CCcam.cfg 2026: configuration setup and syntax

If you've already spent an hour trying to establish a working connection and the daemon is still silent — the problem is likely in the config. The CCcam.cfg file is simple, but even the slightest typo or extra character can ruin the entire connection. Here we will discuss the current syntax and paths forcccam cfg 2026, including nuances that are usually undocumented.

What is CCcam.cfg and where is it located

Purpose of the configuration file

CCcam.cfg is the only file that the CCcam daemon reads at startup. It contains everything: where to connect, who to allow, which port to listen on, which keys to use. No config — no operation. Incorrect config — the same.

The daemon reads the file once at startup and caches the settings. This means: if you modify the file and forget to restart — it operates with the old config. Always restart after making changes.

Paths to the file on different firmware

Here begins the first pitfall. Depending on the receiver's firmware, the file is located in different places:

• /var/etc/CCcam.cfg — standard path for Enigma2 (OpenPLi, OpenATV, OpenVIX, and most modern builds)
• /etc/CCcam.cfg — old firmware based on DM500/DM600, some builds for Linux servers
• /usr/keys/CCcam.cfg — found on some Gemini and similar firmware
• /etc/cccam/CCcam.cfg — if CCcam is installed as a package in some distributions

The problem is that on some receivers, multiple configs can exist simultaneously in different directories. The daemon reads only one — the one specified in the startup script. Check viacat /etc/init.d/cccam orps aux | grep CCcam with which parameter the process is started.

File permissions and encoding

The file must have permissions 644:chmod 644 /var/etc/CCcam.cfg. If the permissions are 600 or 777 — on some firmware, the daemon will refuse to read it.

Encoding — UTF-8 without BOM. This is what often kills configs: an editor on Windows saves the file with a BOM marker (three bytes at the beginning: EF BB BF). The CCcam daemon does not understand BOM and either does not start or starts but does not read the first line. There is no visible error in this case. If you edit in Notepad — do not use it. Notepad++, VSCode with explicit UTF-8 without BOM, or nano on the receiver itself — all of these work fine.

You can check for the presence of BOM with the command:hexdump -C /var/etc/CCcam.cfg | head -1. If the first bytesef bb bf — BOM is present, it needs to be re-saved.

Syntax of the main lines in CCcam.cfg

Line C: — connection to the server

Format of the connection line to the remote server:

C: hostname port username password [no/yes] [no/yes]

Field breakdown:

• hostname — DNS name or IP of the server, for examplemyserver.example.com
• port — TCP port, most often 12000, but can be any
• username — login issued by the provider
• password — password for this login
• first boolean parameter — controls wantemus (share list request).no by default,yes enables
• second boolean parameter — keepalive/reconnect behavior. Different versions of CCcam interpret this field differently

The minimum working line looks like this:

C: myserver.example.com 12000 mylogin mypassword

Important point: CCcam 2.x and CCcam 2.3.x read optional fields slightly differently. In version 2.3.x both boolean fields affect the behavior of the reconnect timer, while in older versions the second field is completely ignored. If you have old firmware — do not add extra fields, it may cause parsing issues.

Line F: — accepting incoming clients

Line F: describes friend — a user to whom you allow to connect to your server:

F: username password [uphops] [downhops] [no/yes] [shares]

• username andpassword — client credentials
• uphops — how many hops up the client can see (0 = only local cards)
• downhops — how many hops the client can re-share further (0 = cannot share)

Example:F: clientuser clientpass 1 0 — the client sees cards with one hop, but cannot share them further.

Line N: — newcamd connection

Line N: is used for connecting via the Newcamd protocol. Format:

N: hostname port username password DES_key

DES key — 28 bytes in hex format, for example:01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14. If the key does not match the server's — the connection will fail with an authorization error. Newcamd is used less frequently than the CCcam protocol, but on some servers it is the only available option.

Parameters hop, recv/send dare, share limits

Hop-count is the distance from the physical card to the client. Hop 0 = card inserted locally. Hop 1 = card on the server you are directly connected to. Hop 2 = card on another server further away. The higher the hop — the greater the ECM delay.

In the config, you can limit the maximum hop for incoming clients through the directiveSHARE LIMIT:. This protects against the situation where your server becomes a relay in a long chain.

Client and server setup: step by step

Client config: adding line C:

The minimum working client config looks like this:

# CCcam.cfg — client config
C: myserver.example.com 12000 mylogin mypassword

CLIENTNAME: MyReceiver
LOGLEVEL: 3
LOGFILE: /tmp/cccam.log

You can add several lines C: — CCcam will try to connect to each server and use the first one that responds. This is good for fault tolerance.

Server config: opening the port and line F:

If you are setting up a server that will accept clients:

# CCcam.cfg — server config
SERVER LISTEN PORT: 12000
WEBINFO LISTEN PORT: 16001
ALLOW TELNET: yes

F: client1 pass1 1 0
F: client2 pass2 1 0

LOGLEVEL: 3
LOGFILE: /tmp/cccam.log

Server parameters: SERVER LISTEN PORT, ALLOW TELNET

SERVER LISTEN PORT — the port on which the daemon waits for incoming CCcam clients. By default 12000, but you can set any unused one. This port needs to be opened in the firewall and forwarded through the router if you are behind NAT.

