# axis-cam-mcp

MCP server for still images from Axis network cameras over VAPIX.

See `axis-camera.md` for full build, test and deployment instructions.

## Layout

```
axis-cam-mcp/
├── LICENSE  README.md  CHANGELOG.md  PLAN.md
├── environment.yml
├── pyproject.toml
├── examples/cameras.yaml
├── src/axis_cam_mcp/{__init__,cameras,vapix,server}.py
└── tests/
```

## Quick start

```bash
conda env create -f environment.yml
conda activate axis-cam-mcp
pytest -q
axis-cam-mcp --check
```

See `axis-camera.md` for camera configuration and AIDA wiring.

## Tools

| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
| `list_cameras` | The configured names, descriptions and addresses. Never credentials. |
| `grab_frame` | One JPEG still. Optional `resolution`, `compression`, `rotation`, `channel`. |
| `camera_info` | Model, product number and firmware. The cheapest reachability proof. |
| `camera_capabilities` | What a device actually supports: resolutions, rotations, video inputs. |

## Devices

Works with native Axis IP cameras and with multi-channel video encoders,
which differ in three ways the registry covers:

- **Anonymous access** -- `auth: none` on a camera that needs no login.
  Otherwise credentials come from the named environment variables, and a
  missing one is an error rather than a silent unauthenticated request.
- **Several cameras behind one address** -- `channel` picks a video input
  (`"1"`-`"4"`, `"quad"`). Give each view its own registry entry so an agent
  can choose by description.
- **Fixed resolution lists** -- an encoder serves only a handful of sizes.
  Ask `camera_capabilities`, or let `grab_frame` retry at the closest
  supported size and tell you it did. `axis-cam-mcp --check` flags a
  configured resolution or channel the device will refuse.