OPEN SOURCE · BUILT SOLO · LOOKING FOR NODES

OVERWATCH NODE

A menu-bar helper on your Mac, and a phone app that turns your device into its remote control. Switch apps, drive system controls, control whatever's playing, and trigger per-app contextual actions — all over your own Wi-Fi. Actively growing, and built in the open — bring an idea, a bug, or a PR.

CONTRIBUTE VIEW ON GITHUB

SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE

TWO NODES, ONE PROTOCOL

macOS App

MENU BAR · SWIFT
BONJOUR + WEBSOCKET

Phone App

EXPO · REACT NATIVE
ANDROID + iOS

CAPABILITIES

WHAT IT DRIVES

Workspace Grid

See what's running and switch, launch, or quit apps from your phone.

System Controls

Volume, Bluetooth, screenshots, lock or shut down — the essentials, remote.

Signal // Audio

See and control whatever's currently playing — any app, not just Music.

Contextual Controls

Per-app actions — browser tabs, terminal shortcuts, and more — surfaced on demand.

SECURITY MODEL

LAN-TRUST, NOT CLOUD-TRUST

PAIRING // REQUIRED BEFORE ANY DEVICE CAN ACT

All traffic is plain ws:// — deliberate, since this is LAN-only with no fixed domain a TLS cert could cover.
A new phone must be paired: the Mac shows a 6-digit code that expires after 5 minutes and locks out after 5 wrong attempts.
Trusted devices persist and can be revoked from the Mac's Status screen at any time.
Fine for a home network — treat it accordingly on a shared or untrusted one.

JOIN THE NETWORK

WAYS TO HELP

This is a solo-built project with two codebases hand-kept in sync — there's real room to make an impact, whichever side you're stronger on.

Ship a Contextual Control

Add a new per-app control — a browser action, a terminal shortcut, an editor command. The pattern's established; new ones are welcome.

Test on Real Devices

Android and iOS, different Mac models, flaky Wi-Fi — the more hardware this sees, the more bugs surface before they ship.

Harden the Protocol

Both sides hand-implement the same WebSocket protocol with no shared schema — help keep Swift and TypeScript honest, or propose codegen.

Design a New Screen

The HUD visual language is documented and reusable — mock up a new screen in design/ and extend the system.

File a Bug or Idea

Found something broken, or have a control you wish existed? Open an issue — reports and feature ideas both move this forward.

Improve the Docs

Setup friction is real for a build-it-yourself project — clearer Quick Starts and troubleshooting notes help every contributor after you.

GET STARTED

PICK UP A NODE

No notarized release to download — build it yourself and you're already set up to contribute. Mac: one-time local code-signing, then ./run.sh. Phone: Expo dev client via the mobile app's Quick Start.

OPEN AN ISSUE CONTRIBUTING GUIDE OPEN PRS