Changing camera configurations via http in Motion v5

[krambriw]

Hello, I think I am not able to figure this out

Up until 4.7 I was able to change camera settings dynamically via http. But when I try a similar approach in version 5 like below this seems not to work:

http://127.0.0.1:8080/1/config/set?v4l2_params=ID09963776=-64,ID10094849=1,ID10094850=112,palette=15

I have also tried to set v4l2_params vis curl as well as via python script.But that does not seem to work either, only thing that happens is that the camera is restarted by Motion

Is it supposed to be possible to set v4l2 dynamically? If so what is the recommended procedure?
.......
I have noticed and tried curl/python commands for some other purposes and they seem to work as expected.

Do we have an API documentation for setting configuration parameters in v5?

Any hint or advise how to do similar changes via http or other methods is highly appreciated

Kind regards, Walter

[Mr-Dave]

Motion uses POST instead of GET. In the [examples](doc

/motion_examples.html) page within doc subdirectory of the code it shows examples. Note that the data sent may need to be url encoded.

There was a recent discussion on this topic too.

[krambriw]

Dear Mr Dave, thanks for your suggestions

Something must be wrong somewhere. If I compare the log files for v4.7 and v5 I miss some parts in the v5 version. Specifically the part that is actully setting the camera parameters specified. At init, a section of the logfile from v4.7 looks like this:

[1:ml1:CAM41] [NTC] [VID] [Jan 03 14:47:22] v4l2_pixfmt_set: Testing palette YUYV (1024x768)
[1:ml1:CAM41] [NTC] [VID] [Jan 03 14:47:23] v4l2_pixfmt_set: Using palette YUYV (1024x768)
[1:ml1:CAM41] [INF] [VID] [Jan 03 14:47:23] v4l2_fps_set: Trying to set fps to 10
[1:ml1:CAM41] [INF] [VID] [Jan 03 14:47:23] v4l2_fps_set: Device set fps to 6
[1:ml1:CAM41] [INF] [VID] [Jan 03 14:47:23] v4l2_ctrls_list: ---------Controls---------
[1:ml1:CAM41] [INF] [VID] [Jan 03 14:47:23] v4l2_ctrls_list: V4L2 ID Name and Range
[1:ml1:CAM41] [INF] [VID] [Jan 03 14:47:23] v4l2_ctrls_list: ID09963776 Brightness, -64 to 64
[1:ml1:CAM41] [INF] [VID] [Jan 03 14:47:23] v4l2_ctrls_list: ID09963777 Contrast, 0 to 64
[1:ml1:CAM41] [INF] [VID] [Jan 03 14:47:23] v4l2_ctrls_list: ID09963778 Saturation, 0 to 128
[1:ml1:CAM41] [INF] [VID] [Jan 03 14:47:23] v4l2_ctrls_list: ID09963779 Hue, -40 to 40
[1:ml1:CAM41] [INF] [VID] [Jan 03 14:47:23] v4l2_ctrls_list: ID09963788 White Balance, Automatic, 0 to 1
[1:ml1:CAM41] [INF] [VID] [Jan 03 14:47:23] v4l2_ctrls_list: ID09963792 Gamma, 72 to 500
[1:ml1:CAM41] [INF] [VID] [Jan 03 14:47:23] v4l2_ctrls_list: ID09963795 Gain, 0 to 100
[1:ml1:CAM41] [INF] [VID] [Jan 03 14:47:23] v4l2_ctrls_list: ID09963800 Power Line Frequency, 0 to 2
[1:ml1:CAM41] [INF] [VID] [Jan 03 14:47:23] v4l2_ctrls_list: menu item: Value 0 Disabled
[1:ml1:CAM41] [INF] [VID] [Jan 03 14:47:23] v4l2_ctrls_list: menu item: Value 1 50 Hz
[1:ml1:CAM41] [INF] [VID] [Jan 03 14:47:23] v4l2_ctrls_list: menu item: Value 2 60 Hz
[1:ml1:CAM41] [INF] [VID] [Jan 03 14:47:23] v4l2_ctrls_list: ID09963802 White Balance Temperature, 2800 to 6500
[1:ml1:CAM41] [INF] [VID] [Jan 03 14:47:23] v4l2_ctrls_list: ID09963803 Sharpness, 0 to 6
[1:ml1:CAM41] [INF] [VID] [Jan 03 14:47:23] v4l2_ctrls_list: ID09963804 Backlight Compensation, 0 to 2
[1:ml1:CAM41] [INF] [VID] [Jan 03 14:47:23] v4l2_ctrls_list: ID10094849 Auto Exposure, 0 to 3
[1:ml1:CAM41] [INF] [VID] [Jan 03 14:47:23] v4l2_ctrls_list: menu item: Value 1 Manual Mode
[1:ml1:CAM41] [INF] [VID] [Jan 03 14:47:23] v4l2_ctrls_list: menu item: Value 3 Aperture Priority Mode
[1:ml1:CAM41] [INF] [VID] [Jan 03 14:47:23] v4l2_ctrls_list: ID10094850 Exposure Time, Absolute, 1 to 5000
[1:ml1:CAM41] [INF] [VID] [Jan 03 14:47:23] v4l2_ctrls_list: ID10094851 Exposure, Dynamic Framerate, 0 to 1
[1:ml1:CAM41] [INF] [VID] [Jan 03 14:47:23] v4l2_ctrls_list: --------------------------
[1:ml1:CAM41] [INF] [VID] [Jan 03 14:47:23] v4l2_ctrls_set: Set control "Brightness" to value -64
[1:ml1:CAM41] [INF] [VID] [Jan 03 14:47:23] v4l2_ctrls_set: Set control "Auto Exposure" to value 1
[1:ml1:CAM41] [INF] [VID] [Jan 03 14:47:23] v4l2_ctrls_set: Set control "Exposure Time, Absolute" to value 40

