Image-processing software Makers & Homelabs

monitoringautomationdata acquisition and analysis

Overview
Banalytics is a local-first camera monitoring and automation platform for Home Assistant users, homelab builders, and privacy-conscious makers who need to unify mixed camera fleets, automate via MQTT, and keep recordings on local storage without vendor clouds or per-brand apps.

Before vs With Banalytics
Before Banalytics

• Separate app required per camera brand
• Cloud subscriptions often needed for remote viewing
• No unified event stream across cameras
• Manual Home Assistant MQTT wiring
• Recordings scattered across vendor apps
• Alerts lacking video context
• Fragile glue scripts for automation
• No simple remote access without complex VPN

With Banalytics

• All cameras accessible in a single interface
• Local recording to NAS, external drive, or local disk
• Unified event stream published to MQTT
• Built-in Home Assistant integration
• Storage remains under your control
• Telegram alerts with linked video clips for context
• Single operational layer, eliminating glue scripts
• Browser access options without full VPN complexity

Stack compatibility
Banalytics integrates with common homelab and edge stacks. Key integration points include MQTT for events and state, native Home Assistant workflows, and remote access via reverse proxy, Tailscale, Cloudflare Tunnel, or VPN.

Local storage and retention

• Recordings write to the local path you configure: local disk, NAS mount, or external drive
• Configurable retention rules: by size, by days, or by event type
• Event-linked clips for fast review without scrubbing
• No mandatory cloud upload required to enable remote viewing

Access and automation
Banalytics provides a browser dashboard for live feeds, event review, playback and system health. Events, motion detections, and device health publish to MQTT topics you define so Home Assistant can consume them like other sensors. A no-code rule builder enables event → MQTT → Home Assistant → action flows (example: motion → notification → lights).

What people build with it (use cases)

• Entrance and driveway monitoring with motion alerts and clips
• Pet monitoring with motion zones and clip recording
• Camera-based presence detection feeding automations for lighting and heating
• Remote monitoring for second homes or rentals
• Workshop and garage monitoring for projects and equipment
• RC and maker projects (drones, props) with camera triggers

What's included / Key capabilities

• Mixed camera support: IP cameras, ONVIF, RTSP, and USB
• MQTT & API integration: events, health states, and triggers publish to your broker
• Local-first storage: NAS, external drive, or local disk
• Browser dashboard: live feeds, event review, system health
• Telegram alerts: motion notifications with clip context
• Event automations: flexible no-code rule builder
• Device health monitoring: camera uptime, storage levels, system status
• Privacy by default: no vendor cloud in the data path unless explicitly configured
• Runs on edge hardware: Raspberry Pi 4/5, Intel NUC, mini PC, home server, or NAS
• Community tier: free forever with unlimited core infrastructure and local storage

Honest fit / Limitations
Banalytics targets users willing to configure a flexible local-first setup. It is not a zero-configuration consumer plug-and-play camera system, nor a multi-site SMB incident management platform. Deep, prebuilt integrations for every consumer smart home ecosystem are planned; today MQTT covers the majority of use cases.

Specifications / technical details

• Camera support: IP, ONVIF, RTSP, USB
• Integration: native MQTT publishing for events, motion, and system health; HTTP/API available
• Storage: local path / NAS mount support, configurable naming and directory structure
• Retention: rules by size, by days, by event type
• Event clips: event-linked clip generation for quick review
• Alerts: Telegram notifications with clip context and optional reply-based actions
• Dashboard: browser-based live view, event history, playback, and system health
• Edge hardware: supports Raspberry Pi 4/5, Intel NUC, mini PC, home server, and some NAS devices
• Privacy: local-first design, no mandatory cloud uploads
• Intended audience: Home Assistant users, homelab builders, privacy-conscious makers
• Community tier: free forever with unlimited core infrastructure and local storage