Help Center

Built-in webcam

Works out of the box in all browsers. Just allow camera access when prompted. If you have multiple cameras, use the dropdown to select the right one.

USB webcam

Plug in and it should appear in the camera dropdown. If it doesn't appear, click the ↻ refresh button next to the dropdown. On Mac, check System Settings → Privacy & Security → Camera to ensure your browser has permission.

iPhone as remote camera (Continuity Camera)

Apple's Continuity Camera lets you use your iPhone's camera wirelessly from your Mac. Requirements:

• Mac: macOS Ventura (13) or later
• iPhone: iOS 16 or later
• Both devices signed into the same Apple ID with two-factor authentication
• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled on both devices
• Continuity Camera turned on: iPhone → Settings → General → AirPlay & Continuity → Continuity Camera
• iPhone must be locked (screen off) and nearby your Mac

Important: Safari is required for Continuity Camera — Chrome and Firefox cannot detect iPhone cameras on macOS.

Troubleshooting: black screen

If the camera appears but shows a black screen:

• Make sure your iPhone is locked (press the side button)
• Wait 5–10 seconds after selecting — the first connection takes a moment
• Toggle Continuity Camera off and on in iPhone settings
• Click the ↻ refresh button next to the camera dropdown
• As a last resort, restart your Mac to re-initialize camera services

Troubleshooting: camera not listed

• Open Photo Booth or FaceTime — if the camera appears there, it's a browser permission issue
• Check System Settings → Privacy & Security → Camera and ensure your browser is allowed
• Quit your browser completely (Cmd+Q) and reopen — browsers cache the device list at launch
• After a macOS upgrade, run: sudo killall avconferenced in Terminal, wait 15 seconds, then reopen your browser

Which browser should I use?

Safari is required for iPhone Continuity Camera. Chrome and Firefox work well for built-in Mac cameras and USB webcams. If you want to use your iPhone as a remote camera, use Safari.

What you need

• Raspberry Pi 3, 4, or 5
• USB webcam (e.g., Logitech) or Pi Camera Module (CSI), or an IP camera with RTSP on the same LAN as the Pi (EZVIZ, Reolink, Hikvision, Dahua, etc.)
• MicroSD card (8 GB or larger)
• WiFi network (2.4 GHz recommended)
• Power supply for the Pi

Step 1: Add a device

Go to the Devices page in the Lapseleap app. Click Add Device, give it a name, and enter your WiFi network name and password.

Step 2: Download the config and image

After creating the device, download two things:

• lapseleap.json — configuration file with your device credentials and WiFi details
• Pi OS image — pre-configured Raspberry Pi OS with the Lapseleap agent built in

Step 3: Flash the SD card

Use Raspberry Pi Imager or a similar tool to flash the downloaded image onto your SD card. Then copy the lapseleap.json file to the bootfs partition (the FAT32 partition that shows up when you insert the card into your computer).

Step 4: Boot and go

Plug in your USB webcam, insert the SD card, and power on the Pi. It will automatically:

• Connect to your WiFi network
• Install required packages (first boot only, takes ~1 minute)
• Detect your camera
• Register with your Lapseleap account
• Start capturing photos at the configured interval

The device will appear as active on the Devices page within a couple of minutes.

Alternative: install on existing Pi OS

If you already have Raspberry Pi OS running, you can install the agent with one command:

Then copy lapseleap.json to /boot/firmware/ and reboot.

Live preview

Click on a device on the Devices page to see a live preview stream from the Pi camera. Frames are streamed in real-time via WebSocket — no cloud storage involved. You can also start/stop capture and change settings remotely.

📡 Using an IP camera (RTSP)

Instead of plugging a camera into the Pi, you can have the Pi pull frames from any RTSP-capable IP camera on the same local network. Useful when you already own a security camera (EZVIZ, Reolink, Hikvision, Dahua, etc.) and just want it to do time-lapse too.

How to set it up:

1. Make sure the IP camera and the Pi are on the same WiFi/LAN.
2. Enable RTSP / Local Service in your camera's app. For EZVIZ: open the EZVIZ app → device settings → Local Service Settings → turn on Local Service. Note the verification code printed on the camera sticker.
   Older EZVIZ models (e.g. C3WN / CS-CV310 and other budget / outdoor units) don't show a Local Service toggle in the app — RTSP is always on. Skip this step and use the URL below with username admin and the 6-character verification code from the sticker. On outdoor cameras the sticker is usually on the underside of the camera body or the mounting bracket; it's also on the retail box and the quick-start guide.
3. Find your camera's LAN IP (router admin page, or the camera's app).
4. On the Devices page, open your Pi device and set Camera source to IP camera (RTSP). Paste the RTSP URL and click Save source. The Pi picks up the new source on its next heartbeat (~30 s).