Here we see the commands "Set control" of "brightness", "auto exposure" and "exposure time, absolut". Exactly those that are specified in the config file for those cameras:

Parameters to control video device. See motion_guide.html

video_params ID09963776=-64,ID10094849=1,ID10094850=40,palette=15

If we then look into the logfile for v5 from my tests yesterday, we see that those "Set control" commands are missing:

Jan 02 14:21:03 [NTC][VID][cl51:CAM51] pixfmt_set: Using palette YUYV (1024x768)
Jan 02 14:21:03 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] set_fps: Trying to set fps to 10
Jan 02 14:21:03 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] set_fps: Device set fps to 6
Jan 02 14:21:03 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] ctrls_log: ---------Controls---------
Jan 02 14:21:03 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] ctrls_log: V4L2 ID : Name : Range
Jan 02 14:21:03 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] ctrls_log: ID09963776 : Brightness : -64 to 64
Jan 02 14:21:03 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] ctrls_log: ID09963777 : Contrast : 0 to 64
Jan 02 14:21:03 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] ctrls_log: ID09963778 : Saturation : 0 to 128
Jan 02 14:21:03 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] ctrls_log: ID09963779 : Hue : -40 to 40
Jan 02 14:21:03 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] ctrls_log: ID09963788 : White Balance, Automatic : 0 to 1
Jan 02 14:21:03 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] ctrls_log: ID09963792 : Gamma : 72 to 500
Jan 02 14:21:03 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] ctrls_log: ID09963795 : Gain : 0 to 100
Jan 02 14:21:03 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] ctrls_log: ID09963800 : Power Line Frequency : 0 to 2
Jan 02 14:21:03 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] ctrls_log: menu item: Value 0 : Disabled
Jan 02 14:21:03 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] ctrls_log: menu item: Value 1 : 50 Hz
Jan 02 14:21:03 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] ctrls_log: menu item: Value 2 : 60 Hz
Jan 02 14:21:03 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] ctrls_log: ID09963802 : White Balance Temperature : 2800 to 6500
Jan 02 14:21:03 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] ctrls_log: ID09963803 : Sharpness : 0 to 6
Jan 02 14:21:03 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] ctrls_log: ID09963804 : Backlight Compensation : 0 to 2
Jan 02 14:21:03 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] ctrls_log: ID10094849 : Auto Exposure : 0 to 3
Jan 02 14:21:03 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] ctrls_log: menu item: Value 1 : Manual Mode
Jan 02 14:21:03 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] ctrls_log: menu item: Value 3 : Aperture Priority Mode
Jan 02 14:21:03 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] ctrls_log: ID10094850 : Exposure Time, Absolute : 1 to 5000
Jan 02 14:21:03 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] ctrls_log: ID10094851 : Exposure, Dynamic Framerate : 0 to 1
Jan 02 14:21:03 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] ctrls_log: --------------------------
Jan 02 14:21:03 [INF][ALL][cl52:CAM52] init_mask: Maskfile "/DRIVE/masks/1024/mask_234_2p.pgm" loaded.
Jan 02 14:21:03 [NTC][ALL][cl52:CAM52] init: Camera 52 started: motion detection disabled
Jan 02 14:21:03 [NTC][ALL][cl51:CAM51] ring_resize: Resizing buffer to 4 items
Jan 02 14:21:27 [INF][ALL][cl51:CAM51] init_mask: Maskfile "/DRIVE/masks/1024/mask_234_1p.pgm" loaded.
Jan 02 14:21:27 [NTC][ALL][cl51:CAM51] init: Camera 51 started: motion detection disabled

