jason0x43/amcrest-camera
agents/skills/amcrest-camera/SKILL.md
Access and control the Amcrest IP camera at 10.0.0.221 via the Amcrest/Dahua HTTP API. Use when the user wants snapshots, device info, config reads/writes, streams, or PTZ-style camera control for an Amcrest camera.
$ install --global
skillsauthnpx skillsauth add jason0x43/dotfiles amcrest-cameraInstall this skill globally with one command. Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and Windsurf.
Security Scan Results
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Some scanners were skipped, did not run, or reported a non-clean status. Review each row below.
3
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9
Scanners in report
Clean
TrivyContainer and dependency vulnerability scanner
95%
Clean
SemgrepStatic code analysis for vulnerabilities
95%
Clean
mcp-scan (Snyk)Model Context Protocol security validation
95%
Skipped
Snyk (dep)Open source security scanning
50%
Skipped
Socket.devSupply chain security analysis
50%
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VirusTotalMulti-engine malware detection
50%
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CrowdStrikeAdvanced threat intelligence
50%
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OSV-ScannerOpen Source Vulnerability database check
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OWASP Dep-Check
50%
Last scanned: May 19, 2026, 7:53 AM408.1s4 files scanned
SKILL.md
- name:
- amcrest-camera
- description:
- Access and control the Amcrest IP camera at 10.0.0.221 via the Amcrest/Dahua HTTP API. Use when the user wants snapshots, device info, config reads/writes, streams, or PTZ-style camera control for an Amcrest camera.
Amcrest camera
- API reference PDF:
/Users/jason/Downloads/HTTP_API_V3.26.pdf - The API is primarily under
/cgi-bin/*.cgi - Authentication is HTTP Digest auth per RFC 7616
- Prefer HTTPS if the camera supports it; otherwise use HTTP on the local network
Before doing anything
- Use environment variables for credentials when running commands:
export CAMERA_HOST=10.0.0.221
export CAMERA_USER='...'
export CAMERA_PASS='...'
- Prefer the helper scripts in
<skill>/scripts; they already use digest auth and basic timeouts. - For one-off curl commands, use digest auth:
curl --digest -u "$CAMERA_USER:$CAMERA_PASS" "http://$CAMERA_HOST/cgi-bin/magicBox.cgi?action=getDeviceType"
Important API conventions
- Request
channelvalues usually start at1 - Many config table indexes in responses start at
0 getConfig/setConfigusekey=valuequery params- Some newer
/cgi-bin/api/...endpoints use JSON request bodies - Successful
set...operations often return plainOK - Snapshot responses are binary JPEG data
Helper scripts
Use the helper scripts in <skill>/scripts before hand-writing curl commands when they fit the task.
<skill>/scripts/get_camera_info.sh
Fetches common identification and status endpoints.
export CAMERA_HOST=10.0.0.221
export CAMERA_USER='...'
export CAMERA_PASS='...'
<skill>/scripts/get_camera_info.sh
<skill>/scripts/take_snapshot.sh
Captures a JPEG snapshot and prints the output path.
export CAMERA_HOST=10.0.0.221
export CAMERA_USER='...'
export CAMERA_PASS='...'
<skill>/scripts/take_snapshot.sh
<skill>/scripts/take_snapshot.sh latest.jpg
Optional env:
CHANNELdefault1TYPEdefault0
If the user asks to see the image, display the saved file with show_image.
<skill>/scripts/ptz_move.sh
Use for PTZ-capable cameras only.
Common PTZ codes for start/stop include:
UpDownLeftRightLeftUpRightUpLeftDownRightDownZoomTeleZoomWideFocusNearFocusFar
export CAMERA_HOST=10.0.0.221
export CAMERA_USER='...'
export CAMERA_PASS='...'
<skill>/scripts/ptz_move.sh status
<skill>/scripts/ptz_move.sh start Up
<skill>/scripts/ptz_move.sh stop Up
<skill>/scripts/ptz_move.sh relative 0.1 0.1 0
<skill>/scripts/ptz_move.sh absolute -0.8 0.3 0.5
Optional env:
CHANNELdefault1
Common tasks
Check connectivity / identify the camera
Prefer:
<skill>/scripts/get_camera_info.sh
Or call individual endpoints:
curl --digest -u "$CAMERA_USER:$CAMERA_PASS" "http://$CAMERA_HOST/cgi-bin/magicBox.cgi?action=getDeviceType"
curl --digest -u "$CAMERA_USER:$CAMERA_PASS" "http://$CAMERA_HOST/cgi-bin/magicBox.cgi?action=getSystemInfoNew"
curl --digest -u "$CAMERA_USER:$CAMERA_PASS" "http://$CAMERA_HOST/cgi-bin/magicBox.cgi?action=getSerialNo"
Get the current camera time
curl --digest -u "$CAMERA_USER:$CAMERA_PASS" "http://$CAMERA_HOST/cgi-bin/global.cgi?action=getCurrentTime"
Set the current camera time
URL-encode the space as %20:
curl --digest -u "$CAMERA_USER:$CAMERA_PASS" "http://$CAMERA_HOST/cgi-bin/global.cgi?action=setCurrentTime&time=2026-05-17%2021:00:00"
Fetch a snapshot
Prefer:
<skill>/scripts/take_snapshot.sh
<skill>/scripts/take_snapshot.sh snapshot.jpg
Or call the endpoint directly:
curl --digest -u "$CAMERA_USER:$CAMERA_PASS" -o snapshot.jpg "http://$CAMERA_HOST/cgi-bin/snapshot.cgi?channel=1&type=0"
If the user asks to see the image, display the saved file with show_image.
