# 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 |
...
```

- **mouse (over SSH):** click a cell to assign a camera; **press on a tile and
  drag to resize** its span, tmux-style. Click to select on the menus/lists too.
- move cursor: arrows or `h`/`j`/`k`/`l`
- `enter` assign a camera to the cell (pick `(empty)` to clear) · `c` clear
- `q` cycle this tile's **stream quality** (auto → high → low …); the choice is
  shown in the tile. Small tiles → low substream, big tiles → high.
- 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 (or click), `enter` selects, `esc` back, `q` quits.

### Stream quality per tile

Discovery records every RTSP-enabled channel per camera (`streams: {high, low, …}`),
and each tile picks which to pull. Put big tiles on `high` and small tiles on the
`low` substream — that's the main lever for keeping a dense wall smooth on a Pi 4.
Enable both channels at once with `discover --enable-rtsp=high,low` (or the TUI's
"Discover + enable RTSP (hi+lo)").

## 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)
rtsp-streamer reload             # apply hand-edits to the config live
rtsp-streamer restart            # re-exec the daemon in place (picks up a new
                                 #   binary; no reboot)
rtsp-streamer logs -n 80         # recent daemon activity incl. mpv exit reasons
rtsp-streamer version            # baked-in git commit / build date
```

Reloads (and TUI saves) are minimal-impact: the daemon compares the resolved
wall — stream URLs, tile geometry, player settings — against what's already
running and leaves the streams untouched when nothing material changed, so
saving an unrelated edit never blanks the screen.

## Clock overlay

An optional always-on-top clock can be rendered in a screen corner:

```yaml
clock:
  enabled: true
  timezone: America/Denver     # IANA name; "Local" uses the system zone. DST auto.
  format: "15:04:05"           # Go time layout (24-hour w/ seconds)
  corner: bottom-right         # bottom-right | bottom-left | top-right | top-left
```

It's a tiny transparent mpv window (no extra dependencies) drawing the time as
**white text with a black outline**, so it stays readable over both bright (day)
and dark (night) camera scenes without measuring the picture. The time is
formatted in the configured timezone via Go's zone database, so it's correct
regardless of the host clock's zone and handles DST on its own. The daemon keeps
it positioned and on top across layout switches. Size (`width`/`height`),
`font_size`, and edge `margin` are configurable; enable/disable or retune it
live with an edit plus `rtsp-streamer reload`.

## UniFi Protect live views

Copy a saved Protect "Live View" (its cameras and grid) straight into a layout:

```sh
rtsp-streamer views ls               # list the controller's live views
rtsp-streamer views import "All Cameras"   # import one as a layout
rtsp-streamer views import --all     # import every view
rtsp-streamer views dump             # raw view JSON (for tuning odd layouts)
```

Cameras are matched by Protect id, so run `discover` first. Grid size is
inferred from the slot count (asymmetric "1 big + N" presets land as an even
grid for now — send me `views dump` output to map exact sizing). An imported
layout is **linked** to its view (`protect_view:` in the config).

### Auto-resync

Set `view_refresh_seconds` (e.g. `300`) and the daemon re-pulls the active
layout's linked view on that interval — edits you make in Protect (add/remove a
camera, reorder) show up on the wall automatically. This is the **one** feature
that needs controller credentials **at runtime**, so export the password for the
daemon (in the kiosk user's `~/.bash_profile`, before the sway launcher):

```sh
# ~/.bash_profile
export RTSP_STREAMER_PASSWORD='…'
```
Leave `view_refresh_seconds` at 0 (default) and the wall stays credential-free.

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

First-time setup (run `install.sh` **as the user you'll run the wall as** — pass
your own username; letting it default to a `kiosk` user is a common footgun,
because the daemon's control socket lives in that user's runtime dir and must
match your SSH user):

```sh
# get the binary onto the Pi — build there (needs Go 1.23, see Build), or copy:
git clone <repo> ~/RTSP-Streamer && cd ~/RTSP-Streamer && make build
sudo ./deploy/install.sh "$USER"
```

`install.sh` installs the binary to `/usr/local/bin`, drops the sway config at
`/etc/rtsp-streamer/sway/config`, adds you to the `video/render/input` groups,
enables **tty1 autologin**, and appends a launcher to `~/.bash_profile` that
starts sway on the physical console only (SSH still gets a normal shell). The
running wall needs **no controller password** — the config already holds the
resolved stream URLs; the password is only for `discover`.

Then `sudo reboot` and the wall comes up on boot.

### Updating

```sh
git pull && make deploy
```

`make deploy` builds natively, copies to `/usr/local/bin` (auto-sudo — run it
*without* `sudo` so `go build` keeps your `PATH`), then runs
`rtsp-streamer restart`, which tells the running daemon to **re-exec itself in
place**: same process, same sway session, now running the new binary — no
reboot, no duplicate sessions. Confirm what's live with `rtsp-streamer version`.

