What is CheapSecurity?

CheapSecurity is a privacy-focused, self-hosted CCTV application designed to run on low-power Linux single-board computers (SBCs) such as Raspberry Pi or Odroid with standard USB webcams. It provides a web dashboard with live MJPEG streaming, motion detection using frame differencing, and automatic recording that includes footage from before motion was detected. Recordings can be managed through an interactive calendar interface with bulk actions for download, deletion, and Telegram upload. The system integrates with Telegram for bot commands (snapshot, video recording, encryption toggles) and supports email alerts with snapshots. Optional cloud uploads to Google Drive and OneDrive are available, with per-channel AES-256 ZIP encryption for Telegram, Google Drive, and OneDrive. Night mode offers software low-light enhancement (CLAHE) or hardware switching to a second IR camera. An optional RTSP stream can be published via MediaMTX and FFmpeg for integration with NVRs, Home Assistant, or VLC. Storage cleanup policies include age, size, and emergency low-disk thresholds. The app runs as a Python Flask/Gunicorn service managed by systemd, with configuration via a JSON file and secrets via environment variables. It is licensed under GNU AGPLv3.

Should you self-host CheapSecurity?

CheapSecurity scores 45/100 on selfhost.directory (how scoring works) and ranks #20 of 24 in Video Surveillance. It has 221 GitHub stars.

It shipped 3 stable releases in the past year. The latest, v1.2.0, came out on 20 September 2026. New versions land roughly every 4 weeks.

Setup is moderate: expect some configuration beyond a single command. It is AGPL-3.0-licensed and written mostly in Python.

Its closest alternative on selfhost.directory is Frigate (84/100, 37 023 stars). It scores higher overall, so compare the two before you pick. See CheapSecurity vs Frigate side by side.

Features

AES-256 ZIP encryption
Automatic recording with pre-buffer
Cloud storage upload (Google Drive, OneDrive)
Email alerts with snapshots
HTTP Basic Auth
Live MJPEG streaming
Motion Detection
Night mode (software and dual-camera)
Recordings calendar and bulk actions
REST API with Swagger UI
Secrets via environment variables
Storage cleanup policies
Systemd Service
Telegram Bot Integration

How to install CheapSecurity

Install CheapSecurity with Python

Environment variables

CHEAPSECURITY_TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN, CHEAPSECURITY_TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID, CHEAPSECURITY_SMTP_PASSWORD, CHEAPSECURITY_GDRIVE_CLIENT_ID, CHEAPSECURITY_GDRIVE_CLIENT_SECRET, CHEAPSECURITY_GDRIVE_REFRESH_TOKEN, CHEAPSECURITY_ONEDRIVE_CLIENT_ID, CHEAPSECURITY_ONEDRIVE_CLIENT_SECRET, CHEAPSECURITY_ONEDRIVE_REFRESH_TOKEN, CHEAPSECURITY_ENCRYPTION_PASSPHRASE, CHEAPSECURITY_WEB_AUTH_PASSWORD

Verify OpenCV is available:
```
python3 -c "import cv2; print(cv2.__version__)"
```
If OpenCV is not installed, you have two options:
- Option A — use a system OpenCV package (recommended on ARM boards such as the Odroid XU4, where a pre-built system package is usually optimized for the board).
- Option B — install OpenCV via pip (convenient on x86/amd64 machines or when no system package is available). Use opencv-python-headless because the app does not need a GUI.
Create and activate the virtual environment and install the app:

Option A: system OpenCV (recommended for ARM)

This creates a venv that can see the system site-packages, so the system cv2 is available inside the venv.
```
cd $HOME/CheapSecurity
python3 -m venv venv --system-site-packages
source venv/bin/activate
pip install -e .
```
Option B: install everything via pip

Use this if you do not have a system OpenCV or prefer a self-contained venv.
```
cd $HOME/CheapSecurity
python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate
pip install opencv-python-headless
pip install -e .
```
Note: On some older ARM boards the pip opencv-python-headless wheel may not be available or may be slow. If that happens, install OpenCV from your distribution's package manager instead and use Option A.
Find your webcam device (usually /dev/video0):
```
v4l2-ctl --list-devices
```
Copy config.json.example to config.json and edit it:
```
cp config.json.example config.json
nano config.json
```
- Set camera device, resolution, and frame rate
- Fill in SMTP credentials if you want email alerts
- Fill in Telegram bot token and chat ID if you want Telegram uploads
Security: config.json is listed in .gitignore and must never be committed. It contains passwords and tokens. Always edit config.json, not config.json.example. If you add a new setting, update both files so the example stays in sync.
Run the app:
```
./venv/bin/python -m cheapsecurity.app
```
Open the dashboard in a browser:
```
http://<odroid-ip>:5000
```