Install the server on Linux

Updated 2026-10-22

The Linux server suits an always-on machine: a mini PC, an old workstation or a Raspberry Pi 4 or 5. You watch from the web dashboard, Sentinel Operator on a Mac, or the iPhone app.

Pick a system

• Ubuntu Server 24.04 LTS is the recommended choice. Other systemd distributions, such as Debian 12, should work too.
• 64-bit only: x86-64 (Intel or AMD) or ARM64 (Raspberry Pi 4/5, ARM servers).
• 8 GB of RAM is comfortable for a handful of cameras with detection.
• An Intel CPU with integrated graphics can decode video on the GPU: install intel-media-va-driver-non-free first and Sentinel uses it automatically.

Install

1. Sign in at sentvms.com and download the Linux build for x86-64 or ARM64.
2. Copy it to the machine, with scp or a USB stick.
3. On the machine:

tar xzf sentinel-*-linux-*.tar.gz
cd sentinel-*-linux-*/
sudo ./install.sh

Then open http://<server-ip>:8090 from any computer on the network and create the administrator account.

Firewall

sudo ufw allow 8090/tcp
sudo ufw allow 18189

Port 8090 is the dashboard. Port 18189 (TCP and UDP) carries low-latency live video; without it live view still works, a few seconds behind.

Or run it in Docker

If you already run Docker, you can skip the install steps above. The image includes everything Sentinel needs, for both Intel and ARM machines.

docker run -d --name sentinel --network host -e TZ=Etc/UTC   -v sentinel-data:/data --restart unless-stopped   ghcr.io/hackgiz/sentinel-vms:3.4.0

Then open http://<server-ip>:8090 and create the administrator account. Use --network host on Linux: camera discovery and the iPhone pairing code depend on it. Set TZ to your time zone, for example America/New_York.

Your data lives in the sentinel-data volume, and upgrades keep it:

docker pull ghcr.io/hackgiz/sentinel-vms:3.4.0
docker rm -f sentinel
# run the docker run command above again with the new tag

Live view from cameras needs UDP and TCP port 18189 open on the host. Without it, live view still works but is a few seconds behind.

Day to day

The service runs as its own unprivileged sentinel user.

More guides, including Sentinel Cloud setup and users and roles, are in the knowledge base for signed-in users.