Control4 Frigate Driver

Bring your Frigate NVR cameras into Control4 — with auto-discovery, live streams on every navigator, real-time AI detection events, and full Composer Pro programming.

What This Does

This driver connects Frigate NVR — the popular open-source NVR with AI-powered object detection — to Control4. Once installed, your customers get:

Every Frigate camera visible on T3/T4 touchscreens, mobile apps, and on-screen navigators
AI detection events (person, car, dog, cat, motion) available for Composer Pro programming
Full event history in the Control4 app — "Person detected at Front Door" with timestamps
Composer variables for conditional logic — "if person count > 0 on Driveway, then..."
Zone and loitering alerts — "car loitering in No Parking zone" triggers notifications

The driver uses Frigate's standard APIs. RTSP restreaming requires cameras to route through go2rtc (default in Docker installs — see prerequisites).

How It Works

graph TD
    subgraph Frigate Server
        F[Frigate NVR]
        G[go2rtc<br/>Stream Server]
        M[MQTT Broker]
    end

    subgraph Control4 Controller
        NVR[Frigate NVR Driver<br/><i>1 instance</i>]
        C1[Frigate Camera<br/>Front Door]
        C2[Frigate Camera<br/>Driveway]
        C3[Frigate Camera<br/>Patio]
        CN[Frigate Camera<br/>...]
    end

    subgraph Navigators
        TS[T3/T4 Touchscreens<br/><i>MJPEG</i>]
        APP[Mobile Apps<br/><i>RTSP H.264</i>]
        TV[On-Screen<br/><i>MJPEG</i>]
    end

    F -->|REST API<br/>camera discovery| NVR
    M -->|MQTT<br/>detection events| NVR
    NVR -->|auto-creates| C1 & C2 & C3 & CN
    F -->|MJPEG :5000| TS & TV
    G -->|RTSP :8554| APP
    F -->|Snapshots :5000| TS & APP & TV

    style F fill:#3b82f6,color:#fff
    style G fill:#3b82f6,color:#fff
    style M fill:#3b82f6,color:#fff
    style NVR fill:#f97316,color:#fff
    style C1 fill:#f97316,color:#fff
    style C2 fill:#f97316,color:#fff
    style C3 fill:#f97316,color:#fff
    style CN fill:#f97316,color:#fff
    style TS fill:#8b5cf6,color:#fff
    style APP fill:#8b5cf6,color:#fff
    style TV fill:#8b5cf6,color:#fff

Two drivers work together:

Driver	Purpose
Frigate NVR	Connects to Frigate. Discovers cameras. Subscribes to MQTT for detection events. Creates and manages camera drivers. Add one per Frigate server.
Frigate Camera	Standard camera proxy. Provides MJPEG/RTSP/snapshot streams. Fires events, updates variables, logs history. Auto-created by the NVR driver — one per camera.

Installation Guide

Prerequisites

Before you begin, confirm the following with the homeowner or IT contact:

Requirement	Details
Frigate NVR	Version 0.14 or newer, with go2rtc enabled (default in modern Frigate)
Frigate cameras routed through go2rtc	Frigate's ffmpeg inputs must pull from go2rtc (see below)
MQTT Broker	Mosquitto or similar, accessible from the Control4 controller's network
Network access	Controller must reach the Frigate server on ports 5000 and 8554
Control4 OS	3.3.0 or newer (required for C4:MQTT API and C4:AddDevice)

Tip: Ask the homeowner for the Frigate server IP, MQTT broker IP, and whether either requires authentication. Most home setups run without auth on the LAN.

Frigate Streaming Requirement — Cameras Must Route Through go2rtc

This driver serves video to Control4 navigators via two paths:

MJPEG (touchscreens) — from Frigate's API at http://host:5000/api/<camera> — always works
RTSP (mobile apps) — from go2rtc's restream at rtsp://host:8554/<camera> — requires go2rtc to have active sources

For RTSP to work, Frigate's ffmpeg must pull camera streams through go2rtc, not directly from cameras. This is the default in Docker-based Frigate installs, but may not be configured in native/bare-metal installs.

