{"id":6292,"date":"2026-08-22T20:01:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T20:01:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/smart-home\/shelly-camera\/"},"modified":"2026-08-22T20:01:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T20:01:09","slug":"shelly-camera","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/smart-home\/en\/shelly-camera\/","title":{"rendered":"Shelly Camera: Local Surveillance Without Subscription Lock-In"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"netgu-1905169118\" class=\"netgu-before-content netgu-entity-placement\"><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6258556257245998\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6258556257245998\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"3494115342\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Shelly is best known among smart-home fans for its compact Wi-Fi relays and energy meters &ndash; devices built around local control. With the Shelly Camera the manufacturer brings that philosophy to video surveillance: local control instead of subscription lock-in. Here is what makes the Shelly Camera special, how to integrate it into <a href=\"https:\/\/netguide.io\/smart-home\/category\/home-assistant\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"Home Assistant\">Home Assistant<\/a> and a NAS, and who it is for.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Local control instead of subscription lock-in<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The biggest difference from many well-known surveillance cameras is the concept. Vendors like Ring (Amazon) or Nest (Google) often tie their cameras to paid cloud subscriptions &ndash; without a subscription, key features are limited. Shelly, by contrast, is known for its &bdquo;local first&ldquo; approach: at their core the devices work locally on your own network, without data necessarily passing through a third-party cloud. It is exactly this approach that makes the Shelly Camera interesting for anyone who wants to keep their video data in their own home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">RTSP and ONVIF: streams for NAS, NVR and Home Assistant<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Open standards are key for local use. The Shelly Camera is expected to support <strong>RTSP<\/strong> (Real Time Streaming Protocol) and <strong>ONVIF<\/strong> &ndash; the de facto standard for cross-vendor network cameras. That lets you embed the video stream directly, without going through an app, into:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\n<li>a <strong>Network Video Recorder (NVR)<\/strong> for continuous recording,<\/li>\n\n\n<li>a home <strong>NAS<\/strong> (e.g. from Synology or QNAP) with surveillance software,<\/li>\n\n\n<li>or directly into <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/netguide.io\/smart-home\/category\/home-assistant\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"Home Assistant\">Home Assistant<\/a><\/strong> as a local camera source.<\/li>\n\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you already run a NAS or NVR, you save every cloud fee and keep full control over recordings and retention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Integrating the Shelly Camera into Home Assistant<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For <a href=\"https:\/\/netguide.io\/smart-home\/category\/home-assistant\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"Home Assistant\">Home Assistant<\/a> an RTSP\/ONVIF camera is straightforward: using the generic camera or the ONVIF integration you add the local stream by URL, then show the image on your dashboard, use it in automations (e.g. a snapshot on motion) or link it with other Shelly devices. Since Shelly already has a large, active <a href=\"https:\/\/netguide.io\/smart-home\/category\/home-assistant\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"Home Assistant\">Home Assistant<\/a> community, clean integration is to be expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tip: for smooth streams and reliable recording, <strong>go2rtc<\/strong> or <strong>Frigate<\/strong> are worth adding in Home Assistant &ndash; both work excellently with RTSP cameras and enable, for example, local object detection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Availability, models and the older &bdquo;Shelly Eye&ldquo;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shelly announced the new camera line ahead of the <strong>Light + Building 2026<\/strong> trade fair (March 2026). Concrete model variants, technical details and prices are being revealed step by step &ndash; for up-to-date availability it is worth checking Shelly&rsquo;s official channels. Separately, there was already an earlier Wi-Fi camera called <strong>Shelly Eye<\/strong>; if you search for it, pay close attention to the model and how current it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Who is the Shelly Camera for?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is ideal for anyone already in the Shelly or Home Assistant ecosystem who values data sovereignty: no forced cloud, local recording to a NAS\/NVR and open standards. If, on the other hand, you want a pure plug-and-play camera with a finished manufacturer app and no setup of your own, a classic cloud provider may get you there faster &ndash; but often at the cost of an ongoing subscription.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Can you buy the Shelly Camera already?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The new camera line was presented around Light + Building 2026 and is being rolled out gradually. It is best to check the exact availability of individual models directly via Shelly&rsquo;s official channels or specialist retailers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Does the Shelly Camera work without a cloud and without a subscription?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That is Shelly&rsquo;s stated approach: local control without subscription lock-in. Via RTSP\/ONVIF the stream can be used locally on a NAS, NVR or in Home Assistant without necessarily needing a paid cloud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Can the Shelly Camera be integrated into Home Assistant?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yes. The local RTSP stream is added via the generic camera or ONVIF integration. For recording and object detection, add-ons like go2rtc or Frigate are suitable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Can I store recordings on a NAS?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yes, as long as the camera supports RTSP\/ONVIF. You can then embed the stream into the surveillance software of a Synology or QNAP NAS, or into a separate NVR, and record locally.<\/p>\n<div id=\"netgu-295084830\" class=\"netgu-after-content netgu-entity-placement\"><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6258556257245998\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6258556257245998\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"4559785002\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Shelly brings surveillance cameras with local control instead of subscription lock-in. What the Shelly Camera offers and how to add it to Home Assistant and a NAS via RTSP\/ONVIF.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_affilinode_tracking":"","_affilinode_autolink_off":false,"_affilinode_rating":"","_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Tobias","author_link":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/smart-home\/author\/tobias-pries\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Shelly brings surveillance cameras with local control instead of subscription lock-in. What the Shelly Camera offers and how to add it to Home Assistant and a NAS via RTSP\/ONVIF.","brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/smart-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/smart-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/smart-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/smart-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/smart-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6292"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/smart-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6292\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/smart-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/smart-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/smart-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}