tl;dr

Pings an RTSP camera to see if it's returning images. If it isn't, displays a macOS notification.

About

Tested with Wyze camera with RTSP firmware. Other cameras untested, but they probably work fine? Let me know if it works for you.

Getting Started

1. git clone https://github.com/ulysseskan/pingcamera.git
2. cd pingcamera
3. pip3 install -r requirements.txt
4. mv config.ini.sample config.ini && vi config.ini # enter your camera's IP, username, password
5. python3 pingcamera.py

By default, it pings once per hour as long as the script is running. You can modify the interval by updating check_interval in config.ini.

Prerequisites

You need a copy of Python 3. I only tested this with Python 3.10. One way to install Python 3 is as follows:

1. Install Brew.
2. brew install python3
3. Ensure Brew's executable bin directory is in your PATH variable, for example:
   echo "eval \$($(brew --prefix)/bin/brew shellenv)" >>~/.profile

Running at Startup on macOS

You can either go the launchd route (or use Lingon/LaunchControl), or you can do what I did and do it via Automator:

1. Open Automator. Create a new App with the action Run AppleScript.
2. Paste in code similar to the following, then drag the new App to your Login Items.

on run
	tell application "Terminal"
		do script "cd /Users/username/pingcamera; /usr/local/bin/python3 /Users/username/pingcamera/pingcamera.py; exit"
		activate
	end tell
end run

This opens a Terminal with the script running. If you want it running silently in the background instead, use Run Shell Script instead and make it a background process (`&`` at the end of the command).

Known Bugs

• None known.

Potential Improvements

• Allow check interval to be changed in config.ini
• Include time of check in output (and in notification?)
• Give instructions on how to setup to run at boot

License

Distributed under the MIT License. See LICENSE.txt for more information.

Contact

Project Link: https://github.com/ulysseskan/pingcamera