Kapal

Kapal

Frigate NVR, Minimal & Fast

10 ratings
7 reviews
Free
In-App Purchases

Details

  • Released
  • Updated
  • August 1, 2025
  • July 14, 2026

Features

Kapal screenshot #1 for iPhone
Kapal screenshot #2 for iPhone
Kapal screenshot #3 for iPhone
Kapal screenshot #4 for iPhone
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About

This app provides a streamlined and secure way to view live camera feeds and review past detection events from your Frigate NVR system. It offers a minimalist interface for maximum visibility and privacy, with no data collection or third-party trackers.

Live camera grid view
Minimalist interface mode
Full-screen live playback
Review past detection events
Privacy-first design
H.264 event playback support
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What's New in Kapal

1.9

July 14, 2026

Kapal 1.9 is here—and it’s one of our biggest updates yet! A Completely Revamped Live Camera View The portrait camera experience has been rebuilt from the ground up. Your live video remains front and center, while useful information and controls are now conveniently available below the stream. The new camera panel includes: • Live connection and stream status • Quick access to available stream qualities • Active detection information • Snapshot sharing • Camera feature controls • Recent camera events New PTZ Camera Controls Kapal+ users can now control compatible ONVIF PTZ cameras directly from the live view. PTZ support includes: • Pan and tilt controls • Press-and-hold directional movement • Zoom in and out • Direction pad and joystick control styles • Compact and expanded control sizes • Quick access to camera presets Cloudflare Tunnel Support — Beta Kapal can now connect to Frigate servers running behind a Cloudflare Tunnel. This makes it easier to securely access your Frigate server remotely without directly exposing it to the internet. Cloudflare Tunnel support is currently in beta, and we would love to hear about your experience. Faster Server Switching with Kapal+ Managing multiple Frigate servers is now much faster. Kapal+ users can quickly switch between saved servers without returning to setup or repeatedly entering connection details. Thank You to Our Roadmap Community A huge thank-you to everyone who votes and submits feature requests through the Kapal Roadmap! Your feedback directly helps shape the future of Kapal, and many improvements in this release were inspired by your ideas. Please keep the requests and votes coming—we’re listening. Performance and Reliability Improvements • Improved live-stream connection and fallback behavior • More reliable H.264 and HEVC video playback • Improved event clip compatibility and playback recovery • Faster clip loading with smarter caching • Improved server connection and authentication handling • Better camera health monitoring and automatic failover • Improved background-task reliability • Numerous interface refinements, stability improvements, and bug fixes throughout the app

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In-App Purchases

$2.99

Kapal+

Multi-server support with automatic failover.

User reviews

Great viewer for Frigate NVR

This is the app I’ve been missing! A few things I’m hoping you can add in the future though:

1) easier way to switch between servers if you have multiple defined. It’s buried a few taps deep right now.
2) a way to deep link into a particular camera from another app (e.g. home assistant) so I can have a notification from HA launch Kapal into a camera live feed or recording.

Thanks for the great work!
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Response from developer

Thank you so much for the kind words! It really means a lot to hear that Kapal is the app you’ve been missing. I also really appreciate you taking the time to write up such thoughtful feedback. Good news on your first request: an easier way to switch between multiple servers is already coming in v1.9. I completely agree that the current flow takes too many taps, so that should be a much smoother experience soon. I also love your second idea. Deep linking directly into a specific camera from apps like Home Assistant makes a ton of sense, especially for notifications, and I’m going to add that to the roadmap as well. I’d like to get both of these completed for you. Thanks again for the encouragement and for helping make Kapal better!

Finally a good Frigate viewer!

Just switch from android and struggled between the meh frigate apps available on iOS. Kapal just works, connected to my frigate over https and it’s seamless. This is the app you want.

Response from developer

Thank you so much! Reviews like this really pump me up to take Kapal to the next level. I’m really excited about the next couple of features in the pipeline. If you ever have any suggestions or issues, please reach out via the contact button in the app! Thank you again for your time and kind words!

I can’t believe it’s free!

I love this app! It is the best way to view my Frigate installation on iOS. It just works

Response from developer

You are too kind. Super happy that you enjoy it. Tell your nerdy NVR friends :)

Needs a valid ssl cert but developer has contacted me and we will work on it.

Just set up Cloudflare ddns and tunneling. App is improving and developer eager to get it working for everyone.

Response from developer

Edit 3/11/26: 1.5 is now out which lets you connect with whatever network combo you have now. Thank you again! Original: Hi — thank you for taking the time to leave feedback. I won’t get into specifics here, but I’d genuinely love to better understand your setup. I personally run a very similar self-hosted/DDNS configuration and it works well on my end, so there may be something small we can adjust. I’m a solo developer and I personally respond to every email. If you’re open to it, please reach out directly at hey@judeworks.app — I’ll work with you one-on-one to figure it out. Also, you’re absolutely right about visibility around support. Adding a clear support email on the landing screen is a great idea, and I’ll be including that in the next release. Building this has been a bit of a leap of faith — detailed feedback during development is rare (I’ve heard from roughly 0.002% of users), and I’m genuinely grateful to those who reach out. It directly shapes what gets improved next. If you’re willing, I’d really appreciate connecting.

Having issues without a valid ssl cert but developer has contacted me and we will work on it

We were planning to use this to monitor our garage remotely. We don't have a website host so we cannot acquire a secure ssl cert.
Hopefully we can get it working. The developer seems interested and eager to make sure the app works for all situations.

Response from developer

Hi — thank you for taking the time to leave feedback. I won’t get into specifics here, but I’d genuinely love to better understand your setup. I personally run a very similar self-hosted/DDNS configuration and it works well on my end, so there may be something small we can adjust. I’m a solo developer and I personally respond to every email. If you’re open to it, please reach out directly at hey@judeworks.app — I’ll work with you one-on-one to figure it out. Also, you’re absolutely right about visibility around support. Adding a clear support email on the landing screen is a great idea, and I’ll be including that in the next release. Building this has been a bit of a leap of faith — detailed feedback during development is rare (I’ve heard from roughly 0.002% of users), and I’m genuinely grateful to those who reach out. It directly shapes what gets improved next. If you’re willing, I’d really appreciate connecting.

Developer apps

FAQ

What is Kapal?

Kapal is a minimal and secure viewer for your Frigate NVR system, designed for iOS and iPadOS. It allows you to monitor live camera feeds and review past detection events with a focus on privacy and performance.

Does Kapal have ads?

No, Kapal does not contain advertisements. It is built with a privacy-first design and does not include any third-party trackers or analytics.

What devices does Kapal support?

Kapal is available for iPhone and iPad devices, offering a native experience optimized for both platforms.

How often is Kapal updated?

The latest version of Kapal is 1.5, and it was last updated on March 11, 2026. This indicates a commitment to ongoing development and improvements.

Can I review past events with Kapal?

Yes, Kapal allows you to browse and replay past detection events, provided they are recorded in H.264 format by your Frigate system.

What is the age rating for Kapal?

Kapal has an age rating of 4+, making it suitable for a wide range of users.

What are the in-app purchases for Kapal?

While the app is free, it offers in-app purchases. Specific details on what these purchases unlock are not provided in the description, but they are typical for enhancing functionality or features.

Does Kapal require a Frigate NVR system?

Yes, Kapal requires an existing Frigate NVR system to function. It acts as a viewer and interface for your established NVR setup.