Install and run the first check

This guide is for an installer or IT helper. These commands use macOS or Linux. Site owners can use the installer handoff.

1. Get ready

Obtain permission to test one feed. Confirm its exact video address. Obtain an approved viewing account if needed. Confirm that the feed uses H.264 over RTSP or RTSPS with TCP delivery. H.264 is a video format. RTSP requests a video feed. RTSPS adds encryption. TCP carries the data.

A VPN is an approved connection to another network. Use the computer that needs to receive the video. Connect it through the intended network or approved VPN. A test near the camera cannot prove that a remote monitoring computer receives it.

2. Install the preview

This early preview is for invited installers. The repository is private. Without access, give the installer handoff to your helper. Invited installers should request access from the person who invited them. Install these tools on the receiving computer:

Tool	Required version	Purpose
Go	1.26.6 or newer	Build Glassknock.
FFmpeg	5.1 or newer, with H.264 decoding	Read the received video data.
Git	An installed version	Download the source code.

Open a terminal, a window where you type commands. Set up GitHub HTTPS authentication for your approved account, then clone main:

git clone --branch main --single-branch https://github.com/rimward/glassknock.git
cd glassknock

From this project folder, run each command separately:

go version
ffmpeg -version
go build -o glassknock ./cmd/glassknock
./glassknock version

Correct any installation error before you continue. Read Method and validation for tested behavior and remaining limits.

3. Set up one feed

Create feed.json in the project folder. Replace the entire example address with the address supplied by the installer. The example cannot connect to a real camera.

{
  "id": "rear-gate",
  "url": "rtsps://camera.example.invalid:322/live",
  "duration_seconds": 30,
  "timeout_seconds": 5,
  "gap_seconds": 3
}

Choose a label in id that is safe to share. The other settings request a 30-second sample, allow five seconds for a connection or request, and allow gaps up to three seconds.

Keep passwords and access tokens out of this file. If the supplied address contains them, ask for a credential-free address. The file contains an internal video address. Keep it local.

For rtsps://, this computer must trust the device certificate. Ask IT to confirm that trust. For rtsp:// with a viewing account, obtain approval for the unencrypted connection first. Then add "allow_plaintext_credentials": true to the JSON object, with a comma before the new field. Set this before saving the first report.

See Advanced commands for configuration rules and credential options.

4. Save the first result

If the feed needs a viewing account, run:

./glassknock check --config feed.json --credentials --output before.json

Enter the approved username and password in the local terminal. Neither value appears while you type. Press Enter after each value. Keep them out of AI conversations and support messages.

If the feed needs no account, run:

./glassknock check --config feed.json --output before.json

Read the terminal result and keep before.json. Glassknock refuses to overwrite a report. If that file exists, choose a new name such as before-2.json.

A nonzero exit status can still include a useful result. Read Understand the result, then follow Correct and repeat.