camera-remote-web-api

TypeScript/JavaScript SDK for controlling Sony cameras via REST, WebSocket live view, and Server-Sent Events. Built on the Sony Camera Remote SDK V2.01.00.

Install

npm init -y && npm pkg set type=module
npm install camera-remote-web-api

This package is ESM-only. The type=module step is required for projects using the default CommonJS setting from npm init.

npm automatically installs the correct native binary for your platform (macOS ARM64, Linux x64/ARM64, Windows x64).

Quick Start

import { CameraManager } from 'camera-remote-web-api/server';

const manager = new CameraManager({ port: 8080 });

manager.on('camera-ready', async ({ cameraId }) => {
  const cam = manager.camera(cameraId);
  await cam.triggerShutter();
});

await manager.start();
// Binary boots → cameras discovered → auto-connected → 'camera-ready' fires

CameraManager

Starts the native binary, discovers cameras, auto-connects, and handles reconnection — all in one class. Replaces the manual ServerManager + CameraClient + EventStream workflow.

Server (Node.js)

import { CameraManager } from 'camera-remote-web-api/server';

const manager = new CameraManager({
  port: 8080,
  autoPort: true,              // Find next available port if busy
  autoConnect: true,           // Connect cameras on discovery (default)
  connectionMode: 'remote',   // 'remote' | 'remote-transfer' | 'contents'
  autoReconnect: true,         // Reconnect on unexpected disconnect (default)
  maxReconnectAttempts: 5,     // Give up after N attempts (default)
  reconnectTimeout: 30000,     // Wait for SDK auto-reconnect before retrying (ms, default)
  pollInterval: 5000,          // Camera discovery interval in ms (default)
});

await manager.start();

// Use manager.camera(id) for all operations — ID is pre-bound
const cam = manager.camera(id);
await cam.setProperty('iso', { value: '400' });
await cam.triggerShutter();

// Or use manager.client directly with explicit IDs
await manager.client.triggerShutter(id);

await manager.close();

Browser

Connects to an already-running server. Use in React, Next.js client components, or Electron renderers.

import { CameraManager } from 'camera-remote-web-api';

const manager = new CameraManager({
  baseUrl: 'http://localhost:8080',
});

manager.on('camera-ready', ({ cameraId, camera }) => {
  console.log(`${camera.model} ready`);
});

manager.start();

Events

| Event | Payload | When | |-------|---------|------| | camera-found | { camera } | New camera detected | | camera-lost | { camera } | Camera unplugged/offline | | camera-connecting | { cameraId } | Connection attempt started | | camera-ready | { cameraId, camera } | Connected and ready | | camera-disconnected | { cameraId, error? } | Disconnected | | connection-failed | { cameraId, error, attempt } | Connection failed | | error | { message } | Manager-level error |

Bound Camera

manager.camera(id) returns a bound camera object with the ID pre-applied to all methods. Cached per ID.

manager.on('camera-ready', async ({ cameraId }) => {
  const cam = manager.camera(cameraId);

  // Actions — no ID needed
  await cam.triggerShutter();
  await cam.setProperty('iso', { value: '400' });
  await cam.controlZoom({ direction: 'in', speed: 'normal' });

  // Per-camera SSE events via cam.events
  cam.events.on('propertyChanged', (data) => {
    console.log('Changed:', data.codes);
  });

  cam.events.on('downloadComplete', (data) => {
    console.log('Saved:', data.filename);
  });

  // One-shot listener — auto-removes after firing
  cam.events.once('transferProgress', (data) => {
    console.log('Transfer done:', data.filename);
  });
});

All CameraClient methods are available on the bound camera without the id parameter. The events accessor returns a typed, per-camera SSE stream (lazily created, cached, cleaned up on close() or camera-lost).

Per-Camera SSE Events

Available via cam.events or manager.events(cameraId):

| Event | Description | |-------|-------------| | connected | Camera connection established | | disconnected | Camera disconnected | | propertyChanged | Property values changed | | warning | Camera warning/notification | | afStatus | Autofocus state change | | downloadComplete | Auto-transferred image saved (remote mode) | | transferProgress | File pull completed (remote-transfer mode) | | error | SDK error occurred | | close | Stream closed by manager (camera lost or manager closed) |

All events are fully typed — autocomplete works on event names and callback data.