Here I tried with even more params but none seemed to have any effect (except maybe the palette):

Parameters to control video device. See motion_guide.html

v4l2_params ID09963776=-32,ID09963777=32,ID09963778=60,ID09963788=1,ID09963792=100,ID09963802=4600,ID09963795=0,ID09963804=1,ID10094849=1,ID10094850=505,palette=15

If i today try again (with a bit simpler web camera) I get similar results with no "Set controls":

Jan 03 15:19:12 [NTC][VID][cl51:CAM51] pixfmt_try: Testing palette YUYV (1024x768)
Jan 03 15:19:12 [DBG][VID][cl51:CAM51] pixfmt_stride: Checking image size 960x720 with stride 1920
Jan 03 15:19:12 [NTC][VID][cl51:CAM51] pixfmt_set: Using palette YUYV (960x720)
Jan 03 15:19:12 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] set_fps: Trying to set fps to 10
Jan 03 15:19:12 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] set_fps: Device set fps to 10
Jan 03 15:19:12 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] ctrls_log: ---------Controls---------
Jan 03 15:19:12 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] ctrls_log: V4L2 ID : Name : Range
Jan 03 15:19:12 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] ctrls_log: ID09963776 : Brightness : -64 to 64
Jan 03 15:19:12 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] ctrls_log: ID09963777 : Contrast : 0 to 50
Jan 03 15:19:12 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] ctrls_log: ID09963778 : Saturation : 0 to 100
Jan 03 15:19:12 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] ctrls_log: ID09963779 : Hue : -100 to 100
Jan 03 15:19:12 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] ctrls_log: ID09963788 : White Balance, Automatic : 0 to 1
Jan 03 15:19:12 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] ctrls_log: ID09963792 : Gamma : 100 to 300
Jan 03 15:19:12 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] ctrls_log: ID09963800 : Power Line Frequency : 0 to 2
Jan 03 15:19:12 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] ctrls_log: menu item: Value 0 : Disabled
Jan 03 15:19:12 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] ctrls_log: menu item: Value 1 : 50 Hz
Jan 03 15:19:12 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] ctrls_log: menu item: Value 2 : 60 Hz
Jan 03 15:19:12 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] ctrls_log: ID09963802 : White Balance Temperature : 2800 to 6500
Jan 03 15:19:12 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] ctrls_log: ID09963803 : Sharpness : 0 to 10
Jan 03 15:19:12 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] ctrls_log: ID09963804 : Backlight Compensation : 0 to 4
Jan 03 15:19:12 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] ctrls_log: ID10094849 : Auto Exposure : 0 to 3
Jan 03 15:19:12 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] ctrls_log: menu item: Value 1 : Manual Mode
Jan 03 15:19:12 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] ctrls_log: menu item: Value 3 : Aperture Priority Mode
Jan 03 15:19:12 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] ctrls_log: ID10094850 : Exposure Time, Absolute : 5 to 10000
Jan 03 15:19:12 [INF][VID][cl51:CAM51] ctrls_log: --------------------------

Parameters to control video device. See motion_guide.html

v4l2_params ID09963776=32,ID09963777=32,ID09963778=60,ID09963788=1,ID09963792=100,ID09963804=3,ID10094849=3,palette=15

Is a mystery. I think I have followed the instructions in the documents correctly, camera is shown but changing parameters does not work

With kind regards, Walter

[Mr-Dave]

Can you post the first part of the log from the start until the end of the logging of parameters?

[krambriw]

Dear Mr Dave,
Here is the complete log (log level 9) when starting up with one camera
motion.log

I have the following params set:

Parameters to control video device. See motion_guide.html

v4l2_params ID09963776=32,ID09963777=32,ID09963778=60,ID09963788=1,ID09963792=100,ID09963804=3,ID10094849=3,palette=15

[krambriw]

In addition, just wondering, do you require bookworm or later for v5?

