add .env.example and update README for environment variable configuration

.env.example

@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+# Root TeslaCam directory containing RecentClips/SavedClips/SentryClips
+TESLACAM_DIRECTORY=/mnt/TeslaCam
+
+# Local dev server only (ignored when run under a WSGI server like gunicorn)
+FLASK_RUN_HOST=0.0.0.0
+FLASK_RUN_PORT=5000
+FLASK_DEBUG=0

.gitignore

@@ -8,3 +8,4 @@ __pycache__/
 .ruff_cache/
 .github/AGENTS.md
 .github/instructions/
+.env

README.md

@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ tesla-cam-view-1/
 ## Requirements
 
 - Python 3.x
-- Flask (see `requirements.txt`)
+- Flask, python-dotenv, gunicorn (see `requirements.txt`)
 
 ## Setup
 
@@ -46,17 +46,27 @@ tesla-cam-view-1/
    pip install -r requirements.txt
    ```
 
-3. Configure the TeslaCam directory by editing `TESLACAM_DIRECTORY` in `videoplayer.py`:
+3. Configure the TeslaCam directory via environment variables. Copy the example
+   file and edit it:
 
-   ```python
+   ```bash
-   TESLACAM_DIRECTORY = r'W:\2026\USA2026\TeslaCam'
+   cp .env.example .env
    ```
 
-   Point this to the root folder containing your `RecentClips`, `SavedClips`, and `SentryClips` subfolders.
+   ```ini
+   TESLACAM_DIRECTORY=/mnt/TeslaCam
+   FLASK_RUN_HOST=0.0.0.0
+   FLASK_RUN_PORT=5000
+   FLASK_DEBUG=0
+   ```
+
+   `TESLACAM_DIRECTORY` should point to the root folder containing your
+   `RecentClips`, `SavedClips`, and `SentryClips` subfolders. Variables set in
+   the real environment take precedence over `.env`.
 
 ## Usage
 
-Run the app:
+### Local development server
 
 ```bash
 python videoplayer.py
@@ -64,6 +74,26 @@ python videoplayer.py
 
 Then open [http://localhost:5000](http://localhost:5000) in your browser.
 
+### Production (WSGI server on Linux)
+
+For production, run the app behind a WSGI server such as **gunicorn**. The
+`app` object in `videoplayer.py` is the WSGI entry point:
+
+```bash
+gunicorn -w 4 -b 0.0.0.0:5000 'videoplayer:app'
+```
+
+`TESLACAM_DIRECTORY` is read from the environment (or `.env`), so make sure it
+is set for the gunicorn process, e.g.:
+
+```bash
+export TESLACAM_DIRECTORY=/mnt/TeslaCam
+gunicorn -w 4 -b 0.0.0.0:5000 'videoplayer:app'
+```
+
+For a systemd service or other process manager, set the variable in the unit
+file / environment rather than relying on `.env`.
+
 - The **main page** lists all clips grouped by camera view with a player and searchable clip list.
 - Click a clip to play it; use the camera switch buttons to jump between angles for the same timestamp.
 - The `/camera/<view>` route shows all clips for a single camera.
@@ -89,6 +119,7 @@ Then open [http://localhost:5000](http://localhost:5000) in your browser.
 
 ## Notes
 
-- The app runs with `debug=True` by default — disable this for production use.
+- Debug mode is off by default (`FLASK_DEBUG=0`) and is only used by the local
+  dev server. It has no effect when running under a WSGI server like gunicorn.
 - The TeslaCam directory must be accessible from the machine running the app (e.g., a mounted USB drive or network share).
 - Filename parsing assumes the standard TeslaCam naming format; files not matching the regex are ignored.

requirements.txt

@@ -1 +1,3 @@
 flask
+python-dotenv
+gunicorn

videoplayer.py

@@ -11,12 +11,18 @@ play videos from different camera views.
 
 import os
 import re
+
+from dotenv import load_dotenv
 from flask import Flask, render_template, send_from_directory, abort
 
+# Load variables from a .env file if present (does not override real env vars)
+load_dotenv()
+
 app = Flask(__name__)
 
 # Root TeslaCam directory containing RecentClips, SavedClips, SentryClips, etc.
-TESLACAM_DIRECTORY = '/mnt/TeslaCam'
+# Override via the TESLACAM_DIRECTORY environment variable (see .env.example).
+TESLACAM_DIRECTORY = os.environ.get('TESLACAM_DIRECTORY', '/mnt/TeslaCam')
 
 # Regular expression matching TeslaCam filenames: YYYY-MM-DD_HH-MM-SS-${camera_view}.mp4
 VIDEO_FILENAME_REGEX = re.compile(
@@ -132,5 +138,11 @@ def serve_video(filepath):
 
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':
-    host = '0.0.0.0'
+    # Local dev server. For production, run behind a WSGI server instead, e.g.:
-    app.run(debug=True, host=host, port=5000)
+    #   gunicorn -w 4 -b 0.0.0.0:5000 'videoplayer:app'
+    # or
+    #   waitress-serve --host=0.0.0.0 --port=5000 videoplayer:app
+    host = os.environ.get('FLASK_RUN_HOST', '0.0.0.0')
+    port = int(os.environ.get('FLASK_RUN_PORT', '5000'))
+    debug = os.environ.get('FLASK_DEBUG', '0').lower() in ('1', 'true', 'yes')
+    app.run(debug=debug, host=host, port=port)