chvvkumar/simpleclouddetect

By chvvkumar

•Updated 3 months ago

ML-based cloud detection for AllSky cameras with MQTT and ASCOM Alpaca

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Monitoring & observability

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chvvkumar/simpleclouddetect repository overview

⁠☁️ SimpleCloudDetect

A Machine Learning-based cloud detection system for AllSky cameras with MQTT and ASCOM Alpaca SafetyMonitor integration.

⁠Features

ML Cloud Classification - Detects Clear, Wisps, Mostly Cloudy, Overcast, Rain, and Snow conditions
Home Assistant Integration - MQTT Discovery for automatic setup or legacy manual configuration
ASCOM Alpaca SafetyMonitor - Compatible with N.I.N.A., SGP, TheSkyX, and other astronomy software
External REST API - Flexible JSON API for dashboards, monitoring systems, and custom integrations
Docker Support - Easy deployment with both services running simultaneously
Flexible Image Sources - Supports URL-based and local file images
Custom Models - Bring your own trained model and labels
Confidence Scores - Includes detection confidence and timing metrics

⁠Quick Start

Docker (Recommended):

Prepare the configuration directory:

mkdir -p /path/to/config
sudo chown 1000:1000 /path/to/config

Run the container:

docker run -d --name simple-cloud-detect --network=host \
  -v /path/to/config:/config \
  -v /path/to/keras_model.h5:/app/keras_model.h5 \
  -v /path/to/labels.txt:/app/labels.txt \
  -e IMAGE_URL="http://your-allsky-camera/image.jpg" \
  -e MQTT_BROKER="192.168.1.250" \
  -e MQTT_DISCOVERY_MODE="homeassistant" \
  -e DETECT_INTERVAL="60" \
  -e VERIFY_SSL="false" \
  -e DEVICE_ID="clouddetect_001" \
  chvvkumar/simpleclouddetect:latest

Important: The model files (keras_model.h5 and labels.txt) must have read+write permissions for the container user. To ensure proper permissions:
# Set appropriate permissions (Linux/macOS)
chmod 666 /path/to/keras_model.h5
chmod 666 /path/to/labels.txt

# Or set ownership to your user and make group-writable
chown $USER:$USER /path/to/keras_model.h5 /path/to/labels.txt
chmod 664 /path/to/keras_model.h5 /path/to/labels.txt

That's it! Your device will automatically appear in Home Assistant under Settings → Devices & Services → MQTT.

⁠Screenshots

⁠Cloud Detection Examples

Condition	Example
Clear Skies
Majority Clouds
Wisps of Clouds
Overcast

⁠ASCOM Alpaca Settings Interface

View	Screenshot
Settings Collapsed
Settings Expanded

⁠Docker Installation

⁠Pull the Image

docker pull chvvkumar/simpleclouddetect:latest

⁠Environment Variables

⁠Required Variables

Variable	Description	Example
`IMAGE_URL`	URL or file path to AllSky camera image	`http://allskypi.lan/image.jpg`
`MQTT_BROKER`	MQTT broker address	`192.168.1.250`

⁠Cloud Detection Settings

Variable	Default	Description
`MQTT_PORT`	`1883`	MQTT broker port
`MQTT_USERNAME`	-	MQTT authentication username (optional)
`MQTT_PASSWORD`	-	MQTT authentication password (optional)
`DETECT_INTERVAL`	`60`	Detection interval in seconds
`VERIFY_SSL`	`false`	Set to `true` to enable SSL certificate verification for HTTPS `IMAGE_URL`s. Defaults to `false` for convenience with self-signed certificates.

⁠MQTT Publishing Modes

Variable	Default	Description
`MQTT_DISCOVERY_MODE`	`legacy`	Mode: `legacy` or `homeassistant`

Legacy Mode (manual YAML configuration):

MQTT_TOPIC - Topic for publishing (e.g., Astro/SimpleCloudDetect)

Home Assistant Discovery Mode (automatic setup):

DEVICE_ID - Unique device identifier (e.g., clouddetect_001)
DEVICE_NAME - Custom device name (default: Cloud Detector)
MQTT_DISCOVERY_PREFIX - HA discovery prefix (default: homeassistant)

⁠ASCOM Alpaca Settings (Optional)

Variable	Default	Description
`ALPACA_PORT`	`11111`	HTTP API port
`ALPACA_DEVICE_NUMBER`	`0`	Device number
`ALPACA_UPDATE_INTERVAL`	`30`	Update interval in seconds

Note: For detailed Alpaca configuration, see ALPACA_README.md⁠

⁠Persistent Configuration

To ensure your settings (device name, thresholds, etc.) are saved across container restarts, mount the /config directory:

-v /path/to/config:/config

The application will save alpaca_config.json in this directory. If a config file exists, it will take precedence for environment variables for the settings it contains.

