Capture daily snapshots from UniFi Protect camera and create time-lapse videos
Automated time-lapse generator for UniFi Protect cameras
Captures daily snapshots at your chosen time and creates beautiful time-lapse videos showing changes over days, months, or years.
Watch your lawn, garden, construction project, or any outdoor space transform over time with automatically generated time-lapse videos.
▶️ Watch the demo on YouTube - 109 days of lawn evolution captured with 24fps motion interpolation
brew install ffmpeg on macOS, apt install ffmpeg on Linux)No installation needed! Just run:
npx lawn-lapse
That's it! The first time you run it, you'll be guided through an interactive setup that will:
Want to install it? You can optionally install globally:
npm install -g lawn-lapse
lawn # Now you can just type "lawn"!
For developers: Clone the repo and run npm install && npm start
lawn [command]
When run without arguments:
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
lawn | Run capture (auto-setup if first time) |
lawn status | Show configuration and statistics |
lawn cron | Set up or update automated daily captures |
lawn version | Show version number |
lawn help | Display help information |
Add -v or --verbose flag for detailed output:
lawn -v # Shows ffmpeg output and detailed logging
On first run, lawn will guide you through:
UniFi Protect Connection
Camera Selection
Snapshot Settings
./snapshots/front-yard/)Automation Setup
Settings are stored in lawn.config.json:
{
"version": 2,
"unifi": {
"host": "192.168.1.1",
"username": "admin",
"password": "your-password"
},
"schedule": {
"timezone": "America/Los_Angeles",
"mode": "fixed-time",
"fixedTimes": ["12:00"]
},
"cameras": [
{
"id": "abc123",
"name": "Front Yard",
"snapshotDir": "./snapshots/front-yard",
"timelapseDir": "./timelapses/front-yard",
"video": { "fps": 24, "quality": 1, "interpolate": true }
},
{
"id": "def456",
"name": "Back Yard",
"snapshotDir": "./snapshots/back-yard",
"timelapseDir": "./timelapses/back-yard",
"video": { "fps": 24, "quality": 1, "interpolate": true }
}
]
}
⚠️ Security Note: Keep
lawn.config.jsonsecure and never commit it to version control
[n/total] progress for each snapshotlawn-lapse/
├── snapshots/ # Per-camera snapshot directories
│ ├── front-yard/
│ │ ├── 2024-01-01_1200.jpg
│ │ ├── 2024-01-02_1200.jpg
│ │ └── ...
│ └── back-yard/
│ ├── 2024-01-01_1200.jpg
│ └── ...
├── timelapses/ # Per-camera timelapse directories
│ ├── front-yard/
│ │ └── timelapse_12h00_2024-01-01_to_2024-03-15.mp4
│ └── back-yard/
│ └── timelapse_12h00_2024-01-01_to_2024-03-15.mp4
├── lawn.config.json # Project configuration
└── logs/lawn-lapse.log # Cron job logs
lawn status
Shows:
🎥 Lawn Lapse Status Report
============================================================
📷 Cameras (2 configured):
============================================================
📹 Front Yard (abc123)
------------------------------------------------------------
Snapshots: ./snapshots/front-yard
Timelapses: ./timelapses/front-yard
📸 Snapshots: 45 at 12:00
Range: 2024-01-01 to 2024-02-14
✓ No gaps
🎬 Time-lapses: 1 video(s)
Latest: timelapse_12h00_2024-01-01_to_2024-02-14.mp4 (8.3MB)
Covers: 45 days (2024-01-01 to 2024-02-14)
📹 Back Yard (def456)
------------------------------------------------------------
Snapshots: ./snapshots/back-yard
Timelapses: ./timelapses/back-yard
📸 Snapshots: 42 at 12:00
Range: 2024-01-04 to 2024-02-14
✓ No gaps
🎬 Time-lapses: 1 video(s)
Latest: timelapse_12h00_2024-01-04_to_2024-02-14.mp4 (7.1MB)
Covers: 42 days (2024-01-04 to 2024-02-14)
⏰ Cron Job:
✓ Active: Daily at 12:00
🔐 Authentication:
✓ Credentials configured
Username: admin
============================================================
📊 Summary:
✓ System operational: 2 camera(s), 87 total snapshot(s), 2 time-lapse(s)
| Problem | Solution |
|---|---|
| "No cameras found" | Ensure UniFi Protect is accessible and user has admin privileges |
| "Authentication failed" | Check username/password, ensure 2FA is disabled for API access |
| Timeout errors | Reduce video duration or check network connectivity |
| Missing snapshots | Verify camera was online and recording at capture time |
| Cron not running | Check cron service is enabled: sudo launchctl load -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.vix.cron.plist |
Run with verbose flag for detailed debugging:
lawn -v
Force an immediate capture regardless of schedule:
npm exec lawn
Contributions are welcome! Please see CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.
# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/dweekly/lawn-lapse.git
cd lawn-lapse
# Install dependencies
npm install
# Run in development
node lawn-lapse.js -v
# Format code
npm run format
# Lint code
npm run lint
The project exports several key functions for programmatic use:
import { runSetup, runCapture } from "./lawn-lapse.js";
// Run interactive setup
await runSetup();
// Capture snapshots and generate time-lapse
await runCapture();
See API.md for detailed documentation.
lawn.config.jsonlawn.config.json to version controlMIT License - see LICENSE file for details
Made with ❤️ for the UniFi Protect community
FAQs
Capture daily snapshots from UniFi Protect camera and create time-lapse videos
We found that lawn-lapse demonstrated a healthy version release cadence and project activity because the last version was released less than a year ago. It has 1 open source maintainer collaborating on the project.
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