HN Explorer

Show HN: Itsyhome – Control HomeKit from your Mac menu bar (open source) (itsyhome.app)

57 points by nixus76 ↗ HN
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.

14 comments

[ 4.9 ms ] story [ 37.9 ms ] thread
drcongo
This is great, thanks, I paid the IAP immediately. So much more usable than the risible Home app.
FranklinJabar
> 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?

petepete
I'm nether a Mac or HomeKit user but this looks slick AF. Well done!
spiderfarmer
I’m going to install this as soon as I get back home.
marceldegraaf
Hey, this looks great! I would love to test the Home Assistant version via TestFlight if that's possible; email is in my profile.
luthMan
Is there a way to add devices to HomeKit with a MacBook without an IPhone?
roughfalls
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!
j4mie
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?
nanobuilds
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?
jamesponddotco
This looks amazing, I'd love to try the Home Assistant version! Email is on my profile :)
c-hendricks
This is amazing. Assuming yes, but is there any way to get a camera feed to automatically pop up if motion is detected?
sputge
I would be very interested in testing the Home Assistant version!

Recently I created a KOReader plugin that let's your control Home Assistant entities from an ebook reader and I am still missing something for my Mac.