FAQ

Q: How do I ask a question such as "How do I make Motion do xxx?"

A: The place to ask these questions will be either on the IRC channel #motion or on the motion-user mailing list which can be subscribed here. It is important to use the mailing list for these questions rather than the github issues in order to gain the experience of a wider audience who may be able to address your question.

Q: How come Motion isn't working how I think it should.

A: The first thing to do is to review the Motion guide. Next, would be to discuss the situation/issue on the IRC channel #motion or on the motion-user mailing list which can be subscribed here. Once it is confirmed that Motion is not working as intended, a bug or enhancement request may be appropriate for reporting in the github issue log.

Q: I am using application XXXX which is a front-end application for Motion and it is not working. How do I fix my issue?

A: Please keep in mind that the Motion developers do not use any front-end application. You will need to set up and use Motion as a stand-alone application and validate that the issue remains. Questions and answers from the Motion team will be framed with respect to how to configure Motion rather than the front end application.

Q: I've determined that there is a bug, how do I report it?

A: The developers will need to know some key information in order to replicate, validate and ultimately resolve the issue. First, you will need to validate that the issue occurs on the most recent release as posted here or was built from the current github master branch. Next, we will need a full log from startup to shutdown at the NTC log level. Finally, we'll need the motion.conf and any applicable camera.conf files. It is recommended that the logs and config files be edited to mask any camera IP address or usernames/passwords to preserve your privacy. The preferred location for posting these files is on gist with only the link posted in the issue.

Q: Does / will Motion support audio recording?

A: Not for the foreseeable future. In addition to the technical complexities and legal implications(covert recording of audio is not permitted in many countries), the maintainer believes in making sure the application keeps the focus on its core functionality of video.

Q: How to I install the application?

A: First, the application may also be prepackaged into your distribution so check the version there. Next, if the distribution packaged version is too old and you need a newer version, you can get the latest release packages here. Finally, if you need all the latest fixes, you can obtain the source code from the repo and follow the instructions here.

Q: How come I am not getting any response to my issue/pull?

The work on the Motion application is expected to be seasonal. From January of each year to September, one of the maintainers is only able spend minimal time working on the application. During this time, issues/pulls may not be able to be immediately addressed.

Q: How come there is not a GUI interface?

The Motion application is intended to be a small core component with many configuration options. Other applications can choose to wrap around the Motion application to provide a GUI interface. This allows users the choice of whether they need the overhead associated with the GUI or only need the core functionality that the Motion application provides.

Q: How come you do not use (insert software name) in the application?

The Motion application is used across a extremely wide set of platforms. In order to support all of these platforms and hardware needs the Motion application is written only in C. This is believed to provide the most flexibility without requiring additional libraries or specialized developers.

Q: How do I run motion standalone if it came from a third party project, like MotionEyeOS

log in remotely (via SSH/putty) or use a monitor+keyboard

stop motionEye: /etc/init.d/S85motioneye stop

run motion manually: cd /data/etc ; motion -c motion.conf -d 5 -n

Q: How can I view streams of all my cameras at once on one page?

The easiest way to see a tiled page of all cameras that are running Motion is to create a very simple html page. Open up your favorite text editor and paste the following in, revise ipaddress:portnumber and then save as motionview.html Finally, open the file in a web browser.

    <html>   
    <body bgcolor=000000>   
    <img src=http://ipaddress1:portnumber/ border="0" width=25%></a>   
    <img src=http://ipaddress2:portnumber/ border="0" width=25%></a>   
    <img src=http://ipaddress3:portnumber/ border="0" width=49%></a>   
    </body>   
    </html>  

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The archive of older FAQ is here