Describe what you are trying to accomplish and why in non technical terms
Users want to be able to have the same camera group layouts and per-camera streaming settings across several devices. Since these settings are saved per browser, users currently have to manually recreate each group's layout and stream settings on every device they use to access Frigate, and a way to transfer them between devices would save that effort.
Describe the solution you'd like
Camera group layouts and the streaming settings chosen for each camera within a group are currently saved in the browser's local storage (IndexedDB), which means they are tied to a single browser on a single device. An option in the UI in Settings that allows users to:
- Export these settings to a file (eg, JSON) that can be downloaded.
- Import that file on another device/browser to restore the same layouts and streaming settings.
This keeps the user in control of when and where settings are applied, while still making it easy to move them between devices or keep a backup.
Describe alternatives you've considered
- Browser extensions that copy site data/settings between browsers. This works, but requires installing third-party extensions and is not practical for less technical users.
- Browser sync features like Chrome Sync or Firefox Sync, which can sync site data across devices. However, this only helps within the same browser ecosystem, doesn't help when accessing Frigate from a different browser or a shared/kiosk device, and many users prefer a solution native to Frigate.
- Storing these settings server-side so they automatically apply everywhere. This sounds convenient but is actually a poor fit, because these settings are inherently per-device:
- Grid layouts are tied to the screen they were arranged on. A layout built for a large desktop monitor makes no sense on a tablet in portrait orientation, and phones don't use the draggable grid layout at all.
- Streaming settings (selected stream, continuous vs. smart streaming, audio, compatibility mode) have very different bandwidth and resource implications per device. A desktop on a wired LAN can comfortably pull full-resolution continuous streams, while the same settings on a phone or tablet would burn through cellular data, drain the battery, and overwhelm the device's decoding capability. Newer or inexperienced users would have no idea why their mobile experience is poor after configuring things on their desktop.
- Audio and volume preferences are contextual to the device (e.g. a muted wall-mounted display vs. a desktop with speakers).
- Syncing a single copy of these settings means devices would constantly overwrite each other, making per-device customization impossible. Supporting per-device profiles server-side would add significant backend complexity (storage, API, per-user and per-device scoping) for what is purely presentation-layer state.
An explicit import/export avoids all of this: settings only move between devices when the user deliberately chooses to move them, ideally between similar devices.
Additional context
This is especially useful for users who access Frigate from multiple similar devices (eg, a desktop at home and a laptop), who periodically clear browser data, or who are migrating to a new machine and want a simple backup/restore path for their carefully arranged layouts.
Describe what you are trying to accomplish and why in non technical terms
Users want to be able to have the same camera group layouts and per-camera streaming settings across several devices. Since these settings are saved per browser, users currently have to manually recreate each group's layout and stream settings on every device they use to access Frigate, and a way to transfer them between devices would save that effort.
Describe the solution you'd like
Camera group layouts and the streaming settings chosen for each camera within a group are currently saved in the browser's local storage (IndexedDB), which means they are tied to a single browser on a single device. An option in the UI in Settings that allows users to:
This keeps the user in control of when and where settings are applied, while still making it easy to move them between devices or keep a backup.
Describe alternatives you've considered
An explicit import/export avoids all of this: settings only move between devices when the user deliberately chooses to move them, ideally between similar devices.
Additional context
This is especially useful for users who access Frigate from multiple similar devices (eg, a desktop at home and a laptop), who periodically clear browser data, or who are migrating to a new machine and want a simple backup/restore path for their carefully arranged layouts.