How to verify: Check your Frigate config — camera inputs should look like this:

# Correct — Frigate pulls through go2rtc (RTSP restreaming works)
cameras:
  front_door:
    ffmpeg:
      inputs:
        - path: rtsp://127.0.0.1:8554/front_door_sub
          roles: [detect]
        - path: rtsp://127.0.0.1:8554/front_door
          roles: [record]

Not this:

# Won't work for RTSP — Frigate pulls directly from camera, go2rtc has no active source
cameras:
  front_door:
    ffmpeg:
      inputs:
        - path: rtsp://admin:pass@192.168.1.100:554/stream1
          roles: [detect]

If cameras pull directly, go2rtc's RTSP server returns 404 because no source is active. MJPEG and snapshots still work (they come from Frigate's API, not go2rtc), but RTSP for mobile apps will not.

If your cameras use non-standard RTSP auth (e.g., Speco NVRs with MD5-uppercase digest), go2rtc's native RTSP client may fail to connect. The workaround is to use go2rtc's ffmpeg: source backend with #video=copy#audio=copy (zero-overhead passthrough). Create a go2rtc_overrides.yml file with ffmpeg:rtsp://...#video=copy#audio=copy sources, and a wrapper script at /config/go2rtc that appends -config=/config/go2rtc_overrides.yml to load it after Frigate's generated config.

Step 1 — Load the Drivers

Download the two .c4z driver files from the latest release on GitHub:
- frigate-nvr.c4z
- frigate-camera.c4z
Beta releases are published as GitHub prereleases and are visible only on the full releases page. Latest always points at the most recent stable build.
In Composer Pro, go to System Design → Driver menu → Add or Update Driver or Agent
Browse to each .c4z file and add it. Repeat for both files.

Important: Both drivers must be loaded onto the controller before creating cameras. The NVR driver creates camera instances from the camera driver file.

Step 2 — Add the NVR Driver

In the Search tab on the right side of Composer Pro, search for Frigate
You should see two results: Frigate NVR and Frigate Camera
Double-click Frigate NVR to add it to your project (add it to any room — Rack Room is typical)
Select the driver in the project tree and configure these properties in the Advanced Properties section at the bottom:

Note: The NVR driver uses a combo driver proxy, so no Camera Properties panel is shown. All configuration is in the Advanced Properties section.

Property	What to Enter
Frigate Host	IP address of the Frigate server (e.g., `10.0.1.50`)
Frigate Port	Usually `5000` (default)
Frigate Username	Only if Frigate has auth enabled — otherwise leave blank
Frigate Password	Only if Frigate has auth enabled — otherwise leave blank
MQTT Broker	IP address of the MQTT broker. Auto-populated from Frigate's config when you set the Frigate Host — only change if your broker is on a different server.
MQTT Port	Usually `1883` (default)
MQTT Username	Only if the broker requires auth — otherwise leave blank
MQTT Password	Only if the broker requires auth — otherwise leave blank
Use Sub Streams	Yes (recommended) — uses 720p H.264 sub-streams. Set to No only if cameras don't have sub-streams configured.

Scroll down to verify the read-only status properties:
- Frigate Status should show Online — Frigate X.X.X
- MQTT Status should show Connected
- Cameras in Frigate should show a number (e.g., 13)

If Frigate Status shows "Offline": Verify the IP and port. Open http://<frigate-ip>:5000 in a browser to confirm Frigate is running. Check firewall rules between the controller and Frigate.

If MQTT Status stays "Connecting...": Verify the broker IP and port. Ensure the MQTT broker allows connections from the controller's IP. If the broker requires authentication, enter the MQTT Username and Password.

Step 3 — Create / Relink Cameras

In the driver's Actions tab, click Create / Relink Cameras
The driver queries Frigate and creates a camera driver for each camera found
Cameras in Frigate and Cameras in Control4 properties update to show counts
New cameras appear in the project tree under the same room as the NVR driver
Cameras without a sub-stream in go2rtc (e.g., single-stream door stations) are automatically configured to use the main stream

Safe to re-run: Creation is idempotent. Running it again adds only new cameras and updates existing ones. It will never create duplicates.

Step 4 — Assign Cameras to Rooms

In the project tree, drag each camera driver to the room where that camera is physically located
Each camera is an independent device — it can live in any room, completely separate from the NVR driver

Step 5 — Synchronize (Optional)

After assigning cameras to rooms, click Synchronize Cameras with Frigate to:

Update all camera configurations (host, sub-stream settings)
Rename cameras to match Frigate names, title-cased:
- driveway_to_gate → Driveway To Gate
- front_door → Front Door
- garage_internal → Garage Internal

Use Synchronize any time you add cameras to Frigate, change the Frigate host, or want to refresh names. The Composer project tree refreshes automatically.