RTSP URL examples (replace user, password, IP and path with your camera's values):

The Pi uses TCP transport with a 5-second connection timeout and scales each frame to the configured resolution. Credentials in the URL are redacted from Pi logs.

☀️ Off-grid: solar-powered setup

Want to run your Pi capture station somewhere without mains power? A small solar panel + LiFePO₄ battery + charge controller is enough to keep a Pi capturing 24/7 in most climates. We've put together a complete reference build — system architecture, power budget, full bill of materials, and a wiring diagram.

Troubleshooting

• Device stuck on "provisioning" — check that WiFi SSID and password are correct in lapseleap.json. Use a 2.4 GHz network; some Pi models have issues with 5 GHz.
• No camera detected — make sure the USB webcam is plugged in before booting. For CSI cameras, check the ribbon cable connection.
• RTSP camera not capturing — verify the camera is reachable from the Pi (ping <camera-ip>) and that RTSP/Local Service is enabled in the camera app. For EZVIZ, the username is admin and the password is the verification code on the sticker. Check /opt/lapseleap/agent.log for ffmpeg RTSP error lines; credentials are redacted.
• Device shows offline — power-cycle the Pi. Check that your WiFi router is reachable. The Pi sends a heartbeat every 60 seconds.
• Changing WiFi network — update the SSID and password in lapseleap.json on the bootfs partition and reboot the Pi.

🖥️ Resolution

Higher resolution means sharper video but larger file sizes.

🎬 Scene presets

Presets set the capture interval automatically. You can still adjust it manually after selecting a preset.

⏱️ Capture interval

The time between each captured frame, in seconds. Set any value from 1 second upward. The final video plays at 30 FPS, so 300 images = 10 seconds of video, 1800 images = 1 minute of video.

🎯 Motion detection PRO

When enabled, the camera only captures frames when motion is detected in the scene.

A 5-second cooldown continues capturing after motion stops, preventing abrupt cuts.

📥 Output formats

Authentication

Create an API key in Settings → API Keys. Keys start with llp_ and are shown once at creation.

Pass your key via the X-Api-Key header or Authorization: Bearer llp_... header.

Base URL

https://lapseleap.com/api/v1

Endpoints

Upload a single image

Step 1: Request a presigned upload payload

curl -X POST https://lapseleap.com/api/v1/upload \
  -H "X-Api-Key: llp_your_key_here" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"sessionId": "my-timelapse", "contentType": "image/jpeg"}'

Response:

{
  "upload": {
    "method": "POST",
    "url": "https://images07112023.s3.amazonaws.com/",
    "fields": { "key": "users/...", "Content-Type": "image/jpeg", ... }
  },
  "key": "users/.../20260419_120000.jpg",
  "expiresIn": 3600,
  "maxUploadBytes": 10485760
}

Step 2: Upload the image with multipart/form-data POST

curl -X POST "UPLOAD_URL_FROM_STEP_1" \
  -F "key=users/.../20260419_120000.jpg" \
  -F "Content-Type=image/jpeg" \
  -F "x-amz-algorithm=..." \
  -F "x-amz-credential=..." \
  -F "x-amz-date=..." \
  -F "policy=..." \
  -F "x-amz-signature=..." \
  -F "file=@photo.jpg;type=image/jpeg"

Batch upload

Request multiple presigned URLs at once (up to 100):

curl -X POST https://lapseleap.com/api/v1/upload/batch \
  -H "X-Api-Key: llp_your_key_here" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"sessionId": "my-timelapse", "count": 10, "contentType": "image/jpeg"}'

Response:

{
  "uploads": [
    { "upload": { "method": "POST", "url": "https://...", "fields": {...} }, "key": "users/..." },
    ...
  ],
  "count": 10,
  "expiresIn": 3600
}

Python example

import requests

API_KEY = "llp_your_key_here"
BASE    = "https://lapseleap.com/api/v1"
HEADERS = {"X-Api-Key": API_KEY}

# 1. Get upload payload
resp = requests.post(f"{BASE}/upload", headers=HEADERS, json={
    "sessionId": "garden-cam",
    "contentType": "image/jpeg"
})
payload = resp.json()["upload"]

# 2. Upload image
with open("photo.jpg", "rb") as f:
  form = dict(payload["fields"])
  form["Content-Type"] = "image/jpeg"
  requests.post(payload["url"], data=form, files={
    "file": ("photo.jpg", f, "image/jpeg")
  })

Limits & notes

• Rate limit: 60 requests per minute per API key
• Batch size: Up to 100 images per batch request
• Session ID format: ^[A-Za-z0-9_-]{1,64}$
• Image types: JPEG, PNG, WebP
• Max upload size: 10 MB per image (enforced by presigned POST policy)
• Upload URL expiry: 1 hour
• Usage tracking: API uploads count toward your monthly usage (same as web uploads)
• Max keys: 5 active API keys per account
• Sessions: Use the same sessionId across uploads to group images into a session for video creation in the app