🐦 BirdWatchAI User Manual Community Feed
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BirdWatchAI User Manual

Everything you need to identify birds at your feeder — automatically.
Windows Desktop App Raspberry Pi Server Docker Community at www.birdwatchai.com

BirdWatchAI watches a camera pointed at your bird feeder and uses AI to identify the species that visit — saving photos, recording short clips, and sending you a notification when something interesting shows up. This manual covers both editions: the original Windows desktop app and the newer cross-platform server (Raspberry Pi, Docker on Windows, or any Linux box).

In a hurry?

Follow the ⚡ Quick Start — the fast, hardware-first path from box to first bird in about 15 minutes. Come back for the parts below when you want the full detail.

New here? Start with these three.

1. Read Part 1 — Introduction to understand what BirdWatchAI does and which edition fits your setup.

2. Follow Part 3 — Installation for your platform (Windows, Pi, or Docker).

3. Walk through Part 4 — First-Time Setup to point the app at your camera.

Browse by part

Part 1

Introduction

What BirdWatchAI is, how it works, which edition to choose, and what you need to run it.

 Part 2

Camera Hardware

RTSP cameras (TP-Link Tapo, Reolink, Amcrest…), the wired Raspberry Pi camera, placement and lighting tips.

 Part 3

Installation

Step-by-step setup for the Windows desktop app, Raspberry Pi server, and the Docker stack on Windows or Linux.

 Part 4

First-Time Setup

Walk through the setup wizard: camera, location, notifications, and community sharing.

 Part 5

Configuration

Every setting explained for both editions, plus notification channels and community sharing levels.

 Part 6

Daily Use

Dashboard tour, detection history, gallery, statistics, and the community site at www.birdwatchai.com.

 Part 7

Troubleshooting

Common problems and fixes for cameras, detections, notifications, Docker containers, and time-zone surprises.

 Part 8

Advanced Topics

Docker commands, custom data folders, headless operation, ONVIF motion tuning, backups, and migration.

Editions at a glance

If you have…Use…See
A Windows PC that's already on most of the time Windows desktop app Part 3 → Windows desktop
A Raspberry Pi (or any always-on Linux box) Server (Docker) Part 3 → Raspberry Pi
A dedicated Windows machine you'd rather run headless Server on Docker Desktop Part 3 → Windows + Docker
A Mac (Intel or Apple Silicon) that stays on Server on Docker Desktop Part 3 → macOS + Docker
A wired Pi Camera Module (CSI ribbon) Server on a Raspberry Pi Part 2 → Pi camera

Looking for the old single-page manual? It still lives at docs/manual.html and is the Windows-app reference for the moment. This new structure is where all platforms (desktop + server) come together.