First Launch

Once the image is running, open port 23406 at the server's IP in a browser and you'll be redirected to the /setup wizard automatically. The whole first-launch flow usually takes under 5 minutes.

1. Choose a database type

The wizard's first step asks you to pick SQLite or MySQL/MariaDB:

Option	Best for	Notes
SQLite (recommended default)	Single-machine home deployment	The database is just a file — zero config, zero ops
MySQL/MariaDB	Multi-machine / large scale / existing MySQL	You deploy it yourself, or choose "built-in MariaDB" to have the image start one

Choosing SQLite is nothing to be ashamed of

SQLite is entirely sufficient for under 200 cameras on a single server. The performance bottleneck is essentially always disk IO (recording) and GPU (detection), not the database.

2. Create the admin account

A username + password (≥ 8 characters, with letters and digits). This account has the highest privilege in the web admin — it can delete cameras and change global config — so use a strong password.

What if you forget the admin password

There's currently no built-in CLI reset tool. A workaround: open the database (SQLite via sqlite3 data/skyview.db, MySQL via mysql -u skyview -p) and run DELETE FROM users; to empty the users table; refresh the browser and you'll be sent back to the Setup wizard to create the first admin again — cameras, the face library, automation rules, and other data are unaffected. So remember your password, or store it in a password manager.

3. Config done — enter the web admin

After the wizard writes the config, it restarts the service automatically and redirects to the login page. Log in with the account you just created to reach the console home.

4. Add your first camera

Left nav → Cameras → Add. Two connection methods are supported:

ONVIF auto-discovery (recommended): when the camera and server are on the same LAN, click "Scan" and all ONVIF devices are listed within seconds
Manual RTSP: paste a URL like rtsp://username:password@cameraIP:554/stream1

ONVIF connection recommended

ONVIF automatically obtains PTZ capabilities, the two-way audio port, and the substream address, sparing you from digging through the vendor manual. Credentials are stored encrypted.

5. Seeing video means it worked

After adding, you're taken to the Live page and should see video in 3–8 seconds. It prefers the low-latency channel (< 500ms) and automatically switches to the stable channel (2–4s) if that doesn't connect.

Stuck on the buffering spinner

No video usually means: a wrong RTSP URL (bad password / path), a firewall blocking the 23515 UDP port, or the camera using a proprietary protocol (e.g. Tapo). See Troubleshooting.

6. Enable recording (optional)

Recording is on by default, written in time segments under the data directory. To turn it off or record only certain time windows, go to Camera details → Recording settings.

Where to go next

Add more cameras → Adding Cameras
Watch playback → just go to the "Playback" page in the web admin and drag the timeline
Enable AI detection (motion / face / license plate) → AI Detection
Hit a problem → Troubleshooting