The _OwnTracks Recorder_ is a lightweight program for storing and accessing location data published via MQTT by the [OwnTracks](http://owntracks.org) apps. It is a compiled program which is easily to install and operate even on low-end hardware, and it doesn't require external an external database. It is also suited for you to record and store the data you publish via our [Hosted mode](http://owntracks.org/booklet/features/hosted/).
There are two main components: the _recorder_ obtains data via MQTT subscribes, stores the data in plain files and serve it via its built-in REST API, and the _ocat_ command-line utility reads stored data in a variety of formats.
We developed the _recorder_ as a one-stop solution to storing location data published by our OwnTracks apps (iOS and Android) and retrieving this data. Our previous offerings (`m2s`, `o2s`/`Pista`) also work of course, but we believe the _recorder_ is best suited to most environments. As an aside, we use this in heavy production on our Hosted offering.
1. It subscribes to an MQTT broker and reads messages published from the OwnTracks apps, storing these in a particular fashion into what we call the _store_ which is basically a bunch of plain files on the file system.
2. It provides a Web server which serves static pages, a REST API you use to request data from the _store_, and a Websocket server. The distribution comes with a few examples of how to access the data through its HTTP interface (REST API). In particular a _table_ of last locations has been made available as well as a _live map_ which updates via the _recorder_'s Websocket interface when location publishes are received. In addition we provide maps with last points or tracks using the GeoJSON produced by the _recorder_.
1. Obtain and download the software, via [our Homebrew Tap](https://github.com/owntracks/homebrew-recorder) on Mac OS X, directly as a clone of the repository, or as a [tar ball](https://github.com/owntracks/recorder/releases) which you unpack.
2. Copy the included `config.mk.in` file to `config.mk` and edit that. You specify the features or tweaks you need. (The file is commented.) Pay particular attention to the installation directory and the value of the _store_ (`STORAGEDEFAULT`): that is where the recorder will store its files. `DOCROOT` is the root of the directory from which the _recorder_'s HTTP server will serve files.
3. Type `make` and watch the fun.
When _make_ finishes, you should have at least two executable programs called `ot-recorder` which is the _recorder_ proper, and `ocat`. If you want you can install these using `make install`, but this is not necessary: the programs will run from whichever directory you like if you add `--doc-root ./docroot` to the _recorder_ options.
Ensure the LMDB databases are initialized by running the following command which is safe to do, also after an upgrade. (This initialization is non-destructive -- it will not delete any data.)
```
ot-recorder --initialize
```
Unless already provided by the package you installed, we recommend you create a shell script with which you hence-force launch the _recorder_. Note that you can have it subscribe to multiple topics, and you can launch sundry instances of the recorder (e.g. for distinct brokers) as long as you ensure:
* that each instance uses a distinct `--storage`
* that each instance uses a distinct `--http-port` (or `0` if you don't wish to provide HTTP support for a particular instance)
## Getting started
The _recorder_ has, like _ocat_, a daunting number of options, most of which you will not require. Running either utility with the `-h` or `--help` switch will summarize their meanings. You can, for example launch with a specific storage directory, disable the HTTP server, change its port, etc.
If you require authentication or TLS to connect to your MQTT broker, pay attention to the `$OTR_` environment variables listed in the help.
Launch the recorder:
```
$ ./ot-recorder 'owntracks/#'
```
Publish a location from your OwnTracks app and you should see the _recorder_ receive that on the console. If you haven't disabled Geo-lookups, you'll also see the address from which the publish originated.
The location message received by the _recorder_ will be written to storage. In particular you should verify that your _storage_ directory contains:
1. a directory called `ghash/`
2. a directory called `rec/` with several subdirectories and a `.rec` file therein.
3. a directory called `last/` which contains subdirectories and a `.json` file therein.
### Launching `ot-recorder` for _Hosted mode_
You have an account with our Hosted platform and you want to store the data published by your device and the devices you track. Proceed as follows:
1. Download the [StartCom ca-bundle.pem](https://www.startssl.com/certs/ca-bundle.pem) file to a directory of choice, and make a note of the path to that file.
