Camera
If your printer has a webcam configured in Moonraker, HelixScreen can show the live feed both as a home-dashboard widget and as a standalone fullscreen viewer. You can rotate and flip the image to match how your camera is mounted.
Viewing the Camera
Section titled “Viewing the Camera”There are two ways to see the feed:
- Home widget — add the Camera widget from the Home dashboard’s edit mode (long-press the dashboard, then tap Add Widget). It shows the live feed inline. Tap it to expand into the fullscreen viewer.
- Standalone fullscreen viewer — open Settings > Hardware & Devices > Camera to view the live feed fullscreen without adding a widget. This entry only appears when a webcam is detected (an enabled webcam configured in Moonraker).
The feed is decoded as an MJPEG stream when one is available. If only a snapshot URL is configured, HelixScreen falls back to periodically polling that snapshot image instead.
Stream Status
Section titled “Stream Status”While the camera is connecting or unavailable, the widget shows a status message over a spinner:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Connecting Camera… | HelixScreen is establishing the stream; the status clears once the first frame arrives |
| No Camera | No webcam is configured, or the stream couldn’t be reached |
At the smallest widget size (1x1) the camera shows only an icon and does not stream — make the widget larger to see the live feed.
Rotation & Flip
Section titled “Rotation & Flip”To correct a camera that’s mounted upside-down or mirrored, open the camera configuration:
- Enter Home dashboard edit mode.
- Tap the gear icon on the Camera widget.
The configuration dialog offers:
- Rotation — 0°, 90°, 180°, or 270°
- Flip — Horizontal and/or Vertical
Tap Save to apply, or Cancel to discard. The transform is saved with the widget so it persists across restarts.
Performance Notes
Section titled “Performance Notes”HelixScreen throttles the camera stream to keep the UI responsive and save resources:
- The stream runs at the frame rate configured in Moonraker (defaulting to 15 fps if not specified).
- While another overlay is covering the widget, the stream is paused and resumes when the overlay closes.
- During Home dashboard edit mode, the frame rate is reduced so editing stays smooth.
- When the display goes to sleep, the camera stream stops entirely and restarts on wake.
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