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Mount Watcher CLI to Auto Import

The starskymountwatchercli feature runs as a background watcher for mounted camera media. When a camera SD card (or similar storage) is connected, it can automatically trigger import.

This is useful when you want an always-on ingest flow without manually starting each import.

Overview​

  • Listens for mount events.
  • Detects whether a mounted volume is likely camera storage.
  • Starts import only for matching camera volumes.
  • Supports installation as an OS service.

How camera detection works​

The mount watcher uses the same camera-storage heuristics as the importer:

  1. Volume is ready and accessible.
  2. Filesystem is camera-friendly (for example FAT or exFAT variants).
  3. Camera folder structure is detected (for example DCIM or similar patterns).

Only when checks pass, import starts.

CLI options​

starskymountwatchercli --help
starskymountwatchercli --install
starskymountwatchercli --uninstall
starskymountwatchercli --status

Additional flags:

  • --help or -h to print usage and platform-specific service notes.

Platform support​

  • macOS: launchd LaunchAgent install/uninstall flow.
  • Linux: systemd service install/uninstall flow (with user-level fallback).
  • Windows: Windows Service install/uninstall flow via sc.exe.

Typical workflow​

  1. Install and start the service.
  2. Insert an SD card or connect camera storage.
  3. Watcher receives mount event.
  4. Camera checks pass.
  5. Import starts automatically.

Operational notes​

Delete after import​

When importing from mounted camera storage (for example via the mount watcher), Starsky can optionally delete the original files after a successful import.

Set the option in appsettings.json:

"ImportMountWatcher" : {
    "DeleteAfter": "false"
}

Or override with an environment variable:

"app__ImportMountWatcher__DeleteAfter": "true"

When DeleteAfter is true, successfully imported files on the mounted device will be removed. Use this with caution — enable only when you want files removed from the source device after import.