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We believe in securely connecting everything by enabling users to build private networks within the internet that only they can see. We provide zero trust IT/OT networking as a service.
The purpose of this guide is for the novice and advanced Raspberry Pi user to set up a camera with useful software for the first time. Then hosting your own secure webcam with remote.it that can be accessed from desktops, mobile devices and the web over ANY internet connection. This is all done for free without needing to buy domains, forward ports in your router or setup a vpn. Your webcam will only be available to you and those who you explicitly share it with.
If you have already installed an operating system and connected to the internet with your pi you can jump to “Boot Pi and Enable Camera“:
A user of this guide should be comfortable with using the terminal and ssh.
Needed Materials:
This project is a great way to get started with a RasperberryPi and a dedicated camera. With the added benefit of securing your camera and Pi against hackers while making it accessible to you (and who you decide to share it with) over the internet.
It’s the dream– a cheap, private and quick webcam over the internet!
Lift up on both sides of the black tab – it will not come off completely.
Insert the ribbon cable and push down on the black tab to secure
Make sure the ribbon is facing the correct direction based on the images above.
Sign up for free to get started! Connect to any of your devices in a simple secure way from and to any network.
Write image to SD Card
Download and install Raspberry Pi imager
Select the desired OS – the current selections differ on whether or not they contain a graphical desktop. We’re going with the standard 32bit OS with GUI
Write the file to disk and wait for it to complete. It will automatically eject, unplug and plug back into your computer
Turn on ssh, wifi prior to boot
If you have a Raspberry Pi with wifi built in. Otherwise Jump to SSH
Make a text file called wpa_supplicant.conf which allows your pi to immediately connect to wifi on boot. Replace the text below with your wifi credentials. You can add as many network configurations you need by duplicating the network section below.
Copy the file to the main directory on the Boot drive.
If you need to change your wifi after booting from the terminal its recommended you use sudo raspi-config -> system options -> Wireless Lan and enter the network name and password
country=US
ctrl_interface=DIR=/var/run/wpa_supplicant
GROUP=netdev
update_config=1
network={
ssid="Your network name"
psk="Password for network"
}
create an empty file called ssh or ssh.txt. Copy the file to the main directory on the Boot drive.
This just starts SSH on first boot for easy access
Eject your SD card
Install your SD card and connect the power cable to boot your Raspberry Pi.
You have multiple options to connect –
Option 1: You can plug in a HDMI cable from your pi to a monitor and connect a keyboard/mouse. This route will allow you to view the desktop. Open the terminal to complete these rest of this guide.
Option 2: You can SSH to the pi from your computer.This logs you directly into the terminal where you will complete the guide.From the terminal or command prompt confirm it has connected to your local network.
This thread gives additional options https://raspberrypi.stackexchange.com/questions/13936/find-raspberry-pi-address-on-local-network
ping raspberrypi
connect to it with the below and default password raspberry if you haven’t changed it yet
ssh pi@raspberrypi
Let’s enter into the configuration to complete the device setup. Exit and reboot when complete.
sudo raspi-config
Enable Camera – Select Option Interfacing Options, then Camera, then Yes
Change Password – Select System Options, then Password, change your password from the default
Change Computer Name – Select System Options, then Hostname, set to a unique name to make your device easier to find
Exit, Reboot your Pi and reconnect in a minute if using the terminal.
ssh pi@NewHostNameif you changed the hostname reconnect with the new name
Enter each command below to download and install remoteit device package and webcam software. Check the downloads page for the latest package version.
sudo wget https://downloads.remote.it/remoteit/v4.13.5/remoteit-4.13.5.armhf.rpi.deb
sudo apt update
sudo apt install ./remoteit-4.13.5.armhf.rpi.deb
type Y and enter to continue if it asks.
At the end of installation there will be a “Claim Code”. Record that for the next step.
Insert that claim code into the desktop application
Name your device Add two new services with these details.
We have registered the device with remote.it so we can monitor it for being online. Now we need to create services that will create secure connections to specific ports on the Raspberry Pi.
Our example will create two connections but there are thousands of ports that different software can listen on for applications like VNC, RDP, Samba, FTP…
Both these connections are typically only available on your local network but with the remote.it platform its available everywhere to only you.
The first connection will be SSH. This allows us to securely login to the terminal of the Raspberry Pi where you or the Raspberry Pi is connected to the internet.
The second connection is over HTTP. Our webcam is being served by an apache webserver directly on the Raspberry Pi and it is waiting for connections on port 80.
To view more details on installation and use you can access the below site where this project is maintained. Summarizing here if you’ve followed this guide step by step and want to use the basic installation. All you need to do is hit enter when the installation wizard starts.
git clone https://github.com/silvanmelchior/RPi_Cam_Web_Interface.git
cd RPi_Cam_Web_Interface
./install.sh
Add the HTTP service to your network and click connect. This will automatically open a browser with a secure connection to your webcam!
This URL will be persistent so you can bookmark it and skip adding it before connecting.
I’m using my webcam to check on the status of my bread proofing for the oven!
This the view on the webpage – I could use better lighting and positioning.
You can record still and videos directly from the webcam view.
Even do a timelapse directly from the browser and download it from the cam.
You can now explore the camera and webcam settings. This URL is only available to you via the remoteit software and you can connect to it anywhere you have internet access.
You can access it exactly the same from the mobile app and check my bread proof progress from down the street!
Use remoteit for your SSH or HTTP connection from anywhere. If you connect to another network you’ll be unable to just do ssh pi@raspberrypi. With remoteit installed you can take this example deeper with the included software – The camera software contains motion and light sensor libraries. Our remote.it software allows you to securely connect to this device over any protocol, even do software development remotely on the Pi.
If you have any questions or comments drop us a line at support@remote.it
