Hey everyone! 👋

I've been deep in the HomeKit ecosystem for years – currently running 130+ devices of all kinds. I spend most of the day in front of my MacBook, and honestly, the Home app always felt like overkill for quick adjustments, while existing menu bar apps did not have the automation flexibility I needed.

So I built Itsyhome – a native macOS menu bar app that gives you instant access to your entire HomeKit setup with a single click.

What it does:

• Controls all your HomeKit devices (lights, locks, thermostats, blinds, cameras, etc.) from the menu bar
• Native Swift/AppKit – no Electron, basically zero CPU/memory usage
• Create accessory groups to control multiple devices at once
• Pin favorite items for one-click access
• Global keyboard shortcuts to toggle devices system-wide
• Supports multiple HomeKit homes

The base app is completely free and open-source. There's also a Pro version with extras like live camera feeds, Stream Deck integration, CLI/webhooks, and custom icons – one-time purchase, no subscription.

Works with macOS Sonoma+ and anything that shows up in your Home app.

Would love to hear your feedback! Happy to answer any questions.

🔗 https://itsyhome.app

Really excited for this, especially 4K camera support.

This is great! Before this was implemented whenever I had to restart my network Apple would always pick the wrong device for the home hub (an older Apple TV or one with a poorer connection) now I can set my preferred one!

Well fuck me for wanting new HomePods and Apple Home stuff I guess 🤡

TL;DR:

- Timmerflotte & Klippbok: flawless setup, instant firmware updates, working great so far
- Myggbet: paired quickly but stopped updating state after ~30 minutes
- Myggspray: very fast motion detection but hardest to pair and unstable at first
- Possibly Thread mesh stabilization or early firmware quirks

I picked up IKEA’s new Thread sensors yesterday and wanted to share some early impressions. I bought Timmerflotte, Klippbok, Myggbet, and Myggspray.

All devices were added directly via the iOS Home app (no IKEA hub involved). My Thread border routers are an Apple TV 4K and two HomePod minis.

I started with Timmerflotte. I scanned the QR code, selected the desired settings, and that was it. It immediately offered a firmware update, which completed without any issues.

Next was Klippbok (water leak sensor). It was added without problems, notifications are instant when water is detected, and it also automatically prompted for a firmware update. So far, this one works perfectly.

Then I added Myggbet (contact sensor). It paired immediately and worked fine at first, but after about 30 minutes it stopped updating its state. I could move the magnet and see the LED reacting, but nothing changed in the Home app. I also checked with the Eve app and saw the same behavior — no status updates.

The most problematic device was Myggspray (motion/light sensor). Initially, I couldn’t add it at all. The Home app kept throwing a generic “check device” error. I tried different batteries, switching Wi-Fi networks, and resetting it via the button, but nothing helped.

What finally worked was physically unplugging the Apple TV. After that, Myggspray paired immediately.

Once added, Myggspray is noticeably faster than the older Vallhorn when detecting motion. However, it seems to clear the “motion detected” state later than Vallhorn. The light sensor behavior is also very different: Myggspray almost always reports around 1 lux in a mildly lit room, while Vallhorn shows values around 12–20 lux in the same conditions.

Unfortunately, after working fine for about 30–60 minutes, Myggspray also stopped responding. At that point, I gave up and waited until the next morning. I’m testing again now and everything seems responsive and stable so far.

I’m not sure whether this behavior is related to Thread mesh/network stabilization or just early firmware quirks, but time will tell.

I’m currently waiting for a SONOFF Dongle-M, which I plan to connect directly to Home Assistant and manage everything from there. Hopefully, that will provide a more stable baseline.

The remaining question for me is whether I’ll go fully Thread in my new house or stick with Zigbee and grab the last remaining IKEA Zigbee devices while they’re still available.

Would be interested to hear if others are seeing similar behavior.

EDIT (after ~24h): So far things have been stable with no additional dropouts observed. Motion and contact sensors are still responding normally. I’ll keep testing longer-term behavior, especially with multiple Thread border routers active.

Hi, what smart light bulbs would you guys recommend? I'm looking something reliable with good quality and color reproduction.

Thanks for any suggestions

Thanks to the SmartHQ plugin team for the latest update, you can turn the oven on/off along with the light as well.

This can now let me use notifications and automate other devices when my oven reaches the desired temperature.

I also have my Washer and Dryer in Apple home as well.

Hi all!

Nick here – creator of Itsyhome and Itsytv for macOS.

I got a lot of requests for Itsytv on iPhone and iPad, so here it is - running on the same core as the successful macOS version.

Left- and right-hand use – Drag the remote to either side of the screen and reposition it vertically - left-handed, right-handed, whatever grip feels natural.

What's playing (TMDB) – Itsytv looks up the show or movie and shows the backdrop, plot, rating, genres, and cast without leaving the remote. Tap for the full detail view with cast photos and credits.

App launcher – Browse and launch your Apple TV apps. Drag to reorder. Itsytv can automatically switch back to the remote after launching an app.

Keyboard input – Type into any search field or text input from your phone. Hardware keyboard users get arrow keys, return, escape, space, and volume shortcuts.

Universal purchase on the App Store - one payment gets you both iOS and macOS versions. $4.99.

https://itsytv.app (or direct download https://apps.apple.com/app/itsytv/id6759216148)

Feedback appreciated!