Read configuration
curl --digest -u "$CAMERA_USER:$CAMERA_PASS" "http://$CAMERA_HOST/cgi-bin/configManager.cgi?action=getConfig&name=General"
curl --digest -u "$CAMERA_USER:$CAMERA_PASS" "http://$CAMERA_HOST/cgi-bin/configManager.cgi?action=getConfig&name=Encode"
curl --digest -u "$CAMERA_USER:$CAMERA_PASS" "http://$CAMERA_HOST/cgi-bin/configManager.cgi?action=getConfig&name=VideoWidget"
Write configuration
Be conservative. Read config first, then change only the needed keys.
Example:
curl --digest -u "$CAMERA_USER:$CAMERA_PASS" "http://$CAMERA_HOST/cgi-bin/configManager.cgi?action=setConfig&General.MachineName=FrontDoorCam"
MJPEG stream
curl --digest -u "$CAMERA_USER:$CAMERA_PASS" "http://$CAMERA_HOST/cgi-bin/mjpg/video.cgi?channel=1&subtype=0"
RTSP token creation
Some streaming workflows use a token endpoint with JSON:
curl --digest -u "$CAMERA_USER:$CAMERA_PASS" \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-d '{"Channel":0}' \
"http://$CAMERA_HOST/cgi-bin/api/TokenManager/createToken"
PTZ control
Only use PTZ endpoints if the device supports PTZ.
Prefer:
<skill>/scripts/ptz_move.sh status
<skill>/scripts/ptz_move.sh start Up
<skill>/scripts/ptz_move.sh stop Up
<skill>/scripts/ptz_move.sh relative 0.1 0.1 0.0
<skill>/scripts/ptz_move.sh absolute -0.8 0.3 0.5
Or call the endpoints directly.
Start moving up:
curl --digest -u "$CAMERA_USER:$CAMERA_PASS" "http://$CAMERA_HOST/cgi-bin/ptz.cgi?action=start&channel=1&code=Up&arg1=0&arg2=1&arg3=0"
Stop moving up:
curl --digest -u "$CAMERA_USER:$CAMERA_PASS" "http://$CAMERA_HOST/cgi-bin/ptz.cgi?action=stop&channel=1&code=Up&arg1=0&arg2=0&arg3=0"
Relative move:
curl --digest -u "$CAMERA_USER:$CAMERA_PASS" "http://$CAMERA_HOST/cgi-bin/ptz.cgi?action=moveRelatively&channel=1&arg1=0.1&arg2=0.1&arg3=0.0"
Absolute move:
curl --digest -u "$CAMERA_USER:$CAMERA_PASS" "http://$CAMERA_HOST/cgi-bin/ptz.cgi?action=moveAbsolutely&channel=1&arg1=-0.8&arg2=0.3&arg3=0.5"
How to explore the API safely
- Start with read-only endpoints like:
magicBox.cgi?action=getDeviceTypemagicBox.cgi?action=getSystemInfoNewglobal.cgi?action=getCurrentTimeconfigManager.cgi?action=getConfig&name=...
- Confirm whether the device supports a feature before using it.
- For any write action, show the user exactly what will change.
- Prefer changing one setting at a time.
If you need more API detail
Convert the PDF to text and search it:
pdftotext /Users/jason/Downloads/HTTP_API_V3.26.pdf /tmp/amcrest-api.txt
rg -n "snapshot|configManager|magicBox|ptz|global.cgi|TokenManager" /tmp/amcrest-api.txt
Useful documented endpoints from this PDF include:
/cgi-bin/snapshot.cgi/cgi-bin/magicBox.cgi?action=getDeviceType/cgi-bin/magicBox.cgi?action=getSystemInfoNew/cgi-bin/global.cgi?action=getCurrentTime/cgi-bin/global.cgi?action=setCurrentTime/cgi-bin/configManager.cgi?action=getConfig/cgi-bin/configManager.cgi?action=setConfig/cgi-bin/mjpg/video.cgi/cgi-bin/api/TokenManager/createToken/cgi-bin/ptz.cgi
Failure handling
401 Unauthorized: digest challenge / bad auth setup403 Forbidden: authenticated but not allowed, or wrong credentials after challenge404 Not Found: endpoint unsupported on this model/firmware500 Internal Server Error: request shape accepted but device failed to execute it
When an endpoint fails, verify:
- host/IP is correct:
10.0.0.221 - credentials are correct
- the feature exists on this model
channel=1is appropriate- parameters are URL-encoded correctly
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