[Config Support]: Saving frigate config overwrites the go2rtc config

[rsperry79]

Describe the problem you are having

I have go2rtc configured with homekit support that then records pairings in the go2rtc file. The problem is even if I comment it out it, will override the other config. I tried copying the pairings, but the frigate will not allow it to save with the pairings section added.

Since Frigate does not check, import, or do any sanity checks; I am suggesting that we either do sanity checks or if the go2rtc section is not present in config we do not nuke it. As it stands the only workaround is for the user to go to the go2rtc/config and manually back up the homekit section so they can paste it back in after a config change.

Version

0.16.1-e664cb2

Frigate config file

go2rtc:
# this causes it to be nuked.

# or the following also nukes it.
# go2rtc:

Relevant Frigate log output

None

Relevant go2rtc log output

None

Frigate stats

No response

Operating system

Debian

Install method

Docker Compose

docker-compose file or Docker CLI command

Not relevant

Object Detector

OpenVino

Screenshots of the Frigate UI's System metrics pages

No response

Any other information that may be helpful

No response

[inkeep-ai-assistant[bot]]

This is a known issue with Frigate's go2rtc HomeKit configuration. When using the HomeKit module from go2rtc, the pairing information gets written to /dev/shm/go2rtc.yaml, which is regenerated from Frigate's config.yml after restart(1).

The issue occurs because go2rtc appends client_id information to its configuration file after successful HomeKit pairing, but Frigate uses a temporary filesystem location that gets overwritten(1).

The current workaround is to manually copy the pairing information from the go2rtc configuration and add it to your Frigate config.yml(1):

go2rtc:
  streams:
    camera_1:
      # ...
  homekit:
    camera_1:
      pairings:
        - client_id=...

(1)

Without this manual step, you'll see errors like ERR github.com/AlexxIT/go2rtc/internal/homekit/homekit.go:179 > error="hap: PairVerify from: 10.8.0.86:49347, with unknown client_id: ..."(1) after Frigate restarts.

This behavior affects any go2rtc configuration changes that need to persist, as Frigate regenerates the go2rtc configuration from its own config file on startup. You'll need to manually backup and restore any dynamic go2rtc configuration that gets written during operation.

📚 Sources:

1. [Support]: go2rtc HomeKit module pairing list writeback to config.yml

---

Have another question? Just tag @inkeep.

[hawkeye217]

Where are you adding the homekit section to your Frigate config file and what exactly is the error you're seeing? Users have reported the above workaround given by the AI as working just fine.

[rsperry79]

Its working now for some reason. There should be a note in the full config section pointing to the page and the note should under a bold HomeKit subheading. I also think if the go2rtc config section does not exist in the config, it should not nuke the config. it should be easy enough to check when the logic is about to generate it, to see if it is even there.

[NickM-27]

I also think if the go2rtc config section does not exist in the config, it should not nuke the config. it should be easy enough to check when the logic is about to generate it, to see if it is even there.

Not sure what you mean, the config is never "nuked" by Frigate explicitly, the config file is reset whenever the docker container is restarted per the docker behavior

[rsperry79]

docker is a vm system that writes to the VHD. If it didn't every time you rebooted it would have to be apt updated for security patches. It is irrelevant that this is in docker or lxc.

this line nukes the config:

frigate/docker/main/rootfs/etc/s6-overlay/s6-rc.d/go2rtc/run

Line 55 in 9fdce80

if [[ -f "/dev/shm/go2rtc.yaml" ]]; then

The logic for removing the file should be moved to:

frigate/docker/main/rootfs/usr/local/go2rtc/create_config.py

Line 1 in 9fdce80

"""Creates a go2rtc config file."""

A simple config line and python logic would suffice for users who want to support non-standard configurations.
For example, a config option like the following would suffice:

go2rtc:
   use_go2rtc_manual: true 

[NickM-27]

That is entirely false. /dev/shm is meant to live within by docker container and is a temporary file system by default, so when you restart it is empty by default.

The line you're referencing is only there for the case that the user explicitly maps a volume to /dev/shm (which is discouraged in the documentation).

All of this is irrelevant anyway, as I implemented a better way to manage this #20275