# rtsp-streamer

A full-screen RTSP video wall for UniFi Protect cameras, built for a Raspberry
Pi 4 (or any Linux box) plugged into a TV. No Chrome kiosk, no desktop — just
`mpv` tiles under a minimal Wayland compositor, driven by a single Go binary
you configure over SSH from the command line or an interactive TUI.

## Why this design

- **One `mpv` process per camera.** A dead or unreachable camera never takes
  down the wall — the daemon restarts only the slot that failed, with backoff.
  (Contrast with a single ffmpeg/`mpv` mosaic, where one stalled input can
  freeze the whole picture.)
- **Compositor tiling, not fullscreen.** A tiny [sway](https://swaywm.org)
  session hosts the windows; the daemon positions each one at an exact pixel
  rectangle over sway's IPC. No X11, no browser, no GPU compositor tricks.
- **Hardware decode.** `mpv --hwdec=auto-safe` uses the Pi 4's V4L2/DRM H.264
  decoder.
- **Stateful config.** A single hand-editable `config.yaml`, or edit it live
  with `rtsp-streamer tui`. Switching layouts is instant and doesn't restart
  anything you don't have to.

```
Pi 4 (headless, HDMI -> TV)
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ tty1 autologin -> sway -> rtsp-streamer daemon  │
│   ├─ reads active layout -> computes grid rects │
│   ├─ spawns 1 mpv per slot (--hwdec, IPC sock)  │
│   ├─ swaymsg: float + position each to a cell   │
│   └─ health-monitors mpv, restarts dead streams │
│                                                 │
│ control socket  ◀── rtsp-streamer layout set …  │
│                 ◀── rtsp-streamer tui (over SSH) │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────┘
        ▲ discover
   UniFi Protect controller  (login -> bootstrap -> RTSPS URLs)
```

## Requirements

On the display device:

- `sway` and `mpv`
- optional: a terminal like `foot` for the emergency keybinding

Debian / Raspberry Pi OS: `sudo apt install sway mpv foot`
Arch: `sudo pacman -S sway mpv foot`

To build: **Go 1.23+**. You can build on your dev machine and copy the binary,
or build on the Pi itself.

> ⚠️ Debian / Raspberry Pi OS ships **Go 1.19** via `apt`, which is too old
> (`log/slog` needs 1.21+). Install a current Go into `~/.local/go` and put it
> first on `PATH` — do **not** rely on the system `go`:
> ```sh
> curl -sSLO https://go.dev/dl/go1.23.4.linux-arm64.tar.gz     # match uname -m
> rm -rf ~/.local/go && mkdir -p ~/.local && tar -C ~/.local -xzf go1.23.4.linux-arm64.tar.gz
> echo 'export PATH=$HOME/.local/go/bin:$PATH' >> ~/.profile && export PATH=$HOME/.local/go/bin:$PATH
> go version   # must show 1.23+, not 1.19
> ```

## Build

```sh
make build     # native binary -> bin/rtsp-streamer
make pi        # Raspberry Pi 4, 64-bit OS (arm64) -> bin/rtsp-streamer-arm64
make pi32      # 32-bit Pi OS (armv7)              -> bin/rtsp-streamer-armv7
make test
make install   # build native + copy to /usr/local/bin (auto-sudo)
make deploy    # install + restart the kiosk session
rtsp-streamer version   # prints the baked-in git commit / build date
```

## Configure

```sh
rtsp-streamer config init        # write a starter ~/.config/rtsp-streamer/config.yaml
export RTSP_STREAMER_PASSWORD=…   # controller password (kept out of the file)
$EDITOR "$(rtsp-streamer config path)"   # set controller.host / username
rtsp-streamer discover           # pull cameras + RTSPS URLs from UniFi Protect
rtsp-streamer tui                # assign cameras to layout slots, pick active
```

See [`config.example.yaml`](config.example.yaml) for the full schema. The
config path is `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/rtsp-streamer/config.yaml` (i.e.
`~/.config/rtsp-streamer/config.yaml`), overridable with `--config` or
`$RTSP_STREAMER_CONFIG`.

### Layouts (grid + spanning tiles)

A layout is a base grid (`COLSxROWS`, up to 8×8) on which each camera is a
**tile** that can span multiple cells. That covers a plain 2×2/3×3/4×4 as well
as security-wall arrangements — one big main view plus a column of small ones,
`2+6`, etc. A layout can show up to **16 cameras** (decoding more than that on a
Pi 4 isn't practical even with substreams). Tiles must stay inside the grid and
may not overlap. See `main-plus` in [`config.example.yaml`](config.example.yaml).

### The TUI

`rtsp-streamer tui` is a Bubble Tea configurator meant to be run over SSH:

- **Cameras** — review discovered cameras, `d` disable, `x` delete.
- **Layouts** — edit an arrangement on a live ASCII grid preview.
- **Set active layout** — choose what the wall shows.
- **Discover** / **Discover + enable RTSP (high)** — pull cameras from Protect.
- **Save** — writes the config and tells a running daemon to reload live.