2. Create a small shell script modelled after the one hereafter (you can copy it from [etc/hosted.sh](etc/hosted.sh)) with which to launch the _recorder_.
3. Launch that shell script to have the _recorder_ connect to _Hosted_ and subscribe to messages your OwnTracks apps publish via _Hosted_.
```bash
#!/bin/sh
export OTR_USER="username" # your OwnTracks Hosted username
export OTR_DEVICE="device" # one of your OwnTracks Hosted device names
export OTR_TOKEN="xab0x993z8tdw" # the Token corresponding to above pair
Note in particular the `--hosted` option: you specify neither a host name or a port number; the _recorder_ has those built-in, and it uses a specific _clientID_ for the MQTT connection. Other than that, there is no difference between the _recorder_ connecting to Hosted or to your private MQTT broker.
When the recorder has received a publish or two, visit it with your favorite Web browser by pointing your browser at `http://127.0.0.1:8083`.
### `ot-recorder` options and variables
This section lists the most important options of the _recorder_ with their long names; check the usage (`recorder -h`) for the short versions.
`--clientid` specifies the MQTT client identifier to use upon connecting to the broker, thus overriding a constructed default. This option cannot be used with `--hosted`.
`--host` is the name or address of the MQTT broker and overrides `$OTR_HOST`. The default is "localhost". For `--hosted` mode you do not have to specify this.
`--port` is the port number of the MQTT broker and overrides `$OTR_PORT`; it defaults to 1883. For `--hosted` mode you do not have to specify this.
`--user` overrides `$OTR_USER` and specifies the username to use in the MQTT connection. This option is also required in `--hosted` mode.
`$OTR_PASS` is the password for the MQTT connection. (This is ignored in `--hosted` mode.)
`$OTR_DEVICE` is required for `--hosted` and specifies the name of the device associated with `$OTR_USER`.
`$OTR_TOKEN` is required for `--hosted` mode.
`$OTR_CAFILE` specifies the path to a readable PEM-formatted file containing the CA certificate chain to be used for the MQTT TLS connection. This is required for `--hosted`. If this environment variable is set, a TLS connection is assumed (and the port number should probably be adjusted accordingly).
`--qos` specifies the MQTT QoS to use; it defaults to 2.
`--storagedir` is configured at build time and overrides `$OTR_STORAGEDIR`.
`--useretained` overrides the default of not consuming retained MQTT messages.
`--norec` disables writing of REC files, so no location history or other similar publishes are stored, and the Lua `otr_putrec()` function is not invoked even if it exists. What is stored are CARDS and PHOTOS, as well as the LAST location of a device. As such, the API's `/locations` endpoint becomes useless.
`--norevgeo` suppresses reverse geo lookups, but this means that historic data will not show addresses (e.g. with the API or with _ocat_). See below for information on Reverse Geo lookups.
`--logfacility` is the syslog facility to use (default is `LOCAL0`).
`--quiet` disables printing of messages to _stdout_.
`--initialize` creates the a structure within the storage directory and initializes the LMDB database. It is safe to use this even if such a database exists -- the database is not wiped. After initialization, _recorder_ exits.
`--label` specifies a label (default: "Recorder") to be shown in the websocket live map.
`--http-host` and `--http-port` define the listen address and port number for the API. If `--http-port` is 0, the Web server is disabled.
`--docroot` overrides the compile-time setting of the HTTP document root.
`--lua-script` specifies the path to the Lua script. If not given, Lua support is disabled.
`--precision` overrides the compiled-in default. (See "Precision" later.)
`--geokey` sets the Google API key for reverse geo lookups. If you do more than 2500 (currently) reverse-geo requests per day, you'll need an API key for Google's geocoding service. Specify that here.
Retrieve the last position of a particular user. In addition to the values obtained in the [`location` publish](http://owntracks.org/booklet/tech/json/) from the OwnTracks device, there are a few which we return as convenience:
*`username` contains the name of the user obtained from the publish topic
*`device` contains the user's device name as obtained from the publish topic
*`topic` is the full topic to which the payload was published
*`ghash` is the geohash string which corresponds to `lat` and `lon`
*`isotst` is the ISO timestamp of the publish time (`tst`)
*`disptst` is the same but designed for displaying
*`cc` is the country code of the location point if available in the cache (see below)
*`addr` is the address of the location point if available in the cache
#### Display map with points starting at a particular date
By specifying a `format` we can produce GeoJSON, say. Normally, the API retrieves the last 6 hours of data but we can extend or limit this with the `from` and `to` parameters.
