Configuration File

motioneye.conf

motionEye uses a configuration file (usually called motioneye.conf) that allows customizing your setup (including paths, logging, various timeouts and other options that cannot be modified through the UI). The default location for this file is /etc/motioneye/motioneye.conf and can be changed using the -c command line switch.

Available Options

conf_path

Defines the folder for the various configuration files used by motionEye. These include motion.conf, camera-*.conf (both used by the motion daemon). This folder must be writable by the user with which motionEye runs. Defaults to /etc/motioneye.

run_path

Defines the folder where motionEye's PID file is created, only when running in background mode (-b). This folder must be writable by the user with which motionEye runs in that mode. Defaults to the first of the following which exists: /run, /var/run.

log_path

Defines the folder where log files are created. This folder must exist and be writable by the user with which motionEye runs when file logging is enabled. The systemd service does not create it automatically. Defaults to the first of the following which exists: /log, /var/log, run_path.

media_path

Defines the folder where the media files are created, by default. This folder must be writable by the user with which motionEye runs. Defaults to /var/lib/motioneye.

log_level

Changes the log level of motionEye as well as of the motion daemon started by motionEye. Accepted values are quiet, error, warning, info and debug. Defaults to info.

log_to_file

Set this to true to enable logging to files in log_path (motioneye.log, motion.log) instead of standard error (motionEye) and syslog (motion, or standard error where there is no syslog, e.g. in a container). The log_path setting above only has an effect when this is enabled. File logging is also enabled by the -l command line option of meyectl. Starting motionEye in background mode with meyectl startserver -b always enables file logging. Accepted values are false and true. Defaults to false.

listen

Defines the IP address on which the motionEye server will listen. Use 0.0.0.0 for all interfaces or 127.0.0.1 for localhost. Defaults to all interfaces.

port

Defines the TCP port on which the motionEye server will listen. Defaults to 8765.

trusted_proxies

Defines a comma-separated list of reverse proxy IP addresses or networks whose X-Forwarded-For headers are trusted for login rate limiting. Write the list without quotes, e.g. 127.0.0.1. The proxy must include the actual client IP; otherwise clients behind it share one login rate limit. Defaults to an empty list.

motion_binary

Instructs motionEye to use a specific motion daemon. The path will be automatically detected by default, using the PATH environment variable.

motion_control_localhost

Set this to false to allow the motion daemon's HTTP control server to listen on all interfaces instead of localhost only. Defaults to true.

motion_control_port

Defines the TCP port for the motion daemon's HTTP control server. Defaults to 7999.

motion_control_authentication

Sets the credentials for the motion daemon's HTTP control server, in username:password format, using Basic authentication. motionEye sends these credentials automatically. Recommended when motion_control_localhost is false. Unset by default, disabling authentication.

motion_check_interval

Configures the interval in seconds at which motionEye checks if motion is running. Defaults to 10.

motion_restart_on_errors

Configures whether the motion daemon should be restarted when an error occurs while communicating with it. Defaults to false.

mount_check_interval

Configures the interval in seconds at which motionEye checks the mounted filesystems (notably SMB/network share mounts). Defaults to 300.

cleanup_interval

Configures the interval in seconds at which the janitor function is called to remove old media files. Defaults to 43200 (twice a day).

remote_request_timeout

Configures the timeout in seconds to wait for response from a remote motionEye server. Defaults to 10.

mjpg_client_timeout

Configures the timeout in seconds to wait for a MJPEG frame from the motion daemon. Defaults to 10.

mjpg_client_idle_timeout

Configures the timeout in seconds after which an idle internal MJPEG client is closed and removed (set to 0 to keep clients connected indefinitely). Defaults to 10.

smb_shares

Set this to true to enable management of SMB (network) shares. This option usually requires motionEye to run as root. Defaults to false.

smb_mount_root

Sets the directory where the SMB mount points will be created. Defaults to /media.

enable_reboot

Set this to true to enable shutdown and reboot buttons in the UI. This option usually requires motionEye to run as root. Defaults to false.

smtp_timeout

Configures the timeout in seconds to use when talking to the SMTP server. Defaults to 60.

list_media_timeout

Configures the timeout in seconds to wait for media files list. Defaults to 120.

list_media_timeout_email

Configures the timeout in seconds to wait for media files list, when sending emails. Defaults to 10.

list_media_timeout_telegram

Configures the timeout in seconds to wait for media files list, when sending Telegram notifications. Defaults to 10.

zip_timeout

Configures the timeout in seconds to wait for zip file creation. Defaults to 500.

timelapse_timeout

Configures the timeout in seconds to wait for timelapse file creation. Defaults to 500.

add_remove_cameras

Set this to false to disable adding and removing of cameras from the UI. Defaults to true.

password_hook

Sets the full path to an external program to be executed whenever a password changes. The program will be invoked with environment variables MEYE_USERNAME and MEYE_PASSWORD set accordingly. This is unset by default.

server_name

Overrides the server hostname.

normal_session_expiry_hours

Sets the lifetime in hours of the surveillance user's session cookie. Values below 1 are treated as 1 hour. Defaults to 720 (30 days).