I’ve always loved the idea of a self-hosted surveillance system at home and have tried everything from Synology’s surveillance camera solution to Ubiquiti’s cameras and NVR. Unlike cloud-connected cameras, I like knowing that my cameras and data are entirely under my control, and that I don’t need to pay subscription fees or worry about the provider discontinuing service. Now, the go-to app of choice for almost everyone self-hosting their apps tends to be Frigate. And that’s for a good reason. Frigate’s excellent AI-based motion detection has made it a fantastic option for almost everyone. The problem for me was that Frigate requires a lot of time, effort, and suitable hardware to get right. It is an incredibly powerful piece of software with equally high demands from users. While my NVR handles all my recording needs, I needed an easy-to-access dashboard that would make viewing feeds easy without endless setup. So, with a bit of research, I ended up with Nightwatcher. This small self-hosted app isn’t a Frigate alternative, but a surprisingly practical addition for anyone running their own surveillance systems.