Installation#

Here is how you can manually install libcamera, cinepi-raw, cinemate and accompanying software on the Raspberry Pi.

Stack works on Raspberry Pi 4 and 5 models. 2 GB RAM is sufficient, while more RAM will give you a larger framebuffer. Useful at high frame rates.

Cinemate is using Linux kernel version 6.12.25. Recommended OS is Bookworm Lite.

Tools & dependencies#

sudo apt update -y
sudo apt upgrade -y

sudo apt-get install python3-jinja2 python3-ply python3-yaml

sudo apt install -y git cmake libepoxy-dev libavdevice-dev build-essential cmake libboost-program-options-dev libdrm-dev libexif-dev libcamera-dev libjpeg-dev libtiff5-dev libpng-dev redis-server libhiredis-dev libasound2-dev libjsoncpp-dev libpng-dev meson ninja-build libavcodec-dev libavdevice-dev libavformat-dev libswresample-dev && sudo apt-get install libjsoncpp-dev && cd ~ && git clone https://github.com/sewenew/redis-plus-plus.git && cd redis-plus-plus && mkdir build && cd build && cmake .. && make && sudo make install && cd ~

libcamera 1.7.0 #

sudo apt install -y python3-pip  python3-jinja2 libboost-dev libgnutls28-dev openssl pybind11-dev qtbase5-dev libqt5core5a meson cmake python3-yaml python3-ply libglib2.0-dev libgstreamer-plugins-base1.0-dev libgstreamer1.0-dev libavdevice59

sudo apt-get install --reinstall libtiff5-dev && sudo ln -sf $(find /usr/lib -name "libtiff.so" | head -n 1) /usr/lib/aarch64-linux-gnu/libtiff.so.5 && export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/lib/aarch64-linux-gnu:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH && sudo ldconfig

git clone https://github.com/raspberrypi/libcamera.git && \
sudo find ~/libcamera -type f \( -name '*.py' -o -name '*.sh' \) -exec chmod +x {} \; && \
cd libcamera && \
sudo meson setup build --buildtype=release \
  -Dpipelines=rpi/vc4,rpi/pisp \
  -Dipas=rpi/vc4,rpi/pisp \
  -Dv4l2=true \
  -Dgstreamer=enabled \
  -Dtest=false \
  -Dlc-compliance=disabled \
  -Dcam=disabled \
  -Dqcam=disabled \
  -Ddocumentation=disabled \
  -Dpycamera=enabled && \
sudo ninja -C build install

cd ~/libcamera/utils && sudo chmod +x *.py *.sh && sudo chmod +x ~/libcamera/src/ipa/ipa-sign.sh && cd ~/libcamera && sudo ninja -C build install

cpp-mjpeg-streamer#

sudo apt install -y libspdlog-dev libjsoncpp-dev && cd /home/pi && git clone https://github.com/nadjieb/cpp-mjpeg-streamer.git && cd cpp-mjpeg-streamer && mkdir build && cd build && cmake .. && make && sudo make install && cd

CinePi-RAW #

git clone https://github.com/Tiramisioux/cinepi-raw.git --branch rpicam-apps_1.7_custom_encoder
cd cinepi-raw
sudo rm -rf build
sudo meson setup build
sudo ninja -C build
sudo meson install -C build
cd
sudo ldconfig

Seed Redis with white balance default keys#

redis-cli <<EOF
SET cg_rb 2.5,2.2
PUBLISH cp_controls cg_rb
EOF

IMX585 driver (optional)#

sudo apt install linux-headers dkms -y

git clone https://github.com/will127534/imx585-v4l2-driver.git --branch 6.12.y
cd imx585-v4l2-driver/
./setup.sh
cd

The imx585 is written by Will Whang. For original drivers and startup guides, visit https://github.com/will127534/StarlightEye

Add IMX585 tuning files#

curl -L -o /home/pi/libcamera/src/ipa/rpi/pisp/data/imx585.json \
  https://raw.githubusercontent.com/will127534/libcamera/master/src/ipa/rpi/pisp/data/imx585.json
sed -i '8s/"black_level": *[0-9]\+/"black_level": 0/' /home/pi/libcamera/src/ipa/rpi/pisp/data/imx585.json
sudo cp /home/pi/libcamera/src/ipa/rpi/pisp/data/imx585.json /usr/local/share/libcamera/ipa/rpi/pisp/

curl -L -o /home/pi/libcamera/src/ipa/rpi/pisp/data/imx585_mono.json https://raw.githubusercontent.com/will127534/libcamera/master/src/ipa/rpi/pisp/data/imx585_mono.json && sudo cp /home/pi/libcamera/src/ipa/rpi/pisp/data/imx585_mono.json /usr/local/share/libcamera/ipa/rpi/pisp/

IR filter switch script#

sudo wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/will127534/StarlightEye/master/software/IRFilter -O /usr/local/bin/IRFilter
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/IRFilter

Cinemate has its own way of handling the IR switch but the installation above can be convenient for use outside of Cinemate

Enabling I²C#

sudo raspi-config nonint do_i2c 0

Enabling I2C is needed for using the camera modules.

