u/kagaku

I've been working on a native macOS alternative to the official Reolink desktop app as a side project.

I've never been a huge fan of the official desktop client, particularly since it's Electron based, so I decided to see what I could build using Swift and SwiftUI.

It's a fully native macOS application with support for the functionality I use in the official client, along with some additional features and improvements.

• Built natively for the Mac - Swift/SwiftUI with hardware video decoding. A 14 camera grid uses about 7–10% CPU, against about 30% for the official app on the same Mac and NVR
• You can create your own saved camera groups (a selection of multiple cameras in a saved grid layout) which you can recall quickly
• Video appears fast. Cameras are listed in about 0.3s. It also supports a "stand by" camera for instant viewing access, I use this for my doorbell so there is no delay when I want to see who is at the door
• Local only - it talks straight to the NVR on your LAN, with no cloud
• Fast PTZ control - cameras move with keyboard (WASD/arrows, hold to move), a game controller or presets on number keys. Pan/tilt commands take about 20–70 ms instead of about 200 ms, so cameras overshoot less
• Notifications that work in the background. It can live in the menu bar with no Dock icon. Alerts come with a snapshot and Open Camera / Play Recording / Snooze / Answer actions, and a floating live window can pop up when the doorbell rings
• Keyboard first. In-app keyboard shortcuts open any camera or group. Global hotkeys can bring it forward from any app and everything can be remapped

I've included a few screenshots showing where it's at currently. I'm not releasing it or looking for beta testers just yet. For now, I'm mostly curious whether there's any interest in a native alternative, and what features or improvements people would want to see.

Would love to hear what you think!