Restrict Discoverable Cameras with Cameras.yml

To restrict which cameras Zivid SDK can connect to, download Cameras.yml, list the allowed IP addresses or hostnames in it, and place it in the Zivid configuration folder.

How does Zivid SDK find cameras?

Zivid SDK uses Multicast DNS (mDNS) for auto-discovering cameras on the network. In SDK 2.7 and earlier, cameras with non-default IPs had to be listed in the Cameras.yml file in the Zivid configuration folder, which the SDK searched through to discover cameras.

Even though mDNS removes the requirement of Cameras.yml, this file can still be used to override which cameras the SDK can connect to. Cameras.yml therefore has the function of restricting which cameras the PC can connect to, if provided.

If you only need to connect to a specific camera at a known address, you can connect to it directly by its IP address or hostname, without Cameras.yml. See Capture Tutorial for how to do this.

Cameras.yml

If you wish to restrict the IPs Zivid SDK searches for, download Cameras.yml and place it in the Zivid configuration folder, as shown below.

Windows

mkdir %LOCALAPPDATA%\Zivid\API
move %HOMEPATH%\Downloads\Cameras.yml %LOCALAPPDATA%\Zivid\API\

Ubuntu

mkdir --parents "${XDG_CONFIG_HOME-$HOME/.config}"/Zivid/API
mv ~/Downloads/Cameras.yml "${XDG_CONFIG_HOME-$HOME/.config}"/Zivid/API/

Caution

Any existing Config file will be overwritten.

Caution

Zivid configuration files must use .yml file extension ( not .yaml).

Some examples of how Cameras.yml can look like are shown below, either using hostnames or IP addresses.

Option: Restrict IP addresses

Sample Cameras.yml file (IP addresses)

__version__: 1
Cameras:
    NetworkCameras:
        - NetworkCamera:
              Host: 172.28.60.5
        - NetworkCamera:
              Host: 172.28.60.6
        - NetworkCamera:
              Host: 172.28.60.7

Option: Restrict hostnames

Sample Cameras.yml file (hostnames)

__version__: 1
Cameras:
    NetworkCameras:
        - NetworkCamera:
              Host: zivid-2152D404.local
        - NetworkCamera:
              Host: zivid-20205M19.local
        - NetworkCamera:
              Host: zivid-21389K63.local

Next Steps

Go back to Connecting to the camera.