugins** lists everything installed, each card with a live status (ready, started, stopped, error). From a card you can: * **Enable or disable** it, and **start, stop, or restart** its process. * **Update** it: the update button starts right away, click it again while it runs for the live install output. For release notes or a **specific version**, use the card menu. * **Open its settings**, or view its **logs**. * **Uninstall** it, optionally removing its stored data. Recordings are the exception: if you delete a recording plugin's stored data, its footage is kept. **Update all** in the toolbar updates every outdated plugin. While an update run from the [Updates page](/install/updating) is going on, plugins are stopped and can't be managed here. The gear button next to the search bar holds two settings, both off by default: * **Beta versions.** Shows pre-release versions in the version picker and offers beta releases as updates. * **Allow plugin build scripts.** Lets plugins run install scripts and native builds while installing or updating. Only turn this on for plugins you trust. The button next to the plus switches to a compact **table view** with status, version and actions per row; your choice is remembered. Installs, updates and uninstalls run through a server-side queue, two at a time. Every open browser sees the queue, whoever started it. Each plugin runs in its own process, so a crashing plugin doesn't take down the rest. A badge on the card shows its language (Node, Python or Go). A plugin built for a different plugin API doesn't start: its card says whether the plugin or camera.ui needs an update, and you get a notification. ### Managing several at once The select button works in both views: update, enable, disable or uninstall several plugins in one step. ## Installing a plugin **Search plugins** opens the store. The list comes from npm, so any published camera.ui plugin can appear; camera.ui curates on top of it: * **Trust.** Each plugin is marked **Official** (published by camera.ui), **Verified** (a community plugin the camera.ui team has reviewed), or **Community** (published by anyone, not reviewed). You can filter by trust level. * **Safety.** Plugins known to be malicious or compromised are blocked: they don't show up, can't be installed, and one you already have is disabled automatically if it's later blocked. * **Compatibility.** The store flags a plugin that needs a newer camera.ui, and installing a version that can't run on your server is refused with the reason. * **Browsing.** Filter by category, start from the featured plugins, and sort by name, weekly downloads, or last update. A specific version can be picked at install. Afterwards, enable the plugin and assign it where it's needed. ## Private registry or mirror Plugins come from whichever npm registry your `.npmrc` points at, so a company mirror or a private registry works for the store, for installs and for a plugin's own dependencies. Put the file in the home directory of the user that runs camera.ui: ```ini registry=https://npm.example.com/ //npm.example.com/:_authToken= ``` * **One registry for everything** with `registry=`, or a single scope with `@example:registry=https://npm.example.com/`. * **Login** with `//npm.example.com/:_authToken=`, or basic auth through `//npm.example.com/:username=` plus `//npm.example.com/:_password=`. Credentials are only sent to the host and path they are written for. * **Token from the environment.** `CAMERAUI_NPM_TOKEN` (or `NPM_TOKEN`) replaces the token line. It applies to the registry from `registry=`, so a scope with its own registry keeps its token in `.npmrc`. * **Docker:** mount the file to `/root/.npmrc`. The home directory is not part of the `/data` volume. * **Linux service:** the home directory of the service user. **Desktop app:** the home directory of the logged-in user. * **Remote workers** install plugins themselves, so each one needs the same file or the same variable. The store lists packages named `camera-ui-*` or `@scope/camera-ui-*` that carry the keyword `camera-ui-plugin`. Registries without a search API, GitHub Packages for example, return no list: type the exact package name instead, and the store looks it up directly. ## Settings A plugin's own settings live on its page, under **Settings**, and apply server-wide. Settings that affect a single camera are edited in that [camera's settings](/cameras/settings) instead. Recording-plugin settings are kept with the rest of [recording](/recording/). ## Setup guides * **[HomeKit](/plugins/homekit)** — add your cameras to Apple Home. * **[Home Assistant](/home-assistant/)** — cameras, sensors and detection events as Home Assistant entities. * **Google Home and Alexa** — not available yet, both are on the roadmap.