Amcrest Camera Recording Downloader

A Python utility to download and merge video recordings from Amcrest IP cameras using the HTTP API.

Features

• Search for recordings by date/time range
• Concurrent downloads (default: 4 simultaneous)
• Automatic video merging using ffmpeg with stream copy and AAC fallback for PCM audio
• Support for multiple output formats (mp4, mkv, avi, mov, ts)
• Timezone-aware datetime input
• Automatic retry on failed downloads
• Environment variable configuration support
• Dry-run / listing mode (--list-only)

Installation

pipx install amcrest-downloader
# or
uv tool install amcrest-downloader

Requires FFmpeg installed and available in PATH.

Usage

amcrest-downloader --host CAMERA_HOST --username USERNAME --start START_TIME --end END_TIME

Alternatively, invoke as a module:

python -m amcrest_downloader --host CAMERA_HOST --username USERNAME --start START_TIME --end END_TIME

Environment Variables

The CLI reads configuration from environment variables if flags are omitted:

• AMCREST_HOST: Camera IP address or hostname
• AMCREST_PORT: Camera HTTP/HTTPS port
• AMCREST_USERNAME: Camera username
• AMCREST_PASSWORD: Camera password
• AMCREST_CHANNEL: Camera channel index (default: 0)

Required Arguments

• --host: Camera IP address or hostname (e.g., 192.168.1.100 or [::1], or env AMCREST_HOST)
• -u, --username, --user: Camera username (or env AMCREST_USERNAME)
• --start: Start time in ISO 8601 format (e.g., 2026-01-16T20:00:00 or 2026-01-16T20:00:00-08:00)
• --end: End time in ISO 8601 format (e.g., 2026-01-16T22:00:00 or 2026-01-16T22:00:00-08:00)

Optional Arguments

• -p, --password: Camera password (or env AMCREST_PASSWORD; prompts securely if omitted)
• --port: Camera port (default: 80, or 443 if --ssl)
• --ssl: Connect using HTTPS protocol
• --no-verify-ssl: Disable SSL/TLS certificate verification
• --channel: Camera channel index, 0-based (default: 0, or env AMCREST_CHANNEL)
• --output-format: Output video format (mp4, mkv, avi, mov, ts, default: mp4)
• --output-dir: Output directory (default: current working directory)
• --output-file: Custom output filename (resolved relative to --output-dir if relative)
• --keep-files: Keep individual downloaded segment files after merge
• --max-concurrent: Maximum concurrent downloads (default: 4)
• --list-only: List matching recordings in a table without downloading or merging
• --log-level: Logging level (debug, info, warning, error, critical, default: warning)
• --log-file: Optional file path to write log output
• --version: Print the version and exit

Timezones

• Naive --start/--end values are used as the camera's local time.
• Aware values are converted to camera local time using the camera's current UTC offset, read from its clock and rounded to 15 minutes. If DST changed between the recording and now, the window shifts by an hour.

Examples

Basic usage:

amcrest-downloader \
  --host 192.168.1.100 \
  --username admin \
  --start "2026-01-16T08:00:00" \
  --end "2026-01-16T18:00:00"

With timezone and HTTPS:

amcrest-downloader \
  --host kitchen.cameras.home.com \
  --username admin \
  --ssl \
  --start "2026-01-16T08:00:00-08:00" \
  --end "2026-01-16T18:00:00-08:00"

Custom output and settings:

amcrest-downloader \
  --host 192.168.1.100 \
  --username admin \
  --start "2026-01-16T20:00:00" \
  --end "2026-01-16T22:00:00" \
  --output-format mkv \
  --output-file my_recording.mkv \
  --max-concurrent 8 \
  --keep-files

List recordings only:

amcrest-downloader \
  --host 192.168.1.100 \
  --username admin \
  --start "2026-01-16T08:00:00" \
  --end "2026-01-16T10:00:00" \
  --list-only

Notes

• Password is prompted securely when not provided via --password or AMCREST_PASSWORD.
• Individual recordings are downloaded to a temporary directory (.amcrest_download).
• Videos are concatenated in chronological order.
• If only some segments download, the merged file is still produced and the exit code is 1.
• Amcrest cameras often record audio in G.711 PCM (pcm_alaw/pcm_mulaw). If -c copy fails when targeting MP4, the merger automatically falls back to -c:a aac while keeping video lossless.
• Channel index is 0-based: 0 corresponds to the primary/only sensor on standalone cameras, and the first channel on multi-channel NVRs.
• Gaps in recording coverage will appear as time jumps in the merged video.
• Only video files (.mp4, .dav, .mkv, .avi, .asf, .264) are downloaded; snapshots (.jpg) are skipped.
• API endpoints used:
  • /cgi-bin/mediaFileFind.cgi - Search for recordings
  • /cgi-bin/RPC_Loadfile/ - Download video files

Development

See CONTRIBUTING.md.