ringbuzz

A minimal Ring Intercom → Apple HomeKit bridge. Exposes a single Lock accessory so you can buzz visitors in from your iPhone without opening the Ring app.

One Go binary, no Docker, no Homebridge, no Node. Runs under launchctl on macOS.

What it does

• Exposes one HomeKit Lock accessory.
• On Unlock from Apple Home → calls Ring's cloud API to buzz the door open.
• Auto-returns to Locked after 5 seconds (intercom unlock is momentary).

What it does not do

Doorbell events, video, audio, multiple intercoms, a config UI, or anything else. That's what homebridge-ring is for. If you want the kitchen sink, use that.

Install

git clone https://github.com/jokull/ringbuzz ~/Code/ringbuzz
cd ~/Code/ringbuzz
make install          # → ~/bin/ringbuzz

Setup

ringbuzz login                 # prompts for Ring email, password, 2FA code
ringbuzz devices               # prints numeric IDs for every Ring device
ringbuzz use <device-id>       # pick the intercom
ringbuzz unlock                # smoke test — does the door actually buzz?

Once ringbuzz unlock works, start the daemon:

ringbuzz daemon                # foreground; prints QR + setup code

Open Home app → + → Add Accessory → scan the QR, or enter the 8-digit code manually. Home will show "Uncertified Accessory" — tap Add Anyway.

To run at login via launchd:

cp scripts/com.ringbuzz.daemon.plist ~/Library/LaunchAgents/
launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.ringbuzz.daemon.plist

CLI reference

ringbuzz login                 # OAuth + 2FA, stores refresh token
ringbuzz devices               # list Ring devices on the account
ringbuzz use <device-id>       # select which intercom to control
ringbuzz unlock                # fire the unlock once (test)
ringbuzz pair                  # print HomeKit setup code
ringbuzz daemon                # run the HomeKit server

Files

Path	Purpose
~/bin/ringbuzz	binary (via make install)
~/.config/ringbuzz/config.toml	refresh token + selected device
~/.config/ringbuzz/hap/	HomeKit pairing state (keypair, accessory UUID)
~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.ringbuzz.daemon.plist	launchd config
~/Library/Logs/ringbuzz.log	stdout + stderr when running under launchd

Platform

macOS only, currently. Pairing on macOS required working around two quirks:

• mDNS announcements from brutella/dnssd never leave loopback when Apple's mDNSResponder is running. Ringbuzz bypasses it by shelling out to dns-sd -P for service registration. Apple's native Bonjour is the authoritative mDNS responder on every macOS box anyway.
• Go's net/http rejects Host headers containing backslashes with "malformed Host header". iPhones URL-encode spaces in the mDNS service instance name as \032, so a service named "Front Entrance" becomes Front\032Entrance._hap._tcp.local — which Go treats as malformed. Ringbuzz strips spaces from the mDNS service name (Home displays the user-facing name via the HAP Name characteristic, not mDNS).

These could be fixed upstream; they are not.

Debugging

Set RINGBUZZ_DEBUG=1 in the launchd plist environment or shell to enable verbose brutella/hap and brutella/dnssd logs. Off by default — the chatter is overwhelming in normal operation.

Credits

• Ring wire format ported from the MIT-licensed dgreif/ring-client-api. The three endpoints used — OAuth, device list, and device_rpc unlock — are cribbed verbatim from rest-client.ts and ring-intercom.ts.
• HAP server courtesy of brutella/hap.
• QR code rendering via mdp/qrterminal.

License

MIT.