Frigate MQTT Topics Reference
Topic Prefix
All topics are prefixed with the configured topic_prefix (default: frigate).
Example: frigate/available or frigate/front_door/person
Availability Topics
| Topic |
Payload |
Description |
frigate/available |
online / offline |
Frigate availability status |
Camera Topics
Camera State
| Topic |
Payload |
Description |
frigate/{camera}/recordings/state |
ON / OFF |
Recording state |
frigate/{camera}/snapshots/state |
ON / OFF |
Snapshot state |
frigate/{camera}/detect/state |
ON / OFF |
Detection state |
frigate/{camera}/motion/state |
ON / OFF |
Motion detection state |
frigate/{camera}/improve_contrast/state |
ON / OFF |
Contrast enhancement state |
frigate/{camera}/ptz_autotracker/state |
ON / OFF |
PTZ autotracker state |
Camera Control
| Topic |
Payload |
Description |
frigate/{camera}/recordings/set |
ON / OFF |
Enable/disable recording |
frigate/{camera}/snapshots/set |
ON / OFF |
Enable/disable snapshots |
frigate/{camera}/detect/set |
ON / OFF |
Enable/disable detection |
frigate/{camera}/motion/set |
ON / OFF |
Enable/disable motion detection |
frigate/{camera}/improve_contrast/set |
ON / OFF |
Enable/disable contrast |
frigate/{camera}/ptz_autotracker/set |
ON / OFF |
Enable/disable autotracker |
Object Detection
| Topic |
Payload |
Description |
frigate/{camera}/{object} |
Count (integer) |
Current object count |
frigate/{camera}/{object}/snapshot |
JPEG binary |
Latest snapshot with object |
Example: frigate/front_door/person = 1
Motion Detection
| Topic |
Payload |
Description |
frigate/{camera}/motion |
ON / OFF |
Motion currently detected |
Audio Detection
| Topic |
Payload |
Description |
frigate/{camera}/audio/{audio_type} |
ON / OFF |
Audio event detected |
Audio Types: bark, fire_alarm, scream, speech, yell, etc.
Event Topics
New Events
| Topic |
Payload |
Description |
frigate/events |
JSON object |
New event notification |
Event Payload Structure:
{
"before": {
"id": "1234567890.123456-abc123",
"camera": "front_door",
"frame_time": 1234567890.123456,
"snapshot_time": 1234567890.123456,
"label": "person",
"sub_label": null,
"top_score": 0.89,
"false_positive": false,
"start_time": 1234567890.123456,
"end_time": null,
"score": 0.89,
"box": [100, 200, 300, 400],
"area": 40000,
"ratio": 1.5,
"region": [0, 0, 640, 480],
"stationary": false,
"motionless_count": 0,
"position_changes": 5,
"current_zones": ["front_yard"],
"entered_zones": ["front_yard"],
"thumbnail": null,
"has_clip": true,
"has_snapshot": true
},
"after": {
// Same structure with updated values
},
"type": "new" // "new", "update", or "end"
}
Event Types
| Type |
Description |
new |
Object first detected |
update |
Object tracking updated |
end |
Object tracking ended |
Review Topics
| Topic |
Payload |
Description |
frigate/reviews |
JSON object |
Review event notification |
Statistics Topics
| Topic |
Payload |
Description |
frigate/stats |
JSON object |
System statistics |
Stats Payload Example:
{
"cpu_usages": {"python_frigate": 15.2},
"detectors": {
"coral": {
"detection_start": 0.0,
"inference_speed": 8.5,
"pid": 1234
}
},
"cameras": {
"front_door": {
"camera_fps": 5.0,
"detection_fps": 5.0,
"capture_pid": 1235,
"ffmpeg_pid": 1236,
"process_fps": 5.0
}
},
"service": {
"uptime": 86400,
"version": "0.14.0",
"storage": {
"/media/frigate/recordings": {
"free": 500000000000,
"total": 1000000000000
}
}
}
}
Home Assistant Integration
Auto-Discovery
Frigate publishes Home Assistant MQTT discovery messages automatically when configured:
mqtt:
enabled: true
host: 192.168.1.50
Created Entities
| Entity Type |
Entity ID Pattern |
Description |
| Camera |
camera.{camera}_frigate |
Live camera feed |
| Binary Sensor |
binary_sensor.{camera}_motion |
Motion detection |
| Binary Sensor |
binary_sensor.{camera}_person |
Person detection |
| Binary Sensor |
binary_sensor.{camera}_car |
Car detection |
| Switch |
switch.{camera}_detect |
Detection toggle |
| Switch |
switch.{camera}_recordings |
Recording toggle |
| Switch |
switch.{camera}_snapshots |
Snapshot toggle |
| Sensor |
sensor.{camera}_fps |
Camera FPS |
| Sensor |
sensor.{camera}_detection_fps |
Detection FPS |
Example Automations
Notification on Person Detection
automation:
- alias: "Frigate Person Alert"
trigger:
- platform: mqtt
topic: frigate/front_door/person
condition:
- condition: template
value_template: "{{ trigger.payload | int > 0 }}"
action:
- service: notify.mobile_app
data:
title: "Person Detected"
message: "Person detected at front door"
data:
image: "http://frigate:8971/api/front_door/latest.jpg"
Track Events
automation:
- alias: "Frigate Event Logger"
trigger:
- platform: mqtt
topic: frigate/events
action:
- service: logbook.log
data:
name: "Frigate"
message: >
{{ trigger.payload_json.after.label }} detected on
{{ trigger.payload_json.after.camera }}
Control Recording
# Enable recording
service: mqtt.publish
data:
topic: frigate/front_door/recordings/set
payload: "ON"
# Disable detection
service: mqtt.publish
data:
topic: frigate/front_door/detect/set
payload: "OFF"
Debugging MQTT
Subscribe to All Frigate Topics
mosquitto_sub -h 192.168.1.50 -u user -P password -t "frigate/#" -v
Subscribe to Specific Camera Events
mosquitto_sub -h 192.168.1.50 -u user -P password -t "frigate/front_door/person" -v
Test Publishing
mosquitto_pub -h 192.168.1.50 -u user -P password -t "frigate/front_door/detect/set" -m "OFF"
