🚗 ALPR Local Dashboard

Welcome to your own Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR) dashboard! This project gives you a powerful, local alternative to Rekor Scout's online dashboard, letting you keep all your license plate data on your own computer instead of in the cloud.

🤖 AI-Powered Development: This entire dashboard was created with Anthropic's Claude Sonnet AI as an experiment in AI-programming. Not a single line of human-written code exists - even this documentation was AI-generated!

📋 What You'll Need

Before getting started, make sure you have:

• ✅ Active OpenALPR subscription - You'll need a paid account to use Rekor Scout
• ✅ IP Camera - Any camera that broadcasts its feed over your network
• ✅ Windows computer - On the same network as your camera(s)
• ✅ Basic networking knowledge - Finding IP addresses and configuring ports

📂 Repository Structure: This branch contains the server-side dashboard. For camera software setup, switch to the lite branch.

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🔧 Part 1: Setting Up Rekor Scout (Windows)

First, we'll get the official Rekor Scout software running on your Windows machine. This software does the actual license plate recognition.

Step 1: Download and Install Rekor Agent

1. Download the installer: Visit Rekor's download page or go to their main website
2. Run the installer: Follow the installation wizard
3. Sign in: The installer will prompt you to sign in with your OpenALPR account credentials
4. Launch the program: After installation, you should see this interface:

Step 2: Add Your Camera

Now we'll connect your IP camera to Rekor Scout:

1. Click "Add Camera" in the main interface
2. Select camera type: Choose IP Camera (Manual) from the dropdown
3. Enter camera URL: Use the format http://<IP-ADDR>:<PORT>
   • Replace <IP-ADDR> with your camera's IP address (e.g., 192.168.1.100)
   • Replace <PORT> with your camera's port (usually 8080)

Step 3: Test Your Camera Connection

1. Click "Test" to verify the camera feed is working
2. Skip credentials if prompted (unless your camera requires authentication)
3. Verify the feed: You should see live video from your camera

Step 4: Save and Activate

1. Click "Save Camera" once the test is successful
2. Name your camera (e.g., "Front Gate", "Parking Lot", etc.)
3. Start services: When prompted about starting Rekor services, always click "Yes" to prevent performance issues

🎉 Success! Your camera is now connected and Rekor Scout will automatically start detecting license plates. You can pause detection anytime using the pause button at the top of the interface.

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🌐 Part 2: Setting Up Your Local Dashboard

Now for the exciting part - running your own local dashboard that keeps all data on your computer!

Why Use a Local Dashboard?

• 📊 Data Privacy: All license plate data stays on your computer
• 🚀 Performance: Faster loading and no internet dependency
• 🛠️ Customization: Modify the dashboard to fit your needs
• 💰 Cost Savings: No additional cloud storage fees

Step 1: Configure Your Dashboard

1. Navigate to the server folder:

   cd path\to\alpr\server

2. Copy the configuration template:

   • Find the file named config.template
   • Make a copy and rename it to config.yaml

3. Edit your configuration:

   • Open config.yaml in any text editor
   • Add your camera IP addresses to the camera list
   • Adjust file paths and settings as needed
   • Save your changes

Step 2: Set Up the Server Environment

We've made this super easy with an automated setup script:

# One-time setup (installs Python, creates virtual environment, installs dependencies)
.\setup.ps1 setup

# Run the server (use this every time you want to start the dashboard)
.\setup.ps1 run

Alternative manual method:

python3.10 .\alpr_integrated_server.py

Step 3: Access Your Dashboard

Once the server is running, open your web browser and visit:

• 🏠 Main Dashboard: http://localhost:5000/dashboard
• 📹 Camera Grid View: http://localhost:5000/cameras
• 📊 API Endpoints: http://localhost:5000/api/plates

Your dashboard will look like this:

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🔗 Part 3: Connecting Rekor Scout to Your Local Server

Now we'll tell Rekor Scout to send all license plate data to your local dashboard instead of the cloud.

Step 1: Open Data Destinations

1. Open Rekor Scout (if not already running)

2. Navigate to settings: Click Configure → Data Destinations in the top menu

Step 2: Add Your Local Server

1. Select server type: Click on "Other HTTP Server"

2. Enter server URL: Type http://localhost:5000/alpr in the URL field

3. Save the configuration: Click "Save" or "Apply"

🎉 You're all set! Rekor Scout will now send all detected license plates to your local dashboard.

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📁 Understanding Your Data

Your local server creates several files to organize the license plate data:

File	Description
alpr_raw_data.jsonl	Complete JSON data from Rekor Scout (includes heartbeats)
alpr_parsed_data.jsonl	Clean license plate data only (customizable)
event.log	Human-readable event log
plates/ folder	Cropped images of detected license plates

All file names and locations can be customized in your config.yaml file.

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🚀 Dashboard Features

Your local dashboard includes:

• 📊 Real-time plate detection display
• 🎥 Live camera feeds (single view and grid view)
• 🔍 Search and filter capabilities
• 📈 Statistics and analytics
• 🔄 Auto-refresh functionality
• 📱 Mobile-responsive design
• 🚨 Real-time notifications for new detections

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🆘 Troubleshooting

Camera Not Connecting?

• Verify your camera's IP address and port
• Make sure your camera and computer are on the same network
• Try accessing http://<camera-ip>:8080 directly in your browser

Server Won't Start?

• Make sure Python is installed (python --version)
• Run the setup script: .\setup.ps1 setup
• Check that port 5000 isn't being used by another application

No License Plates Detected?

• Ensure Rekor Scout is running and not paused
• Verify the data destination is set to http://localhost:5000/alpr
• Check that your camera has a clear view of license plates

Need More Help?

• Check the console output for error messages
• Visit the status page: http://localhost:5000/stats
• Review the event.log file for detailed information

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🎯 Next Steps

Once everything is running:

1. Test the system: Drive a car past your camera to see license plate detection in action
2. Explore the dashboard: Try different views, filters, and sorting options
3. Customize settings: Modify config.yaml to fit your specific needs
4. Add more cameras: Repeat the camera setup process for additional monitoring points
5. Monitor performance: Use the built-in statistics to track system performance

Enjoy your new local ALPR dashboard! 🚗✨