Alta Video Camera Proxy

An Electron desktop application for managing Alta Video camera proxy connections. Authenticates via a companion Chrome extension that imports your existing Alta session cookie, discovers cameras, and launches proxy connections.

Features

• Chrome Extension Authentication: Import your Alta session cookie from Chrome with one click — no manual login
• API Integration: Device discovery via Alta Video API using cookie auth
• Camera Proxy Management: Launch and manage camera proxy connections
• Device Filtering: Automatically filters to show only local (non-cloud) cameras
• Device Search: Quick search functionality to find cameras by name, ID, IP, or model
• Real-time Status: Live connection status and device online/offline indicators
• Auto-Update: Checks for updates on startup via GitHub Releases, with one-click in-place update
• Modern Dark UI: Professional dark-mode interface with responsive design

Prerequisites

• Node.js (version 14 or higher)
• npm (comes with Node.js)
• Google Chrome (for the authentication extension)
• Windows OS (required for camera proxy executable)
• aware-cam-proxy.exe (camera proxy executable) — must be placed in the application directory
• An active Alta Video session in Chrome (logged in to your deployment)

Installation

1. Clone or download this project
2. Install dependencies:

   npm install
   

3. Place aware-cam-proxy.exe in the project root directory

Chrome Extension Setup

1. Open Chrome and navigate to chrome://extensions/
2. Enable Developer mode (toggle in top-right)
3. Click Load unpacked
4. Select the chrome-extension/ folder from this project
5. The extension icon will appear in the Chrome toolbar

Usage

Starting the Application

npm start

Or for development mode with DevTools:

npm run dev

Connecting to Alta

1. Log into your Alta deployment in Chrome (e.g., https://your-site.eu1.aware.avasecurity.com)
2. Click the extension icon in Chrome — it will detect the Alta tab
3. Click "Send Cookie to APT" — the app will connect and load devices automatically

Launching Camera Proxy

1. Connect via Chrome extension (above)
2. Select a device from the left sidebar
3. Click "Start Camera Proxy"
4. A command prompt window will open with the proxy connection

Updating

The app checks for updates automatically 2 seconds after launch. If a newer version is available on GitHub Releases, the "Check for Updates" button in the header will show a green badge.

• Manual check: Click "Check for Updates" in the top-right corner
• Install: The update modal shows release notes — click "Install Update" to download and replace the current executable
• The app will quit, swap the .exe, and relaunch automatically

API Endpoints Used

• Device List: GET /api/v1/devices — Retrieve all devices
• Auth Info: GET /api/v1/auth — Verify authentication status

How It Works

Chrome Extension (popup click)
  → POST http://127.0.0.1:18247/cookie
  → Electron app HTTP server receives cookie
  → Sets session state, fetches devices
  → User selects device → launches aware-cam-proxy.exe

The Electron app runs a local HTTP server on port 18247 that only accepts requests from Chrome extensions with a shared token. The Chrome extension reads the va session cookie from the active Alta tab and sends it to the app.

Security

• Context Isolation: Renderer process is isolated from Node.js APIs
• Preload Script: Secure IPC communication between main and renderer processes
• CSP Enforced: script-src 'self' — no inline scripts allowed
• Localhost Only: Cookie server binds to 127.0.0.1, not accessible from network
• CORS Restricted: Only chrome-extension:// origins accepted
• Domain Validation: Only *.avasecurity.com and *.avigilon.com URLs accepted
• Input Sanitization: Batch file inputs sanitized to prevent command injection
• Size Limits: 64KB body limit on cookie server, type/length validation on all inputs

File Structure

├── main.js              # Main process (IPC, API calls, proxy spawning, cookie server)
├── renderer.js          # Renderer process (UI logic, state management)
├── preload.js           # Secure IPC bridge (contextBridge)
├── index.html           # Static HTML shell (CSP enforced)
├── styles.css           # Dark theme styling
├── package.json         # Dependencies and build config
├── chrome-extension/    # Chrome extension for cookie import
│   ├── manifest.json    # Manifest V3
│   ├── popup.html       # Extension popup UI
│   ├── popup.css        # Dark theme styling
│   ├── popup.js         # Tab detection, cookie retrieval
│   └── icon*.png        # Extension icons
├── assets/
│   └── icon.png         # Application icon
├── CLAUDE.md            # Claude Code project instructions
└── README.md            # This file

External executable (not included in repo):

• aware-cam-proxy.exe — cookie-based auth proxy (required, place in app root)

Troubleshooting

Connection Issues

• Ensure you are logged into Alta in Chrome before clicking the extension
• Verify the extension shows "Detected: [hostname]" in green
• If extension shows "Alta Proxy Tool is not running" — start the Electron app first
• If "Session cookie has expired" — log into Alta again in Chrome
• Check that the app console shows "Cookie server listening on http://127.0.0.1:18247"

Camera Proxy Issues

• Executable not found: Ensure aware-cam-proxy.exe is in the application directory
• Proxy won't start: Check that you're connected and have selected a device
• Command window closes immediately: Check network connectivity to the deployment

Device List Issues

• Ensure you're connected via the Chrome extension first
• Check that your user account has permissions to view devices
• No devices shown: You may only have cloud cameras which are filtered out
• Use the search box to find specific devices

Building for Distribution

# Build portable Windows executable
npm run build

# Output: dist/AltaCameraProxy-1.0.0-portable.exe

Important: Copy aware-cam-proxy.exe to the same directory as the built executable before distribution.

Limitations

• Windows Only: Camera proxy executable is Windows-specific
• Chrome Required: Authentication requires the Chrome extension
• Local Cameras Only: Automatically filters out cloud-based cameras
• No Session Refresh: Sessions may expire and require re-import from Chrome
• Executable Required: aware-cam-proxy.exe must be obtained separately
• Update Requires Write Access: Self-update needs write permission to the directory containing the .exe

Development

To modify or extend this application:

1. Main Process (main.js): App lifecycle, API requests, proxy spawning, cookie server
2. Renderer Process (renderer.js): UI interactions and state management
3. Preload Script (preload.js): Secure IPC bridge with context isolation
4. Chrome Extension (chrome-extension/): Cookie import from browser
5. Styling (styles.css): Dark mode theme and responsive design

Adding New IPC Endpoints

1. Add handler in main.js using ipcMain.handle()
2. Expose method in preload.js via contextBridge.exposeInMainWorld()
3. Call from renderer.js using window.electronAPI.yourMethod()

License

MIT License - Feel free to modify and distribute as needed.