Set up and run Sentinel VMS
Step-by-step guides for the self-hosted video management system: install on a Mac or a Linux box, add cameras, get alarms on your iPhone, turn on face recognition and plate reading, and keep a site running. No account needed to read them.
Getting started
Install Sentinel on a Mac
Download Sentinel Operator, run the server on the same Mac, and create the first administrator.
Install the server on Linux
Put the Sentinel server on a Linux machine, open the firewall, and sign in from your browser.
Add your cameras
Find cameras on the network with a scan, or add one by its RTSP address, and choose what to record.
Everyday use
Live view, playback and exports
Watch live, scrub back through footage, bookmark moments and export clips or evidence packages.
Alarm rules and iPhone notifications
Decide which alarms reach your phone, set quiet hours, and send a test notification.
Describe a rule, rule templates and Insights
Write an alarm rule in plain English, start from a ready-made template, and read what your cameras saw over the last days with recommendations.
Detection models, faces, plates and semantic search
Pick a bigger detector and a faster rate, raise Loitering events, recognize the people you add, read license plates against a watchlist, and search snapshots by describing them.
Set up the iPhone app
Install Sentinel VMS from the App Store, sign in to your site, and watch from anywhere.
The menu bar shield on the Mac
See at a glance whether the server is up, and start, stop or restart it from the menu bar.
Sentinel Cloud
What Sentinel Cloud sends and stores
Exactly what leaves your server, what is kept, and for how long.
Running a site
Add a recording server
Spread cameras across several machines that all appear as one site.
Upgrade Sentinel
Know when a new version is out and upgrade without losing recordings or settings.
Troubleshooting
Signed-in users also get the Sentinel Cloud setup and the users-and-roles guides in the knowledge base.