bearpaw-daemon 1.4.0

Headless HTTP + WebSocket control service for Uniden BC125AT and SR30C handheld scanners

bearpaw-daemon

Headless control and telemetry service for Uniden BC125AT and SR30C handheld scanners. Exposes an HTTP + WebSocket API designed as a first-class contract for any client that wants to drive a scanner — dashboards, kiosks, voice assistants, custom integrations.

The daemon's HTTP API (documented via OpenAPI at /openapi.json and /docs) is the public contract. Any consumer that speaks HTTP and WebSocket can use it.

Install

pip install bearpaw-daemon
# or
uv pip install bearpaw-daemon

Requires Python 3.10+. On Linux you'll need libusb-1.0 available at runtime; apt install libusb-1.0-0 covers it on Debian-family systems.

Running

bearpaw --print-example-config > config.yaml   # tune as needed
bearpaw --config ./config.yaml

The example config ships inside the package; --print-example-config writes it to stdout so you can pipe it to wherever you want.

The daemon starts on 127.0.0.1:8000 by default. Browse /docs for the live OpenAPI UI, or /openapi.json for the raw schema.

Generating typed clients

The OpenAPI document is the canonical contract. Generate clients with your tool of choice:

# Python
openapi-python-client generate --url http://localhost:8000/openapi.json

# TypeScript
npx openapi-typescript http://localhost:8000/openapi.json -o bearpaw.d.ts

Linux systemd installation

For a production Linux deployment (Debian, Ubuntu, Raspberry Pi OS, or any Debian-family host), use the installer:

git clone https://github.com/jeremyfuksa/bearpaw-daemon.git
cd bearpaw-daemon
sudo ./scripts/install-linux.sh

The installer is idempotent — safe to re-run after updates. It:

1. Installs system packages (libusb-1.0-0-dev, python3-venv)
2. Creates a scanner system user with dialout group membership (for /dev/ttyACM0 access)
3. Installs the daemon into /opt/bearpaw/venv
4. Creates /usr/local/bin/bearpaw as a wrapper pointing at the venv
5. Seeds /etc/bearpaw/config.yaml from config.example.yaml (only if it doesn't already exist — your config is never clobbered)
6. Installs the systemd unit and enables it (does not start it)

After install, edit /etc/bearpaw/config.yaml (at minimum, pick the right serial port for your scanner), then:

sudo systemctl start bearpaw
sudo journalctl -u bearpaw -f   # watch logs

To upgrade: git pull, then re-run the installer.

A Raspberry Pi (3 or newer) running Raspberry Pi OS is the typical deployment target, but nothing in the daemon or installer is Pi-specific — any Debian-family Linux box with a USB port and Python 3.10+ works the same way. For non-Debian distros, install libusb-1.0 and python3-venv (or equivalents) manually, then pip install bearpaw-daemon into a venv and adapt packaging/systemd/bearpaw.service to your paths.

Hardware and host notes

• Scanner cable: USB-A to mini-B (BC125AT) or USB-C (SR30C).
• PC mode: Some Uniden scanners need to be put into "PC/IF" mode manually before they accept serial commands. Consult your scanner's manual.
• Permissions on Linux: The daemon needs read/write access to the scanner's serial device (typically /dev/ttyACM0). Either add your user to the dialout group or run via the systemd unit, which uses the scanner system user.
• USB transport: USB transport is the default and preferred path on the BC125AT. Use transport: serial in config.yaml only if you have a specific reason.
• ALSA discovery for audio consumers: arecord -l lists capture devices; the typical USB audio adapter shows up as hw:1,0.

Audio

The daemon does not stream audio. Scanner audio is hardware passthrough from the scanner's headphone jack to whatever you want — speakers directly, an ALSA loopback into another process, an Icecast encoder, etc. Consumers that want software-gated audio can subscribe to the squelch_open event on the WebSocket and gate their own pipeline.

API

OpenAPI docs are served at /docs when the daemon is running. Endpoints are grouped by tag (status, commands, memory, settings, analytics, preferences) for discoverability.

Config

See the full schema in src/bearpaw/config.example.yaml, or run bearpaw --print-example-config once installed.

Development

git clone https://github.com/jeremyfuksa/bearpaw-daemon.git
cd bearpaw-daemon
python -m venv .venv && source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -e .
pip install pytest pytest-asyncio pytest-cov ruff
pytest

See TESTING.md for the test layout and hardware-in-the-loop guidance.

License

MIT.