Configuration reference

Cang reads a single TOML file at startup. Pass the path via the CLI (see cang --help).

[server]

Key	Type	Required	Default	Description
output_dir	string (path)	yes	—	Root directory for all cang output (clips, database, log).
scan_interval	integer	no	300	Seconds between periodic re-scans of all camera roots. Acts as a fallback for files that the inotify watcher missed (e.g. bulk directory copies). On NFS mounts, inotify is unavailable and silent — scan_interval is then the only pickup mechanism; lower the value (e.g. 30) for faster response. Set to 0 to disable.

Output directory layout

Cang writes three things under output_dir:

<output_dir>/
  <camera-name>/
    YYYY-MM-DD-HH.MM.SS-HH.MM.SS.mp4   # transcoded clip; one file per incoming clip
  cang.db                               # SQLite metadata database
  ffmpeg.log                            # ffmpeg output for every transcode run (appended)

Each camera gets its own subdirectory named after the camera's name key. The MP4 filename encodes the clip's start and end time; motion and first-frame flags are stored in the database rather than in the filename.

[[camera]]

One [[camera]] block per camera. At least one is expected.

Key	Type	Required	Default	Description
name	string	yes	—	Human-readable label used in logs and the web UI.
adapter	string	yes	—	Folder-layout adapter. Currently only "dahua" is supported.
root	string (path)	yes	—	Root directory that the adapter scans for incoming clips. For the dahua adapter this must point directly at the camera's serial directory (e.g. /mnt/nvr/ABC123456); date subdirectories are expected immediately inside.
delete_after_transcode	boolean	no	false	If true, the original source files (.dav clip and snapshot .jpg files) are deleted from the camera root after a successful transcode. Useful when NVR storage is limited.

[web]

All keys are optional. Omitting the section uses the defaults shown below.

Key	Type	Default	Description
host	string	"0.0.0.0"	Interface address for the HTTP server.
port	integer	8080	TCP port for the HTTP server.
username	string	—	HTTP Basic Auth username. Must be set together with password.
password	string	—	HTTP Basic Auth password. Must be set together with username.

If neither username nor password is set, the web UI is accessible without authentication.

Example

[server]
output_dir = "/var/lib/cang/clips"
scan_interval = 300   # periodic re-scan every 5 minutes (default)
                      # on NFS mounts inotify is unavailable — lower this (e.g. 30)
                      # for faster pickup when the camera root is on a network share

[web]
host = "0.0.0.0"
port = 8080
username = "admin"
password = "s3cr3t"

[[camera]]
name = "front-door"
adapter = "dahua"
root = "/mnt/nvr/ABC123456"     # serial directory — date folders sit directly inside
delete_after_transcode = true   # remove source .dav and snapshots after transcode

[[camera]]
name = "back-yard"
adapter = "dahua"
root = "/mnt/nvr/DEF789012"