Setting hostname#

sudo hostnamectl set-hostname cinepi

You will find the pi as cinepi.local on the local network, or at the hotspot Cinemate creates

Add camera modules to config.txt#

sudo nano /boot/firmware/config.txt

Paste this into your file, and uncomment the sensor you are using.

Also specify which physical camera port you have connected your sensor to (example shows imx477 activated)

# Raspberry Pi HQ camera
camera_auto_detect=1
dtoverlay=imx477,cam0

# Raspberry Pi GS camera
#camera_auto_detect=1
#dtoverlay=imx296,cam0

# OneInchEye
#camera_auto_detect=0
#dtoverlay=imx283,cam0

# StarlightEye
#camera_auto_detect=0
#dtoverlay=imx585,cam0

# StarlightEye Mono
#camera_auto_detect=0
#dtoverlay=imx585,cam1,mono

# CFE Hat (pi 5 only)
dtparam=pciex1
dtparam=pciex1_gen=3

dtoverlay=disable-bt

And at the very bottom of the file:

[all]
avoid_warnings=1
disable_splash=1

Exit with Ctrl+x. System will ask you to save the file. Press "y" and then enter.

Change the console font (optional)#

sudo apt install console-setup kbd
sudo dpkg-reconfigure console-setup  

# choose: UTF-8
#         Guess optimal character set
#         Terminus
#         16x32 (framebuffer only)

Enable the service:

sudo systemctl enable console-setup.service
sudo systemctl start console-setup.service

This can be useful if running the Pi on a small HD field monitor

Create post-processing configs#

Paste this into the terminal and hit enter:

sudo bash -c 'cat > post-processing.json << EOF
{
    "sharedContext": {},
    "mjpegPreview": {
        "port": 8000
    }
}
EOF' && \
sudo chmod +x post-processing.json && \
sudo bash -c 'cat > post-processing0.json << EOF
{
    "sharedContext": {},
    "mjpegPreview": {
        "port": 8000
    }
}
EOF' && \
sudo chmod +x post-processing0.json && \
sudo bash -c 'cat > post-processing1.json << EOF
{
    "sharedContext": {},
    "mjpegPreview": {
        "port": 8001
    }
}
EOF' && \
sudo chmod +x post-processing1.json

Install PiShrink#

sudo wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Drewsif/PiShrink/master/pishrink.sh -O /usr/local/bin/pishrink.sh
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/pishrink.sh

PiShrink is a handy tool for compressing SD image file backups of the SD card. See here for instructions

Reboot#

sudo reboot

Trying out CinePi from the terminal#

You should now have a working install of cinepi-raw. To see if your camera is recognized by the system:

cinepi-raw --list-cameras

Try it out with a simple cli command:

cinepi-raw --mode 2028:1080:12:U --width 2028 --height 1080 --lores-width 1280 --lores-height 720

For more details on running CinePi-raw from the command line, see this section.

Cinemate#

System wide packages#

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y \
    git build-essential python3-dev python3-pip python3-venv \
    i2c-tools python3-smbus python3-pyudev \
    libgpiod-dev libgpiod2 python3-libgpiod gpiod \
    portaudio19-dev python3-systemd \
    e2fsprogs ntfs-3g exfatprogs \
    console-terminus

Create a Python virtual environment#

python3 -m venv ~/.cinemate-env
source /home/pi/.cinemate-env/bin/activate
echo "source /home/pi/.cinemate-env/bin/activate" >> ~/.bashrc

Grant sudo privileges and enable I²C#

echo "pi ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: /home/pi/.cinemate-env/bin/*" | sudo tee /etc/sudoers.d/cinemate-env
sudo chown -R pi:pi /home/pi/.cinemate-env
sudo chown -R pi:pi /media && chmod 755 /media
sudo usermod -aG i2c pi
sudo modprobe i2c-dev && echo i2c-dev | sudo tee -a /etc/modules
echo "pi ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: /home/pi/run_cinemate.sh" | sudo tee -a /etc/sudoers.d/pi_cinemate

Reboot so the group changes take effect:

sudo reboot

Python packages#

If you previously installed the board Python package, remove it with pip3 uninstall board.

