CLine for CCcam: setting up the C-line and connection 2026

If you received a line likeC: somehost.net 12000 username password and are looking at it without understanding — this material is for you. Let's break down the cccam cline from format to diagnostics: where to insert, how to check, why it doesn't work. No theory aboutcard sharing in general — only specifics with paths to files and commands.

What is a C-line (cline) in the CCcam protocol

A C-line is a client connection string to the server via the CCcam protocol. One line contains everything necessary for establishing a connection: server address, port, username, and password. Nothing extra.

Decoding the format of the C line:

The standard format looks like this:

C: host port username password

WhereC: — type of line (client connection),host — domain name or IP address of the server,port — TCP port (most often 12000),username andpassword — your credentials.

A critically important point: username and password are case-sensitive.User anduser — these are two different logins. A silent authorization failure is the most common reason why the cccam cline "seems to connect, but there is no picture." Check the case before digging into the router settings.

How cline differs from N-line and F-line

In the CCcam.cfg config, there are three types of lines with different purposes:

• C: — client line, connection to a remote CCcam server (cline)
• N: — connection via the newcamd protocol. Different syntax, different port (typically 10300), and at the end, there must be a 14-byte DES key. Not directly compatible with C-line.
• F: — friend/peer line for sharing between two CCcam servers. Used for resharing between servers, not for client connection.

N-line and C-line are different protocols. If the server only works on newcamd, inserting a C-line into CCcam.cfg and waiting for results is pointless.

The role of port 12000 and the CCcam protocol

Port 12000 is the default TCP port for the CCcam protocol. Its server listens for incoming client connections. Port 16001 is separate; this is the monitoring web interface, do not confuse them.

The server can be run on any other port — 10000, 15000, 20000 — that's fine. The main thing is that the port in your C-line matches what the server is listening to. If the ports do not match, the connection will not be established at all.

Where to enter the cline: CCcam.cfg file and paths

CCcam reads its configuration from one main file at startup. It is not possible to change something "on the fly" — after any modification, a restart of the daemon is required.

Standard paths: /etc/CCcam.cfg, /var/etc/CCcam.cfg, /usr/keys/CCcam.cfg

The path to the config depends on the Enigma2 image that is on your receiver:

Image	Path to CCcam.cfg
OpenATV 7.x	/etc/CCcam.cfg
OpenPLi 9.x	/etc/CCcam.cfg
Older OpenVix	/var/etc/CCcam.cfg
VTi / some custom builds	/usr/keys/CCcam.cfg

If you are not sure — executefind / -name CCcam.cfg 2>/dev/null via SSH, it will find it in a second. You can edit the file through an FTP client (WinSCP, FileZilla) or directly in SSH using nano/vi. The file permissions should be 644:chmod 644 /etc/CCcam.cfg.

Syntax of the line in the config

Working example of a C-line in the file:

C: server.example.net 12000 myuser mypassword

Several C-lines can be inserted consecutively — CCcam will try to connect to each one. But this is not load balancing: decoding goes through the first available card with the required CAID. With multiple lines, watch the hop limit — it affects priority and latency.

If an older version of CCcam (2.x instead of 2.3.x) is installed on the receiver, some advanced config parameters may be ignored or cause parsing errors. In this case, keep the line minimal — onlyC: host port user pass.

To manage the sharing of your local cards, the directive of the form is used:

SHARE LIMIT: 10

But if you are just a client without local cards — this does not concern you.

Restarting the CCcam daemon after editing

Three working ways to restart CCcam:

1. Via SSH:killall -9 CCcam — the process is killed, init.d or supervise will automatically bring it up (if configured).
2. Via script:/etc/init.d/CCcam restart — cleaner than kill, because it handles dependencies.
3. Restarting the GUI Enigma2: the Restart GUI button in the menu — CCcam starts along with the interface.

Without a restart, changes in CCcam.cfg are not applied. At all. This is not nginx with graceful reload — CCcam reads the config only at startup.

Checking the connection and status of the cline

Inserting the line is half the battle. Next, you need to make sure that the connection is actually working, and not just "seemingly connected."

CCcam web interface on port 16001

CCcam starts a built-in HTTP server on port 16001. Open in your browserhttp://<receiver IP>:16001 — and see the full picture: the status of each connection, cards, ECM time.

The page refreshes every few seconds. You can also see the version of CCcam, uptime, and a list of active clients (if you are sharing cards yourself). There is no default password — accessible from the local network without authorization.

Reading status: Connected, Card, ECM time

In the web interface, several key parameters are displayed for each C-line:

• Connected / OFF — whether a TCP connection is established or not
• Cards — the number of cards that the server has provided to your client
• ECM time — the time in milliseconds from the ECM request to receiving the CW (Control Word)
• Hops — how many intermediate servers are between you and the physical card

Normal ECM time is from 50 to 400 ms. At 600–800 ms, delays will already be noticeable when switching channels. Above 1000 ms — frequent freezes are guaranteed. Stability is more important than the absolute minimum: ECM 300 ms without spikes is better than 150 ms with peaks up to 2000.

