> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://alpr-vue-docs.asier.uk/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Detect License Plates Live with Your Camera

> Use ALPR Vue's live camera mode to detect license plates in real time. Includes auto-stop, flip camera, zoom controls, and scanning indicators.

Camera mode turns your device's camera into a live license plate scanner. Point it at any vehicle and ALPR Vue automatically finds and reads the plate — no button press required. Use this mode when you need to capture plates on the spot, such as logging vehicles at an entrance, checking a fleet, or quickly reading a plate from a distance.

## Starting the camera

<Steps>
  <Step title="Click Start Camera">
    On the main screen, click the **Start Camera** button. If this is your first time, your browser will ask for camera permission — click **Allow**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Point at a vehicle">
    Hold your device so the license plate is visible in frame. Scanning begins automatically as soon as the camera feed appears.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Wait for detection">
    The app runs continuously in the background. When it finds a plate, it draws a green box around it and saves the result to your history.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  Camera access requires a secure context. The app must be opened over **HTTPS** or on **localhost**. If you see a permission error, check that the URL starts with `https://`.
</Note>

## Camera controls during scanning

Once the camera is active, a row of controls appears at the bottom of the preview area.

| Control                | What it does                                                                                                        |
| ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Stop**               | Stops the camera immediately and returns to the idle screen.                                                        |
| **Flip camera**        | Switches between the front and rear camera on mobile devices.                                                       |
| **Zoom in / Zoom out** | Adjusts the zoom level. The app uses native hardware zoom when available, and falls back to digital zoom otherwise. |

## Auto-stop behavior

By default, the camera stops automatically after it confirms a plate. This saves battery and avoids scanning the same vehicle repeatedly.

* The camera stops after **3 seconds** of continuous plate detection.
* If the detection has a mean OCR confidence of **0.8 or higher**, the camera stops after just **1 second**.

To keep the camera running continuously without stopping on each detection, enable **Continuous scan** in the Settings panel (gear icon in the header).

<Note>
  When **Skip duplicates** is on, confirming a plate already in your history will **not** stop the camera — even in single-capture mode. The camera only stops for genuinely new plates. This lets you keep scanning in a busy area without being interrupted by vehicles you have already logged.
</Note>

## Live scanning indicator

While the camera is active, a small badge appears in the top-right corner of the preview:

* **Scanning** (with a pulsing dot) — the app is actively processing frames and looking for plates.
* **Live** (with a steady dot) — the camera is on and ready, but no plate is being actively processed at that moment.

## Bounding boxes

When a plate is detected, a **green overlay box** is drawn around it directly on the camera preview. The box updates in real time as the plate moves through the frame. Once the detection is confirmed and saved, the overlay clears and the result appears in your plate history list.

<Tip>
  For the best detection results, make sure the plate is well-lit and hold the camera as steady as possible. Avoid shooting at extreme angles — a straight-on view gives the AI model the clearest read.
</Tip>