MenuCam

A small macOS background camera recorder with English UI and private Tailscale web control.

Download the latest Mac app · Apple Silicon · macOS 13+

Screenshots

Native control window

Version 1.6 opens a compact window with Tailscale and localhost links, Copy Control Link and Quit. There is no menu bar/status icon. Closing the window keeps the authenticated server running; opening the app again restores the same window.

Web control and first-device authorization

After saving

Web screenshots show the earlier control layout using demonstration data; version 1.6 also adds a small Quit button. No camera photos or access keys are shown.

Get started

1. Download the ZIP, unzip it, and open MenuCam.app.
2. Allow camera access on the Mac; allow the microphone if you want audio.
3. Connect the Mac and phone to the same Tailscale network.
4. The launch window shows the Tailscale control address and a localhost address for this Mac.
5. Select Copy Control Link and open that full link on your phone. Without Tailscale, it copies the localhost link for this Mac only.
6. If Device Authorization appears, paste the control link or access key and select Authorize & Connect.
7. Bookmark the full link for next time; the browser remembers authorized access.

How to use

• Open web control: click the address in the Mac window.
• Start recording: select Start Recording on the web page.
• Stop from the web: select Stop & Save.
• Stop from the Mac: press a keyboard key while blackout mode is active.
• Take a current photo: quickly tap the web timer three times, with less than 450 ms between taps.
• Hide the photo: tap the image once to clear it and show the timer again.
• Take a photo while recording: the existing video stream supplies the image; recording and timing continue uninterrupted.
• Take a photo while idle: the camera opens briefly for one photo, then closes; no recording or blackout starts.
• Find a saved video: read Saved to below the timer; the default path starts at Movies/MenuCam/.
• Check the take length: read Duration in the saved result; saving time is excluded.
• Start another take: the main timer resets to 00:00:00 after saving.
• Quit the app: select Quit in the Mac window or the small Quit button on the authenticated web page. Both save any active recording and restore settings before exiting. Reopen the Mac app to restart the server.

What happens during recording

• Black windows cover the Mac screens.
• Supported display brightness is set to zero and automatic brightness is turned off.
• System audio output is muted and supported keyboard backlight is turned off.
• Stopping restores the original display, audio and keyboard settings.
• Closing the window or stopping a take keeps the web server online.
• Photos stay in memory only; they are not saved as photo files or browser storage.
• Videos are saved locally as mirrored MOV files, with microphone audio when permitted.
• Camera startup black frames are skipped; cold camera photos may take several seconds.
• Browser tabs, bookmarks and phone home-screen shortcuts use the App's logo.
• Only one MenuCam instance runs, avoiding competing web servers.

Requirements and access

• Apple Silicon Mac, macOS 13+, with a camera.
• Tailscale on both devices; allow TCP 8765 to the Mac in the tailnet ACLs.
• Both this Mac and the phone use the same Tailscale address.
• Full control links contain #key=...; treat them like passwords.
• The server binds only to Tailscale IPv4 utun addresses and 127.0.0.1 (localhost), never ordinary LAN or wildcard interfaces. Both require the same persistent access key.
• MenuCam does not configure port forwarding, Serve or Funnel. Keep the service inside the tailnet.
• The app is ad-hoc signed, not notarized; macOS may require an explicit Open confirmation.

Support

If MenuCam is useful to you, consider buying me a coffee.