Overlook

Overlook is a macOS-native remote console for GL.iNet GLKVM / Comet-style KVM devices.

It focuses on fast, low-friction day-to-day “reach over and fix it” workflows:

• Low-latency WebRTC video streaming (Janus signaling).
• Full keyboard + mouse input capture.
• Clipboard bridging:
  • Local → Remote paste with ⌘⇧V (types the Mac clipboard into the remote machine via HID).
  • Remote → Local snippet OCR with ⌘⇧C: drag a rectangle on the video, Overlook OCRs the region and copies the text to your Mac clipboard.

If you spend time in BIOS/UEFI, bootloaders, headless servers, or “the machine that’s just out of reach”, Overlook aims to make the remote console feel like a first-class Mac app.

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Highlights

1) Copy from the remote screen with ⌘⇧C

Overlook includes a one-shot snippet OCR for pulling text off the remote:

• Press ⌘⇧C anywhere in the Overlook window.
• A selection overlay appears over the video.
• Drag a rectangle around the text you want.
• Overlook runs on-device OCR (Apple Vision framework) on that region, copies the recognized text straight to your Mac clipboard, and shows a brief “Text copied” HUD.

This is especially useful for:

• Capturing one-time passwords, serial numbers, IPs, MAC addresses.
• Copying terminal output from machines with no clipboard integration.
• Copying text in pre-boot environments.

Note: OCR is performed locally on your Mac.

2) Paste the Mac clipboard to the remote with ⌘⇧V

When connected and input capture is active, ⌘⇧V reads your macOS clipboard and sends it to the remote machine via the device’s HID text-entry API.

Plain ⌘V is forwarded to the remote as-is (i.e. the remote OS interprets it against its own clipboard).

3) Low-latency WebRTC video

Overlook uses WebRTC for streaming and collects receiver stats (bitrate, fps, jitter buffer / playout delay, decode time, packet loss, ICE RTT).

These stats are surfaced in the window title, which makes diagnosing latency issues and tuning quality settings much easier.

4) A focused Settings panel (WebUI-aligned)

The Settings UI is intentionally aligned with GLKVM’s WebUI behavior where it matters:

• Video quality presets (Low/Medium/High/Ultra-high/Insane/Custom).
• EDID selection and custom EDID entry.
• Audio + microphone toggles (reconnect required).

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What devices are supported?

Overlook is built around GL.iNet’s GLKVM/Comet HTTP + WebRTC stack.

In code, devices are modeled as KVMDevice and discovered/managed by KVMDeviceManager.

If you have:

• GL.iNet Comet / GLKVM
• A GLKVM-compatible device exposing Janus signaling at wss://<host>:<port>/janus/ws

…Overlook is intended to work.

For now, it's only designed for local network use or direct IP connections (e.g. over VPN).

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Installation

Requirements

• macOS 14+ (deployment target in project is macOS 14.0).
• Xcode (use the repository’s Overlook.xcodeproj).
• Network access to your KVM device.

WebRTC dependency

Overlook uses the Swift Package:

• https://github.com/stasel/WebRTC (pinned in Package.resolved)

Build

1. Open Overlook.xcodeproj in Xcode.
2. Select the Overlook scheme.
3. Build + Run.

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Quick Start (How to use Overlook)

1) Discover or add a device

Overlook supports multiple discovery methods (mDNS + network scanning + common target probes) and also manual entry.

From the main window:

• Click Scan to search your network.
• Or click Manual Connect… to enter host/IP and port.

From the menu bar:

• Use the Overlook status item to scan and connect quickly.

2) Connect

Select a device, then connect.

On connect, Overlook will:

• Authenticate to the device API (cookie token).
• Enable HID on the device.
• Start WebRTC streaming.
• Start keyboard/mouse capture.

If authentication fails, you’ll be prompted for a password and Overlook will attempt a login.

3) Control the remote machine

Once connected:

• Mouse movement, clicks, dragging, and scroll are forwarded.
• Keyboard is captured and forwarded.
• Standard UX flows like fullscreen work well for “monitor replacement” usage.

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Snippet OCR (Remote → Local)

Capture text with ⌘⇧C

1. Press ⌘⇧C inside the Overlook window.
2. Drag a rectangle around the text region you want.
3. Overlook OCRs the selection, copies the text to your Mac clipboard, and flashes a brief HUD. No result sheet — paste normally in any Mac app.

Notes / limitations

• OCR accuracy depends on resolution, compression, font size, and contrast.
• OCR is tuned for English with automatic language detection.
• Press Escape during selection to cancel.