Step 6 — Verify Streams

Select any camera driver in the project tree
Go to the Camera Test tab in Properties
Click Get Snapshot URL then Test — should pass
Click Get MJPEG URL then Test — should pass
On a connected touchscreen or the Control4 mobile app, navigate to the camera to verify live video

RTSP Camera Test may fail for cameras with HEVC (H.265) sub-streams — this is expected. The Control4 test tool only validates H.264 RTSP. Video will still work in the mobile app via MJPEG fallback. For full RTSP support, configure your cameras' sub-streams as H.264.

Step 7 — Program Events (Optional)

Detection events are already flowing. See Programming Examples below for common automations.

Auto Update

The NVR driver can self-install future releases pulled directly from GitHub — no Composer side-loading required after the initial install. Once you've loaded the drivers once via Composer, setting Auto Update to a channel enables the installed driver to poll, download, and hot-reload new .c4z files on its own.

How it works

Every 24 hours (and immediately when the property changes), the NVR driver:

Polls the GitHub Releases API for the newest release on the selected channel
If newer than the installed version, downloads both frigate-nvr.c4z and frigate-camera.c4z from the release's assets
Writes them to the controller's driver directory (C4Z_ROOT)
Asks Director to hot-reload them via a local SOAP UpdateProjectC4i call on 127.0.0.1:5020

The camera driver is installed first; the NVR driver last (because the NVR install reloads its own Lua VM). Both drivers come back online on the new version within seconds.

Channels

Value	What it does
Off (default)	No polling, no GitHub calls, no auto-install. Use this if you want to manually control when the driver updates.
Beta	Polls for the newest release, including GitHub prereleases (tagged `-beta` / `-rc` / `-alpha`). Auto-installs when newer.
Release	Polls for the newest stable release only, excluding prereleases. Auto-installs when newer.

Read-only properties surfaced after each check

Driver Release — the tag currently installed (e.g. v0.8.10-beta)
Latest Available Version — the newest tag on the selected channel
Update Download URL — GitHub release page when an update is waiting

`Check for Updates Now` action

Manual trigger available in the Actions tab. When Auto Update is Off, it probes the Release channel and reports availability without installing. When a channel is selected, it runs the same flow the 24h timer runs — and will install if a newer release is available.

Safety

Anti-loop guard: if the driver tries to self-install but reboots on the same version (installation failed for some reason), the initial poll is skipped for 5 minutes so a broken release can't infinite-loop.
Asset verification: downloads are only written if the response is HTTP 2xx/3xx AND the body begins with the zip magic bytes (PK\x03\x04).
Missing assets: if a release doesn't ship both frigate-nvr.c4z and frigate-camera.c4z, the install is skipped and a warning is logged.
Manual override always available: stay on Off and install via Composer as usual — the auto-updater does nothing.

Prerequisites

The initial install of both drivers must still be done via Composer (the auto-updater updates an already-installed driver; it can't install a driver that isn't there).
The controller needs outbound HTTPS access to api.github.com and GitHub's release CDN.
The GitHub repo must be public (release assets are fetched anonymously).

What the Customer Sees

On Touchscreens & Mobile Apps

Live camera feeds with MJPEG (touchscreens) or RTSP H.264 (mobile)
Camera accessible from the room where it's assigned
Standard Control4 camera viewer UI

Audio — Not Currently Supported

In-stream audio playback does not currently work in the Control4 app, even when cameras output a Control4-compatible codec. This is a known limitation of this driver's current integration path with Frigate/go2rtc — not a bug in your setup.

What we confirmed during investigation (v0.8.11-beta):

Control4 OS 3.4.2+ supports camera audio, and the required codec is G.711 μ-law (PCMU) at 8 kHz (per Control4's Camera Agent specification — G.711 A-law / PCMA and AAC are not supported).
go2rtc can transcode any camera's audio to PCMU/8000 via #audio=pcmu in the source definition.
After transcoding, VLC and ffmpeg play the go2rtc-served audio correctly, confirming the stream is well-formed PCMU.
The Control4 iOS app displays the audio icon on the camera tile (so Navigator is parsing the SDP and recognizing the audio track)…
…but no sound is rendered during live view.

