For UniFi Protect
Watch your UniFi cameras live on your Mac.
PanoPaper is a Mac app for UniFi Protect. It plays the live video from your Ubiquiti cameras as your desktop wallpaper, straight from your NVR, so a glance past your windows is all it takes to check the driveway.
For macOS 15 (Sequoia) and later, with a UniFi console running Protect.
Why it exists
Stop opening Protect just to take a look.
Most of us check our cameras the same way. Open the Protect app or the web page, wait for the streams to load, look, close it again. Ten minutes later you do it all over.
PanoPaper puts the cameras where you already look all day. The video sits behind your windows, dimmed a little while you work, and comes back in full whenever your desktop is clear. Your real wallpaper stays untouched underneath.
Thinking about a UniFi Viewport for your TV, or keeping Protect open in a browser tab? PanoPaper turns your Mac into a video wall for every camera, and it can stream a camera to YouTube without OBS.
Built for Protect
Made for the cameras you already have.
PanoPaper talks to UniFi Protect directly, the same way Protect's own web page does, and it knows its way around your cameras.
- Finds your console. A UNVR, a Dream Machine or a Cloud Key on your network shows up by itself. Sign in once and PanoPaper stays signed in, restarts included. Got more than one NVR? Add them all.
- Every camera, in your order. The panel in the menu bar shows a picture of each camera. Click one and it becomes your wallpaper. Each display can show its own camera, and so can each Space.
- 360° cameras, made flat. The round picture of an AI 360 or G6 Pro 360 turns into a normal view of the room. Pan and tilt it, or let it slowly look around on its own.
- PTZ cameras you can steer. Drag the preview to turn a G5 PTZ, scroll to zoom, and send it Home or to any preset you saved in Protect.
- Audio, if you want it. Hear the camera on your main display, a bit quieter while windows cover it.
- The quality you pick. High, Medium or Low, the same streams Protect offers, up to 4K, decoded by your Mac's hardware.
Detections
Protect already knows who's there. Now you will too.
PanoPaper doesn't run a detector of its own on your video. It follows what your cameras already track in Protect, people and animals, using the smart detection settings you chose there. When someone walks into view, a small line appears at the top of your screen along with a soft chime. Click it and that camera fills the screen.
On the wallpaper you'll see the same corner outlines Protect draws in its own live view, following each person as they move. Notifications in Notification Center are there if you want them, and nothing ever leaves your network.
Detections →Private by design
Your video stays on your network.
PanoPaper connects straight to your console. There's no Ubiquiti cloud in between, no remote access to turn on, and no account with us. Your password lives in the macOS keychain, and PanoPaper remembers your NVR's security certificate, so nothing else on the network can pose as it.
Privacy policy →Questions
What UniFi owners usually ask.
Which account should I use?
Create a local user on your console just for PanoPaper. Under its Device Permissions in Protect, Livestream is the only one it needs. Add Livestream Audio if you want audio, and PTZ Control if you want to steer PTZ cameras. Two-factor sign-in isn't supported, so the account has to sign in with its password alone.
Will it change anything in Protect?
No. PanoPaper only watches. It never touches your camera settings, recordings or zones. The only thing it ever moves is a PTZ camera, and only when you steer it.
Do I need a UI account or remote access?
No. PanoPaper talks to the console directly, over your local network or a VPN. It doesn't use Ubiquiti's cloud at all.
Can I watch cameras at another location?
Yes, through a VPN such as UniFi's Site Magic or Teleport, WireGuard or Tailscale. Add the console by its address and sign in just as at home. Cameras at another location has the details, ports included.
Does it work with UniFi Video?
No. PanoPaper needs UniFi Protect, the software that replaced UniFi Video on Ubiquiti's consoles. If your cameras show up in Protect, PanoPaper can show them.
Is this an official Ubiquiti app?
No. PanoPaper comes from an independent developer who uses UniFi Protect every day, and it isn't affiliated with Ubiquiti.
Is there a UniFi Protect app for Mac?
Ubiquiti makes its Protect app for iPhone and iPad. Macs with Apple silicon can install the iPad app, though the App Store notes it isn't verified for macOS, and many people simply open Protect in a browser. PanoPaper is made for the Mac from the start.
What does it cost?
PanoPaper is free, with every feature. For the first 7 days your cameras look clean. After that, “UNLICENSED” shows across them until you buy PanoPaper Pro, as a yearly plan or a one-time purchase.
Your cameras, right there. No app to open.
macOS 15 (Sequoia) or later, on Apple silicon or Intel.
Ready for macOS 27 Golden Gate.
