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Show HN: Itsyhome – Control HomeKit from your Mac menu bar (open source)
Hey HN!
Nick here – developer of Itsyhome, a menu bar app for macOS that gives you control over your whole HomeKit fleet (and very soon Home Assistant). I run 130+ HomeKit devices at home and the Home app was too heavy for quick adjustments.
Full HomeKit support, favourites, hidden items, device groups, pinning of rooms/accessories/groups as separate menu bar items, iCloud sync – all in a native experience and tiny package.
Open source (https://github.com/nickustinov/itsyhome-macos) and free to use (there is an optional one-time purchase for a Pro version which includes cameras and automation features).
Itsyhome is a Mac Catalyst app because HomeKit requires the iOS SDK, so it runs a headless Catalyst process for HomeKit (and now Home Assistant) access while using a native AppKit plugin over a bridge protocol to provide the actual menu bar UI – since AppKit gives you the real macOS menu bar experience that Catalyst alone can't.
It comes with deeplink support, a webhook server, a CLI tool (golang, all open source), a Stream Deck plugin (open source, all accessories supported), and the recent update also includes an SSE event stream (HomeKit and HA) - you can curl -N localhost:8423/events and get a real-time JSON stream of every device state change in your home.
Home Assistant version is still in beta – would anyone be willing to test it via TestFlight?
Appreciate any feedback and happy to answer any questions.
This is amazing. Assuming yes, but is there any way to get a camera feed to automatically pop up if motion is detected?
Hey, this looks great! I would love to test the Home Assistant version via TestFlight if that's possible; email is in my profile.
Perfect – I will send the link shortly – waiting for the new build to be cleared by Apple.
What’s the best way to get notified once HA is released? This looks like an insta-buy.
Good question – I don't have a mailing list :) You can probably follow the github repo, and I was planning to post it to r/homeassistant on Reddit.
This is so wonderfully done! Great icon choices & use of fill to indicate active devices. I love how you grouped accessories by category, and included temperature/humidity sensor readings next to thermostat controls. I instantly upgraded to Pro for the additional features!
Thanks so much! I'm obsessed with great UX, spent some time thinking how to lay it out properly.
This looks amazing, I'd love to try the Home Assistant version! Email is on my profile :)
Perfect – expect the TF link in the e-mail soon!
This looks great! Question on the API/CLI - is there any provision for capturing frames (or even streams?) from Homekit cameras, or even triggering events or webhooks based on the cameras detecting motion?
The camera streams are HLS via AVFoundation – Apple doesn't expose raw frames, so no programmatic capture there. But motion detection events do flow through the SSE endpoint (/events), so you can use those to trigger webhooks or automations. For HA cameras there's also a snapshot endpoint you can hit on demand, e.g. when motion fires.
SSE is in the upcoming 2.0.0 which is currently on TestFlight – happy to add you if you want to try it out.
Looks interesting.
What's the difference between your app and Home Control: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/homecontrol-menu-for-homekit/i... HomeControl Menu for HomeKit
other than this ones yours!
Home Control is a solid app and was actually one of the first in this space. The main differences are: Itsyhome is open source (MIT), has a built-in webhook server with SSE event streaming so you can integrate it into scripts and dashboards, supports deeplinks for Shortcuts/Raycast/Alfred, has a Stream Deck plugin, and a CLI tool. The base app is also completely free. Basically I built it for people who want to go beyond just toggling devices from the menu bar.
Thank you for the reply and the time to write it.
I'm probably going to stick with Home Control but I will download and pay for yours as well, mainly to show some support and possibly to switch!
I do use Home Control via my Stream Deck, weirdly with Keyboard Maestro in the middle to receive the Stream Deck keypress and call the URI for Home Control, but there's a lot to like from what you've built.
Thanks! Give a try to Itsyhome Stream Deck plugin, it's in their markletplace, quite straightforward, just make sure to enable web server in Itsyhome settings.
Wonder if OP is also an author of: https://www.mowglii.com/itsycal/ , though looking at the website - probably not.
Nope, but I love it too! :) I'm the author of Itsyhome, Itsypad – https://itsypad.app (a tiny scratchpad & clipboard manager for macOS) and Itsytv - https://itsytv.app (the missing Apple TV remote for macOS).
