# How to Build from Source

This comprehensive guide provides detailed instructions for building the Smart NVR application container images from source code. Whether you're a developer looking to customize the application or troubleshoot issues, this guide will walk you through the complete build and deployment process.

## Overview

The Smart NVR application consists of multiple components that work together to provide GenAI-powered video analytics:

- **NVR Event Router**: Core backend service that processes events and coordinates between services.
- **UI Component**: Gradio-based web interface for interacting with the system.
- [**Frigate NVR**](https://frigate.video/): Network Video Recorder for object detection and video processing.
- **MQTT Broker**: Message broker for inter-service communication.
- **Redis**: In-memory data store for caching and managing rules.


## Step 1: Clone the Repository

First, clone the repository and navigate to the Smart NVR directory:

```bash
git clone https://github.com/open-edge-platform/edge-ai-suites.git
cd edge-ai-suites/metro-ai-suite/smart-nvr
```

## Step 2: Build the Docker Images

The application provides a build script to simplify the image building process:

```bash
./build.sh
```

### What the Build Script Does

The `build.sh` script performs the following operations:

1. **Sets Default Values**: Uses `nvr-event-router:latest` as the default image name and tag

2. **Configures Proxy Settings**: Automatically passes through proxy environment variables if set
3. **Builds Docker Image**: Creates the Docker image using the Dockerfile in the `docker/` directory
4. **Validates Build**: Confirms the image was built successfully

### Customizing the Build

You can customize the build process by setting environment variables:

The application uses registry URL, project name, and tag to build the images.

```bash
export REGISTRY_URL=<your-container-registry-url>    # e.g. "docker.io/username/"
export PROJECT_NAME=<your-project-name>              # e.g. "metro-ai-suite"
export TAG=<your-tag>                                # e.g. "rc4" or "latest"
```

> **_IMPORTANT:_** These variables control how image names are constructed. If `REGISTRY_URL` is **docker.io/username/** and `PROJECT_NAME` is **metro-ai-suite**, an image would be pulled or built as **docker.io/username/metro-ai-suite/<application-name>:tag**. The `<application-name>` is hardcoded in _image_ field of each service in all docker compose files. If `REGISTRY_URL` or `PROJECT_NAME` are not set, blank string will be used to construct the image name. If `TAG` is not set, **latest** will be used by default.

```bash
# Run the build script that takes the build values
./build.sh
```

### Building with Copyleft Sources

If you need to include copyleft sources in your build, you can set the following environment variable:

```bash
export ADD_COPYLEFT_SOURCES=true
```

When this environment variable is set to `true`, it allows the Dockerfiles to conditionally include copyleft sources when needed.

## What to Do Next

- **[Get Started](./get-started.md)**: Complete the initial setup and configuration steps
- **[How to Use the Application](./how-to-use-application.md)**: Learn about the application's features and functionality
- **[API Reference](./api-reference.md)**: Explore the available REST API endpoints
- **[Troubleshooting](./troubleshooting.md#troubleshooting-docker-deployments)**: Find solutions to common deployment issues
- **[System Requirements](./system-requirements.md)**: Review hardware and software requirements