The _recorder_'s Web server also provides a tabular display which shows the last position of devices, their address, country, etc. Some of the columns are sortable, you can search for users/devices and click on the address to have a map opened at the device's last location.
#### Live map
The _recorder_'s built-in Websocket server updates a map as it receives publishes from the OwnTracks devices. Here's an example:
The _ocat_ utility accesses _storage_ directly — it doesn’t use the _recorder_’s REST interface. _ocat_ has a daunting number of options, some combinations of which make no sense at all.
prints data for the current month, starting now and going backwards; only 10 locations will be printed. Generally, the `--limit` option reads the storage back to front which makes no sense in some combinations.
Specifying `--fields lat,tid,lon` will request just those JSON elements from _storage_. (Note that doing so with output GPX or GEOJSON could render those formats useless if, say, `lat` is missing in the list of fields.)
The `--from` and `--to` options allow you to specify a UTC date and/or timestamp from which respectively until which data will be read. By default, the last 6 hours of data are produced. If `--from` is not specified, it therefore defaults to _now minus 6 hours_. If `--to` is not specified it defaults to _now_. Dates and times must be specified as strings, and the following formats are recognized:
The `--limit` option limits the output to the last specified number of records. This is a bit of an "expensive" operation because we search the `.rec` files backwards (i.e. from end to beginning). When using `--limit` the 6 hours mentioned earlier do not apply.
* The returned data structure is an array of JSON objects; had we omitted specifying a particular device or even a particular user we would have obtained the last position of all this user's devices or all users' devices respectively.
* If you are familiar with the [JSON data reported by the OwnTracks apps](http://owntracks.org/booklet/tech/json/) you'll notice that this JSON contains more information: this is provided on the fly by _ocat_ and the REST API, e.g. from the reverse-geo cache the _recorder_ maintains.
#### What were the last 4 positions reported?
We can limit the number of returned elements: Let's do this as CSV, and limit the fields we are given:
* Flat files. The filesystem is the database. Period. That's were everything is stored. It makes incremental backups, purging old data, manipulation via the Unix toolset easy. (Admittedly, for fast geo-lookups we employ LMDB as a cache, but the final word is in the filesystem.) We considered all manner of databases and decided to keep this as simple and lightweight as possible. You can however have the _recorder_ send data to a database of your choosing, in addition to the file system it uses, by utilizing our embedded Lua hook.
* We wanted to store received data in the format it's published in. As this format is JSON, we store this raw payload in the `.rec` files. If we add an attribute to the JSON published by our apps, you have it right there. There's one slight exception: the monthly logs (the `.rec` files) have a leading timestamp and a relative topic; see below. (In the particular case of the OwnTracks firmware for Greenwich devices which can publish in CSV mode, we convert the CSV into OwnTracks JSON for storage.)
* All times are UTC (a.k.a. Zulu or GMT). We got sick and tired of converting stuff back and forth. It is up to the consumer of the data to convert to localtime if need be.
* The _recorder_ does not provide authentication or authorization. Nothing at all. Zilch. Nada. Think about this before making it available on a publicly-accessible IP address. Or rather: don't think about it; just don't do it. You can of course place a HTTP proxy in front of the `recorder` to control access to it.
*`ocat`, the _cat_ program for the _recorder_ uses the same back-end which is used by the API though it accesses it directly (i.e. without resorting to HTTP).
* The _recorder_ supports 3-level MQTT topics only, in the typical OwnTracks format: `"owntracks/<username>/<devicename>"`, optionally with a leading slash. (The first part of the topic need not be "owntracks".)
As mentioned earlier, data is stored in files, and these files are relative to `STORAGEDIR` (compiled into the programs or specified as an option). In particular, the following directory structure can exist, whereby directories are created as needed by the _recorder_:
*`cards/`, optional, contains user cards which are published when either you or one of your trackers on Hosted adds a new device. This card is then stored here and used with, e.g., `ocat --last` to show a user's name and optional avatar.