For advanced use cases, you can also create standalone EventStream instances directly — see EventStream below.

State Machine

detected → connecting → connected
   ↑           ↓            ↓ (unexpected disconnect)
   └── connection-failed  disconnected → autoReconnect → detected

Backoff: 2s, 4s, 6s... capped at 30s. Resets on successful connection.

Multi-Camera

manager.on('camera-ready', async ({ cameraId }) => {
  const cam = manager.camera(cameraId);
  await cam.setPriorityKey({ setting: 'pc-remote' });
});

// Trigger all connected cameras
const connected = manager.getCameras().filter(c => c.state === 'connected');
await Promise.all(connected.map(c => manager.camera(c.info.id).triggerShutter()));

Manual Control

const manager = new CameraManager({ autoConnect: false });

manager.on('camera-found', async ({ camera }) => {
  if (camera.model === 'ILCE-9M3') {
    await manager.connect(camera.id, { mode: 'remote' });
  }
});

await manager.disconnect(id);

Direct API Access (Advanced)

For full control without managed state, use the lower-level classes directly.

CameraClient

Typed HTTP client for all REST endpoints.

import { CameraClient } from 'camera-remote-web-api';

const client = new CameraClient('http://localhost:8080');

Connection

await client.listCameras();
await client.connectCamera(id, { mode: 'remote' });
await client.disconnectCamera(id);
await client.getConnectionStatus(id);

Properties — GET returns value (hex), formatted (display string), and available_values. SET accepts hex, human-readable strings ("1/125", "f/5.6"), or decimal ("400").

await client.getProperty(id, 'iso');
await client.setProperty(id, 'iso', { value: '400' });
await client.getAllProperties(id);
await client.setPriorityKey(id, { setting: 'pc-remote' });

Actions

await client.triggerShutter(id);
await client.halfPress(id);
await client.afShutter(id);
await client.controlZoom(id, { direction: 'in', speed: 'normal' });
await client.stopZoom(id);
await client.focusNearFar(id, { step: 3 });

Live View — HTTP for single frames, WebSocket for continuous ~15fps JPEG streaming. OSD overlay composites the camera UI onto the live view.

await client.enableLiveView(id);
await client.startLiveViewStream(id);
const frame = await client.getLiveViewFrame(id);  // ArrayBuffer (JPEG)
await client.stopLiveViewStream(id);

SD Card — requires remote-transfer or contents connection mode.

const files = await client.listSDCardFiles(id, 1);  // slot 1
await client.downloadSDCardFile(id, 1, contentId, fileId);

Settings

await client.getSaveInfo(id);
await client.setSaveInfo(id, { path: '/tmp/photos', prefix: 'IMG_', startNo: 1 });

EventStream

Real-time camera callbacks via Server-Sent Events. Most users should use manager.events(cameraId) instead — this class is for advanced use cases where you need standalone stream management.

import { EventStream } from 'camera-remote-web-api';

const events = new EventStream('http://localhost:8080');

events.on('propertyChanged', (data) => console.log(data.codes));
events.on('downloadComplete', (data) => console.log(data.filename));
events.on('afStatus', (data) => console.log(data.state));
events.on('warning', (data) => console.log(data.code, data.message));

// Specific camera
const camEvents = new EventStream('http://localhost:8080', cameraId);

events.close();

| Event | Description | |-------|-------------| | connected | Camera connection established | | disconnected | Camera disconnected | | propertyChanged | Property values changed | | warning | Camera warning/notification | | afStatus | Autofocus state change | | downloadComplete | Auto-transferred image saved (remote mode) | | transferProgress | File pull completed (remote-transfer mode) | | error | SDK error occurred |

LiveViewStream

WebSocket client for binary JPEG live view frames (Node.js only).

import { LiveViewStream } from 'camera-remote-web-api/server';

const liveView = new LiveViewStream('ws://localhost:8080', cameraId);
liveView.onFrame((jpeg: ArrayBuffer) => {
  // Render JPEG frame (~15fps)
});
liveView.close();

ServerManager

Low-level binary process manager. Use CameraManager instead unless you need manual binary lifecycle control.

import { ServerManager } from 'camera-remote-web-api/server';

const server = new ServerManager({ port: 8080, autoPort: true });
await server.start();
await server.isRunning();  // true
server.getPort();          // 8080
await server.stop();

