tapo-control

Control TP-Link Tapo cameras from the command line using ONVIF. Pan, tilt, zoom, take snapshots, manage presets, and discover cameras on your network — all from your terminal.

Built for home automation tinkerers, security camera enthusiasts, and anyone who wants scriptable PTZ camera control without a bulky NVR or vendor app.

Features

• Camera Discovery — Find ONVIF cameras on your local network automatically
• PTZ Control — Absolute positioning, continuous movement with auto-stop, and home position
• Snapshot Capture — Grab JPEG images via RTSP with configurable quality
• Preset Management — Save, recall, and delete camera positions by name or token
• Status & Info — Device info, capabilities, stream URLs, current position, and preset list
• Flexible Config — CLI args, environment variables, or config file — your choice
• Zero Dependencies on Camera Firmware — Uses the standard ONVIF protocol, not proprietary Tapo APIs

Quick Start

git clone https://github.com/earino/tapo-control.git
cd tapo-control
npm install

# Check camera status
node scripts/status.js --ip 192.168.0.107 -u admin -p your_password

# Discover cameras on your network
node scripts/discover.js

# Pan left for 2 seconds
node scripts/ptz.js --ip 192.168.0.107 -u admin -p your_password --left --duration 2

# Take a snapshot
node scripts/snapshot.js --ip 192.168.0.107 -u admin -p your_password -o snapshot.jpg

Requirements

• Node.js 18.0.0 or later
• FFmpeg (for snapshot capture only)
• An ONVIF-enabled camera (TP-Link Tapo C200, C210, C225 tested — any ONVIF PTZ camera should work)

Installation

git clone https://github.com/earino/tapo-control.git
cd tapo-control
npm install

FFmpeg (only needed for snapshots):

# macOS
brew install ffmpeg

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt-get install ffmpeg

Configuration

Scripts accept connection parameters in this priority order:

1. CLI arguments — --ip, --username (-u), --password (-p), --port
2. Environment variables — IP_ADDRESS, USERNAME, PASSWORD, ONVIF_PORT
3. Config file — ~/.config/tapo-control/config.json
4. Defaults — port 2020

Config File

Create ~/.config/tapo-control/config.json:

{
  "ip": "192.168.0.107",
  "username": "admin",
  "password": "your_password",
  "port": 2020
}

See config.example.json for a template.

Usage

Discover Cameras

node scripts/discover.js
node scripts/discover.js --timeout 10000

Check Status

node scripts/status.js --ip 192.168.0.107 -u admin -p your_password

Shows device info, capabilities, profiles, stream URL, PTZ position, and presets.

PTZ Control

Absolute positioning (supports negative values):

node scripts/ptz.js --ip 192.168.0.107 -u admin -p your_password --pan -0.8 --tilt 0.3 --zoom 0.2

Continuous movement with optional auto-stop:

# Move left for 3 seconds
node scripts/ptz.js --ip 192.168.0.107 -u admin -p your_password --left --speed 0.3 --duration 3

# Start moving, then stop manually
node scripts/ptz.js --ip 192.168.0.107 -u admin -p your_password --right
node scripts/ptz.js --ip 192.168.0.107 -u admin -p your_password --stop

Go home:

node scripts/ptz.js --ip 192.168.0.107 -u admin -p your_password --home

All PTZ options: --pan, --tilt, --zoom, --left, --right, --up, --down, --zoom-in, --zoom-out, --stop, --home, --speed, --duration

Capture Snapshots

# Basic snapshot
node scripts/snapshot.js --ip 192.168.0.107 -u admin -p your_password -o ./snapshot.jpg

# High quality with timestamp in filename
node scripts/snapshot.js --ip 192.168.0.107 -u admin -p your_password -o ./snap.jpg --quality 1 --timestamp

Options: --output (-o), --quality (1–31, lower = better), --timeout, --timestamp

Manage Presets

# List all presets
node scripts/preset.js --ip 192.168.0.107 -u admin -p your_password --list

# Save current position as a preset
node scripts/preset.js --ip 192.168.0.107 -u admin -p your_password --save home --name "Home Position"

# Go to preset (by token or name)
node scripts/preset.js --ip 192.168.0.107 -u admin -p your_password --goto "Home Position"

# Delete a preset
node scripts/preset.js --ip 192.168.0.107 -u admin -p your_password --delete home

Supported Cameras

Tested with:

• TP-Link Tapo C200
• TP-Link Tapo C210
• TP-Link Tapo C225
• Any ONVIF-compliant PTZ camera should work

Enabling ONVIF on Tapo Cameras

1. Open the Tapo app on your phone
2. Select your camera → Settings → Advanced Settings
3. Enable Camera Account and create credentials
4. Enable ONVIF if there's a separate toggle

Default Ports

Service	Port	Description
ONVIF	2020	Device control
RTSP	554	Video streaming

Testing

# Run offline tests (68 tests covering argument parsing, validation, config loading)
node scripts/test.js

# Run live tests against a real camera
node scripts/test.js --ip 192.168.0.107 -u admin -p your_password --live

Troubleshooting

Problem	Solution
Connection refused	Verify IP, check ONVIF is enabled, ping <camera-ip>
401 Unauthorized	Check username/password, recreate camera account in Tapo app
FFmpeg not found	brew install ffmpeg or apt-get install ffmpeg
PTZ not working	Confirm camera has motors, check status.js capabilities
No cameras discovered	Same network? Firewall blocking UDP multicast? Try --timeout 10000
Negative pan/tilt ignored	Use --pan -0.8 format (the - is handled correctly)

OpenClaw Compatibility

This tool is also available as an OpenClaw skill. See SKILL.md for integration details.

Dependencies

• node-onvif — ONVIF protocol implementation
• fluent-ffmpeg — FFmpeg wrapper for snapshots
• minimist — CLI argument parsing

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/my-feature)
3. Run tests (node scripts/test.js)
4. Commit your changes and open a pull request

License

MIT — see LICENSE for details.