WEBINFO LISTEN PORT — the web interface port, by default 16001. Through it, you can see the status of the cards, ECM time, and the list of connected clients.

ALLOW TELNET: yes — enables the telnet interface for diagnostics. It is better to keep it off in production, but it is convenient during setup.

Checking the connection through the log and web interface

Open the browser:http://192.168.1.100:16001 (the IP of your receiver). If CCcam is running and the config is correct — you will see a page with the number of cards and the status of connections.

What to look for:

• Cards — the number of cards that the daemon sees. Zero cards = server is unavailable or no authorization
• ECM time — the response time for the decryption request. Normal: up to 300ms. Bad: 800ms and above, there will be freezes
• Status — CONNECTED/DISCONNECTED for each line C:

At the same time, read the log:tail -f /tmp/cccam.log. There you can see connection attempts, authorization errors, and ECM requests.

Common CCcam.cfg errors and their solutions

Server does not respond: check the port and firewall

The first step in diagnostics is to check if the connection is reaching at all:

telnet myserver.example.com 12000

If telnet hangs and nothing happens — the port is closed. Reasons: firewall on the server, router not forwarding the port, server is not running at all. Check iptables on the server:

iptables -L -n | grep 12000

If the rule is not there — add:iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 12000 -j ACCEPT. If the router is behind NAT — add port forwarding in the router settings.

Double NAT is a separate headache. If both the client and server are behind different NATs without port forwarding, incoming F:-clients will physically not be able to connect. You need either a VPN or a server with a public IP.

Cards are available, but channels do not open (ECM timeout)

This is the most common situation after the configuration is correctly set upcccam cfg 2026: the web interface shows the cards, the channel is selected, but after 3-5 seconds "no signal" or a black screen appears.

Reasons in descending order of probability:

• High hop — the card is far away, ECM time 600-1000ms, the tuner cannot keep up
• CAID matches, but Provider ID is missing — the card is visible, but does not decrypt this specific channel
• Overloaded server — ECM time is normal during quiet hours, but in the evening during prime time it rises to 1500ms
• The card on the server is deactivated — CAID is in the list, but it no longer works

Solution to check Provider ID: go to the web interface, find the list of cards, see what Provider IDs are available for the required CAID. Compare with what is needed for the specific channel.

Incorrect syntax of the line — the daemon does not start

The CCcam daemon simply does not start and does not write a clear error when there is a parsing error in the config. Common reasons:

• BOM in the file (described above)
• Space before C: at the beginning of the line — the parser does not recognize the directive
• Tab instead of space between fields
• Windows carriage return characters (CRLF) instead of Unix line breaks (LF)
• Unclosed quotes or non-Latin characters in the password

Fix CRLF:sed -i 's/ //' /var/etc/CCcam.cfg. After that, restart the daemon and check the log.

Conflict between CCcam and OScam on the same receiver

This is a workable combination if the roles are correctly distributed. OScam can work as a card reader (reads the physical card) and simultaneously as a CCcam server — this is called cccam-reader mode in OScam. CCcam connects to OScam as a regular client via the C: line.

The reverse scheme also works: CCcam is launched as a client to an external server, OScam connects to CCcam via the cccam protocol and distributes cards to its clients.

The main thing is the ports. CCcam and OScam must not listen on the same port. By default: CCcam on 12000, OScam on 11000 or 11200. If both try to occupy 12000 — one of them will crash, and you will spend an hour looking for the reason.

Check who occupied the port:netstat -tlnp | grep 12000.

How to choose a quality connection in 2026

Stability criteria: uptime, ECM time, local cards

When evaluating any connection, look at three parameters. ECM time should consistently be below 300ms — this is the threshold above which noticeable delays occur when switching channels. Not 300ms in a night test, but 300ms on a Friday evening when everyone is watching a match.

Uptime — at least 99.5% over a month. Any planned or unplanned maintenance windows should be short and rare.

The most reliable option is a local official card in your own card reader. No hops, no dependence on someone else's server, ECM time 50-80ms. If possible — this is the only right choice.

Signs of an oversold server

Oversold — when more connections are sold to one server with one card than the card can physically serve. Symptoms:

• ECM time is normal in the morning, 800-1200ms in the evening
• Periodic freezes for 2-5 seconds without connection interruption
• The web interface shows the channels, but part of the CAID is not decrypted
• Mass disconnections of clients during prime time

Such a server cannot be fixed — it needs to be replaced. Check this in the first days after connecting, not after a month.

Legal and technical risks

Card sharing — a legally gray area in most countries. In several European countries, it is directly classified as a violation of copyright and subscription terms. Providers actively work with Nagravision, Conax, and other conditional access systems, periodically conducting mass deactivations of cards.

From a technical standpoint: any external connections mean dependence on a third party. The server crashes, the card is deactivated, the provider disappears — and you are left without a signal. This is not a theory: it happens regularly, especially after firmware updates on the broadcaster's side.

Local solution vs external connection

If there is an official subscription for the required channels — a physical card in the receiver and a local OScam server for other devices in the house. No external dependencies, minimal ECM time, no risks.

External connection only makes sense for channels that are otherwise physically unavailable in your region — and even then with an understanding of all risks.

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If after all this the config still doesn't work — compare the current syntax with the documentation for your version of CCcam. This is exactly why you should keep a working example on handcccam cfg 2026 and refer to it with each edit.