*`config/`, optional, contains the JSON of a [device configuration](http://owntracks.org/booklet/features/remoteconfig/) (`.otrc`) which was requested remotely via a [dump command](http://owntracks.org/booklet/tech/json/#_typecmd). Note that this will contain sensitive data. You can use this `.otrc` file to restore the OwnTracks configuration on your device by copying to the device and opening it in OwnTracks.
*`ghash/`, unless disabled, reverse Geo data is collected into an LMDB database located in this directory. This LMDB database also contains named databases which are used by your optional Lua hooks, as well as a `topic2tid` database which can be used for TID re-mapping.
*`last/` contains the last location published by devices. E.g. Jane's last publish from her iPhone would be in `last/jjolie/iphone/jjolie-iphone.json`. The JSON payload contained therein is enhanced with the fields `user`, `device`, `topic`, and `ghash`. If a device's `last/` directory contains a file called `extra.json` (i.e. matching the example, this would be `last/jjolie/iphone/extra.json`), the content of this file is merged into the existing JSON for this user and returned by the API. Note, that you cannot overwrite existing values. So, an `extra.json` containing `{ "tst" : 11 }` will do nothing because the `tst` element we obtain from location data overrules, but adding `{ "beverage" : "water" }` will do what you want. If _recorder_ is built with support for our Greenwich firmware, this directory might contain `batt.json`, `ext.json`, and/or `status.json` each of which hold an array of the last 100 reports for internal battery voltage, external voltage, and status respectively. These values are returned via the API in the LAST object.
*`monitor` a file which contains a timestamp and the last received topic (see Monitoring below).
*`msg/` contains messages received by the Messaging system.
*`photos/` optional; contains the binary photos from a _card_.
*`rec/` the recorder data proper. One subdirectory per user, one subdirectory therein per device. Data files are named `YYYY-MM.rec` (e.g. `2015-08.rec` for the data accumulated during the month of August 2015.
*`waypoints/` contains a directory per user and device. Therein are individual files named by a timestamp with the JSON payload of published (i.e. shared) waypoints. The file names are timestamps because the `tst` of a waypoint is its key. If a user publishes all waypoints from a device (Publish Waypoints), the payload is stored in this directory as `username-device.otrw`. (Note, that this is the JSON [waypoints import format](http://owntracks.org/booklet/tech/json/#_typewaypoints).) You can use this `.otrw` file to restore the waypoints on your device by copying to the device and opening it in OwnTracks.
You should definitely **not** modify or touch these files: they remain under the control of the _recorder_. You can of course, remove old `.rec` files if they consume too much space.
If not disabled with option `--norevgeo`, the _recorder_ will attempt to perform a reverse-geo lookup on the location coordinates it obtains and store them in an LMDB database. If a lookup is not possible, for example because you're over quota, the service isn't available, etc., _recorder_ keeps tracks of the coordinates which could *not* be resolved in a file named `missing`:
We recommend you keep reverse-geo lookups enabled, this data (country code `cc`, and the locations address `addr`) is used by the example Web apps provided by the _recorder_ to show where a particular device is. In addition, this cached data is used the the API (also _ocat_) when printing location data.
The precision with which reverse-geo lookups are performed is controlled with the `--precison` option to _recorder_ (and with the `--precision` option to _ocat_ when you query for data). The default precision is compiled into the code (from `config.mk`). The higher the number, the more frequently lookups are performed; conversely, the lower the number, the fewer lookups are performed. For example, a precision of 1 means that points within an area of approximately 5000 km^2 would resolve to a single address, whereas a precision of 7 means that points within an area of approximately 150 m^2 resolve to one address. The _recorder_ obtains a location publish, extracts the latitude and longitude, and then calculates the [geohash](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geohash) string and truncates it to _precision_. If the calculated geohash string can be found in our local LMDB cache, we consider the point cached; otherwise an actual reverse geo lookup (via HTTP) is performed and the result is cached in LMDB at the key of the geohash.