Setting Proper Permissions:

The config directory must be writable by the container user. To ensure proper permissions:

# Create the config directory
mkdir -p /path/to/config

# Set appropriate permissions (Linux/macOS)
chmod 777 /path/to/config

# Or set ownership to a specific user (uses current user's UID, recommended for better security)
sudo chown $(id -u):$(id -g) /path/to/config
chmod 755 /path/to/config

Note: The container runs as user ID 1000 by default. If you encounter permission errors like [Errno 13] Permission denied: '/config/alpaca_config.json', verify that the config directory is writable by the container user.

⁠Raspberry Pi Support

Multi-architecture support: The Docker images are built for both AMD64 (x86_64) and ARM64 (Raspberry Pi 4/5). Docker will automatically pull the correct image for your platform.

For Raspberry Pi, use the same docker commands. The ARM64 build uses full TensorFlow instead of tensorflow-cpu for compatibility.

Note: First run on Raspberry Pi may take longer as it downloads the ARM64 image (~500MB).

⁠Docker Run Examples

⁠Home Assistant Discovery Mode (Recommended)

With URL-based image:

docker run -d --name simple-cloud-detect --network=host \
  -v /path/to/config:/config \
  -v /path/to/keras_model.h5:/app/keras_model.h5 \
  -v /path/to/labels.txt:/app/labels.txt \
  -e IMAGE_URL="http://allskypi5.lan/current/resized/image.jpg" \
  -e MQTT_BROKER="192.168.1.250" \
  -e MQTT_PORT="1883" \
  -e MQTT_DISCOVERY_MODE="homeassistant" \
  -e DEVICE_ID="clouddetect_001" \
  -e DEVICE_NAME="AllSky Cloud Detector" \
  -e MQTT_USERNAME="your_username" \
  -e MQTT_PASSWORD="your_password" \
  -e DETECT_INTERVAL="60" \
  -e VERIFY_SSL="false" \
  chvvkumar/simpleclouddetect:latest

With local file:

docker run -d --name simple-cloud-detect --network=host \
  -v /path/to/config:/config \
  -v $HOME/path/to/image.jpg:/tmp/image.jpg \
  -v /path/to/keras_model.h5:/app/keras_model.h5 \
  -v /path/to/labels.txt:/app/labels.txt \
  -e IMAGE_URL="file:///tmp/image.jpg" \
  -e MQTT_BROKER="192.168.1.250" \
  -e MQTT_DISCOVERY_MODE="homeassistant" \
  -e DETECT_INTERVAL="60" \
  -e DEVICE_ID="clouddetect_001" \
  chvvkumar/simpleclouddetect:latest

⁠Legacy Mode

With URL-based image:

docker run -d --name simple-cloud-detect --network=host \
  -v /path/to/config:/config \
  -v /path/to/keras_model.h5:/app/keras_model.h5 \
  -v /path/to/labels.txt:/app/labels.txt \
  -e IMAGE_URL="http://allskypi5.lan/current/resized/image.jpg" \
  -e MQTT_BROKER="192.168.1.250" \
  -e MQTT_TOPIC="Astro/SimpleCloudDetect" \
  -e DETECT_INTERVAL="60" \
  -e MQTT_USERNAME="your_username" \
  -e MQTT_PASSWORD="your_password" \
  -e VERIFY_SSL="false" \
  chvvkumar/simpleclouddetect:latest