I built the v5 from master on a raspberry Pi3 running 64bit version of raspbian bullseye:

pi@Motion5:~ $ lsb_release -a
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID: Debian
Description:    Debian GNU/Linux 11 (bullseye)
Release:        11
Codename:       bullseye
pi@Motion5:~ $ uname -a
Linux Motion5 6.1.21-v8+ #1642 SMP PREEMPT Mon Apr  3 17:24:16 BST 2023 aarch64 GNU/Linux

Only thing from the requirements I could not install was libcamera-v4l2. The build worked anyway fine without and cameras can be viewed. Don't know if this matters...

[Mr-Dave]

The only thing I can think of now is to possibly try to use the names of the controls rather than the id numbers. e.g. Use Brightness=32 instead of ID09963776=32 (I should be able to look at this in more depth in a few days)

Regarding base systems, if it builds it should be fine.

[krambriw]

Dear Mr Dave, OK, thanks, understood!

Unfortunately the same, no change. I did make a complete new setup with a new sd card on a RPi4. This time the build also included the libcamera_v4l2 and everything built fine. But trying to change brightness and contrast on the camera did not work (also tried some other params but no success)

Kind regards & wish you a nice sunday,
Walter

pi@Motion6:~ $ lsb_release -a
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID: Debian
Description:    Debian GNU/Linux 13 (trixie)
Release:        13
Codename:       trixie
pi@Motion6:~ $ uname -a
Linux Motion6 6.12.47+rpt-rpi-v8 #1 SMP PREEMPT Debian 1:6.12.47-1+rpt1 (2025-09-16) aarch64 GNU/Linux
pi@Motion6:~ $

motion.log

[Mr-Dave]

Sigh..it is a bug with the rewrite. The parms_set was not even being called. I just pushed a commit that should fix it. (If it doesn't I'll need more time)

[krambriw]

Good Morning Mr Dave,
This works fine, now I see those set_controls entries in the log and the camera settings are changed upon startup depending on the values put into the config files

Jan 05 08:13:12 [INF][VID][cl61:CAM61] ctrls_set: Set control "Brightness" to value -32
Jan 05 08:13:12 [INF][VID][cl61:CAM61] ctrls_set: Set control "Contrast" to value 32
Jan 05 08:13:12 [INF][VID][cl61:CAM61] ctrls_set: Set control "Saturation" to value 60
Jan 05 08:13:12 [INF][VID][cl61:CAM61] ctrls_set: Set control "Backlight Compensation" to value 3

My next test was then to try to change those dynamically while Motion is running but this seems not yet to work

Using a Python script (as mentioned in an earlier posting) seems not have any effect at all, the command is not recognized by Motion (the command for changing the text_left works however fine when I tried it)

import subprocess
str = ["curl", "http://127.0.0.1:8080", "-s", "-o", "/dev/null", "-X", "POST"]
#result = subprocess.run(str + ["-d", "camid=61", "-d", "command=config", "-d", "text_left=set by walter"])
result = subprocess.run(str + ["-d", "camid=61", "-d", "command=config", "-d", "v4l2_params ID09963776=16,ID10094849=3"])

Next I tried using a http request. This seems to be recognized by Motion
http://127.0.0.1:8080/61/config/set?v4l2_params=v4l2_params ID09963776=16,ID10094849=3
In the Motion log:

Jan 05 08:14:26 [DBG][STR][wc00] parseurl: Sent url: /61/config/set?v4l2_params=v4l2_params%20ID09963776=32,ID10094849=3
Jan 05 08:14:26 [DBG][STR][wc00] parseurl: Decoded url: /61/config/set?v4l2_params=v4l2_params ID09963776=32,ID10094849=3
Jan 05 08:14:26 [DBG][STR][wc00] parms_edit: cmd0: >61< cmd1: >config< cmd2: >set?v4l2_params=v4l2_params ID09963776=32,ID10094849=3< cmd3: >< camindx: >0< 
Jan 05 08:14:26 [INF][ALL][wc00] client_connect: Connection from: 127.0.0.1
Jan 05 08:14:26 [DBG][ALL][wc00] hostname_get: Full Host:  //127.0.0.1:8080
Jan 05 08:14:26 [DBG][STR][wc00] answer_get: processing get: config

