make_acap — ACAP Template Projects

Overview

ACAP is an open application platform that enables you to develop and deploy applications directly on Axis network devices. This repository provides template projects with a C wrapper (ACAP.c/ACAP.h) that simplifies SDK interactions for HTTP endpoints, configuration management, event handling, and more.

Documentation

Document	Description
doc/ACAP.md	Complete technical reference — ACAP.h API, build configuration, code patterns, and full reference implementations for all templates
doc/EVENTS.md	Comprehensive catalog of Axis device events with namespaces, properties, and state types
doc/VDO.md	VDO (Video Device Object) API reference for video capture and streaming
doc/STORAGE.md	Edge Storage API — SD card and NAS read/write with axstorage
Template READMEs	Each template directory contains its own README with specific usage, configuration, and endpoint documentation

For LLM-assisted development, provide doc/ACAP.md as context. Agent-specific instruction files are included for all major AI coding assistants — see AI Agent Support below.

Prerequisites

• Axis device supporting ACAP
• Docker installed on your development PC
• C programming knowledge (embedded focus)
• Familiarity with HTML/JS/CSS for UI development

Quick Start

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/pandosme/make_acap.git
   cd make_acap/base

2. Build the ACAP

   ./build.sh

3. Install on device Upload the resulting .eap file via AXIS Device Manager or the device's web interface.
4. Customise Edit main.c, manifest.json, and Makefile to implement your service logic. See doc/ACAP.md for the full API reference and code patterns.

Project Structure

Each template follows this structure:

template_name/
├── app/
│   ├── ACAP.c / ACAP.h       # SDK wrapper (do not modify)
│   ├── main.c                # Application logic (edit this)
│   ├── cJSON.c / cJSON.h     # JSON library
│   ├── Makefile              # Build configuration
│   ├── manifest.json         # ACAP package metadata
│   ├── settings/             # JSON configuration files
│   └── html/                 # Web UI assets
├── Dockerfile                # Docker build environment
├── build.sh                  # Build helper script
└── README.md                 # Template-specific documentation

Development Rules

Protected Files — Do Not Edit

ACAP.c, ACAP.h, cJSON.c, cJSON.h are shared library files identical across all templates. Edit only: main.c, manifest.json, Makefile, settings/, html/.

Naming Convention

These three values must always match:

• PROG1 in Makefile
• APP_PACKAGE in main.c
• appName in manifest.json

Template Selection

Start With	When You Need
base	HTTP endpoints, image capture, events, settings, web UI
event_subscription	Static event monitoring (topics defined in subscriptions.json)
event_selection	User-configurable trigger source (event or timer, picked via UI)
mqtt	MQTT broker connectivity, publish/subscribe
thermometry	Thermal camera — poll temperature areas/spot meter and forward alarms via MQTT

API Quick Reference (v4.0)

cJSON* app = ACAP_Init(APP_PACKAGE, settings_callback);
ACAP_HTTP_Node("endpoint", handler);

void handler(const ACAP_HTTP_Response response, const ACAP_HTTP_Request request) {
    const char* method = ACAP_HTTP_Get_Method(request);
    const char* body   = ACAP_HTTP_Get_Body(request);
    char* param        = ACAP_HTTP_Request_Param(request, "key");  // must free()
    free(param);
}

cJSON* settings = ACAP_Get_Config("settings");          // do NOT free
ACAP_STATUS_SetBool("system", "healthy", 1);
ACAP_EVENTS_Fire_State("state", value);
ACAP_EVENTS_Fire("trigger");

Memory Ownership

Function	Ownership
ACAP_Get_Config(), ACAP_STATUS_*() getters	Internal — do NOT free
ACAP_FILE_Read()	Caller — cJSON_Delete()
ACAP_HTTP_Request_Param()	Caller — free()
ACAP_VAPIX_Get/Post(), cJSON_Print*()	Caller — free()

Adding an HTTP Endpoint

1. Add {"name": "myendpoint", "access": "admin", "type": "fastCgi"} to manifest.json httpConfig
2. Call ACAP_HTTP_Node("myendpoint", my_handler) in main()
3. Implement the handler using opaque accessor functions above

Adding a New Source File

Add the .c file to OBJS1 in Makefile. Add any new library to PKGS.

Building

The build uses Docker with the Axis ACAP Native SDK 12.2.0. The build.sh script builds packages for both aarch64 and armv7hf architectures.

cd base  # or event_subscription, event_selection, mqtt, thermometry
./build.sh

For manual single-architecture builds:

docker build --build-arg ARCH=aarch64 --tag acap .
docker cp $(docker create acap):/opt/app ./build
cp build/*.eap .

Additional Resources

• Axis ACAP SDK Documentation
• ACAP Native SDK Examples
• ACAP Application Structure

AI Agent Support

This repo includes instruction files for all major AI coding assistants. Each file contains the same core rules (protected files, naming conventions, API quick reference, memory ownership) so any agent produces correct ACAP code out of the box.

Agent	Config File	Auto-Loaded
GitHub Copilot	.github/copilot-instructions.md	Yes
Cursor	.cursor/rules/*.mdc	Yes (skill-based)
Windsurf	.windsurfrules	Yes
Cline	.clinerules	Yes
Aider	CONVENTIONS.md	Yes

Cursor skills provide context-aware rules that activate based on the files being edited:

• acap-general.mdc — Always on: core rules, template selection, build commands
• add-http-endpoint.mdc — Activates for manifest.json and main.c: step-by-step endpoint recipe
• add-event.mdc — Activates for events.json and subscriptions.json: event declaration and subscription
• memory-management.mdc — Activates for all .c files: ownership rules and common pitfalls