⁠Custom Model Support

To use your own trained model and labels:

docker run -d --name simple-cloud-detect --network=host \
  -v /path/to/config:/config \
  -v /path/to/your/keras_model.h5:/app/keras_model.h5 \
  -v /path/to/your/labels.txt:/app/labels.txt \
  -e IMAGE_URL="http://allskypi5.lan/image.jpg" \
  -e MQTT_BROKER="192.168.1.250" \
  -e DETECT_INTERVAL="60" \
  -e MQTT_DISCOVERY_MODE="homeassistant" \
  -e DEVICE_ID="clouddetect_001" \
  -e VERIFY_SSL="false" \
  chvvkumar/simpleclouddetect:latest

⁠Docker Compose Examples

⁠Home Assistant Discovery Mode

services:
  simpleclouddetect:
    container_name: simple-cloud-detect
    image: chvvkumar/simpleclouddetect:latest
    network_mode: host
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - IMAGE_URL=http://localhost/current/resized/image.jpg
      - MQTT_BROKER=192.168.1.250
      - MQTT_PORT=1883
      - MQTT_DISCOVERY_MODE=homeassistant
      - DEVICE_ID=clouddetect001
      - DEVICE_NAME=AllSkyPi5 Cloud Detector
      - MQTT_USERNAME=
      - MQTT_PASSWORD=
      - DETECT_INTERVAL=60
      - VERIFY_SSL=false
      - ALPACA_PORT=11111
      - ALPACA_UPDATE_INTERVAL=30
    volumes:
      - /path/to/config:/config
      - /home/pi/git/simpleCloudDetect/keras_model.h5:/app/keras_model.h5
      - /home/pi/git/simpleCloudDetect/labels.txt:/app/labels.txt

⁠Legacy Mode

services:
  simpleclouddetect:
    container_name: simple-cloud-detect
    image: chvvkumar/simpleclouddetect:latest
    network_mode: host
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - IMAGE_URL=http://allskypi5.lan/current/resized/image.jpg
      - MQTT_BROKER=192.168.1.250
      - MQTT_PORT=1883
      - MQTT_TOPIC=Astro/SimpleCloudDetect
      - MQTT_USERNAME=your_username
      - MQTT_PASSWORD=your_password
      - DETECT_INTERVAL=60
      - VERIFY_SSL=false
    volumes:
      - /path/to/config:/config
      - /home/pi/git/simpleCloudDetect/keras_model.h5:/app/keras_model.h5
      - /home/pi/git/simpleCloudDetect/labels.txt:/app/labels.txt

⁠With Local Image File

services:
  simpleclouddetect:
    container_name: simple-cloud-detect
    image: chvvkumar/simpleclouddetect:latest
    network_mode: host
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - IMAGE_URL=file:///tmp/image.jpg
      - MQTT_BROKER=192.168.1.250
      - MQTT_DISCOVERY_MODE=homeassistant
      - DEVICE_ID=clouddetect_001
    volumes:
      - /path/to/config:/config
      - /path/to/image.jpg:/tmp/image.jpg
      - /home/pi/git/simpleCloudDetect/keras_model.h5:/app/keras_model.h5
      - /home/pi/git/simpleCloudDetect/labels.txt:/app/labels.txt

⁠Home Assistant Integration

⁠Option 1: MQTT Discovery (Recommended - Zero Configuration)

When using MQTT_DISCOVERY_MODE=homeassistant, your device automatically appears in Home Assistant with no YAML configuration needed.

What You Get:

Single device with your custom name
Three sensors:
- Cloud Status - Current sky condition
- Confidence - Detection confidence (%)
- Detection Time - Processing time (seconds)
Availability tracking (online/offline status)
Proper device grouping in HA UI

Setup Steps:

Start container with HA discovery mode (see examples above)
In Home Assistant: Settings → Devices & Services → MQTT
Your cloud detector appears automatically under "MQTT Devices"

Home Assistant MQTT Integration

Tip: Use unique DEVICE_ID values if you have multiple AllSky cameras

⁠Option 2: Legacy Mode (Manual Configuration)

For custom setups or backward compatibility, configure sensors manually in configuration.yaml:

mqtt:
  sensor:
    - name: "Cloud Status"
      unique_id: cloud_status_sensor_001
      icon: mdi:clouds
      state_topic: "Astro/SimpleCloudDetect"
      value_template: "{{ value_json.class_name }}"

    - name: "Cloud Status Confidence"
      unique_id: cloud_confidence_sensor_001
      icon: mdi:percent
      state_topic: "Astro/SimpleCloudDetect"
      value_template: "{{ value_json.confidence_score }}"
      unit_of_measurement: "%"

    - name: "Cloud Detection Time"
      unique_id: cloud_detection_time_001
      icon: mdi:timer
      state_topic: "Astro/SimpleCloudDetect"
      value_template: "{{ value_json['Detection Time (Seconds)'] }}"
      unit_of_measurement: "s"

⁠ASCOM Alpaca SafetyMonitor

The container includes an ASCOM Alpaca SafetyMonitor service (Interface Version 3) for astronomy automation software.