Clipboard Paste (Local → Remote)

Paste with ⌘⇧V

When connected and input capture is active:

• Press ⌘⇧V on your Mac.
• Overlook reads your Mac clipboard and types it to the remote via the device’s HID text-entry API.

This is ideal for:

• Commands
• URLs
• Password-manager output (use responsibly)
• Small scripts / config snippets

Tips

• Large pastes may take time for the remote to process. Paste in smaller chunks in BIOS/UEFI or slow boot environments.

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Keyboard shortcuts

Overlook forwards most key events to the remote while input capture is enabled. A small local whitelist keeps common Mac shortcuts working.

Local (stay on the Mac / consumed by Overlook)

• ⌘⇧C: start the one-shot snippet OCR described above.
• ⌘⇧V: type the Mac clipboard into the remote via HID.
• ⌘⇧ + any other key: stays local (not forwarded).
• ⌘Tab: macOS app switcher.
• ⌥Tab: passes through locally (useful with third-party window switchers).
• Escape while the snippet overlay is showing: cancel without OCR.

Forwarded to the remote

Everything else, including ⌘C, ⌘V, ⌘Q, ⌘W, ⌘H, ⌘M, and so on. If you need to quit Overlook via the keyboard, either disable input capture first (open the Settings panel) or use ⌘⌥Esc to force-quit.

Menu bar global shortcuts

The menu bar agent listens for these when Overlook is NOT focused:

• ⌘⇧R: Scan for devices.
• ⌘⇧V: Open Quick Connect.

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Settings

Overlook’s settings UI lives in Overlook/WebUISettingsPanel.swift and is designed to map closely to the GLKVM WebUI.

Video

• Mode: video processing mode (low-latency oriented).

• Quality Presets:

  • Low: h264_bitrate=500, h264_gop=30, stream_quality=0
  • Medium: h264_bitrate=2000, h264_gop=30, stream_quality=1
  • High: h264_bitrate=5000, h264_gop=60, stream_quality=2
  • Ultra-high: h264_bitrate=8000, h264_gop=60, stream_quality=3
  • Insane: quality=100, h264_bitrate=20000, h264_gop=60, stream_quality=3
  • Custom: unlocks the advanced streamer controls

• EDID:

  • Pick from known-good EDID presets.
  • Or choose “Custom” and paste your own EDID blob.

Audio

• Audio output toggle.
• Microphone toggle.

Important: the UI indicates reconnect is required for audio/mic changes.

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Troubleshooting

“I can’t find my device when scanning”

• Make sure your Mac is on the same network as the KVM.
• Try Manual Connect… with the host/IP and port.
• Some networks block mDNS; Overlook also does a best-effort port scan and probes common targets.

“WebRTC connects but video is blank / unstable”

• Confirm the device’s WebUI works.
• Try toggling reconnect.
• Check the window title stats (bitrate/fps) to confirm frames are arriving.

“Snippet OCR doesn’t detect text”

• Increase stream quality (higher bitrate helps OCR).
• Make the text larger on the remote side.
• Avoid heavy compression artifacts (try High/Ultra-high/Insane).

“Paste doesn’t work”

• Ensure you’re connected.
• Ensure input capture is active.
• Confirm the remote cursor focuses a text field.

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Development notes

Project structure

• Overlook/ContentView.swift
  • Main app UI and fullscreen experience.
• Overlook/VideoSurfaceView.swift
  • Hosts the WebRTC video view.
  • Routes mouse/scroll events.
  • Implements OCR selection gestures.
• Overlook/WebRTCManager.swift
  • WebRTC peer connection + Janus signaling.
  • Receiver stats collection.
  • Optional audio/mic track.
• Overlook/InputManager.swift
  • Keyboard/mouse capture.
  • Local→remote paste (⌘⇧V) and snippet OCR trigger (⌘⇧C).
  • HID transport via WebSocket to the device.
• Overlook/OCRManager.swift + Overlook/OCRViews.swift
  • Apple Vision OCR pipeline.
  • One-shot selection overlay + clipboard copy HUD.
• Overlook/GLKVMClient.swift
  • Device HTTP APIs (streamer params, system config, EDID, HID print, etc.).
• Overlook/KVMDeviceManager.swift
  • Discovery, saved devices, authentication.
• Overlook/MenuBarAgent.swift
  • Menu bar UI + quick actions.

Security notes

• The app currently allows insecure TLS for device connections (useful for devices with self-signed certs).
• Treat your auth_token like a password.

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License

This project is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0.

See LICENSE.md.