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Server settings

Some of Crumb's configuration lives in the database rather than .env, so it can be changed from the admin console at any time without editing files or restarting containers. The clearest example is the server's streaming addresses: .env carries fallback values that let a fresh install work out of the box, but the moment an admin sets a value in the console's Server & streaming panel, that value wins.

Precedence rule​

For any setting that exists in both places: an admin-set value in the server_settings table always overrides the environment default. An empty console value falls back to the environment. This means:

  • A fresh install with nothing configured in the console works using the internal Docker service names baked into docker-compose.yml.
  • Setting the server's real LAN address in the console (so native desktop and Android clients can reach RTSP over the actual network, not localhost) is a one-time console change, not an .env edit and restart.
  • Console code is written to only ever touch the specific field it's editing on save, so changing one setting never has a side effect on an unrelated one.

What lives in the console​

The most common settings an operator changes after first-run setup:

  • Server & streaming, the address native clients use to reach live RTSP and WebRTC.
  • Storage, recording policies, size and time caps, storage tiers (see Recording & Storage).
  • Motion decoding, the requested hardware-decode backend (see Hardware decode).
  • Notifications, channels, per-camera rules, quiet hours (see Notifications).
  • Users & security, accounts, roles, per-camera access grants.
  • Frigate, the detection integration's stream and API bases (see Integrations).

Each of these is covered in more depth in its own section; this page is just the rule for how console settings and environment defaults interact.