Hops: 1 — the card is physically in the same server to which you are connected. 2 — the server itself is a client of another. The more hops, the higher the delay and lower the reliability.

Logs and debugging via telnet

If the web interface is unavailable or a detailed picture is needed — check the logs directly:

tail -f /tmp/CCcam.log

Or via SSH:

telnet 127.0.0.1 16000

Port 16000 is the telnet interface of CCcam with commands for viewing status in real time. The commandl outputs a list of connections. It shows what is really happening with each cccam cline at the moment of the ECM request.

Typical cline errors and their solutions

Most problems with cccam cline boil down to one of four scenarios. Let's go through each in order.

Status OFF / no connection to the server

The first step is to check basic network availability. From the receiver (or from any computer on the same network):

ping server.example.net

Iftelnet does not establish a connection — the problem is network-related. Either the server is unavailable, or the port is closed by a firewall, or the provider is blocking outgoing 12000.

The last one is a real problem. Some ISPs block non-standard ports at the network level. Check throughtelnet from a mobile phone (mobile internet, not WiFi) — if it connects via mobile but not from home, the provider is at fault. Solution: VPN or ask the server to raise an alternative port (443, 80, 8080 — usually not blocked).

Connected, but no picture (freeze, black screen)

Connection established, cards available, but channels do not open. There are three main reasons:

First — CAID mismatch. The server provides cards from one provider, while your channels are encrypted with a different CAID. In the web interface on 16001, you can see the CAID of available cards — compare it with what your channel requires (can be checked in the signal information in Enigma2).

Second — hop limit exceeded. In CCcam.cfg you can setSHARE LIMIT, which limits how many hops are allowed to take cards. If the server has hops=3, and the limit is set to 2 — cards are not used.

The third reason — time desynchronization. Read below.

Time desynchronization and NTP

This is an underestimated problem. Some CCcam servers check that the time on the client does not deviate from the server time beyond the allowed limit. If the time on the receiver is off — ECM requests are rejected. A visible symptom: Connected, Cards> 0, but freeze on all channels.

Fix — configure the NTP client on the receiver. In OpenATV/OpenPLi go to Menu → Setup → System → Time. Specify the serverpool.ntp.org ortime.google.com. After synchronization, restart CCcam.

Check the current time via SSH:date. Compare with the real time — a discrepancy of more than 2–3 minutes can already cause problems.

Port blocking on the router/provider side

The router can also block outgoing connections. Especially if it is a business router with a firewall by default. Check the rules for outgoing connections — port 12000 should be allowed.

The situation with CGNAT complicates diagnosis: you are behind the operator's NAT and cannot manage the routing tables above. In this case, the only reliable option is a VPN tunnel to the server or using another port.

If the server is behind a dynamic IP and uses DDNS (for example,myserver.ddns.net) — make sure that DNS resolves correctly:nslookup myserver.ddns.net. Sometimes the DDNS record becomes outdated and points to an old IP.

How to choose a cline source: criteria without brand attachment

Choosing a C-line source is purely a technical question if viewed correctly. We discard marketing and look at measurable parameters.

What to look at: ECM stability, uptime, hops

Three indicators that are really important:

• ECM time — stability is more important than the minimum. 200 ms exactly all day is better than 80 ms in the morning and 1500 ms in the evening.
• Server uptime — ask if there is monitoring. Quality sources know their uptime for the last 30 days.
• Hops — the closer to the local card, the better. Hops=1 means the server holds the physical card itself. Hops=3–4 — already sharing through several intermediaries.

Technical signs of a quality connection

A good connection looks like this: ECM time 50–250 ms, no disconnects throughout the day, support for necessary CAID without restrictions on the number of channels. Freezes should be a rarity, not the norm.

A bad sign is frequent reconnections in the CCcam logs. If inCCcam.log "disconnected / connected" flashes every few minutes — the server is unstable, and it may not necessarily be your fault. This could be an overloaded server, unstable internet on its part, or anti-flood mechanisms that disconnect clients when requests exceed a limit.

Local cards versus resharing

The difference is fundamental. A local card is a physical smart card in the server's CAM module. The response time is minimal, and stability is maximal. Resharing is when the server itself is a client of another server, which is a client of a third one. Each hop adds delay and a point of failure.

In practice: if the ECM time is consistently below 150 ms — you are likely close to a local card. Above 400 ms and unstable — there are several intermediaries somewhere in the chain. This is not necessarily bad, but it explains the nature of possible problems.

And one more point about multiple C-lines in one config: if you insert two or three lines from different sources, CCcam will iterate through them in the order they were entered. This can create conflicts if one server provides CAID slowly while another does so quickly — decoding will go through the "slow" one because it is first in the list. The order of lines matters.