pip install \
    gpiozero \
    adafruit-blinka adafruit-circuitpython-ssd1306 adafruit-circuitpython-seesaw \
    luma.oled grove.py pigpio-encoder smbus2 rpi_hardware_pwm \
    watchdog psutil pillow redis keyboard pyudev numpy termcolor sounddevice \
    evdev inotify_simple sysv_ipc flask_socketio sugarpie

Alternative GPIO back-end#

sudo apt install -y swig python3-dev build-essential git
git clone https://github.com/joan2937/lg
cd lg && make
sudo make install
cd .. && pip install lgpio

Clone the Cinemate repo#

  git clone https://github.com/Tiramisioux/cinemate.git

Allow Cinemate to run with sudo#

Edit the sudoers file:

sudo visudo

add this to the end of the file:

pi ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: /home/pi/cinemate/src/main.py
pi ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: /bin/mount, /bin/umount, /usr/bin/ntfs-3g
pi ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: /home/pi/cinemate/src/logs/system.log
pi ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: /sbin/mount.ext4

Exit with Ctrl+x. System will ask you to save the file. Press "y" and then enter.

Enable NetworkManager#

sudo systemctl enable NetworkManager --now

Rotate logs#

Paste this into the terminal and hit enter:

sudo tee /etc/logrotate.d/general_logs <<'EOP'
/var/log/*.log {
   size 100M
   rotate 5
   compress
   missingok
   notifempty
}
EOP

Seed Redis with default keys#

redis-cli MSET \
anamorphic_factor 0 bit_depth 0 buffer 0 buffer_size 0 cam_init 0 cameras 0 cg_rb 3.5,1.5 \
file_size 0 fps 24 fps_actual 24 fps_last 24 fps_max 1 fps_user 24 framecount 0 \
gui_layout 0 height 0 ir_filter 0 is_buffering 0 is_mounted 0 is_recording 0 \
is_writing 0 is_writing_buf 0 tc_cam0 0 tc_cam1 0 iso 100 lores_height 0 lores_width 0 \
pi_model 0 rec 0 sensor 0 sensor_mode 0 shutter_a 0 space_left 0 storage_type 0 \
wb 5600 wb_user 5600 width 0 memory_alert 0 \
shutter_a_sync_mode 0 shutter_angle_nom 0 shutter_angle_actual 0 shutter_angle_transient 0 \
exposure_time 0 last_dng_cam1 0 last_dng_cam0 0 \
zoom 0 write_speed_to_drive 0 recording_time 0

(See the settings guide for the full list.)

Add alias#

nano ~/.bashrc

Add to the end of the file:

alias cinemate='python3 /home/pi/cinemate/src/main.py'

Exit with Ctrl+x. System will ask you to save the file. Press "y" and then enter.

Reload .bashrc

source ~/.bashrc

Cinemate services#

storage-automount#

Mounts and unmounts removable drives such as SSDs, NVMe enclosures and the CFE HAT.

wifi-hotspot#

Keeps a simple Wi‑Fi hotspot running via NetworkManager so you can reach the web UI while in the field. The SSID and password come from the system.wifi_hotspot section of settings.json.

Install and enable both services with:

cd /home/pi/cinemate/services

sudo make install
sudo make start  # starts the service
sudo make enable # makes the service start on boot

You can also start and enable the service individually, by entering their respective folders and issuing the sudo make command

Note that if you were connected to the Pi via wifi, this connection is now broken due to the Pi setting up its own hotspot.

To connect again, check your available wifi networks. There should now be a network available named CinePi. Connect to it using password 11111111

Now you shuld be able to ssh to the Pi this command:

ssh pi@cinepi.local

You should also be able to find the Pi by opening a terminal and typing:

arp -a

You will see something like

❯ arp -a

? (10.42.0.1) at e4:5f:1:a9:72:a7 on en0 ifscope [ethernet]

During development/building your rig you might prefer the Pi to use your normal Wi‑Fi instead of its own hotspot so you remain online while tinkering. Disable the hotspot by setting system.wifi_hotspot.enabled to false in settings.json and by stopping the service with: 

sudo systemctl stop wifi-hotspot

To stop the hotspot from starting on boot, type 

sudo systemctl disable wifi-hotspot

See Hotspot logic for more details on how the hotspot works.

Connect to the Pi (if not already connected):#

ssh pi@10.42.0.1

password: 1

Starting Cinemate#

Now, back on the Pi, anywhere in the terminal, type:

cinemate

Make sure things are running smoothly and then you can move on to enabling the cinemate-autostart service:

cinemate-autostart.service#

cd /home/pi/cinemate/

sudo make install   # copy service file
sudo make enable    # start on boot
make start          # launch now

After enabling the service, Cinemate should autostart on boot.

You now have a 12 bit RAW image capturing system on your Raspberry Pi!