Here the complete Motion log:

motion.log

[Mr-Dave]

result = subprocess.run(str + ["-d", "camid=61", "-d", "command=config", "-d", "v4l2_params ID09963776=16,ID10094849=3"])

Pretty sure this one is url encoding as well as needing an = after the v4l2_params. For some reason I haven't figured out yet, some equal signs need to be url encoded. Not sure if it is a curl thing or something that is in Motion. For example, your command would be

result = subprocess.run(str + ["-d", "camid=61", "-d", "command=config", "-d", "v4l2_params=ID09963776%3D16,ID10094849%3D3"])

[krambriw]

Dear Mr Dave, works perfect now!! Thank you very much!
Kind regards, Walter

[krambriw]

Dear Mr Dave,

Thanks for helping me out with the curl commands, they do work but there is a disadvantage using them since the camera(s) are restarted. When using the http requests (in v4.7 and earlier) the configuration params are changed without restarts. I have now found the main differencies from the log files, comparing v5 with v4.7

Using the same http requests for both; In v4.7 I see "util_parms_parse" and all those "util_parms_add" that seems to be the ones required. In v5 those are missing. Could those be addded to v5 in some way? Or could it be some url encoding is required in v5 that is not needed in v4.7?

Kind regards, Walter

Log from v4.7

[0:cn0] [DBG] [STR] [Jan 06 06:52:25] webu_parseurl: Sent url: /1/config/set?video_params=ID09963776=-32,ID10094849=1,ID10094850=505,palette=15&auto_brightness=0
[0:cn0] [DBG] [STR] [Jan 06 06:52:25] webu_parseurl: Decoded url: /1/config/set?video_params=ID09963776=-32,ID10094849=1,ID10094850=505,palette=15&auto_brightness=0
[0:cn0] [DBG] [STR] [Jan 06 06:52:25] webu_parseurl: camid: >1< cmd1: >config< cmd2: >set< parm1:>video_params< val1:>ID09963776=-32,ID10094849=1,ID10094850=505,palette=15&auto_brightness=0< parm2:>< val2:><
[0:wu0] [INF] [ALL] [Jan 06 06:52:25] webu_answer_ctrl: Connection from: 127.0.0.1
[1:ml1:CAM41] [DBG] [ALL] [Jan 06 06:52:25] util_parms_parse: Parsing: ID09963776=-32,ID10094849=1,ID10094850=505,palette=15&auto_brightness=0
[1:ml1:CAM41] [DBG] [ALL] [Jan 06 06:52:25] util_parms_add: Parsed: >ID09963776< >-32<
[1:ml1:CAM41] [DBG] [ALL] [Jan 06 06:52:25] util_parms_add: Parsed: >ID10094849< >1<
[1:ml1:CAM41] [DBG] [ALL] [Jan 06 06:52:25] util_parms_add: Parsed: >ID10094850< >505<
[1:ml1:CAM41] [DBG] [ALL] [Jan 06 06:52:25] util_parms_add: Parsed: >palette< >15&auto_brightness=0<
[1:ml1:CAM41] [DBG] [ALL] [Jan 06 06:52:25] util_parms_add: Parsed: >input< >-1<
[1:ml1:CAM41] [DBG] [ALL] [Jan 06 06:52:25] util_parms_add: Parsed: >norm< >0<
[1:ml1:CAM41] [DBG] [ALL] [Jan 06 06:52:25] util_parms_add: Parsed: >frequency< >0<

Log from v5

Jan 06 06:52:49 [DBG][STR][wc00] parseurl: Sent url: /61/config/set?v4l2_params=ID09963776=-32,ID10094849=1,ID10094850=505,palette=15
Jan 06 06:52:49 [DBG][STR][wc00] parseurl: Decoded url: /61/config/set?v4l2_params=ID09963776=-32,ID10094849=1,ID10094850=505,palette=15
Jan 06 06:52:49 [DBG][STR][wc00] parms_edit: cmd0: >61< cmd1: >config< cmd2: >set?v4l2_params=ID09963776=-32,ID10094849=1,ID10094850=505,palette=15< cmd3: >< camindx: >0< 
Jan 06 06:52:49 [INF][ALL][wc00] client_connect: Connection from: 127.0.0.1
Jan 06 06:52:49 [DBG][ALL][wc00] hostname_get: Full Host:  //127.0.0.1:8080
Jan 06 06:52:49 [DBG][STR][wc00] answer_get: processing get: config