⁠Quick Setup

Start Container with Alpaca environment variables (included in examples above)
Access Setup Page: http://<your-server-ip>:11111/setup/v1/safetymonitor/0/setup
Configure Device: Set name, location, and unsafe conditions
Add to Software: Configure in N.I.N.A., SGP, TheSkyX, etc.

⁠Supported Software

N.I.N.A. (Nighttime Imaging 'N' Astronomy)
Any ASCOM Alpaca-compatible application

N.I.N.A. Integration

Full Documentation: See docs/ALPACA_README.md⁠ for detailed configuration, API reference, and troubleshooting.

⁠External REST API

SimpleCloudDetect provides a separate REST API designed for external integrations like dashboards, monitoring systems, and custom scripts.

⁠Quick Example

Get Current Status:

curl http://localhost:11111/api/ext/v1/status

Response:

{
  "is_safe": true,
  "safety_status": "Safe",
  "detection": {
    "class_name": "Clear",
    "confidence_score": 0.9823,
    "timestamp": "2026-02-04T15:30:45.123456"
  }
}

⁠Available Endpoints

/api/ext/v1/system - System information and uptime
/api/ext/v1/status - Current safety status and detection
/api/ext/v1/config - Configuration settings
/api/ext/v1/clients - Connected ASCOM clients
/api/ext/v1/history - Safety state transition history
/api/ext/v1/image - Latest detection image (JPEG)

⁠Use Cases

Build custom monitoring dashboards
Integrate with non-MQTT home automation systems
Create analytics and reporting scripts
Monitor device health and client connections

Full Documentation: See docs/EXTERNAL_API.md⁠ for complete API reference, examples, and integration guides.

⁠Training Your Own Model

While an example model is included, training your own model with your camera's images is highly recommended for better accuracy.

⁠Using Google's Teachable Machine

Go to: https://teachablemachine.withgoogle.com⁠
Create a New Image Project
Add Classes: Clear, Wisps, Mostly Cloudy, Overcast, Rain, Snow
Upload Training Images from your AllSky camera for each class
Train Model
Export Model: Select "TensorFlow" → "Keras" format
Download both keras_model.h5 and labels.txt

⁠Training Steps (Visual Guide)

Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4

⁠Using Your Custom Model

For Docker:

docker run -d --name simple-cloud-detect --network=host \
  -v /path/to/config:/config \
  -v /path/to/your/keras_model.h5:/app/keras_model.h5 \
  -v /path/to/your/labels.txt:/app/labels.txt \
  # ...other environment variables...
  chvvkumar/simpleclouddetect:latest

Note: Docker containers automatically convert the model on startup.

⁠Recent Changes

2025-12-30: Add VERIFY_SSL environment variable to disable SSL certificate verification for HTTPS IMAGE_URLs. Defaults to false.
2024-01-30: Add multi-arch support with support for ARM (Raspberry Pi)
2024-01-30: Add Home Assistant MQTT Discovery support for automatic device/entity creation
2024-01-30: Add ASCOM Alpaca SafetyMonitor implementation
2024-01-09: Add MQTT authentication support and improved logging
2024-12-16: Add custom model and labels file support via bind mounts
2024-11-19: Add local image file support
2024-10-26: Initial release

⁠Documentation

Main Documentation⁠ - This file
System Architecture⁠ - A detailed look at the components and data flow
ASCOM Alpaca SafetyMonitor Guide⁠ - Standard ASCOM API implementation details
External REST API Guide⁠ - Custom REST API for dashboards and integrations

⁠Support

For issues, questions, or contributions, please visit the GitHub repository⁠.

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docker pull chvvkumar/simpleclouddetect