go2rtc

Appearance

Apple HomeKit ​

This module supports both client and server for the Apple HomeKit protocol.

HomeKit Client ​

Important:

  • You can use HomeKit Cameras without Apple devices (iPhone, iPad, etc.), it's just a yet another protocol
  • HomeKit device can be paired with only one ecosystem. So, if you have paired it to an iPhone (Apple Home), you can't pair it with Home Assistant or go2rtc. Or if you have paired it to go2rtc, you can't pair it with an iPhone
  • HomeKit device should be on the same network with working mDNS between the device and go2rtc

go2rtc supports importing paired HomeKit devices from Home Assistant. So you can use HomeKit camera with Home Assistant and go2rtc simultaneously. If you are using Home Assistant, I recommend pairing devices with it; it will give you more options.

You can pair device with go2rtc on the HomeKit page. If you can't see your devices, reload the page. Also, try rebooting your HomeKit device (power off). If you still can't see it, you have a problem with mDNS.

If you see a device but it does not have a pairing button, it is paired to some ecosystem (Apple Home, Home Assistant, HomeBridge, etc.). You need to delete the device from that ecosystem, and it will be available for pairing. If you cannot unpair the device, you will have to reset it.

Important:

  • HomeKit audio uses very non-standard AAC-ELD codec with very non-standard params and specification violations
  • Audio can't be played in VLC and probably any other player
  • Audio should be transcoded for use with MSE, WebRTC, etc.

Client Configuration ​

Recommended settings for using HomeKit Camera with WebRTC, MSE, MP4, RTSP:

yaml
streams:
  aqara_g3:
    - hass:Camera-Hub-G3-AB12
    - ffmpeg:aqara_g3#audio=aac#audio=opus

RTSP link with "normal" audio for any player: rtsp://192.168.1.123:8554/aqara_g3?video&audio=aac

This source is in active development! Tested only with Aqara Camera Hub G3 (both EU and CN versions).

HomeKit Server ​

new in v1.7.0

HomeKit module can work in two modes:

  • export any H264 camera to Apple HomeKit
  • transparent proxy any Apple HomeKit camera (Aqara, Eve, Eufy, etc.) back to Apple HomeKit, so you will have all camera features in Apple Home and also will have RTSP/WebRTC/MP4/etc. from your HomeKit camera

Important

  • HomeKit cameras support only H264 video and OPUS audio

Server Configuration ​

Minimal config

yaml
streams:
  dahua1: rtsp://admin:password@192.168.1.123/cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=0
homekit:
  dahua1:  # same stream ID from streams list, default PIN - 19550224

Full config

yaml
streams:
  dahua1:
    - rtsp://admin:password@192.168.1.123/cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=0
    - ffmpeg:dahua1#video=h264#hardware  # if your camera doesn't support H264, important for HomeKit
    - ffmpeg:dahua1#audio=opus           # only OPUS audio supported by HomeKit

homekit:
  dahua1:                   # same stream ID from streams list
    pin: 12345678           # custom PIN, default: 19550224
    name: Dahua camera      # custom camera name, default: generated from stream ID
    device_id: dahua1       # custom ID, default: generated from stream ID
    device_private: dahua1  # custom key, default: generated from stream ID

Proxy HomeKit camera

  • Video stream from HomeKit camera to Apple device (iPhone, Apple TV) will be transmitted directly
  • Video stream from HomeKit camera to RTSP/WebRTC/MP4/etc. will be transmitted via go2rtc
yaml
streams:
  aqara1:
    - homekit://...
    - ffmpeg:aqara1#audio=aac#audio=opus  # optional audio transcoding

homekit:
  aqara1:  # same stream ID from streams list