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Install and connect

Requirements​

  • Python 3.11 or newer.
  • FFmpeg and FFprobe on PATH.
  • A VIVOSUN GrowCam C4 reachable from the same local network.
  • The camera's host address and, if configured, its credentials.

GrowCam PC supports Windows, macOS, and Linux. The Python package contains the complete dashboard; Node.js is only used to build this documentation site.

Prepare the camera​

  1. Complete the GrowCam C4's initial Wi-Fi pairing in the VIVOSUN app.
  2. Find the camera's IPv4 address in your router's connected-device or DHCP-client list.
  3. Confirm the computer can reach the same trusted LAN. The computer may use Ethernet or Wi-Fi; it does not need to join the camera's 2.4 GHz radio directly.

GrowCam PC does not discover devices or change Wi-Fi pairing. See the official GrowCam C4 manual for physical setup and pairing.

Install​

Install the isolated command with one of these package managers:

uv
uv tool install growcam-pc
pipx
pipx install growcam-pc
pip
python -m pip install growcam-pc

Open the dashboard​

Replace the example address with the camera's LAN address:

growcam --host 192.168.1.50 web

The server announces its local URL and opens the default browser. Use web --no-open to keep browser launch manual.

The camera address is required unless GROWCAM_HOST is set. GrowCam PC does not guess an address or scan your network.

Camera credentials​

The tested GrowCam C4 firmware accepts the local username admin with a blank password by default. These are camera-local RTSP/DVRIP credentials; they are not the email address and password for your VIVOSUN account.

If you configured a camera-local password, keep it out of shell history:

PowerShell
$env:GROWCAM_PASSWORD = Read-Host "Camera password" -MaskInput
growcam --host 192.168.1.50 web
bash or zsh
read -rs GROWCAM_PASSWORD && export GROWCAM_PASSWORD
growcam --host 192.168.1.50 web

GROWCAM_HOST, GROWCAM_PORT, GROWCAM_USERNAME, and GROWCAM_PASSWORD provide command defaults. The tested DVRIP port is 34567; most users do not need to change it.

Command-line options override environment variables. In PowerShell, temporary values remain set after Clear-Host; remove them before returning to the defaults:

Remove-Item Env:\GROWCAM_HOST, Env:\GROWCAM_PORT, Env:\GROWCAM_USERNAME, Env:\GROWCAM_PASSWORD -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

Verify FFmpeg​

ffmpeg -version
ffprobe -version

The dashboard uses the platform's FFmpeg executable to turn the camera's native media into browser-compatible previews.