Overview

Set up raspberry pi (<pi><number>) and get it connected to wifi hotspot
Connect to device using ssh
Update the system
Manage ssh connection to the device using ssh keys
Install editing, streaming, and networking tools (vim, libcamera, motion, tailscale)
Set up motion for streaming over internet

1. Get connected to wifi

Set up the connection to wifi hotspot when burning the image and enable ssh
Start the pi and check on hotspot that more devices are connected
run arp -a in gitbash to find the ip address into the device

2. Access the raspberry pi device

ssh <name>@<ip-address>
Input your password

3. Update the system

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

4. Setup access through ssh keys

NOTE: Log out of the remote raspberry pi and work on your computer command line

Generate the keys on your machine

ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -f <pc>-for-<pi><number>
cp  <pc>-for-<pi><number>* .ssh/
ssh-copy-id -i <pc>-for-<pi><number>.pub <pi-ip>

Create/Add connection to this pi on given network

Open /.ssh/config

sudo vim ~/.ssh/config

Edit the file

# On S75 hotspot network
Host <pi><number>_s75
        HostName <pi-ip>
        User <user>
        IdentityFile ~/.ssh/<pc>-for-<pi><number>

Test connection

ssh <pi-ip>

5. Install tools

Tools:

noefetch to get info about the system
vim for editing
motion for streaming video
libcamera to make motion work with raspberry pi camera

Install

sudo apt install neofetch -y && \
sudo apt install vim -y && \
sudo apt install motion -y && \
sudo apt install libcamera-tools -y && \
sudo apt install libcamera-dev -y && \
sudo apt install libcamera-v4l2 -y && \
sudo sed -i 's/stream_localhost on/stream_localhost off/g' /etc/motion/motion.conf && \
echo "done"

Verify it runs

Test by running

sudo libcamerify motion -n

Access in browser at an address: <pi-ip>:8081

Shut down <Ctrl>+<C>

Start so that ssh logout will keep it running

sudo nohup libcamerify motion -n &

After pressing <Enter> you can work in the shell

NOTES:

To close the stream get back to background process fg and then <Ctrl>+<C>
If it is not in the background process of this shell sudo pkill motion to terminate the process

6. Install tailscale for remote access

Tailscale is a networking tool (like vpn) to access your devices over internet link

Install using commands and activate:

curl -fsSL https://pkgs.tailscale.com/stable/debian/bookworm.noarmor.gpg | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/tailscale-archive-keyring.gpg >/dev/null
curl -fsSL https://pkgs.tailscale.com/stable/debian/bookworm.tailscale-keyring.list | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/tailscale.list
sudo apt-get update -y 
sudo apt-get install tailscale -y
sudo tailscale up

Resource

Detailed instruction how to install tailscale on Debian bookworm (on which the raspberry pi OS is based): link

7. Verify the streaming works over tailscale

In browser: <tailscale-pi-name>:8081

8. Put the link online to website

NOTE: works for hugo static website Create a file webcam.md in the content/ folder and copy inside this text with updated link and instructions:

[webcam link](http://<tilscale-pi-name>:8081)  
Activate the stream from camera over ssh:  
`nohup sudo libcamerify motion -n &`

9. Tweaks

Set alias for streaming

sudo echo 'alias start-stream="sudo nohup libcamerify motion -n &" # alias to start streaming' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

Now typing start-stream starts the stream in the background

Rotate the camera image

Adding rotate <number-in-degrees> into motion.conf rotates the image clockwise

# if the camera is upside down
sudo echo "rotate 180" >> /etc/motion/motion.conf

Restart the stream after the modification for it to take place

10. Motion config files

The default config file for motion is in /etc/motion/motion.conf.
To run a different configuration:

Make a copy of this file
Adjust it
Call it using sudo libcamerify motion -n -c <path-to-config-file>

Example config files

Snapshots: Take a 2592x1944pxs image every 10 seconds saved in /home/vld/Pictures Download
To be filled in…

Parameters to set

width 1296
height 972
to be filled in…

11. Installing samba for shared folder

For easier transfer of files from the raspberry pi to the pc you can mount a shared folder on the pi as a network disk. Samba project link.
Instructions for raspberry pi setup: link.

Install samba from repository

sudo apt update
sudo apt install samba samba-common-bin smbclient cifs-utils -y

Create a shared folder with the proper rights

cd ~
mkdir shared
chmod 0740 shared

Create the user who will be connecting

Think about user name and a password and write it on a piece of paper or use the same as you use to access rapsberry pi

sudo smbpasswd -a <username>

Configure samba

Open the config file

sudo vim /etc/samba/smb.conf

Add following at the end

[<share-name>] 
    path = /home/<username>/shared
    read only = no
    public = yes
    writable = yes

NOTE: The text inside the brackets is how the folder will be called when you are connecting from outside (mapping the network disk)

Check it is working

sudo systemctl status smbd

NOTE: in case you use sudo systemctl status samba gives a condition failed message which does not mean the share is not working

Conect to the folder from a Win11 machine

Right click This Computer
Select the letter for a disk
Put \\<pi-ip>\<share-name>
Fill in the user name and a password (for samba)

NOTE: instead of <pi-ip> also the <pi-name> can be used but initially, the <pi-ip> is safer