`restart` works because the daemon is launched under a small relaunch loop in
the sway config, so it also recovers on its own if it ever crashes. (Older
installs that predate this launcher need their sway config refreshed — re-run
`deploy/install.sh` or copy `deploy/sway/config` to
`/etc/rtsp-streamer/sway/config` once, then reboot.) A full `sudo reboot` is
still fine and never wrong.

## 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.

## Performance & latency (Pi 4)

The Pi 4 hardware-decodes **H.264 only** (no HEVC). If streams lag or CPU is
pegged, work through:

- **Confirm hardware decode is on.** Probe a running player:
  ```sh
  S=$XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/rtsp-streamer/mpv-slot-0.sock
  printf '{"command":["get_property_string","hwdec-current"]}\n' | socat - "$S"
  printf '{"command":["get_property_string","video-codec"]}\n'   | socat - "$S"
  ```
  `hwdec-current: no` means software decoding. `--hwdec=auto-safe` often won't
  pick the Pi's decoder — set `player.hwdec: v4l2m2m-copy` explicitly.
- **H.265 cameras can't hardware-decode on a Pi 4.** If `video-codec` is
  `hevc`, set that camera to H.264 in Protect, or use its (often H.264) low
  substream.
- **Use substreams for dense walls.** Full-res (4K/4MP) × many tiles exceeds the
  decoder's budget → fallback to software → growing latency. Give small tiles
  the `low` quality (per-tile `q` in the TUI, or `quality: low` in config).
- **Latency drift** is handled by `--framedrop=decoder+vo` + low-delay demuxer
  flags (built in), so a briefly-behind stream drops frames to catch up instead
  of accumulating a backlog. Capping `player.max_fps` trims render load too.
- **Audio is off by default** (`--no-audio`), which skips one audio decoder per
  stream. Set `player.audio: true` if you actually want camera sound.
- **Latency slowly creeping up over hours** (e.g. seconds of drift after a
  couple hours) means the Pi is decoding a hair behind real-time, so RTSP-over-
  TCP quietly buffers the deficit — and a live stream can't be seeked back to
  "now." Set `player.resync_seconds` (e.g. `600`) so the daemon reconnects each
  stream to the live edge on that interval, staggered one tile at a time, which
  caps the drift to a few seconds. If drift is large, also lighten decode load
  (low substreams, cap `max_fps`) so the Pi keeps up between resyncs.

## Troubleshooting

- **A stream keeps going unhealthy / flapping** — `rtsp-streamer logs` shows the
  daemon's recent activity, including the *reason* each mpv exited (its stderr
  tail: connection refused, unsupported codec, 401, etc.). This is the first
  thing to check when one tile restarts repeatedly. A camera whose `video-codec`
  is `hevc` can't hardware-decode on a Pi 4 and often stutters/exits under load —
  switch it to H.264 in Protect or give the tile the `low` substream.
  UniFi Protect also *closes* some cameras' RTSP connections periodically (every
  20-40s on certain models), which mpv sees as a clean end-of-stream. mpv is run
  with `--loop-file=inf` so it reconnects in-process (sub-second, no window
  teardown) rather than exiting and being relaunched — so this is normally
  invisible. If a camera still blips on reconnect, it's dropping unusually often;
  check its codec/bitrate in Protect.
- **`status` can't reach the daemon** (`control.sock: no such file`) — the wall
  is running as a *different user* than your SSH session (check
  `ps -o user= -p "$(pgrep -x sway)"` vs `id`). Re-run `install.sh <your-user>`
  and reboot so autologin/sway/daemon all run as you.
- **Duplicate windows / one stream floating loose** — two sway sessions are
  running (from a getty restart). `sudo reboot` for one clean session.
- **Blank/black tile** — verify the stream directly:
  `mpv --rtsp-transport=tcp 'rtsps://HOST:7441/ALIAS?enableSrtp'`. If it fails,
  RTSP isn't enabled for that camera (`discover --enable-rtsp=high,low`).
- **A tile's video is cut off / overflows** — should not happen (mpv is told
  `--keepaspect-window=no` and the daemon re-squares tiles every second); if it
  does, confirm `rtsp-streamer version` is a recent build.
- **`login failed` / `403 settings:edit` on enable** — use a *local* Protect
  account; enabling RTSP needs an **admin** account (view-only 403s).
- **`swaymsg not found` / windows not placed** — the daemon must run inside the
  sway session; check `echo $SWAYSOCK`.
- **Build error `package log/slog is not in GOROOT`** — you're on Debian's Go
  1.19; install Go 1.23 into `~/.local/go` and prepend it to `PATH` (see Build).

## 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.

## Roadmap

- **Exact sizing for asymmetric Protect views** — `views import` reproduces the
  cameras and an even grid today; mapping Protect's `layout` preset id to
  spanning tiles (1-big-plus-N, etc.) is the next refinement.
- Slot cycling — Protect slots can rotate through multiple cameras; we take the
  first. Honor `cycleMode`/`cycleInterval`.
- Layout rotation / cycling on a timer (the daemon already re-tiles on demand).
- TUI create / delete / rename layouts (today the TUI only *edits* existing
  ones; new layouts are added in YAML).
- Optional git tags so `version` shows a release rather than a hash.

## Layout

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