Opah is an Android TV and Google TV app for viewing cameras and recordings from an existing Frigate NVR. Designed for a television remote, it lets you watch live cameras, use multi-camera views, review recent activity, search saved video, browse history, and keep or share important clips. Opah can also show calm TV alerts, watch a camera view for important activity, and summarize what happened since you last watched.
The vision for Opah is to provide Frigate users with an intuitive, simple, NVR-like television experience. Instead of presenting Frigate as a technical web interface on a TV, Opah organizes its most useful everyday features into clear, approachable screens that are comfortable to navigate from the sofa.
Opah connects directly from your TV to your Frigate server and does not operate a separate camera cloud or recording service. It is an independent community project and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or supported by Frigate, Inc.
| Home | Live camera |
|---|---|
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| Recent activity | Activity history |
|---|---|
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See the complete interface gallery. All camera scenes, names, addresses, and data shown in the gallery are fictional examples.
- A working Frigate server
- Android TV or Google TV running Android 7.0 or newer
- A Frigate username and password for the recommended authenticated connection
(not needed for a direct port
5000connection on a trusted private network) - Network access from the TV to the Frigate server
Opah supports Frigate 0.17.2. Features that need Frigate 0.18 target the exact
Frigate 0.18.0 RC1 build a745070; its authenticated read-only API and core
TV workflows have been tested. See the compatibility guide
for camera video formats, tested devices, and troubleshooting tips.
Opah is currently downloaded from GitHub rather than Google Play.
- Download
opah-latest.apkfrom the newest Opah release. - Send that file to the TV.
- Follow the step-by-step installation guide.
Only download Opah from this repository. Copies from other websites may have been changed or may be unsafe.
For the recommended authenticated connection, Opah asks for:
- your Frigate server address;
- your Frigate username; and
- your Frigate password.
Use the same secure Frigate address you normally use in a web browser when possible. Choose the separate Live video address option only when live video must use a different local host or port. Opah keeps the normal Frigate address as the recommended default.
After a successful sign-in, Opah can securely remember the connection and sign in automatically. Choose Sign out to remove the saved sign-in information.
If your TV and Frigate server share a trusted private network, Opah can also
connect directly to Frigate port 5000 without an account. Enter an address
such as http://frigate.local:5000 and leave the username and password blank.
This connection has full Frigate access, so never expose port 5000 to the
internet. Most people should use Frigate's authenticated address instead.
Moving focus on Home previews that camera in the large picture. Press and hold the remote's center button on a camera or view to pin it as a favorite, move a favorite earlier or later, or hide a camera from Home. Choose Restore cameras to bring hidden cameras back.
Open a camera or view from Home. To make a new multi-camera view, open the camera catalog from Home, choose two to four cameras, and choose Watch. Opah fills the screen with every camera picture. On supported TVs, a two-camera group can also pop out over another app. Camera names hide automatically while you watch.
Choose Save view to name a group you use often. Saved views stay on that device. Camera groups already set up in Frigate also appear here. If a group has more than four cameras, Opah asks you which cameras to watch.
Open Activity to see alerts and other recorded activity:
- Recent shows new items and which ones still need review.
- History lets you move continuously through saved video with recording, motion, detection, and alert markers.
- Search finds saved activity from a short description when search is set up in Frigate.
- Motion appears on supported Frigate 0.18 servers and finds movement in a selected part of the picture.
Open an item to watch it, mark it reviewed or not reviewed, save its recording, or find activity that looks similar. Recent > Alerts can also mark all alerts currently shown as reviewed after a warning. Frigate may provide a short summary, a recognized name, or a license plate.
While a saved Activity video is playing, choose Next activity to continue through the same list without returning to the grid. At the end, the control shows Caught up for a review queue or No next activity for another list. Move focus to the playback timeline and use left or right to move by 10 seconds. Pressing Back returns to the original item, filters, and position in the Activity list.
Opah 0.5 adds three optional ways to keep up with activity:
- TV alerts can notify you about important Frigate activity while another TV app is open. You choose the cameras, kinds of activity, quiet times, and how much detail a notification may show.