As an example, let's assume Jane's device is at position (lat, lon) `48.879840, 2.323522`, which resolves to a geohash string of length 7 `u09whf7`. We can [visualize this](http://www.movable-type.co.uk/scripts/geohash.html) and show what this looks like. (See also: [visualizing geohash](http://www.bigdatamodeling.org/2013/01/intuitive-geohash.html).)
Every location publish outside that very small blue square would mean another lookup. If, however, we lower the precision to, say, 5, a much larger area is covered
and a precision of 2 would mean that a very large part of France resolves to a single address:
The bottom line: if you run the _recorder_ with just a few devices and want to know quite exactly where you've been, use a high precision (7 is probably good). If you, on the other hand, run _recorder_ with many devices and are only interested in where a device was approximately, lower the precision; this also has the effect that fewer reverse-geo lookups will be performed in the Google infrastructure. (Also: respect their quotas!)
### The geo cache
As hinted to above, the address data obtained through a reverse-geo lookup is stored in an embedded LMDB database, the content of which we can look at with
In order to monitor the _recorder_, whenever an MQTT message is received, a `monitor` file located relative to STORAGEDEFAULT is maintained. It contains a single line of text: the epoch timestamp and the last received topic separated from each other by a space.
If _recorder_ is built with `WITH_PING` (default), a location publish to `owntracks/ping/ping` (i.e. username is `ping` and device is `ping`) can be used to round-trip-test the recorder. For this particular username/device combination, _recorder_ will store LAST position, but it will not keep a `.REC` file for it. This can be used to verify, say, via your favorite monitoring system, that the _recorder_ is still operational.
After sending a _pingping_, you can query the REST interface to determine the difference in time. The `contrib/` directory has an example Python program (`ot-ping.py`) which you can adapt as needed for use by Icinga or Nagios.
The _recorder_ has a built-in HTTP server with which it servers static files from either the compiled-in default `DOCROOT` directory or that specified at run-time with the `--doc-root` option. Furthermore, it serves JSON data from the API end-point at `/api/0/` and it has a built-in Websocket server for the live map.
The API basically serves the same data as _ocat_ is able to produce.
The _recorder_'s API provides most of the functions that are surfaced by _ocat_. GET and POST requests are supported, and if a username and device are needed, these can be passed in via `X-Limit-User` and `X-Limit-Device` headers alternatively to GET or POST parameters. (From and To dates may also be specified as `X-Limit-From` and `X-Limit-To`
Returns a list of last users' positions. (Can be limited by _user_, _device_, and _fields_, a comma-separated list of fields which should be returned instead of the default of all fields.)
Here comes the actual data. This lists users' locations and requires both _user_ and _device_. Output format is JSON unless a different _format_ is given (`csv`, `json`, `geojson`, `xml`, and `linestring` are supported).
In order to limit the number of records returned, use _limit_ which causes a reverse search through the `.rec` files; this can be used to find the last N positions.
Date/time ranges may be specified as _from_ and _to_ with dates/times specified as described for _ocat_ above.
Requires GET method and _user_, and will return the `image/png` 40x40px photograph of a user if available in `STORAGEDIR/photos/` or a transparent 40x40png with a black border otherwise.
If support for this is compiled in, this API endpoint allows a client to remove data from _storage_. (Warning: *any* client can do this, as there is no authentication/authorization in the _recorder_!)
If _recorder_ is compiled with Lua support, a Lua script you provide is launched at startup. Lua is _a powerful, fast, lightweight, embeddable scripting language_. You can use this to process location publishes in any way you desire: your imagination (and Lua-scripting knowhow) set the limits. Some examples:
* insert publishes into a database of your choice
* switch on the coffee machine when your OwnTracks device reports you're entering home (but see also [mqttwarn](http://jpmens.net/2014/02/17/introducing-mqttwarn-a-pluggable-mqtt-notifier/)
* write a file with data in a format of your choice (see `etc/example.lua`)
Run the _recorder_ with the path to your Lua script specified in its `--lua-script` option (there is no default). If the script cannot be loaded (e.g. because it cannot be read or contains syntax errors), the _recorder_ unloads Lua and continues *without* your script.