In the **layout editor** the grid is drawn live as you edit:

```
+----------+----------+----------+----------+
|Front Door|    ·     |    ·     |Driveway  |
|3x3       |    ·     |    ·     |          |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+
|    ·     |    ·     |    ·     |Back Yard |
...
```

- move cursor: arrows or `h`/`j`/`k`/`l`
- `enter` assign a camera to the cell (pick `(empty)` to clear) · `c` clear
- resize the tile under the cursor: `L`/`H` wider/narrower, `J`/`K` taller/shorter
- resize the base grid: `]`/`[` add/remove a column, `}`/`{` add/remove a row
- `esc` back

Elsewhere: arrows / `j`/`k` move, `enter` selects, `esc` goes back, `q` quits.

## Run

```sh
rtsp-streamer daemon             # normally launched by sway, not by hand
rtsp-streamer status             # slot health from the running daemon
rtsp-streamer layout ls          # list layouts (* marks active)
rtsp-streamer layout set quad    # switch live (persists the choice)
```

## Deploy to a Pi (boot straight to the wall)

```sh
make pi
scp bin/rtsp-streamer-arm64 pi@display:/tmp/
# on the Pi, put the binary where install.sh expects it and run the installer:
#   mv /tmp/rtsp-streamer-arm64 <repo>/bin/rtsp-streamer
sudo ./deploy/install.sh kiosk
```

`install.sh` installs the binary, drops the kiosk sway config at
`/etc/rtsp-streamer/sway/config`, creates the `kiosk` user, enables tty1
autologin, and appends a launcher to the user's `~/.bash_profile` that starts
sway on the physical console only (SSH sessions still get a normal shell).
Reboot and the wall comes up.

Provide the controller password to the daemon by sourcing an env file from the
kiosk user's `~/.bash_profile` **before** the sway launcher, e.g.:

```sh
# ~/.bash_profile (kiosk user)
[ -f ~/.config/rtsp-streamer/env ] && . ~/.config/rtsp-streamer/env
# >>> rtsp-streamer kiosk launcher >>>  (added by install.sh)
```

## Enabling RTSP in UniFi Protect

Protect does not expose RTSP until you turn it on **per camera**. You can do it
by hand (Protect → camera → Settings → Advanced → **RTSP**, enable a channel),
or let rtsp-streamer flip it on for you via the API:

```sh
rtsp-streamer discover --enable-rtsp=high   # enable the High channel where missing
rtsp-streamer discover --enable-rtsp=low    # or the Low substream
```

In the TUI, the menu item **"Discover + enable RTSP (high)"** does the same.
Enabling preserves each channel's other encoder settings — it only flips the
`isRtspEnabled` flag. Plain `discover` (no flag) never modifies your controller;
it just skips cameras with no RTSP-enabled channel and reports which ones.

Use `discover --low-res` (or `--enable-rtsp=low`) to prefer substreams for dense
grids (3x3+), which greatly cuts Pi decode load.

## Troubleshooting

- **Blank/black tile** — verify the stream directly:
  `mpv --rtsp-transport=tcp 'rtsps://HOST:7441/ALIAS?enableSrtp'`. If that
  fails, RTSP probably isn't enabled for that camera (see above).
- **`swaymsg not found` / windows not placed** — the daemon must run inside a
  sway session (started by the kiosk launcher). Check `echo $SWAYSOCK`.
- **High CPU / dropped frames on a 3x3** — switch those cameras to substreams
  (`discover --low-res`) and/or add `player.extra_args: ["--vf=fps=15"]`.
- **`login failed`** — use a *local* Protect account (not a Ubiquiti SSO
  login) and confirm `controller.host` reaches the UniFi OS console.

## Caveats & scope

- **Unofficial API.** UniFi Protect has no public API; the local endpoints used
  here (`/api/auth/login`, `/proxy/protect/api/bootstrap`) are the same stable
  ones the Home Assistant integration relies on, but Ubiquiti could change them.
  Manual RTSP URLs in `cameras:` work with any camera brand and need no
  controller.
- **Linux/Wayland only.** "Other platforms" means other Linux devices (x86 mini
  PCs, other SBCs) — anywhere sway + mpv run. It is not a macOS/Windows app.
- **First cut** ships preset grids. Auto-cycling/rotation and free-form
  positioning are natural next steps (the daemon already re-tiles on demand).

## Layout

```
cmd/rtsp-streamer/   CLI (cobra): daemon, discover, layout, status, tui, config
internal/config/     YAML load/save/validate, schema, XDG paths
internal/protect/    UniFi Protect client (login, bootstrap, RTSPS URLs)
internal/player/     one supervised mpv per stream, JSON IPC, restart/backoff
internal/compositor/ sway control + NxM grid geometry
internal/daemon/     orchestrator + control socket + health loop
internal/ipc/        control-socket protocol shared by daemon and CLI/TUI
internal/tui/        Bubble Tea configurator
deploy/              sway kiosk config, autologin, install.sh
```