CLI

camera-server info                           Show version and binary info
camera-server install [--platform <name>]    Install platform binary
camera-server uninstall [--platform <name>]  Remove platform binary
camera-server doctor                         Check system prerequisites
camera-server platforms                      List available platforms
camera-server docs                           Open API docs in browser
camera-server mcp                            Configure MCP servers

Cross-platform development:

npx camera-server install --platform linux-x64

Supported Platforms

| Platform | Architecture | Package | |----------|-------------|---------| | macOS | Apple Silicon (ARM64) | @alpha-sdk/darwin-arm64 | | Linux | x64 | @alpha-sdk/linux-x64 | | Linux | ARM64 | @alpha-sdk/linux-arm64 | | Windows | x64 | @alpha-sdk/win32-x64 |

Connection Modes

| Mode | Description | |------|-------------| | remote | Full camera control: shooting, settings, live view. Auto-transfers images to host PC. | | remote-transfer | Camera control + explicit SD card file access. Most capable mode. | | contents | SD card file browsing and download only. No shooting or settings control. |

Compatible Cameras

23 Sony cameras supported via Camera Remote SDK V2.01.00.

Alpha / Mirrorless

| Model | USB | Wired LAN | Wi-Fi | Remote | Contents Transfer | Remote Transfer | |-------|-----|-----------|-------|--------|-------------------|-----------------| | ILCE-1M2 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | ILCE-1 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | ILCE-9M3 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | ILCE-9M2 | ✓ | ✓ | — | ✓ | — | — | | ILCE-7RM5 | ✓ | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | ILCE-7RM4A | ✓ | — | — | ✓ | ✓ | — | | ILCE-7RM4 | ✓ | — | — | ✓ | — | — | | ILCE-7CR | ✓ | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | ILCE-7SM3 | ✓ | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | ILCE-7M5 *1 | ✓ | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | ILCE-7M4 | ✓ | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | ILCE-7CM2 | ✓ | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | ILCE-7C | ✓ | — | — | ✓ | ✓ | — | | ILCE-6700 | ✓ | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |

Cinema / FX

| Model | USB | Wired LAN | Wi-Fi | Remote | Contents Transfer | Remote Transfer | |-------|-----|-----------|-------|--------|-------------------|-----------------| | ILME-FX3A *2 | ✓ | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | ILME-FX3 (v2.00+) *2 | ✓ | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | ILME-FX2 | ✓ | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | ILME-FX30 *2 | ✓ | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |

Professional

| Model | USB | Wired LAN | Wi-Fi | Remote | Contents Transfer | Remote Transfer | |-------|-----|-----------|-------|--------|-------------------|-----------------| | ILX-LR1 *2 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |

Vlog / Creator

| Model | USB | Wired LAN | Wi-Fi | Remote | Contents Transfer | Remote Transfer | |-------|-----|-----------|-------|--------|-------------------|-----------------| | ZV-E1 | ✓ | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | ZV-E10M2 | ✓ | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |

Compact

| Model | USB | Wired LAN | Wi-Fi | Remote | Contents Transfer | Remote Transfer | |-------|-----|-----------|-------|--------|-------------------|-----------------| | DSC-RX1RM3 | ✓ | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | DSC-RX0M2 (v3.00+) | ✓ | — | — | ✓ | ✓ | — |

*1 Must use SSH authentication. *2 Supports USB Type-C wired LAN adaptor (Gigabit Ethernet recommended). Wi-Fi not supported on Linux ARMv8.

OS Compatibility

| Platform | Verified Environments | |----------|-----------------------| | Windows | Windows 11 64-bit | | Linux x64 | Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | | Linux ARMv8 (64-bit) | JETSON Orin Nano, Jetson Nano B01, Raspberry Pi4 (4GB) | | macOS | 14 Sonoma, 15 Sequoia, 26 Tahoe |

Documentation

Full API reference and guides: crsdk.app/sdk/overview

Requirements

• Node.js >= 18
• Sony camera with Remote SDK support (USB or network)
• Windows: libusbK 3.0 driver for USB connections

License

This package (TypeScript client, CLI) is licensed under the MIT License.

The platform binary packages (@alpha-sdk/*) include the Sony Camera Remote SDK, which is subject to the Sony Camera Remote SDK License Agreement. By installing and using the platform binaries, you agree to Sony's license terms.