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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.
  • --appsettingspath or -asp — override the path to appsettings.json (sets app__appsettingspath).
  • --appsettingslocalpath or -aspl — override the path to appsettings.local.json.
  • --connection or -c — override the database connection string (sets app__DatabaseConnection).
  • --thumbnailtempfolder or -f — override the thumbnail temp folder path.
  • --tempfolder or -tf — override the temp folder path.

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.

Windows Desktop App integration​

On the Windows desktop app (WPF), MountWatcher can be toggled without using the CLI directly:

  1. Open the app menu: Settings → Mount Watcher
  2. Click Enable Mount Watcher (requires admin)
  3. A Windows UAC consent prompt appears — approve it to install the service
  4. The submenu shows Status: Running once the service is active

To stop and remove the service, open the same submenu and click Disable Mount Watcher (another UAC prompt appears).

The preference is stored in %AppData%\starsky\settings.json (MountWatcherEnabled). When the app starts and the preference is enabled, it automatically reinstalls and starts the service. If installation fails (for example the binary is missing), the preference is cleared automatically so the app does not retry on every launch.

Note: The app itself does not run elevated. Only the starskymountwatchercli.exe sub-process is elevated for the duration of the sc.exe create or sc.exe delete call.

Windows service paths​

When the desktop app installs the Windows service, it bakes the user's AppData paths directly into the service command line. This means the service reads the correct appsettings.json, database, and temp folders even though it runs as LocalSystem without inheriting user environment variables.

The paths are resolved at install time from the installing user's profile:

ArgPath
--connection%APPDATA%\starsky\starsky.db
--appsettingspath%APPDATA%\starsky\appsettings.json
--appsettingslocalpath%APPDATA%\starsky\appsettings.local.json
--thumbnailtempfolder%APPDATA%\starsky\thumbnailTempFolder
--tempfolder%LOCALAPPDATA%\starsky\tempFolder

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.

macOS Desktop App integration​

The macOS Starsky desktop app has built-in support for managing MountWatcher without using the command line.

Enable via the menu​

Open the Starsky menu bar icon → MountWatcher → Enable MountWatcher.

The submenu shows the current state each time it opens:

StateMenu shows
Disabled"Enable MountWatcher"
Enabled, running"Status: Running" + "Disable MountWatcher"
Enabled, not running"Status: Not Running" + "Disable MountWatcher"

Preference persistence​

The enabled/disabled preference is stored in ~/Library/Application Support/starsky/settings.json. It survives app restarts and Sparkle automatic updates.

  • On startup the app re-enables MountWatcher automatically if the preference is set.
  • Before a Sparkle update replaces the app bundle, the app stops MountWatcher; the next launch re-enables it.
  • If enabling fails (for example the CLI binary is missing), the preference is cleared and an error is shown.

macOS launchd paths​

When the desktop app installs the launchd agent, the generated plist includes an EnvironmentVariables section so the service finds the correct appsettings, database, and temp folders without inheriting the app's environment.

VariablePath
app__appsettingspath~/Library/Application Support/starsky/appsettings.json
app__appsettingslocalpath~/Library/Application Support/starsky/appsettings.local.json
app__databaseConnectionData Source=~/Library/Application Support/starsky/starsky.db
app__thumbnailTempFolder~/Library/Application Support/starsky/thumbnailTempFolder/
app__tempFolder~/Library/Caches/starsky/tempFolder/

Requirement​

The starskymountwatchercli binary must be present in the app bundle's runtime directory (starsky.app/Contents/MacOS/runtime-starsky-osx-{arm64,x64}/). It is included automatically in release builds.