Moonfire NVR
Not yet benchmarked
- Vendor
- Open source (Scott Lamb)
- License
- GPL-3.0-or-later (open source)
- Platforms
- Linux, Docker, Raspberry Pi
A deliberately minimal open-source NVR: records H.264-over-RTSP straight to disk with no decoding, motion detection or analytics — extremely low CPU use. Not yet benchmarked on our test bench.
Strengths
- Fully open source (GPL-3.0+), runs on 'nothing but a cheap machine with a big hard drive' — no GPU or AI hardware needed.
- No vendor cloud of any kind; pure local RTSP ingestion.
Limitations
- By design, no motion detection, facial recognition or any analytics at all — just recording.
- No built-in HTTPS/TLS (a reverse proxy is required for secure access); pre-1.0 and still actively seeking contributors.
Criteria
| Open source (auditable code) | ✓ |
|---|---|
| Self-hosted (runs on your hardware) | ✓ |
| Works without a mandatory vendor account | ✓ |
| Works with any ONVIF/RTSP camera (no hardware lock-in) | ✓ |
| Built-in facial recognition | ✗ |
| Encrypts stored footage at rest | ✗ |
| Remote access without a vendor cloud | ✓ |
| Web + desktop + mobile apps | ✗ |
Sources
This product has not yet been tested on our bench. The information above comes from dated documentary sources; no comparative verdict is published until a real test has taken place.