Article URL: https://github.com/gmrandazzo/CheapSecurity Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49059398 Points: 28 # Comments: 6

This project provides a lightweight, self-hosted CCTV solution designed for Linux-based single-board computers (SBCs) and standard USB webcams. It offers an affordable, privacy-focused alternative for home monitoring by keeping your video data entirely under your control. Project Philosophy This creates a venv that can see the system site-packages, so the system cv2 is available inside the venv. Note: On some older ARM boards the pip opencv-python-headless wheel may not be available or may be slow. If that happens, install OpenCV from your distribution’s package manager instead and use Option A. Security: config.json is listed in .gitignore and must never be committed. It contains passwords and tokens. Always edit config.json, not config.json.example. If you add a new setting, update both files so the example stays in sync. After a motion clip is saved, the video is uploaded to your Telegram chat. Uploads are rate-limited by min_interval_minutes. Motion has priority: if the system is already recording because motion was detected, a /video request will not interrupt it. The bot will reply that a motion video is in progress and will be uploaded automatically. Configure the notifications section in config.json. A picture from the moment motion starts is attached. Alerts are rate-limited by min_interval_minutes. Google no longer allows "less secure apps" to use your regular Gmail password. You must create an App Password.