Itsypad looks really nice! Are there some plans to add an iOS keyboard to access the clipboard too? :)
Could you clarify on this a bit? I am building iOS companion for Itsypad that would also sync scratch notes via iCloud sync, but keyboard idea seems interesting too – just not clear what's the desired outcome?
This is really clean. Smart architecture and the convenience of having everything in the menu bar is top notch. My devices are in Alexa & Hue ecosystem right now. Any plans for integrating them in the future?
Thanks! Hue actually works with HomeKit natively – you can pair your Hue bridge in the Home app and then all your Hue lights show up in Itsyhome automatically. For Alexa-only devices, the Home Assistant integration (currently in beta) would cover most of them since HA supports pretty much everything.
Is there a way to add devices to HomeKit with a MacBook without an IPhone?
Unfortunately no – HomeKit pairing requires an iPhone or iPad. Apple doesn't support adding devices from macOS. Once they're added though, Itsyhome can control everything from your Mac.
I'm nether a Mac or HomeKit user but this looks slick AF. Well done!
Thank you!
> I run 130+ HomeKit devices at home
This is insane. I couldn't name a single homekit device if you put a gun to my head. Where do you find these things?
Honestly most smart home devices support HomeKit these days – lights (Philips Hue, IKEA), thermostats (Ecobee), locks (Yale, Schlage), blinds, cameras, sensors. And anything that doesn't can usually be bridged through Homebridge or Home Assistant. It adds up fast once you start – lights alone can be 50+ if you do every room.
Wow. I thought it was just the speakers. Why don't they advertise this?
Every device compatible with the Matter standard[1] can be used with Apple Home (and with every other solution that supports Matter, like Google and Amazon ones), so almost everything is compatible with everything out there.
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matter_(standard)
Why don't they advertise this? Crazy I've never heard of it.
148 Home Assistant (bridged) accessories checking in... sign me up for the beta!
On the accessory count, call it a 2-story house, ~5 rooms per floor, plus an outdoor zone:
2x thermostat, 2x speakers (HomePod), 2x door, garage door, 2 lamps per room, pool "accessories" (filter, cleaner, heater, lights), 2x outdoor lights... that's 27 just off the bat!
Now adding Home Assistant and you start getting 2x Zigbee interior door sensors (privacy locks/detection for when we have a babysitter), 2x interior motion sensors (upstairs/downstairs stairwell), patio string lights, front throw/spot lights, 3x decorator bulbs for the hanging entrance lamp (bridges three bulbs as one since they're individually controllable bulbs instead of a smart fixture or switch), an AirPlay compatible TV, fridge and freezer temp/humidity sensors, the outdoor AirPlay speaker, outdoor gate open/close sensors (front and back), outdoor motion sensor...
...and then the random other "every HomePod technically has an in-built temp and humidity sensor", the Home Assistant integration for the router that reads the packets in/out, the printer thing that reads the ink status for all the ink cartridges, etc.
It's a lot, but start with a single reading lamp and night light per room. Make a "lights" and "mood" scene per room/floor. A few key motion/door sensors (turn on a downstairs mood light when opening the door after sunset, turn on the hallway mood light when motion is detected after 9pm, etc).
Excellent – please e-mail me to nick@itsyhome.app and I will send you the link to Testflight. This looks like a great use case.
They sell them in shops.
Do you want to be taken seriously?
Bruh I use nothing but apple products and I had never even heard of homekit before this post.
It’s nice, be a it’s all handled on-prem of via iCloud. Lot less vendor exposure to data.
I’m going to install this as soon as I get back home.
Hope you like it!
This is great, thanks, I paid the IAP immediately. So much more usable than the risible Home app.
Thanks, really appreciate the support! Agreed – the Home app is way too heavy for quick device control. If you run into anything or have feature requests, feel free to open an issue on GitHub.
Oh man, just discovered the deep links and webhooks stuff in the settings too. That IAP price is a real bargain.
Glad you found it! The webhook server + SSE stream is where it gets really fun – pipe your whole home's state into whatever you want. (SSE is coming in the next update along with Doorbell notifications)
My first thought when spotting that was to also put it on my always-on Mac Studio.