Suspected cause: go2rtc's RTSP server emits PCMU on dynamic RTP payload type 97 with an a=rtpmap:97 PCMU/8000 declaration, rather than the RFC 3551 static payload type 0. VLC and ffmpeg honor the rtpmap; Control4's RTSP client appears to not, silently dropping the audio packets it can't map to a known codec. The a=recvonly direction attribute go2rtc adds to the SDP may also play a role, though the icon's appearance suggests Navigator parsed past that fine.

We don't yet have a workaround. Possible future paths: relay go2rtc's output through MediaMTX (which uses static PT 0 for PCMU), point the driver at camera native RTSP URLs that emit PCMU with static PT 0 (only works for cameras without unusual digest auth), or have Control4 fix their RTSP client's handling of dynamic PT for G.711.

The audio-detection events (Speech / Bark / Scream / etc.) are unaffected — those flow via MQTT and work correctly regardless of live-audio playback.

In the Control4 App History

Every detection event is logged with a timestamp:

"Person detected"
"Car left"
"Motion started"
"Person entered zone: Front Porch"
"Car loitering in zone: No Parking" (Warning severity)

Detection Events

graph LR
    CAM[IP Camera] -->|video| FR[Frigate<br/>AI Detection]
    FR -->|MQTT event| MQTT[MQTT Broker]
    MQTT -->|subscribe| NVR[NVR Driver]
    NVR -->|route by camera| CAMERA[Camera Driver]
    CAMERA --> E[Fire Event<br/><i>Composer programming</i>]
    CAMERA --> H[Record History<br/><i>App timeline</i>]
    CAMERA --> V[Set Variable<br/><i>Conditionals</i>]

    style CAM fill:#6b7280,color:#fff
    style FR fill:#3b82f6,color:#fff
    style MQTT fill:#3b82f6,color:#fff
    style NVR fill:#f97316,color:#fff
    style CAMERA fill:#f97316,color:#fff
    style E fill:#10b981,color:#fff
    style H fill:#10b981,color:#fff
    style V fill:#10b981,color:#fff

Programmable Events

These events are available in Composer Pro under each camera's Events tab:

Event	When It Fires
Person Detected	A person appears in the camera's field of view
Person Left	All persons have left the frame
Car Detected	A car appears
Car Left	All cars have left
Dog Detected	A dog appears
Cat Detected	A cat appears
Object Detected	Any object detected (generic catch-all)
Object Left	An object type's count drops to zero
Motion Detected	Motion is detected
Motion Stopped	Motion ends
Zone Entered	An object enters a configured detection zone
Zone Exited	All objects of a type leave a zone
Loitering Detected	An object stays in a zone beyond the configured time limit
Camera Online	Camera becomes reachable
Camera Offline	Camera becomes unreachable
Audio: Speech	Speech audio detected by Frigate
Audio: Bark	Dog bark audio detected
Audio: Scream	Scream audio detected
Audio: Yell	Yell audio detected
Audio: Fire Alarm	Fire alarm sound detected
Audio: Glass Breaking	Glass breaking sound detected
Audio: Siren	Siren sound detected
Audio: Car Horn	Car horn sound detected
Audio: Music	Music audio detected
Audio Detected	Any audio event detected (generic catch-all)
Detection Enabled	Object detection turned on for this camera
Detection Disabled	Object detection turned off for this camera
Recording Enabled	Recording turned on for this camera
Recording Disabled	Recording turned off for this camera

Composer Variables

Available under each camera for conditional programming:

Variable	Type	Example Use
`PERSON_DETECTED`	Boolean	"If person detected, turn on lights"
`CAR_DETECTED`	Boolean	"If car detected, open garage"
`DOG_DETECTED`	Boolean	"If dog detected, sound chime"
`CAT_DETECTED`	Boolean	"If cat detected, close pet door"
`MOTION_DETECTED`	Boolean	"If motion detected, keep lights on"
`CAMERA_ONLINE`	Boolean	"If camera offline, send alert"
`DETECTION_ENABLED`	Boolean	"If detection disabled, send alert"
`RECORDING_ENABLED`	Boolean	"If recording disabled, send alert"
`LOITERING_DETECTED`	Boolean	"If loitering, send notification"
`PERSON_COUNT`	Number	"If person count > 2, alert homeowner"
`CAR_COUNT`	Number	"If car count = 0, arm alarm"
`PERSON_LAST_SEEN`	String	Timestamp of last person detection
`CAR_LAST_SEEN`	String	Timestamp of last car detection
`DOG_LAST_SEEN`	String	Timestamp of last dog detection
`CAT_LAST_SEEN`	String	Timestamp of last cat detection
`MOTION_LAST_SEEN`	String	Timestamp of last motion
`LOITERING_LAST_SEEN`	String	Timestamp of last loitering event
`AUDIO_LAST_HEARD`	String	Timestamp of last audio event
`SPEECH_LAST_HEARD`	String	Timestamp of last speech detection
`BARK_LAST_HEARD`	String	Timestamp of last bark detection
`SCREAM_LAST_HEARD`	String	Timestamp of last scream
`YELL_LAST_HEARD`	String	Timestamp of last yell
`FIRE_ALARM_LAST_HEARD`	String	Timestamp of last fire alarm
`GLASS_BREAKING_LAST_HEARD`	String	Timestamp of last glass breaking
`SIREN_LAST_HEARD`	String	Timestamp of last siren
`CAR_HORN_LAST_HEARD`	String	Timestamp of last car horn
`MUSIC_LAST_HEARD`	String	Timestamp of last music detection

