Headless Operation

Running bbl-shutter-cam without a monitor or keyboard.

Remote Access

SSH (Terminal)

Access your Pi remotely:

# From your PC/Mac
ssh pi@raspberrypi.local
# Or with IP:
ssh pi@192.168.1.100

SFTP (File Transfer)

Download photos from your Pi:

# From your PC
sftp pi@raspberrypi.local
> cd captures/my-printer
> get *.jpg ./local-folder
> quit

Or use SCP:

scp -r pi@raspberrypi.local:captures/my-printer .

Web Transfer (Future)

Planned for v1.0: Web-based photo gallery and transfer.

Running in Background

Method 1: tmux / screen

Persistent session that survives disconnect:

tmux new-session -d -s bbl-cam 'cd ~/bbl-shutter-cam && source venv/bin/activate && bbl-shutter-cam run --profile my-printer'

# Later, reconnect:
tmux attach -t bbl-cam

# Stop:
tmux kill-session -t bbl-cam

Method 2: nohup

Simple background execution:

nohup ~/bbl-shutter-cam/venv/bin/bbl-shutter-cam run --profile my-printer > ~/bbl.log 2>&1 &

Method 3: systemd (Optional)

For automatic start on boot:

→ See Auto-Start with Systemd

Note: Systemd is not required but useful for ensuring the tool starts automatically and stays running.

Logging to File

Capture output for review:

bbl-shutter-cam run --profile my-printer \
  --log-file ~/bbl.log \
  --log-level info

Monitor in real-time:

# From another SSH session
tail -f ~/bbl.log

Headless Printing Environment

Power Management

Keep Pi running through long prints:

# Disable sleep
sudo systemctl mask sleep.target suspend.target hibernate.target hybernate.target

# Or less aggressively:
sudo nano /etc/systemd/sleep.conf
# AllowSuspend=no
# AllowHibernation=no

Network Stability

If using Wi-Fi (Ethernet preferred):

# Check connection
ping 8.8.8.8

# Monitor signal strength
iwconfig wlan0 | grep Signal

Auto-Start on Boot