Click Here Software Co

ZoneMinder130 Installation

Current Release V1.30.12-1
Released Movember 2, 2024

It is best to start with a clean installation of your Debian or Ubuntu operating system. You don't have to worry about installing anything special, the ZoneMinder130 installation will make sure everything it needs gets installed. If you are using a machine that had a previous install of ZoneMinder (not ZoneMinder130), make sure you do not have any traces of the previous installation. If so, the new install might avoid overwriting something that already exists. We don't need any conflicts. As root or by using sudo in a terminal, issue the following commands:


find / -name 'zm*'
find / -name 'zoneminder*'

If any file shows up that appears like it was part of a previous ZoneMinder installation, delete it. If you are wishing to reuse an existing ZoneMinder V1.29 or V1.30 database and events directory, this is possible. But, be sure to read the ZoneMinder130 tips page first. Unfortunately, if you are wishing to use a newer database and events directory, it will not be possible. You will have to start from scratch with new events and new camera settings.

There are two ways to install ZoneMinder130. The preferred method is to set up your apt sources.list file with the location of the repository hosting the ZoneMinder130 package. That location is completely safe because it is hosted by myself here at Click Here Software. The other method is to download the deb file and use apt to install it.

If you use the sources.list method, whenever an update is made to ZoneMinder130, you will be able to easily perform the upgrade. If you use the download method, you will have to visit this site to find out if there is a new update. And then you will have to download the new update and install it.

The sources.list method

You will be adding one simple line to your /etc/apt/sources.list file. Use a shell terminal or do an SSH login to the server you will be installing ZoneMinder130 on. Either login as root or use sudo. These instructions will assume you are logged in as root. If not, just add sudo to the beginning of any command listed here.

For all but Ubuntu 24.04, use pico or nano to edit the sources.list file:


pico /etc/apt/sources.list

For Ubuntu 24.04, use pico or nano to edit the ubuntu.sources file:


pico /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ubuntu.sources

Scroll to the end and copy and paste one of the following lines depending on your system:

For Debian 11 bullseye:


deb http://pkg.clickheresoftware.com/debian/ bullseye main

For Debian 12 bookworm:


deb http://pkg.clickheresoftware.com/debian/ bookworm main

For Debian 13 trixie:


deb http://pkg.clickheresoftware.com/debian/ trixie main

For Ubuntu 22.04 jammy:


deb http://pkg.clickheresoftware.com/ubuntu/ jammy main

For Ubuntu 24.04 noble:


Types: deb
URIs: http://pkg.clickheresoftware.com/ubuntu/
Suites: noble
Components: main
Signed-By: /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/clickheresoftware.asc

Once finished, use CTRL-x to save the file and exit.

Next you need to download the signing key so that apt or aptitude doesn't complain about not having the key. Navigate to the following location:


cd /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d

And then download the key:


wget "http://pkg.clickheresoftware.com/debian/clickheresoftware.asc"

The above key works for both Debian and Ubuntu. Do the following to make apt record the new repository:


apt update

And if your server is ready to go, just issue the following command and wait for it to finish:


apt install zoneminder130

Apt will proceed to install ZoneMinder130 along with all the dependencies that are required. Whenever a new ZoneMinder130 is released, it will automatically be upgraded when you do "apt upgrade". All settings and configurations along with saved events will remain intact after the upgrade. Read further down past The Download Method for what to do now that ZoneMinder130 is installed.

The Download Method

Download the deb package that is correct for your system below:

If you are installing ZoneMinder130 to a remote server, FTP the file to the remote server or use SSH to log in to the remote server and then use wget to download the desired deb package. While viewing this page, hover your mouse over the desired link and copy the link. Then from the remote server login, use wget to download the deb package.


wget https://clickheresoftware.com/zoneminder130/debs/zoneminder130_1.30.10-102+deb11_amd64.deb

The above is an example. The actual filename will be different depending on the current version and release as well as the distro you are using.

Once the download has finished, login as root in a shell terminal or SSH to the server and then login as root. Or use sudo if that is what you do on your system. Navigate to the location where you downloaded the file and issue the following command:


apt install ./zoneminder130_1.30.10-102+deb11_amd64.deb

The above is most likely not the file you downloaded. Substitute the actual name of the deb file you downloaded in the command above. Be sure to use the ./ at the start of the filename or apt will look in the normal deb package location for the file. Apt will proceed to install ZoneMinder130 along with all the dependencies that are required.

Check back here to see if there are any new updates to ZoneMinder130. If there are, just repeat the above and the existing installation will be overwritten by the new version. All settings and configurations along with saved events will remain intact.

After The Installation Has Finished

If all went well during the apt installation, you should be able to load up ZoneMinder130 in a browser. If you did the install to the same machine you will be accessing ZoneMinder130 from, enter the following address into your browser:


http://localhost/zm

If the installation was to a remote server, substitute the IP address in place of localhost.

ZoneMinder130 should come up right away, but with no cameras configured. Before setting up any cameras, make it so that you have to use a password for access. You can either use Apache to protect the zm directory and login through Apache, or you can use ZoneMinder130's built in login. Or, you can use both. If this is running on a private internal network and only you have access to anything running on the network, you can just use ZoneMinder130 without any security measures.

For the built-in method, click on Options and then under the Users tab, click on the admin user name. In the window that appears, enter a password into NEW PASSWORD and again in CONFIRM PASSWORD. Then click Save. Then under the System tab, check the box for the OPT_USE_AUTH option. Click on Save in the lower right corner and then click on Cancel to close the window. The main console view should be closed and requesting a username and password. Enter admin for the username along with the password you set up. The main console window should then appear after clicking LOGIN. If you do these two steps in reverse, you will be logged out without setting up a password yet. If that happens, "admin" is the default password. Be sure to change it this time.

If you wish to logout, first make sure all windows are closed except for the main console. Near the top center of the console it says "Logged in as" followed by the username of who is logged in. Just click on that name to bring up a dialog box that will allow you to log out.

For the Apache method, login as root in a terminal shell and navigate to the following directory:


cd /etc/zm

Then issue the following command:


htpasswd -c zmpasswd admin

For this example, admin is the username we are using. You can use any name you wish. You will be prompted for a password and also to confirm it. A new password file is now created called zmpasswd. You can use a different name for the file if you wish. Now, let's get Apache to use this new password for any access to the zm web directory. Using nano, pico, or any plain text editor, you will now edit the apache.conf file, which is in the directory we are currently in. So, issue the following command:


pico apache.conf

Find the two lines that look like this:


  </IfModule>
</Directory>

In between these two lines, paste in the following:


  AllowOverride AuthConfig
  AuthType Basic
  AuthName "Restricted Files"
  AuthUserFile "/etc/zm/zmpasswd"
  Require user admin

Here again, substitute your desired username in place of admin and the filename you used in place of zmpasswd. Next, you can have Apache reload this info with the following command:


systemctl reload apache2.service

There is no direct logout link when using this method. The only sure way to log out is to close out the browser. Then, upon restarting the browser and accessing ZoneMinder130, you will be prompted once again to enter your username and password.

All Done

At this point, you should have a good ZoneMinder130 installation, ready for you to configure your cameras and then to configure the motion detection zones for each camera. If you have any problems, I am only an email away. Just be sure to use English, it is the only language I will respond to.

One thing you can probably count on is that I will likely keep on developing and supporting ZoneMinder130. Why? Because I use it myself. I can't be without it.

Enjoy...

Maurice Randall