*`otr.log(s)` is a function which takes a string `s` which is logged to syslog at the _recorder_'s facility and log level INFO.
*`otr.strftime(fmt, t)` is a function which takes a format string `fmt` (see `strftime(3)`) and an integer number of seconds `t` and returns a string with the formatted UTC time. If `t` is 0 or negative, the current system time is used.
*`otr.putdb(key, value)` is a function which takes two strings `k` and `v` and stores them in the named LMDB database called `luadb`. This can be viewed with
*`otr.getdb(key)` is a function which takes a single string `key` and returns the database value associated with that key or `nil` if the key isn't stored.
This is invoked at start of _recorder_. If the function returns a non-zero value, _recorder_ unloads Lua and disables its processing; i.e. the `hook()` will *not* be invoked on location publishes.
3._location_ is a [Lua table](http://www.lua.org/pil/2.5.html) (associative array) with all the elements obtained in the JSON message. In the case of _type_ being `location`, we also add country code (`cc`) and the location's address (`addr`) unless reverse-geo lookups have been disabled in _recorder_.
Assume the following small example Lua script in `example.lua`:
```lua
local file
function otr_init()
otr.log("example.lua starting; writing to /tmp/lua.out")
file = io.open("/tmp/lua.out", "a")
file:write("written by OwnTracks Recorder version " .. otr.version .. "\n")
end
function otr_hook(topic, _type, data)
local timestr = otr.strftime("It is %T in the year %Y", 0)
When _recorder_ is launched with `--lua-script example.lua` it invokes `otr_init()` which opens a file. Then, for each location received, it calls `otr_hook()` which updates the file.
Assuming an OwnTracks device publishes this payload
After running `otr_hook()`, the _recorder_ attempts to invoke a Lua function for each of the elements in the extended JSON. If, say, your Lua script contains a function called `hooklet_lat`, it will be invoked every time a `lat` is received as part of the JSON payload. Similarly with `hooklet_addr`, `hooklet_cc`, `hooklet_tst`, etc. These _hooklets_ are invoked with the same parameters as `otr_hook()`.
You define a hooklet function only if you're interested in expressly triggering on a particular JSON element.
Running the _recorder_ protected by an _nginx_ or _Apache_ server is possible and is the only recommended method if you want to server data behind _localhost_. This snippet shows how to do it, but you would also add authentication to that.
`ocat --load` and `ocat --dump` can be use to load and dump the lmdb database respectively. There is some support for loading/dumping named databases using `--load=xx` or `--dump=xx` to specify the name. Use the mdb utilities to actually perform backups of these. _load_ expects key/value strings in pairs, separated by exactly one space. If the value is the string `DELETE`, the key is deleted from the database, which allows us to, say, remove a whole bunch of geohash prefixes in one go (but be careful doing this):
This named lmdb database is keyed on topic name (`owntracks/jane/phone`). If the topic of an incoming message is found in the database, the `tid` member in the JSON payload is replaced by the string value of this key.
If the _recorder_ was built with encryption support (see below), this named database contains the secret decryption keys for users/device pairs. The LMDB key is the username followed by a dash followed by the device name, all lower case. For example, if user Jjolie with device iPhone needs a secret entered, the database key will be `jjolie-iphone`. This can be entered into the database as follows:
```bash
echo "jjolie-iphone s3cr1t" | ocat --load=keys
```
Beware: these secret keys are stored in plain text so the database must be protected!
## Encryption (*experimental!*)
If compiled with `WITH_ENCRYPT` support, the recorder will handle messages from OwnTracks devices which support payload encryption. Each user / device requires a secret key which is configured on the device and which must be configured on the Recorder host in order for the Recorder to be able to decrypt the payloads.
Upon successful decryption, the Recorder processes the original (device-transmitted) JSON and stores the result in plain (i.e. un-encrypted) form in the store.
You need a current version of the Mosquitto library (and you probably require the Mosquitto broker as well for OwnTracks). We strongly recommend installing Mosquitto either from [source](http://mosquitto.org/download/) or from a [binary package](http://mosquitto.org/download/), both of which are provided by the [Mosquitto project](http://mosquitto.org/). In particular, older or LTS OS versions profit from this.
