API validation fails for field V4LMultiBuffer on ZoneMinder 1.38.3

[mr-graf]

zmNinjaNg version and build number

1.3.0 (1820)

Platform

Linux (desktop)

OS / browser version

Slackware linux 15.0 and Android 12.0

Device

No response

ZoneMinder version

1.38.3

Event Server (ES) version

No response

zm_detect version

No response

Describe the bug

Hello!

ZoneMinder 1.38.3, zmNinjaNg fails to load the monitor list. The error is: api response validation failed for GET /monitors.json. Debug logs show validation error paths: monitors.X.Monitor.V4LMultiBuffer with message Invalid input.

The V4LMultiBuffer field is only relevant for analog cameras (Type = Local), but ZoneMinder 1.38.3 now includes it in the API response for all camera types, including Ffmpeg and File. The field also has inconsistent data types across monitors in the JSON response:

null for some cameras
false (boolean) for others
0 (integer) for the rest

The app does not expect this field for non-Local cameras and fails validation.

There are also potential secondary issues once V4LMultiBuffer is resolved:
Event_Summary returns all null values for monitors with zero events (including MonitorId), while monitors with events return proper integers.

Several other fields (ControlId, TrackDelay, ReturnDelay, TotalEvents) also have inconsistent null/integer types across monitors.

All of my cameras are configured with the FFmpeg source type (there are no analog or local cameras).

I'm using a multi-server configuration with CNAME records pointing to the same physical server (to bypass browser limits on the number of simultaneous connections).

Steps to reproduce

1. Upgraded ZoneMinder 1.36.33 to ZoneMinder 1.38.3.
2. Installed and configured zmNinjaNg to connect to the server.
3. Launched the application.
4. An error message appears: zmninjang failed to load monitors: API response validation failed for the GET /monitors.json request

Expected behavior

In my opinion, the app should:

• Ignore the irrelevant V4LMultiBuffer field for non-Local camera types.
• Handle null values in Event_Summary, ControlId, TrackDelay, ReturnDelay, and TotalEvents.
• Load the monitor list successfully after a ZoneMinder upgrade.

Screenshots / logs

Validation error:

API response validation failed

{
"endpoint": "/monitors.json",
"method": "GET",
"errors": [
{
"path": "monitors.1.Monitor.V4LMultiBuffer",
"message": "Invalid input"
},
{
"path": "monitors.2.Monitor.V4LMultiBuffer",
"message": "Invalid input"
},
... (repeats for all cameras)
]
rawResponse": "{"monitors":[{"Monitor":{"Id":2,"Name":"Cam-1","Deleted":false,"Notes":null,"ServerId":6,"StorageId":0,"ManufacturerId":12,"ModelId":null,"Type":"Ffmpeg","Function":"Record","Capturing":"Always","Enabled":0,"DecodingEnabled":1,"Decoding":"Always","Go2RTCEnabled":false,"RTSP2WebEnabled":false,"RTSP2WebType":"WebRTC","StreamChannel":"CameraDirectPrimary","DefaultPlayer":"","JanusEnabled":false,"JanusAudioEnabled":false,"Janus_Profile_Override":"","Restream":false,"RTSP_User":null,"Janus_Use_RTSP...[truncated]"
}

Database query result:

MariaDB [zm]> SELECT Id, Name, Type, V4LMultiBuffer FROM Monitors;

+----+-------------------+-----------+---------------------+
| Id | Name              | Type      | V4LMultiBuffer      |
+----+-------------------+-----------+---------------------+
|  2 | Cam-1             | Ffmpeg    |                NULL |
|  3 | Cam-2             | Ffmpeg    |                   0 |
|  4 | Cam-3             | Ffmpeg    |                   0 |
| ...                                                                         |
+----+-------------------+-----------+---------------------+

V4LMultiBuffer type mismatch between database and JSON response:

The database stores V4LMultiBuffer as integer 0 for most cameras and NULL for some. However, the ZoneMinder 1.38.3 API serializes these values incorrectly:

+------------------+------------------+-------------+-------------------+
| Database value   | JSON output      | JSON type   | Monitors affected |
+------------------+------------------+-------------+-------------------+
| NULL             | null             | null        | some cameras      |
| 0                | false            | boolean     | some cameras      |
| 0 (expected)     | 0 (not returned) | integer     | None              |
+------------------+------------------+-------------+-------------------+

No camera returns integer 0 in JSON. The zmNinjaNg schema likely expects integer 0 or 1 for this field, so both null and false fail validation.

Event_Summary with all nulls (monitors with zero events):

"Event_Summary": {
  "MonitorId": null,
  "TotalEvents": null,
  "TotalEventDiskSpace": null,
  "HourEvents": null,
  "HourEventDiskSpace": null,
  "DayEvents": null,
  "DayEventDiskSpace": null,
  "WeekEvents": null,
  "WeekEventDiskSpace": null,
  "MonthEvents": null,
  "MonthEventDiskSpace": null,
  "ArchivedEvents": null,
  "ArchivedEventDiskSpace": null
}

Inconsistent types across monitors (examples):

+------------------+---------------------------+---------------------------+
| Field            | Monitors with events      | Monitors without events   |
+------------------+---------------------------+---------------------------+
| ControlId        | 0 (integer)               | null                      |
| TrackDelay       | 0 (integer)               | null                      |
| ReturnDelay      | 0 (integer)               | null                      |
| TotalEvents      | 4187 (integer)            | null                      |
| Event_Summary    | All fields populated with | All fields null,          |
|                  | proper integers           | including MonitorId       |
+------------------+---------------------------+---------------------------+

Environment:

ZoneMinder version: 1.38.3
zmNinjaNg platform: Electron (desktop)
Server: Apache/2.4.68, PHP/8.2.32 (PHP/8.3.13 - Same Errors), OpenSSL/1.1.1zh

Additional context

All cameras are of type Ffmpeg. No analog/Local cameras exist.
Database stores 0 and NULL for V4LMultiBuffer, but API returns false and null — two different JSON types, neither of which the app expects.
Direct request to api/monitors.json returns HTTP 200 with valid JSON.

[pliablepixels]

which package type are you using to on linux? appimage?

[mr-graf]

which package type are you using to on linux? appimage?

Yes, I used an AppImage for the desktop version on Linux and an APK file for Android. I downloaded them from here.

[pliablepixels]

@mr-graf please give this a try https://drive.google.com/drive/u/2/folders/1KyUN11o4OsB5tGKGKG93CxRVG8lB_NKc

[Sorinaki]

I'd like to try it (have the same issue), but it's arm64, can you provide a x86_64 version for testing?

[pliablepixels]

@Sorinaki https://drive.google.com/drive/u/2/folders/1KyUN11o4OsB5tGKGKG93CxRVG8lB_NKc

[Sorinaki]

Thank you @pliablepixels , I confirm that this version displays the monitors without issue.

[mr-graf]

@mr-graf please give this a try «link removed by spam moderation»

Yes, everything works with this version!
Thank you so much!

[github-actions]

Hi @mr-graf, links from new accounts are automatically held for review. The following off-site link was removed from your comment for now; a maintainer will restore it shortly if it is legitimate:

• (bare link) → drive.google.com

Please do not download or run anything from links posted by new accounts until a maintainer confirms them.

@pliablepixels first-time contributor (@mr-graf, NONE) posted an off-allowlist link in the comment (#247 (comment)). It stays in the comment's edit history, so restore it if this is a false positive; hide/delete and report the account if it is spam.