Programming Examples

Turn on porch light when person detected

Field	Value
Event	`Person Detected` on Front Door camera
Action	Turn On → Porch Light

Send push notification on loitering

Field	Value
Event	`Loitering Detected` on Street camera
Action	Push Notification → "Vehicle loitering detected"

Arm alarm when no one is home

Field	Value
Conditional	`PERSON_COUNT` = 0 on all cameras
Action	Security → Arm Away

Turn on driveway lights when car arrives at night

Field	Value
Event	`Car Detected` on Driveway camera
Conditional	Time is between Sunset and Sunrise
Action	Turn On → Driveway Lights for 5 minutes

Alert on camera failure

Field	Value
Event	`Camera Offline` on any camera
Action	Push Notification → "Camera offline: check NVR"

Stream Details

Navigators connect directly to the Frigate server for video — the Control4 controller does not proxy streams.

graph LR
    subgraph Frigate Server
        API[Frigate API :5000<br/><i>MJPEG + Snapshots</i>]
        RS[go2rtc :8554<br/><i>RTSP</i>]
    end

    T3[T3/T4 Touchscreen] -->|MJPEG| API
    APP[Control4 Mobile App] -->|RTSP| RS
    TV[On-Screen Navigator] -->|MJPEG| API
    ANY[All Navigators] -->|Thumbnail| API

    style RS fill:#3b82f6,color:#fff
    style API fill:#3b82f6,color:#fff
    style T3 fill:#8b5cf6,color:#fff
    style APP fill:#8b5cf6,color:#fff
    style TV fill:#8b5cf6,color:#fff
    style ANY fill:#8b5cf6,color:#fff

Stream	Port	Source	Navigator	Notes
MJPEG	5000	Frigate API	Touchscreens, on-screen, PC	Universal — works on every navigator type. Always available.
RTSP	8554	go2rtc	Mobile apps	H.264 sub-streams. Requires cameras routed through go2rtc.
Snapshot	5000	Frigate API	All	JPEG thumbnail from Frigate's latest detection frame

Why sub-streams? Control4 navigators display at 720p max and cannot decode H.265. The driver defaults to H.264 sub-streams, which avoids transcoding entirely. Only change this if your cameras don't have sub-streams configured in Frigate.

NVR Driver Actions

These actions are available in the Frigate NVR driver's Actions tab in Composer Pro:

Action	Description
Create / Relink Cameras	Queries Frigate API, adopts orphan cameras from a previous NVR driver (preserving room assignments), then creates drivers for any remaining new cameras. Auto-detects sub-stream availability. Also runs automatically on driver startup. Safe to re-run — never creates duplicates.
Synchronize Cameras with Frigate	Updates all camera configurations (host, sub-stream) from Frigate, renames to match Frigate names. Use after adding cameras to Frigate or changing settings.
Reconnect MQTT	Disconnects and reconnects the MQTT client. Use if detection events stop.
Check Frigate Status	Tests Frigate API connectivity and displays the Frigate version.
Remove All Cameras	Clears the NVR driver's internal tracking. Camera drivers must still be removed manually in Composer.

