Snapshots, recordings and timelapses
Three closely related terms with distinct meanings, and when to use each.
These three terms are easy to conflate, and choosing the wrong one is the most common reason a request returns something unexpected.
Snapshot — one image
A single still from one camera at one moment. Everything under
/recordings/snapshots/ returns snapshots.
The most recent stored image.
The stored image closest to a moment in time.
Recordings — the archive, queried by availability
"Recordings" is the stored history. You do not fetch it as a stream; you ask which periods hold images, then fetch a snapshot from one.
Which days in a month have at least one snapshot → { "days": [1, 5, 13] }
Which hours in a day have snapshots → { "hours": [10, 11, 15] }
That days → hours → nearest sequence is exactly how the timeline guide builds a scrubbable history.
Timelapses — rendered video, produced asynchronously
A timelapse is a video compiled from many snapshots. Unlike the two above it is produced, not queried: you request one, the platform renders it, and it appears in the project's media hub when ready.
Everything a project has produced — timelapses, clips and compares.
Media hub items are not immediately playable
A newly requested timelapse has no playable asset until processing finishes. Check for a file URL before trying to render one.
Choosing
| You want | Use |
|---|---|
| The current view | /recordings/snapshots/latest |
| A specific moment | /recordings/snapshots/{timestamp}/nearest |
| To know what exists | /days then /hours |
| A video of a long period | Media hub timelapses |