Applies to: iOS and iPadOS 26 / macOS 26.5 / Frigate 0.17+
Getting started
On this page
Elsinore is a viewer for a Frigate server you already run. This page covers what must exist before the app is useful.
Requirements
A self-hosted Frigate server. Elsinore does not include, host, or sell an NVR. Frigate 0.17 or later is the actively tested version; older versions may work for basic viewing but are not verified.
A supported device. The iPhone and iPad app requires iOS or iPadOS 26. The Mac app requires macOS 26.5. Elsinore ships as a Universal Purchase, so one purchase covers all three.
A route to the server. Your device has to be able to open the Frigate address you type into the app: the same local network, or a remote path. See remote access.
What the optional sidecar adds
Marcellus is a companion server you run next to Frigate. It is optional. Without it, Elsinore is a live viewer, a scrub reel, and a search feed. With it you also get:
- Push notifications, Live Activities, and the attention ladder that decides which events are worth interrupting you for. Plain Frigate has no Apple Push integration at all, so this is sidecar-only.
- Scrub previews, which is what makes dragging through hours of recording show a frame rather than a spinner.
- Encounters, which chain sightings of the same subject across cameras, and the Explore and Follow views built on them.
If you run the sidecar, point Elsinore at the sidecar's address rather than Frigate's. One address covers everything; the app talks to Frigate through it.
The ten minute path
1. Connect
Open the app. The onboarding flow asks for your server URL and your Frigate username and password, then tests the connection before it will let you continue. Your password goes into the system Keychain.
2. Watch Live
The Live tab shows every camera at once. Tap a tile and the Scrub tab opens on that camera, showing its live picture (low-latency WebRTC, falling back to HLS if that cannot get through). See Live.
3. Scrub back
The Scrub tab is a vertical reel of recorded footage. Drag to travel through time; the dossier card above the reel follows the nearest event and gives you its detail page and the other cameras that saw the same object. Open the Scrub tab directly and it asks which camera and moment you want; the back chevron in its toolbar returns you to that picker. The Review tab collects what your server saw into one card per visit; see Search and Review. See Scrub.
4. Set up alerts
Settings › Alerts › Set up alerts runs a five step wizard: permission, posture, subjects, feel, review. It lets you try Quiet, Glance and Urgent so the four level words mean something before you commit to them. This step needs the sidecar. See Alerts.
If it does not work
Settings › Server › Connection Doctor walks the whole chain, from parsing the address through DNS, reachability, login, and Frigate identity, and tells you which rung broke and what to do about it. The troubleshooting page groups the common failures by symptom.