Frigate is an open-source network video recorder (NVR) built around real-time AI object detection that runs entirely on your own hardware. Instead of relying on simple motion detection — or sending footage to the cloud — Frigate analyses camera feeds locally with an AI accelerator to determine whether motion is actually a person, a car, a pet, or something else of interest, drastically cutting false alerts while keeping every frame private at home.
Traditional NVRs can take hours of fine-tuning because they cannot tell a person from a swaying shadow. Frigate offloads detection to a supported AI accelerator, so even modest hardware can run more than 100 object detections per second and review feeds automatically, surfacing only the events that matter. Objects are tracked in real time, and zones let users pinpoint the exact moment a person starts up the front steps or a car enters the driveway, refining notifications by precise location. Frigate is also a favourite of the home-automation community: it integrates directly with Home Assistant’s media browser, provides low-latency camera entities, and exposes real-time sensors and switches, with additional integration paths through MQTT to openHAB, Node-RED, and other platforms.
Frigate is Freemium. The NVR itself is free and open source to self-host on your own hardware. Frigate+ is a paid option that provides access to custom models trained specifically for Frigate, improving detection for subscribers.
Frigate is for smart-home enthusiasts, Home Assistant users, and privacy-conscious homeowners who want accurate, locally processed camera detection without cloud fees or footage leaving the house.