12. Use USB cable for ssh connection

in /boot/firmware/config.txt

dtoverlay=dwc2

in /boot/firmware/cmdline.txt

rootwait modules-load=dwc,g_ether

reboot and connect

check if the usb0 is up

ip a show usb0

if it is dowb bring it up

sudo ip link set usb0 up

in etc/dhcpcd.conf should set it automatically

interface usb0
static ip_address=192.168.7.2/24
nolink

sudo reboot

Is not recognized from windows side, need insatllaiton of rndis drivers, downloaded from here emm2a post link

System

The above works for following systems

Camera(s)

Raspberry Pi camera V1.3

Raspberry Pi Zero W

Firmware

vld@pi0D:~ $ vcgencmd version
Apr 30 2025 13:35:18
Copyright (c) 2012 Broadcom
version 5560078dcc8591a00f57b9068d13e5544aeef3aa (clean) (release) (start)

OS

vld@pi0D:~ $ neofetch --off --color_blocks off
ld@pi0D
--------
OS: Raspbian GNU/Linux 12 (bookworm) armv6l
Host: Raspberry Pi Zero W Rev 1.1
Kernel: 6.12.34+rpt-rpi-v6
Uptime: 2 hours, 33 mins
Packages: 1595 (dpkg)
Shell: bash 5.2.15
Terminal: /dev/pts/2
CPU: BCM2835 (1) @ 1.000GHz
Memory: 130MiB / 427MiB

Camera

vld@pi0D:~ $ rpicam-hello --list-cameras
Available cameras
-----------------
0 : ov5647 [2592x1944 10-bit GBRG] (/base/soc/i2c0mux/i2c@1/ov5647@36)
    Modes: 'SGBRG10_CSI2P' : 640x480 [30.00 fps - (65535, 65535)/65535x65535 crop]
                             1296x972 [30.00 fps - (65535, 65535)/65535x65535 crop]
                             1920x1080 [30.00 fps - (65535, 65535)/65535x65535 crop]
                             2592x1944 [30.00 fps - (65535, 65535)/65535x65535 crop]

Raspberry Pi 4

Firmware

vld@pi4:~ $ vcgencmd version
Aug 30 2024 19:17:39
Copyright (c) 2012 Broadcom
version 2808975b80149bbfe86844655fe45c7de66fc078 (clean) (release) (start)

OS

vld@pi4:~ $ neofetch --off --color_blocks off
vld@pi4
-------
OS: Debian GNU/Linux 12 (bookworm) aarch64
Host: Raspberry Pi 4 Model B Rev 1.4
Kernel: 6.6.51+rpt-rpi-v8
Uptime: 2 hours, 46 mins
Packages: 1610 (dpkg)
Shell: bash 5.2.15
Terminal: /dev/pts/2
CPU: (4) @ 1.800GHz
Memory: 405MiB / 7809MiB

Camera

vld@pi4:~ $ rpicam-hello --list-cameras
Available cameras
-----------------
0 : ov5647 [2592x1944 10-bit GBRG] (/base/soc/i2c0mux/i2c@1/ov5647@36)
    Modes: 'SGBRG10_CSI2P' : 640x480 [30.00 fps - (65535, 65535)/65535x65535 crop]
                             1296x972 [30.00 fps - (65535, 65535)/65535x65535 crop]
                             1920x1080 [30.00 fps - (65535, 65535)/65535x65535 crop]
                             2592x1944 [30.00 fps - (65535, 65535)/65535x65535 crop]

Overview#

1. Get connected to wifi#

2. Access the raspberry pi device#

3. Update the system#

4. Setup access through ssh keys#

Generate the keys on your machine#

Create/Add connection to this pi on given network#

Test connection#

5. Install tools#

Install#

Verify it runs#

Start so that ssh logout will keep it running#

6. Install tailscale for remote access#

Install using commands and activate:#

Resource#

7. Verify the streaming works over tailscale#

8. Put the link online to website#

9. Tweaks#

Set alias for streaming#

Rotate the camera image#

10. Motion config files#

Example config files#

Parameters to set#

11. Installing samba for shared folder#

Install samba from repository#

Create a shared folder with the proper rights#

Create the user who will be connecting#

Configure samba#

Conect to the folder from a Win11 machine#

12. Use USB cable for ssh connection#

System#

Camera(s)#

Raspberry Pi Zero W#

Firmware#

OS#

Camera#

Raspberry Pi 4#

Firmware#

OS#

Camera#

Overview

1. Get connected to wifi

2. Access the raspberry pi device

3. Update the system

4. Setup access through ssh keys

Generate the keys on your machine

Create/Add connection to this pi on given network

Test connection

5. Install tools

Install

Verify it runs

Start so that ssh logout will keep it running

6. Install tailscale for remote access

Install using commands and activate:

Resource

7. Verify the streaming works over tailscale

8. Put the link online to website

9. Tweaks

Set alias for streaming

Rotate the camera image

10. Motion config files

Example config files

Parameters to set

11. Installing samba for shared folder

Install samba from repository

Create a shared folder with the proper rights

Create the user who will be connecting

Configure samba

Conect to the folder from a Win11 machine

12. Use USB cable for ssh connection

System

Camera(s)

Raspberry Pi Zero W

Firmware

OS

Camera

Raspberry Pi 4

Firmware

OS

Camera