Start data capture

Configure your machine to automatically record sensor readings, camera images, and other component data, then sync it to the cloud. For an overview of how data capture and sync work, see the Manage data overview.

1. Open your machine in the Viam app

Go to app.viam.com and navigate to your machine. Confirm it shows as Live in the upper left.

2. Enable data capture on a component

1. Find your component (for example, my-camera) in the machine configuration.
2. Click the Data Capture button.
3. If you see a “Data management service missing” banner, click Create data management service, click Save, navigate back to your component, and click the Data Capture button again.
4. Select the method to capture:
   • For a camera, select GetImages. This captures a frame from the camera each time it fires.
   • For a sensor, select Readings. This records the sensor’s current values.
5. Set the capture frequency. This is specified in hertz (captures per second):
   • 0.5 = one capture every 2 seconds
   • 0.2 = one capture every 5 seconds
   • 1 = one capture per second
   • Start low. For cameras, 0.5 Hz is a reasonable starting point. You can always increase it later.
6. Click Save in the upper right.

After saving, viam-server begins capturing immediately. You do not need to restart anything.

Tip

You can add multiple capture methods to a single component (for example, capture both GetImages and NextPointCloud from the same camera), each with its own frequency.

3. Capture from additional components (optional)

Repeat step 2 for any other components you want to capture from. Each component’s data capture is independent – you can have a camera capturing images every 2 seconds and a sensor capturing readings every 10 seconds at the same time.

4. Sync data from another directory (optional)

You can also sync files from directories outside of the default capture path. This is useful for uploading a batch of existing data or syncing files that another process writes to a folder on your machine.

In the data management service configuration, add the directory path to Additional paths (or "additional_sync_paths" in JSON mode).

Caution

Data synced from additional paths is deleted from the device after upload, just like captured data. If you want to keep a local copy, copy the data to a new folder and sync that folder instead.

5. Verify data is syncing

Wait 30 seconds to a minute for data to accumulate and sync, then:

1. In the Viam app, click the DATA tab in the top navigation. The tab opens on the Images view by default.
2. For camera captures, you should see image thumbnails appearing. For sensor data, click the Sensors tab to see the latest readings from each machine and resource. To see historical rows of tabular data, click the small search icon next to a resource on the Sensors tab to open the query editor.
3. Use the filters on the left to narrow by:
   • Machine – select your specific machine
   • Component – select the component you configured
   • Time range – pick a recent window

If you see data flowing in, capture and sync are working correctly.

Supported resources

Any built-in or modular component that implements a capturable method can be configured for data capture. The following table lists the most commonly captured component types and their methods:

Every component also supports GetWorldPose (requires a configured frame system) and DoCommand. Modular components that return readings through any of these methods are automatically capturable.

Troubleshooting

No data appears in the Data tab

• Wait a minute. Data must be captured locally and then synced to the cloud. The first entries can take 30-60 seconds to appear.
• Is the data management service enabled? Go to your machine’s CONFIGURE tab and check that the data management service exists and both Capturing and Syncing are toggled on.
• Is capture configured on the component? Verify that the component’s Data capture section shows at least one method with a non-zero frequency.
• Is the machine online? Data syncs only when the machine has a network connection. Check the machine’s status indicator in the Viam app.

Data appears but images are missing or blank

• Verify the camera works in the test panel first. If the test panel shows nothing, the issue is with the camera configuration, not data capture.
• Check that the capture method is GetImages, not another method.

Data capture frequency seems wrong

• The frequency is in hertz (captures per second), not seconds between captures. 0.5 Hz means once every 2 seconds, not twice per second.
• High-frequency capture (above 1 Hz for cameras) generates large amounts of data. Start with 0.5 Hz or lower unless you need high-frequency capture.

Local disk filling up

• By default, captured data is stored in $HOME/.viam/capture before syncing (/root/.viam/capture when viam-server runs as root through viam-agent). If sync is disabled or the machine is offline for an extended period, this directory can grow large.
• Re-enable sync or manually clear the capture directory if needed.
• Check that the Syncing toggle is on in the data management service configuration.

What’s next

• Query data: write queries, set up data pipelines, and export data
• Add computer vision: run ML models on your camera feed and capture detection results
• Create a dataset: organize captured images into training datasets
• Reference: JSON-level config, retention policies, and sync optimization