Auto Exporter¶

Automate Milestone XProtect™ video exports on a recurring rule or on demand, and keep them on disk within a bounded size and age. Exports are produced by a standalone agent service running on the machine that stores them, and managed from the Management Client.

Auto Exporter is a standalone application with its own installer and release feed, separate from the main MS Community Plugins installer.

Download¶

One MSI with selectable Agent and Management Client plugin features. Download MSCPAutoExport-Setup.msi Minimum Version: Milestone XProtect™ 2023 R3

Windows SmartScreen

The installer is not code-signed, so Windows SmartScreen may show a "Windows protected your PC" dialog when you run it. This is normal for unsigned open-source software. Click More info and then Run anyway to proceed.

Architecture¶

Auto Exporter is split into parts so the heavy export work runs on the machine that stores the files, while the configuration and status live where the operator already works (the Management Client). The parts talk to each other over Milestone MessageCommunication on the management server, so they can be on different machines.

Management Client plugin (the admin UI)¶

This is the part you see in the Management Client, under Auto Exporter. It is where you define jobs (which cameras, format, time range), assign each job to an agent, and watch status in the Agents, Jobs, and Executions sections. It also registers the rule action and events so jobs can be driven by the Rules engine. It stores jobs as Milestone configuration items but does not export anything itself.

Event Server bridge (the part that runs in the Event Server)¶

The same plugin DLL also loads inside the Event Server, where it runs as a small background bridge. It is needed because the things below can only happen server-side, not in the agent process and not in the Management Client UI:

Forwarding rule triggers. A rule's Run Auto Export Job action executes in the Event Server. The bridge turns that trigger into a RunJob message addressed to the agent that owns the job.
Raising the rule events. When an agent reports a run starting, succeeding, or failing, the bridge raises the registered Auto Export: Job Started / Succeeded / Failed events. A Milestone event source must live in the Event Server, so the agent cannot raise these itself.
Server-side configuration writes. Removing an offline agent (and its jobs) is a write the Management Client is not allowed to make for the agent item kind. The bridge performs it server-side on request.

It does no exporting and holds no heavy state. It is part of the plugin feature and loads automatically wherever the Event Server runs, with no separate install.

Agent service (the part that exports)¶

A Windows service installed on each machine that stores exports. It is a separate process and usually a separate machine for two reasons: exports are written to a folder on that machine's local disk, and the export pipeline is long-running and CPU and IO heavy, so it must not run inside the shared Event Server. The agent:

signs in to Milestone with its own credentials (as Local System) and registers itself in the Agents list,
runs the actual export (AVI, XProtect™ database, or timelapse MP4) when a RunJob arrives or on a manual Run now,
enforces the per-agent size and age limits on its export folder,
answers a live ping so its Online status and fields are current, and reports progress and the outcome of each run back to the Event Server bridge.

Tray app (configures the agent)¶

A small app on the agent machine. It sets the Milestone connection, the export folder, the display name, and the size and age limits, and can start or stop the service. The tray never logs in itself: it saves the configuration, restarts the service, and shows back exactly what the service reports, so there is a single sign-in path owned by the service.

Installer¶

The single installer has two selectable features: Agent service and tray app (install on each export machine) and Management Client plugin (install on the management machine, this also provides the Event Server bridge). You can install both on the same machine.

Install¶

Download MSCPAutoExport-vX.X-Setup.msi from the Releases page.
Run as Administrator.
On the feature page, pick Agent service and tray app, Management Client plugin, or both.

The plugin feature closes the Management Client and restarts the Event Server during install (the plugin DLL is locked while either runs). The agent feature installs the service plus the tray app, with Start menu and Desktop shortcuts and an autostart entry, and offers to launch the tray when the installer finishes.

OEM Installations

You need manually copy files to the correct destination after installation, and stop and start the services by yourself, you need todo this only for the managment client / event server plugin.

Configure the agent (tray app)¶

The agent signs in to Milestone itself. The tray never logs in: it saves the configuration, restarts the service, and shows back what the service reports.

Open the Auto Exporter Agent tray app on the export machine.
On Registration, enter the Management Server address and credentials (Basic user, or a Windows user). The service runs as Local System and signs in with these credentials. Click Connect.
On General, set the Display name (optional, the friendly name shown in the Management Client), the Export folder, and the Max size (GB) and Retention (days) limits. A limit of 0 means unlimited.

Once connected, the agent appears under Auto Exporter, Agents in the Management Client within a few seconds.

Recording server reachability

After sign-in the agent checks that it can reach every recording server. If one cannot be reached (often bad DNS, a missing hosts entry, or a firewall), the tray warns about it. Exports for cameras on an unreachable recorder fail until it can be reached.

Set up a job¶

In the Management Client open Auto Exporter and the Jobs section (or the Jobs tree node).
Add a job. Give it a name, pick the agent that runs it, choose the format, set the time range, and add the cameras or camera groups.
Save. A job needs a name, an agent, and at least one camera or group.
Use Run now to test it, or build a Rule with the Run Auto Export Job action. Watch the Executions section for the result.