MQTT Topics

The NVR driver automatically subscribes to these Frigate MQTT topics:

Topic Pattern	What It Provides
`frigate/available`	Frigate server online/offline status
`frigate/<camera>/person`	Person count per camera (0 = no person)
`frigate/<camera>/car`	Car count per camera
`frigate/<camera>/dog`	Dog count per camera
`frigate/<camera>/cat`	Cat count per camera
`frigate/<camera>/motion`	Motion `ON` / `OFF` per camera
`frigate/<camera>/<zone>/<object>`	Object count per zone (for zone enter/exit)
`frigate/<camera>/audio/<type>`	Audio detection events (speech, bark, scream, etc.)
`frigate/<camera>/detect/state`	Detection enable/disable state changes
`frigate/<camera>/recordings/state`	Recording enable/disable state changes
`frigate/events`	Full event JSON (used for loitering detection)

No MQTT configuration is needed on the Frigate side — these topics are published by default when MQTT is enabled in Frigate.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Likely Cause	Fix
Frigate Status: "Not Configured"	Frigate Host is blank	Enter the Frigate server IP in driver properties
Frigate Status: "Offline"	Can't reach Frigate API	Verify IP/port. Open `http://<ip>:5000` in a browser. Check firewall.
Frigate Status: "API Error: HTTP 401"	Frigate auth is enabled	Enter Frigate Username and Password
MQTT Status: "Not Configured"	MQTT Broker is blank	Enter the MQTT broker IP
MQTT Status: "Disconnected"	Broker unreachable or auth failed	Check broker IP/port. If broker requires auth, enter MQTT Username/Password. Try Reconnect MQTT.
Discover finds 0 cameras	Frigate config has no cameras	Verify `http://<ip>:5000/api/config` returns camera data in a browser
No video on touchscreen	MJPEG stream not reachable	Test in browser: `http://<frigate-ip>:5000/api/<camera_name>`
No video on mobile app	RTSP 404 (no active go2rtc source)	Frigate's ffmpeg must pull through go2rtc, not directly from cameras. See Streaming Requirement above.
Frigate Status: "Frigate unavailable (MQTT)"	MQTT availability message missed	Wait up to 60 seconds — the driver auto-recovers via periodic health check. Or click Check Frigate Status.
No detection events	MQTT not connected or camera not tracked	Verify MQTT Status = "Connected". Check that the camera name appears in Managed Cameras. If Unmatched Cameras shows names, run Synchronize Cameras with Frigate.
Events firing but programming doesn't trigger	Camera driver not receiving events	Re-run Synchronize Cameras with Frigate to refresh the camera-to-device mapping
RTSP Camera Test fails	HEVC sub-streams or go2rtc not active	Expected for H.265 cameras. Video still works via MJPEG. For RTSP, configure sub-streams as H.264.
Camera shows "Not Configured"	Properties not set	Run Synchronize Cameras with Frigate from the NVR driver, or manually enter Frigate Host and Camera Name.
Door station / single-stream camera not working	Sub-stream doesn't exist	Run Synchronize — the driver auto-detects single-stream cameras. Or manually set Use Sub Stream to No on that camera.

Debugging

Both drivers support configurable logging via Log Mode and Log Level properties:

Property	Setting	Effect
Log Mode	`Print`	Output appears in the Lua tab in Composer
Log Mode	`Log`	Output goes to the controller's system log
Log Mode	`Print and Log`	Both
Log Level	`4 - Debug`	Shows MQTT messages, event firing, API calls, camera config
Log Level	`5 - Trace`	Shows every MQTT message payload including audio (verbose)

Set Log Mode back to Off when done — logging adds overhead.

Tip: When debugging event flow, set both the NVR and the specific camera driver to Debug + Print. The NVR Lua tab shows MQTT receipt and routing, the camera Lua tab shows event processing and firing.

Building from Source

If you need to build the .c4z files from source:

git clone https://github.com/mattstein111/control4-frigate.git
cd control4-frigate
./build.sh all

Output in dist/:

frigate-camera.c4z (~11 KB)
frigate-nvr.c4z (~52 KB — includes the full Navigator icon ladder)

A .c4z is simply a ZIP file containing the driver XML, Lua, and documentation.

