dahua-nvr-mcp

Python MCP stdio server for Dahua NVRs and cameras. Maintainer: bigoat.

Requires Python 3.11 or later. Device access happens from the machine running this server. No device address or credentials are bundled.

Run with uv

uvx --from dahua-nvr-mcp==0.1.0 dahua-nvr-mcp --help

Create a private configuration file, for example device.env:

DAHUA_BASE_URL=https://192.168.1.100
DAHUA_USERNAME=admin
DAHUA_PASSWORD=REPLACE_WITH_YOUR_DEVICE_PASSWORD
DAHUA_VERIFY_TLS=true
DAHUA_TIMEOUT_SECONDS=15

Start the server through your MCP client, or run:

uvx --from dahua-nvr-mcp==0.1.0 dahua-nvr-mcp --env-file /absolute/path/device.env

No ordinary stdout output while waiting is expected: stdout is reserved for MCP JSON-RPC messages, and logs go to stderr.

MCP client configuration

Replace the configuration-file path with your own absolute path. Windows paths may use forward slashes.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dahua-nvr": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "--from", "dahua-nvr-mcp==0.1.0",
        "dahua-nvr-mcp",
        "--env-file", "/absolute/path/device.env"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Alternatively, install into an existing Python environment:

python -m pip install dahua-nvr-mcp==0.1.0
python -m dahua_nvr_mcp --help

Tools

Configuration and compatibility

• Priority: command-line parameters > process environment > .env > defaults. Without --env-file, the server reads .env in its working directory.
• Parameters: --base-url, --username, --password, --verify-tls true|false, --timeout-seconds, --env-file.
• Prefer an environment variable or protected configuration file for passwords: CLI passwords can appear in process listings and shell history.
• Tools/list and LAN discovery do not require NVR credentials. UDP discovery requires exclusive access to local port 5051; close Dahua ConfigTool before discovery.
• RPC channel numbers are zero-based. GB28181 defaults to platform 1 (slot_index=0), with ordinary JSON RPC (transport=plain). Optional secure RPC is firmware-dependent.
• Camera add supports Onvif, Private, RTSP and General. RTSP add accepts main_stream_url, optional extra_stream_url and channel_name; URL hosts must match the camera address. Camera update currently supports Onvif/Private connection settings.
• Write tools read the current configuration, preserve unrelated fields, and verify by reading back. An accepted write does not prove that a camera is connected or SIP registration is online. Ambiguous writes are not automatically repeated.
• Public results recursively redact credential fields and remove URL userinfo/query credentials. Raw configuration remains private in runtime memory for comparison and writeback. Do not write redacted output back as an original configuration.
• Unknown password masks are rejected; native placeholders are preserved only for a specifically verified firmware profile. GB28181 client-table writes are not supported.
• Prefer HTTPS with certificate verification. HTTP carries sensitive data in plaintext and should only be used on a trusted network. --verify-tls false disables certificate verification, not login authentication.

Firmware behavior varies. Validate read operations first, and only use write tools on devices you are authorized to manage. This is an independent integration, not an official Dahua product.