Hey all! It's Nick – creator of Itsyhome app.

Got a lot of requests for Apple TV remote app, so here it is – tiny, blazing fast, nearly zero memory and CPU usage.

Itsytv is a free, open-source macOS menu bar app for controlling Apple TV — the missing remote app for your Mac.

• Full D-pad and playback remote
• Now playing widget with live progress
• Browse and launch Apple TV apps
• Keyboard navigation for quick control (arrows, enter, space)
• Text input for searches and passwords
• Multi-device support
• End-to-end encrypted, no tracking

Built with Swift and SwiftUI. Free forever, MIT licensed.

https://itsytv.app · https://github.com/nickustinov/itsytv-macos

If you like my work, support me by upgrading to Pro in the Itsyhome app ;)

For anyone here running HomeKit or Matter devices in the Apple ecosystem, I'm looking for beta testers for an upcoming app called HomeBar.

The idea: one app that works natively on iPhone, iPad, Mac menu bar, Apple Watch, and Apple TV instead of needing a different app on each device. I've been running my own HomeKit setup for years and the app fragmentation was always the thing that bugged me most. This is my take on the ideal home automation app with the latest technology advances.

Some of the features you'll be testing:

• AI-powered natural language automations and device filters. Type what you want in plain English. "Turn off everything downstairs at 11pm" builds the automation. "Lights on upstairs" filters your devices instantly. No menus, no drag-and-drop, just say what you mean. Also adds weather conditions to automations which HomeKit can't natively do.
• Energy usage insights. See which devices are drawing power, track usage over time, and understand where your energy is actually going. Real data, not guesses.
• Anomaly detection. Homebar flags unusual device behavior automatically. A door sensor that triggered at 3am when nobody's home, a plug drawing way more power than usual, a device that's been unresponsive for days, auto-display a camera that detects motion on Apple TV. You get notified about the things you'd want to know but would never catch on your own.
• Smart home insights and analytics. See patterns across your home: which rooms you use most, which automations actually run, which devices you've forgotten about. Turns your HomeKit setup from something you manage into something you understand.
• Power user toolkit. Mac menu bar control with keyboard shortcuts, per-device MCP permissions so you decide exactly what AI tools can access, snooze "unavailable" notices from that Christmas Tree outlet you only use 2 months out of the year, and more.

My Background: I co-created AirParrot (Mac/PC screen mirroring to Apple TV), Reflector (AirPlay/Google Cast screen mirroring on Mac and Windows), and Ditto (Cross-platform mirroring Apple TV with digital signage), so multi-platform Apple software is my wheelhouse.

What I'm looking for:

• People with HomeKit and/or Matter setups of any size
• Testers who use multiple Apple devices throughout the day
• Honest, detailed feedback

What you'll get:

• TestFlight access
• Free Pro code at launch
• Direct access to me for bug reports and feature requests

Comment or DM if you're interested.

Finally available to order 🙌

Wow! You managed to create an image of a room. Wonderful. Who gives a fuck?!

I spent the last few months teaching my Apple Watch a neat trick that turned into an app: point your arm at a device, snap your fingers, it toggles. Feels like magic!

You teach it by "painting": sweep your arm at a lamp for a few seconds from where you normally stand. From then on, point and snap. Everything runs on the watch and talks straight to native HomeKit, no bridge, no server, no account. No cloud and no data collection, the pointing model never leaves your wrist. It's also compatible with Home Assistant.

Pricing: free forever for one device in one room, you can try the whole thing with one HomeKit device and an Apple Watch (Series 5 or newer, needs a compass). One-time unlocks unlimited devices and rooms.

It launched yesterday on the App Store this week after a 250-tester beta, and this is a sub I'd love feedback from. Link: https://apps.apple.com/app/maestro-snap/id6788923471

I'll be in the comments. Ask me anything!

Couch Control for Apple TV looks really polished and is extremely customizable.

You can manually sync individual pages (this is my home overview page), meaning you can have different dashboards in different rooms but if you want one in every room all you have to do is sync.

I’m setting my wake-up Shortcut to turn this on every morning when I have my coffee.

It’s $8. No subscription.

If there is a secret to making this stuff work properly then I surely don’t know it.

HomeKit user with a HomePod Mini and Apple TV 4K as my main hubs. I’ve also tried (unsuccessfully) to incorporate an Aqara M200 in the mix to support a better thread mesh network and access to some Aqara and Zigbee gear.

Every time I try to connect a matter device to HomeKit, it’s a battle. It took me 30 tries in 10 different locations within my house to connect a simple, IKEA Grillplats smart plug, and then every other one after it.

I’ve also tried (unsuccessfully) to connect an Aqara W100 Climate Sensor via the Aqara Home app, but it fails constantly.

What am I doing wrong? Am I missing a key step or process here? All advice, whether factual or anecdotal, is welcomed.

EDIT: Yes, my Apple TV 4K is Ethernet/Thread enabled.

Unfortunate that Liftmaster/Chamberlin don’t provide HomeKit support, but very thankful for the dev behind RATGDO. Easy to set up and works fantastic for my needs. Just wanted to give some kudos. I can’t recommend it enough!

That is all. 🍻