Project Structure

control4-frigate/
├── README.md
├── CHANGELOG.md
├── LICENSE
├── build.sh                    # Packages .c4z driver files
├── .github/workflows/
│   ├── build.yml               # Build .c4z on every push / PR
│   └── release.yml             # Attach .c4z to tagged releases (auto-prerelease for -beta/-rc/-alpha)
├── camera-driver/
│   ├── driver.xml              # Camera proxy manifest (events, variables, capabilities)
│   ├── driver.lua              # Streams, detection event handling, history, variables
│   └── www/documentation.html  # Help page shown in Composer Pro
├── nvr-driver/
│   ├── driver.xml              # NVR controller manifest (actions, properties)
│   ├── driver.lua              # Discovery, MQTT client, event routing
│   └── www/
│       ├── documentation.html  # Help page shown in Composer Pro
│       └── icons/              # device_sm/lg + experience_* ladder + logo.svg
└── dist/                       # Built .c4z files (gitignored)

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this require Docker? No. The driver connects to Frigate's standard HTTP and MQTT interfaces. It works with Docker, bare-metal, VM, or any Frigate installation.

Can I add cameras from multiple Frigate servers? Yes — add one Frigate NVR driver per server, each pointed at a different IP.

What happens when a new camera is added to Frigate? Run Create / Relink Cameras again. It only adds new cameras and won't affect existing ones. Or run Synchronize Cameras with Frigate to update everything.

Do I need to configure anything in Frigate? MQTT must be enabled (it is by default if you have a broker configured). For RTSP streaming to mobile apps, Frigate's camera inputs must route through go2rtc — this is the default in Docker installs. Native/bare-metal installs may need to change ffmpeg input paths from direct camera URLs to rtsp://127.0.0.1:8554/<camera>. See the Streaming Requirement section. MJPEG on touchscreens works regardless.

What if the homeowner doesn't have an MQTT broker? Streams will still work — you'll get live video on all navigators. But detection events, history, and variables require MQTT. Mosquitto is easy to set up and often runs on the same server as Frigate.

Will this slow down the Frigate server? Negligible impact. MJPEG streams are on-demand (only active while someone is viewing). RTSP is packet passthrough. Snapshots are already generated by Frigate. The MQTT subscription is lightweight.

Why does the NVR driver show as a combo driver? The NVR uses a combo driver proxy so it appears correctly in Composer's driver search without showing an unnecessary Camera Properties panel. All configuration is in the Advanced Properties section.

My door station / single-stream camera doesn't show video. The driver defaults to using sub-streams (<camera>_sub). If a camera has no sub-stream in go2rtc, run Synchronize Cameras with Frigate — the driver auto-detects this and switches to the main stream. Or manually set Use Sub Stream to No on that camera.

Can I update the driver without losing camera room assignments? Yes. Load the updated .c4z files, then delete the old NVR driver and add a new one. On startup, the new NVR driver automatically adopts orphan camera drivers from the previous instance, preserving their room assignments. You can also manually run Create / Relink Cameras to trigger adoption.

How do I enable debug logging? On either driver, set Log Mode to Print and Log Level to 4 - Debug. Then check the Lua tab in Composer Pro. For tracing event flow end-to-end, enable debug on both the NVR driver and the specific camera driver.

Related Projects

Frigate NVR — open-source NVR with AI object detection
go2rtc — camera restreaming server (bundled with Frigate)
DriverWorks SDK — Control4 driver development documentation
Annex4 Generic Camera — reference open-source Control4 camera driver

License

MIT License — see LICENSE.

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 18 Commits
.github		.github
camera-driver		camera-driver
nvr-driver		nvr-driver
.gitignore		.gitignore
CHANGELOG.md		CHANGELOG.md
CONTRIBUTING.md		CONTRIBUTING.md
LICENSE		LICENSE
README.md		README.md
build.sh		build.sh

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Control4 Frigate Driver

What This Does

How It Works

Installation Guide

Prerequisites

Frigate Streaming Requirement — Cameras Must Route Through go2rtc

Step 1 — Load the Drivers

Step 2 — Add the NVR Driver

Step 3 — Create / Relink Cameras

Step 4 — Assign Cameras to Rooms

Step 5 — Synchronize (Optional)

Step 6 — Verify Streams

Step 7 — Program Events (Optional)

Auto Update

How it works

Channels

Read-only properties surfaced after each check

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Safety

Prerequisites

What the Customer Sees

On Touchscreens & Mobile Apps

Audio — Not Currently Supported

In the Control4 App History

Detection Events

Programmable Events

Composer Variables

Programming Examples

Turn on porch light when person detected

Send push notification on loitering

Arm alarm when no one is home

Turn on driveway lights when car arrives at night

Alert on camera failure

Stream Details

NVR Driver Actions

MQTT Topics

Troubleshooting

Debugging

Building from Source

Project Structure

Frequently Asked Questions

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