reolink-mcp

An open-source MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for Reolink cameras: lets Claude — or any MCP client — see and control Reolink cameras on the local network. Snapshots, device state, AI detection states, PTZ presets, and deterrence controls (spotlight, siren, IR/white LED). Local network only, no cloud.

Market gap (verified 2026-07-08): no dedicated Reolink MCP server exists on GitHub, npm, or PyPI. Closest prior art requires a middleman: dedsxc/mcp-frigate (needs Frigate NVR), homeassistant-mcp (needs Home Assistant). This is a first-mover standalone niche.

A user with a Reolink camera adds reolink-mcp to their MCP client config, asks "show me the front door camera," and gets a live snapshot — direct to camera, no NVR or home-automation daemon in between.

Quickstart

Requires a Reolink camera reachable on the local network and its admin username/password.

1. Create your camera config

Copy config.example.yaml to ~/.config/reolink-mcp/config.yaml (or point RMCP_CONFIG_FILE at a copy anywhere else on disk):

cameras:
  front_door:
    host: 192.168.1.44
    username: admin

Passwords never go in this file. Set one RMCP_CAMERAS__<name>__PASSWORD environment variable per camera instead — <name> must exactly match the camera's key in the YAML above (lowercase snake_case):

RMCP_CAMERAS__front_door__PASSWORD=<camera-password>

Concurrent-session limit: Reolink cameras allow only a limited number of simultaneous sessions. reolink-mcp holds one reolink-aio session per configured camera for as long as the server runs — running it alongside another system that also holds sessions on the same cameras (an NVR, another MCP server, etc.) can exhaust that limit. See Camera compatibility & session limits below.

2. Add it to your MCP client

Claude Code:

claude mcp add reolink -- uvx reolink-mcp

Claude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json — macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json, Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "reolink": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["reolink-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "RMCP_CAMERAS__front_door__PASSWORD": "<camera-password>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Any other MCP client (generic stdio):

{
  "command": "uvx",
  "args": ["reolink-mcp"]
}

That's it — ask your MCP client to "show me the front door camera."

Tools

Built on reolink-aio and the official MCP Python SDK. Every tool carries readOnlyHint/destructiveHint annotations so MCP clients can gate approvals — Observe tools are read-only, Control tools mutate camera state, and set_siren is the only tool marked destructive.

Safety

• RMCP_READ_ONLY=true starts the server with all 10 control tools stripped at startup — they are simply never registered, not hidden. A one-line notice is printed to stderr; the client sees a clean, observe-only server with no control tools in its registry at all.

• set_siren defaults to a ~5s burst when no duration is given, and refuses (never silently clamps) any request over its 60-second hard cap — a clear error asks for a shorter duration instead.

• Capability gating: every control tool checks the target camera's actual capabilities before sending any command, and refuses cleanly (e.g. "camera 'front_door' has no siren") instead of letting a raw API error from an unsupported feature reach the client.

Camera compatibility & session limits

Validated live during development on:

PTZ tools (list_presets, ptz_move_to_preset, ptz_position, ptz_guard) are mock-validated only — real PTZ hardware validation is pending.

Concurrent-session limit: reolink-aio maintains one long-lived session per camera for the lifetime of the server process. Reolink cameras cap the number of simultaneous sessions a camera will accept; running reolink-mcp alongside another system that independently holds sessions on the same cameras (an NVR, Reolink's own app, a second automation stack) can hit that cap. This project's own development setup runs against cameras shared with a second, independent system and has been exercised under that exact coexistence condition — if you see login/session errors, check what else currently holds a session on the camera first.

License

MIT