Long time lurker here.
I got tired of installing giant vendor software just to export a short clip from an NVR, so I made a small tool for it. It's open source so feel free to rummage through the source code:
github.com
It can export exact MP4 clips from Dahua and Hikvision NVRs. No SmartPSS, DSS Express, iVMS, browser plugins, vendor SDKs, or background services.
Basic example:
Output:
It uses a TOML config with NVR aliases and channel aliases, so you can do things like "shop cashier" instead of remembering channel numbers.
The main thing I wanted to fix is the annoying "download the whole recording chunk" workflow. If the NVR has one file from 14:00-15:00 and another from 15:00-16:00, but you ask for 14:50-15:20, nvrclip downloads the overlapping parts, trims them, and gives you one MP4.
Current features (check README.md for more details):
This is still early, and NVR firmware differences are always fun, so feedback/testing on different models would be very welcome. PRs are always welcome too.
Thanks for taking a look
I got tired of installing giant vendor software just to export a short clip from an NVR, so I made a small tool for it. It's open source so feel free to rummage through the source code:
GitHub - yashau/nvrclip: Lightweight CLI for exporting exact MP4 clips from Dahua and Hikvision NVRs without vendor software, SDKs, browser plugins, or background services.
Lightweight CLI for exporting exact MP4 clips from Dahua and Hikvision NVRs without vendor software, SDKs, browser plugins, or background services. - yashau/nvrclip
github.com
It can export exact MP4 clips from Dahua and Hikvision NVRs. No SmartPSS, DSS Express, iVMS, browser plugins, vendor SDKs, or background services.
Basic example:
Code:
.\nvrclip.exe grab shop cashier --from "2026-05-06 14:50" --to "2026-05-06 15:20"Output:
Code:
shop_cashier_2026-05-06_1450-1520.mp4It uses a TOML config with NVR aliases and channel aliases, so you can do things like "shop cashier" instead of remembering channel numbers.
The main thing I wanted to fix is the annoying "download the whole recording chunk" workflow. If the NVR has one file from 14:00-15:00 and another from 15:00-16:00, but you ask for 14:50-15:20, nvrclip downloads the overlapping parts, trims them, and gives you one MP4.
Current features (check README.md for more details):
- Dahua and Hikvision support
- exact --from / --to exports
- --around + --minutes convenience mode
- channel aliases
- MP4 output via ffmpeg
- fast copy mode or exact H.264 re-encode mode
- temp/debug options
- no vendor SDKs
This is still early, and NVR firmware differences are always fun, so feedback/testing on different models would be very welcome. PRs are always welcome too.
Thanks for taking a look
