Getting Started

HomeBe·at is a native macOS menu bar app (with an Apple TV companion) for monitoring your Home Assistant cameras. Here's how to get up and running.

Requirements

  • Home Assistant instance (any installation type)
  • macOS 14.0+ (Sonoma or later) or tvOS 17.6+
  • Camera entities configured in Home Assistant

Installation

macOS

Download HomeBe·at from the Mac App Store. The app runs as a menu bar app — after launching, look for the HomeBe·at icon in your menu bar (top-right of the screen). There is no Dock icon.

Apple TV

Download HomeBe·at from the App Store on your Apple TV. See the Apple TV guide for tvOS-specific setup.

First Launch

1
Enter your Home Assistant URL

Provide your local address, e.g. http://homeassistant.local:8123. On macOS, you can also configure a separate remote URL — the app automatically switches between local and remote based on network availability.

2
Authenticate

Choose between OAuth (opens a browser) or a Long-Lived Access Token. OAuth is recommended for macOS.

3
Cameras appear automatically

HomeBe·at discovers all camera entities from your Home Assistant instance and begins streaming. If go2rtc is available, additional RTSP streams are discovered automatically and added as custom cameras.

Core Concepts

Menu Bar

Click the menu bar icon to see a dropdown with your cameras. Click any camera to open a quick preview popover with the live stream.

Viewports

Viewports are floating windows that display one or more cameras in a grid layout (1×1, 2×2, 3×3, etc.). You can create multiple viewport windows with different camera arrangements. Viewports can be set to float above other windows.

Detection Alerts

When Home Assistant reports a detection event (motion, person, vehicle, pet, sound), HomeBe·at shows an alert popover with the camera stream. You can configure which detection types trigger alerts per camera.

Streaming

HomeBe·at supports multiple streaming protocols and automatically selects the best one available.

Pricing

HomeBe·at is free for up to 2 cameras. The Pro upgrade (one-time purchase) unlocks unlimited cameras, multi-camera viewports, and is shared across macOS and Apple TV via Family Sharing.

Next Steps

  • Authentication — Connect to your Home Assistant using OAuth or a Long-Lived Access Token.
  • WebRTC Streaming — Set up low-latency camera streaming with WebRTC and go2rtc.
  • Keyboard Shortcuts — Control viewport windows, cameras, and zoom with keyboard shortcuts on macOS.