Audio is always included. Microphones and speakers related to the selected cameras are exported alongside the video.

Export formats¶

Format	Result
AVI (default)	A standard video file per camera that plays in any media player, no Milestone software needed. Does not support encryption. Tick Burn in timestamp to draw the recording time onto the frames.
XProtect	The Milestone database export (a Data folder plus a project file). Open it in a Smart Client to review it. Tick Sign export to add a digital signature (off by default) and Encryption to protect it with a password.
Timelapse	A short MP4 per camera, made by sampling frames from the recordings and playing them back at a chosen frame rate, so hours or days of footage become a brief clip. Recording gaps are always skipped. Plays in any media player, no Milestone software needed. See the capture modes below.

The Timelapse format has two capture modes:

Continuous samples one frame every N seconds of footage across the whole range. Best for a steady time lapse of a scene.
Event based walks each recorded sequence instead, taking the first frame plus one every few seconds, between a minimum and maximum number of frames per sequence, and merging sequences recorded close together. Best when recording is motion or event driven and you want a few frames from each event.

For both modes you set the playback fps, can tick Burn in timestamp to draw the recording time onto each frame, and can enable a daily window to use only footage inside a time of day range each day (for example 08:00 to 17:00).

The Smart Client Player is not bundled

The standalone Smart Client Player (the SmartClient-Player.exe you get from an export made inside the Smart Client) is not included with an XProtect-format export. Milestone only adds the player when the export runs from within the Smart Client itself, so a standalone service cannot produce it. Use AVI or Timelapse if the recipient has no Milestone software, or open the XProtect export in a Smart Client.

Time range¶

Each job exports Last N [Minutes, Hours, Days, or Months], anchored at the moment the job runs, so the same job works for a scheduled rule, a manual Run now, or an event-driven rule.

Run time	Range	Exported window
2026-05-28 03:00	Last 2 Days	2026-05-26 03:00 to 2026-05-28 03:00
2026-05-28 14:22	Last 2 Hours	2026-05-28 12:22 to 2026-05-28 14:22

Months counts as 30 days.

Where exports go and how long they stay¶

The export folder, the maximum size, and the retention in days are per agent, not per job. They are set in the agent tray app. Each job writes into its own subfolder, and each run gets its own timestamped folder.

<Export folder>\
  <Job name>\
    28.05.2026_0300\
      <Camera name>\
        ...exported files...
    28.05.2026_0400\
      ...

Old runs are removed oldest first to stay under the size limit, and runs older than the retention are removed as well.

Agents section¶

An agent appears automatically once its service signs in (it registers itself by hostname). You do not add agents by hand. The section shows each agent's friendly name, hostname, status, version, size and age limits, current Used GB of the export folder, and last seen.

Status is driven by a live ping, so it reflects reality without a manual refresh. A new or reconnecting agent shows Checking... briefly, then Online.
The Used GB value turns orange once the export folder reaches 95% of the agent size limit.
An offline agent can be removed with Remove agent, which also deletes the jobs assigned to it so none point at a missing agent. A live agent cannot be removed because it would just register itself again.

Executions section¶

The Executions section shows recent runs from every agent (newest first) with the outcome, camera count, size, and detail. A running job shows its live progress (Running 45%).

Select a Pending or Running run and click Stop run to cancel it. A queued run is dropped before it starts, an in-progress export is cancelled, and the run is recorded as Stopped (it does not raise the Job Failed event).

Each agent keeps its own run history and log files under %ProgramData%\MSCPlugins\AutoExporter\ on its machine. The tray app can open those logs.

Rule action and events¶

The plugin exposes one action, Run Auto Export Job, which you point at a specific job. It raises three events you can react to in rules:

Auto Export: Job Started fires when a run begins.
Auto Export: Job Succeeded fires when a run finishes.
Auto Export: Job Failed fires on a hard error.

Troubleshooting¶

No agent to pick when adding a job. Start the agent service on the export machine and connect it in the tray app. It appears in Agents within a few seconds.
A camera has no recordings in the range. Cameras with no data in the window are skipped. The run is recorded as Partial when some cameras still exported, or Skipped when none did. This is informational, not an error.
AVI plus encryption was rejected when saving. AVI does not support encryption. Switch to XProtect or turn encryption off.
A recording server is reported unreachable. Check name resolution and the firewall from the agent machine to that recorder.

Encryption password storage

An export encryption password is stored in the Milestone configuration. Use encryption only where that is acceptable, and restrict configuration database access with Milestone roles.

Changelog¶

[1.1.0] - 2026-06-03¶

Add: Timelapse export format.
Add: Sign export option for the XProtect format, off by default. Encryption stays a separate option.
Improve: Redesigned the job editor into General, Timerange, Cameras, and Output sections, showing only the options that apply to the chosen format.
Improve: Executions view shows a live progress bar column while a run is in flight.

[1.0.0] - 2026-06-02¶

Add: Auto Exporter standalone. Scheduled and rule triggered AVI or XProtect database exports, run by an agent service on the machine that stores them, with per agent size and age limits, managed from the Management Client.