Quickstart

Get Crumb running in a few minutes on a Linux host with Docker. See Requirements for what your host needs, and Install with Docker Compose for the full explanation of each step.

1. Get the repository and generate secrets

git clone https://github.com/badbread/crumbvms.git crumb && cd crumb
./scripts/setup-env.sh

This writes a gitignored .env with strong, randomly generated secrets. You'll create your admin account in the browser during first run; no password needed here.

2. Point to your storage (optional for trials)

Edit .env and set MEDIA_HOST_PATH to a disk with real headroom:

MEDIA_HOST_PATH=/mnt/your-disk/crumb-data

The default ./_data folder works for testing, but cameras fill terabytes over time.

3. Bring up the stack

docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

If you forked the repo or pinned a version that isn't published, pull will report "not found," use the build-from-source override instead:

docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.build.yml up -d --build

4. Verify it's running

curl -fsS http://localhost:8080/health

Should return 200 OK. A 503 for the first few seconds is normal while the database finishes migrations.

5. Open the browser

http://<host-lan-ip>:8080/admin

A wizard walks you through creating your admin account, confirming the server address, choosing storage and retention, and finding cameras on your network.

Next steps

First-run wizard for the full walkthrough
Adding a camera to get your first stream
Clients to download the desktop or Android app
Responsible use before you rely on Crumb for anything

For the full, step-by-step explanation of each of these commands, see Install with Docker Compose.

1. Get the repository and generate secrets​

2. Point to your storage (optional for trials)​

3. Bring up the stack​

4. Verify it's running​

5. Open the browser​

Next steps​