- Monitor Mode keeps a saved View or Frigate camera group on screen and can bring one active camera forward when something important happens. Audio is off unless you turn it on.
- Since you last watched adds a short factual briefing to Home when there is unseen activity. You can play highlights, open a Review queue, or dismiss only the items currently shown.
Shared TVs can use a local PIN to protect selected app areas, administrative actions, destructive actions, and private cameras. For the strongest protection, also use a restricted Frigate account for the TV.
Choose Keep clip while reviewing recorded activity. You can also keep a selected part of History. Open Clips to see preview pictures, play a clip, or share a local copy. Frigate administrators can also rename a clip or delete it after a confirmation warning.
With a supported Frigate 0.18 server, Save all angles keeps the same moment from several authorized cameras. Frigate administrators can group clips into simple Incidents.
Clips remain on the Frigate server. They are not copied into a separate Opah cloud service or stored as a second recording archive on the TV.
If Frigate reports compatible camera controls, a Controls choice appears for that camera. In control mode, the D-pad moves the camera, center stops it, and a compact shelf contains supported zoom, focus, and saved positions.
While watching a camera or Birdseye, use the screen-size control to choose whether the whole picture fits on the television or fills the screen. Opah remembers that choice for each camera and for Birdseye on the device. Choose Video only if an audio track prevents a camera from playing.
Opah normally checks the official GitHub release page shortly after it starts. A small dot inside the Settings gear means an update is available. Open Settings > Update to read the release notes, download the verified APK, and open Android's installer. You can turn automatic checks off on the same page. Opah never downloads or installs an update without your action.
Some Android TV button-mapping and home-automation apps can send Android commands. They can use this command to open a chosen camera directly:
am start -a android.intent.action.VIEW -d "opah://live/front_door" app.opah.tv/.MainActivity
Replace front_door with the camera's exact name in Frigate. Capital letters
and underscores must match. Opah must already have a saved, working connection,
and it will open only cameras available to that Frigate account.
Home Assistant's Android TV ADB integration can send the same am start
command with its androidtv.adb_command action. A button-mapping app can call a
Home Assistant webhook, which then sends the command to the TV.
Tools that use an Android extra instead of a link can use this equivalent command:
am start -n app.opah.tv/.MainActivity --es camera "front_door"
- Opah needs an existing Frigate server; it does not record cameras by itself.
- Camera audio plays from the TV, but speaking through a camera or doorbell is not supported.
- Picture-in-picture depends on support from the TV and Android version.
- Camera groups are muted and use lower-bandwidth streams when available. Some TVs may not be able to play four cameras at once.
- PTZ camera controls depend on support from Frigate and the camera.
- TV alerts depend on Android notification and background-service settings. A TV may delay alerts or restart after reboot when Android restricts the app.
- Monitor Mode depends on the TV's video hardware. Opah promotes only one live camera at a time, but long-running behavior still varies by device.
- Update downloads and installation are manual. Automatic availability checks can be turned off in Settings.
- Your Frigate password and saved sign-in are encrypted on the device.
- Opah does not send camera data through an Opah cloud service.
- Opah does not keep its own archive of camera recordings.
- Local PIN and private-camera settings stay on the TV and do not change Frigate accounts or permissions.
- Alert rules and briefing progress are stored without camera images or a copy of your recordings.
- The Diagnostic data page is designed to leave out passwords, private addresses, and camera images.
- Use a secure
https://Frigate address when one is available. - Keep the live-video connection inside your trusted home or business network.
Read Privacy and security for a fuller explanation. Report a security concern through GitHub's private reporting form.
When reporting a problem, include the Opah version, Frigate version, Android or Google TV device model, and a short description of what happened. Do not post your password, server address, camera names or images, or unedited logs.
Developers who want to build or improve Opah should start with CONTRIBUTING.md.
Opah is available under the Apache License 2.0. Release history is in CHANGELOG.md.
Frigate and Frigate NVR are trademarks of Frigate, Inc. Opah uses those names only to explain what the app works with.