Set up LookoutNVR
with Home Assistant.

Before you start

• LookoutNVR installed and recording, with your cameras added. The free version is enough.
• Home Assistant with HACS installed.
• Home Assistant and the recorder on the same network, or able to reach each other. The recorder listens on port 5000 over HTTPS.
• Admin access to the Lookout viewer, to create the key and set the webhook.

1. Install with HACS

1. In Home Assistant, open HACS.
2. Open the menu in the top corner and choose Custom repositories.
3. Paste the LookoutNVR repository link, set the type to Integration, and add it.
4. Find LookoutNVR in HACS, download it, and restart Home Assistant when asked.

2. Make an API key

1. In the Lookout viewer, open Settings.
2. Click Create Home Assistant key.
3. Copy the key now. It is shown once. If you lose it, delete it and make another.

A Home Assistant key can watch live, review events, mute alerts and mark false alarms. It cannot change settings, cameras, users or keys, so a home automation box never holds full access to your recorder. It does not expire; delete it in Settings when you stop using it.

3. Add the integration

1. In Home Assistant, go to Settings, Devices and services, then Add integration.
2. Search for LookoutNVR and pick it.
3. Enter the recorder's address, for example its name or IP address on your network, and paste the key.
4. The recorder uses its own certificate, so the integration trusts it the first time it connects and remembers it. Do this first connection on your home network, to your own recorder.

4. Connect the webhook

Sensors update on their own, but the webhook is what makes automations instant. Lookout calls it the moment an alert fires.

1. After setup, the integration shows a webhook URL. Copy it.
2. In the Lookout viewer, open Settings and find Webhook URL under notifications.
3. Paste the URL and save.

The webhook URL works like a password: anyone who has it can send events to Home Assistant. Keep it private.

5. Add the Recent Objects card

1. Open a dashboard and choose Edit dashboard, then Add card.
2. Search for LookoutNVR Recent Objects and add it.
3. Each tile shows a recent sighting with its picture. A thumbs up confirms it; a thumbs down marks it not real, and Lookout stops alerting on lookalikes.

Corrections made on the card show on the Corrections page in the Lookout viewer, where you can undo any of them.

Your first automation

A porch light that comes on for a person at night:

1. Go to Settings, Automations and scenes, Create automation.
2. Trigger: the LookoutNVR person sensor for your front door camera turns on.
3. Condition: the sun is below the horizon.
4. Action: turn on the porch light, wait five minutes, turn it off.

The integration names its entities after your cameras and your named objects, so a cat you named Maple in Lookout appears under that name in Home Assistant.

Prefer MQTT?

If you already run an MQTT broker, Lookout can publish motion, object counts, snapshots and camera status to it, and Home Assistant finds the cameras on its own. Node-RED, openHAB and other MQTT tools work too. See the MQTT setup guide.

Troubleshooting

The certificate is refused, or "certificate changed"

The recorder uses its own certificate rather than one from a public authority, so the integration remembers it the first time it connects (pins it) and refuses a different one later. That protects your key from a device pretending to be your recorder.

• If you reinstalled LookoutNVR or replaced the recorder's computer, the certificate really did change. Remove the integration and add it again, on your home network, to trust the new one.
• If nothing changed on the recorder, do not accept the new certificate. Check that the address points at your recorder and not another device.
• Use the same address every time. Switching between the IP address and a name is fine, but a reverse proxy in front of the recorder presents its own certificate.

"Unauthorized" or "Forbidden" (401 or 403)

• 401: the key is wrong or was deleted. Make a new Home Assistant key and enter it again under the integration's options.
• 403 when muting alerts or marking something not real: the key's role is too narrow. A read-only key can show sensors but cannot change anything, and an installer key is for camera setup only and expires. Use a key made with Create Home Assistant key.
• A full access key works, but is more than Home Assistant needs. Prefer the Home Assistant key.

The webhook does not fire

• Check the Webhook URL in Lookout's Settings matches the one the integration shows, with nothing cut off.
• The recorder must be able to reach Home Assistant. If Home Assistant is only reachable by name, try its IP address in the URL.
• Check alerts are not muted. A mute or a quiet-hours window silences ntfy, email, toasts and the webhook alike, while events still record.
• The webhook fires for alerts, not for every motion. If a camera has AI or alerts turned off, nothing is sent for it.
• Watch the Home Assistant log while you walk in front of a camera to see whether the call arrives.

The camera stream does not load

• Check the camera plays in the Lookout viewer first. If it does not play there, it will not play in Home Assistant; see the camera health page in Lookout.
• Live view is passed through Lookout, so Home Assistant needs to reach the recorder, not the camera. Firewalls between them must allow port 5000.
• Use a Home Assistant key. A read-only key cannot start a live view.
• If you also added the same camera with another integration, remove it there. Two direct sessions to one camera can push it past its session limit.

"Too many requests" (429), or slow sensors

• The integration checks the recorder every few seconds and backs off, up to two minutes, while it cannot reach it. Do not add the same recorder twice: each copy checks separately.
• Rely on the webhook for instant events rather than shortening the polling interval.
• The recorder slows down repeated failed sign-ins. Correct the key or address, then wait a few minutes before trying again.

Still stuck?

Open a support ticket with your Home Assistant version, the integration version, and the lines from the Home Assistant log that mention LookoutNVR. Remove the API key and any passwords from what you paste.

Questions

Which Home Assistant install types are supported?

Any install that can run HACS custom integrations, which covers Home Assistant OS, Supervised and Container. Home Assistant and the recorder need to reach each other on the network.

Can I connect more than one recorder?

Yes. Add the integration once per recorder, each with its own API key and webhook.

Does marking something not real in Home Assistant change Lookout?

Yes. A thumbs down on the Recent Objects card is the same correction as Not real in the Lookout viewer. It shows on the Corrections page, where you can undo it.

Is my API key stored safely?

Home Assistant keeps it in its own configuration storage, like the credentials of every other integration. Do not paste the key into automations, dashboards or logs. If it leaks, delete it on the recorder and make a new one.