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- Watch mode and camera wall
Watch mode and the camera wall
Switch the desktop app to Watch mode: it opens the camera wall with every connected camera, records them, and lets you play back any moment from the Recordings page. Other computers can pair with it once and watch the same cameras.
Steps
- Switch the computer to Watch mode
In the desktop app, choose Watch. The wall opens with every connected camera.
- Arrange the wall
Drag tiles, or use Alt and the arrow keys, to order the cameras. Double-click a tile or press Enter for full screen; Esc steps back.
- Pop a camera out
Pop out any camera, or the whole wall, into its own window, and turn on Keep on top if you want it over other windows.
- Play back a moment
Open Recordings, pick a camera and a day on the month heatmap, click the timeline where you want to start, and play at 0.25× to 100×.
- Watch from another computer
On a second computer, open Pairing, Remote recorders, choose the recorder found on the network, and type its PIN once.
Keys on the wall
| Key or gesture | Action |
|---|---|
| F11 | Wall full screen |
| Double-click or Enter | One camera full screen |
| Esc | Step back one level |
| Alt + arrow keys | Move the selected tile |
| Scroll, pinch, + and − | Zoom into part of the picture (full screen and pop-outs) |
| Drag or arrow keys | Pan while zoomed |
| Double-click or 0 | Reset the zoom |
While you’re zoomed in, a sharper stream of just that area replaces the picture about 0.2 seconds after you stop moving, up to the camera’s own resolution.
In full screen and pop-outs
- Night view: Off, Auto or On, with Brighten. It changes only what this computer shows; recordings stay as they are.
- Snapshot: a full-size still into Pictures/Camlane.
- Save last minute from the recorder.
- Talk: hold to talk to the camera, if the phone runs Android 10 or newer. See two-way audio.
Playing recordings
The Recordings page starts with a month heatmap: how much each day recorded and how much had motion. Open a day for its 24-hour timeline.
- Click to start, play and pause, step a frame at a time.
- Jump to the previous or next motion.
- Speeds from 0.25× to 100×.
- Export clip writes 1 minute to 1 hour as an MP4 into Videos/Camlane.
- Save highlight… keeps a moment with a note; its recording is kept until you delete the highlight.
Other computers as viewers
A computer in Watch mode is a recorder that other computers on the network can watch:
- On the second computer: Pairing → Remote recorders, pick the recorder found on the network or type its address.
- Type the recorder’s PIN once; it reconnects silently after that.
- Its cameras appear as tiles you can show, put on program, in a layout, or on “Camlane Camera”.
Viewers see each camera’s battery, time left and temperature, and receive alerts: battery at 20% and 10%, a recorded camera on battery, a camera stepping down because it’s hot, and a camera offline for 30 seconds. They can list recordings and download them as MP4; downloads resume after a dropped connection. The recorder’s Pairing page lists viewers, and you can forget them one by one.
From a terminal: camlane-cli view find, cameras, live, timeline, download and alerts.
From outside your network
Watching works on your local network. From elsewhere, use a VPN you control (WireGuard, Tailscale). Remote viewing, end-to-end encrypted with no sign-in, is coming.
Related guides
- Room camera and recordingTurn a spare Android phone into a room camera with Camera mode, save its battery, and record it on your computer, motion-only and encrypted.
- Private AITurn on Camlane's offline Private AI, install its models, opt cameras in, name people with their consent and read what happened each day.
- TroubleshootingFixes for common Camlane problems: the phone can't find the computer, a black or missing camera, no audio, lag, and streams that stop with the screen off.
Something not covered here? Email hello@camlane.live.