A native macOS client for JetKVM and PiKVM hardware, plus standalone VNC (RFB 3.8) servers — QEMU/libvirt consoles and Proxmox VMs reached over their VNC port.
JetKVM and PiKVM both ship web-based control panels that run in a browser tab and work fine for casual remote-control. But a browser can't capture macOS system shortcuts — ⌘Tab, ⌘Space, ⌘Q — so they get eaten by your Mac instead of reaching the host. Regi is a native macOS app that fixes this and a handful of other rough edges along the way.
It talks each device's native protocol — JetKVM's WebRTC + JSON-RPC +
HID-RPC, PiKVM's Janus WebRTC video + /api/ws input, or RFB 3.8 over
TCP for standalone VNC servers — behind one unified UI; the difference
is in the macOS integration around it.
- JetKVM, PiKVM and VNC in one app. Core remote control — video, keyboard, mouse, and scroll — works on every backend. JetKVM additionally exposes ATX power, codec/quality, and clipboard sync; those device-specific controls are hidden when they don't apply (PiKVM parity is on the roadmap).
- Standalone VNC (RFB 3.8). Connect to any plain VNC server — QEMU/libvirt
-vnc, a Proxmox VM's QEMU VNC port, or PiKVM'skvmd-vnc. H.264 (RFB encoding 50, via VideoToolbox — as used by PiKVM and TigerVNC 1.13+) is preferred where offered, then Tight (JPEG via ImageIO), with ZRLE / Zlib / Hextile / CopyRect / Raw fallbacks — all decoded off the main thread, with eachFramebufferUpdatepresented atomically (no tearing or per-strip shimmer); dynamic resolution changes (virtio-gpu / DesktopSize), QEMU extended key events for layout-independent typing, and UTF-8 clipboard sync via the Extended Clipboard pseudo-encoding (falling back to Latin-1 cut text). Power control (shutdown / reset) is offered when the server supports XVP (QEMU started withpower-control=on). Security types None, VNC Authentication, and VeNCrypt (TLS — as PiKVM'skvmd-vncrequires) are supported, with the same self-signed trust prompt as the other backends. Enable "Encrypted (TLS)" when adding a VNC host to connect to a VeNCrypt server. - Real keyboard capture. System shortcuts — ⌘Tab, ⌘Space (Spotlight),
⌘Q, ⌘H, Mission Control, function keys — route to the remote host via
CGEventTap. Engages automatically when the session window is frontmost; suspends the moment you switch apps so your Mac isn't fighting you. - mDNS / Bonjour discovery. JetKVM (
_jetkvm._tcp) and PiKVM (_pikvm._tcp) devices on your LAN appear in the host list automatically — no URL typing, no scanning. - Multi-window, multi-device. Connect to several devices at once, each in its own window with its own video stream, signaling channel, and session state.
- Pointer lock for FPS / CAD work. Optional mode that pins the cursor and delivers raw relative motion, so the host cursor doesn't walk away from yours on multi-monitor host setups.
- In-app TLS trust prompt. JetKVM and PiKVM both ship self-signed certs by default. Regi surfaces a one-time "Trust certificate" prompt with the actual failure reason instead of a generic browser warning, and remembers your choice per host.
- Keychain-backed passwords. Per-host, scoped to the app.
- Bandwidth gate (JetKVM, VNC). When the session window is minimised or fully covered, Regi pauses the video feed after a 5 s debounce — the device stops encoding (JetKVM) or Regi stops requesting framebuffer updates (VNC). Saves device CPU and LAN bandwidth while the window's hidden; resumes instantly when you bring it back.
- First-class native UI. SwiftUI, Mission Control thumbnails, Window menu entries with each host's display name, native fullscreen, real app icon in the Dock.
| JetKVM web UI | Regi | |
|---|---|---|
| System shortcuts (⌘Tab, ⌘Q, ⌘Space, …) | macOS swallows them | Forwarded to the host |
| Find devices on the LAN | Type the URL | Auto-discovery via mDNS |
| Multiple devices | One browser tab each | Multiple native windows |
| Self-signed cert | Browser security warning | In-app trust prompt |
| Window minimised / occluded | Keeps streaming | Pauses encoder (5 s debounce) |
| Passwords | Browser autofill (if remembered) | macOS Keychain |
| Pointer lock | HTML5 Pointer Lock API | Native CG APIs |
| Updates | Browser cache | Standalone .app |
The same comparison holds for PiKVM's web UI — a browser can't forward macOS shortcuts there either.
What Regi doesn't replace: anything that's not part of an active remote-control session. The device's setup flow, advanced settings, firmware updates, and (for PiKVM) ATX power and mass-storage controls are still done through the web UI. Regi assumes you've configured the device there at least once.
- macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later
- A JetKVM or PiKVM device reachable on the network
- JetKVM: for HTTPS to default-config devices, firmware that produces RFC 5280-compliant certificate serial numbers (recent firmware does; older firmware still works over plain HTTP, and the in-app trust prompt handles the self-signed CA either way)
- PiKVM: H.264 / WebRTC streaming via
kvmd-janusenabled (the default on current PiKVM OS images); the in-app trust prompt handles its self-signed certificate. mDNS auto-discovery needsavahi-daemonrunning on the device — otherwise add it by host/IP manually.
Grab Regi.dmg from the latest release and drag Regi.app into /Applications. A bare Regi.zip is on the same release page if you'd rather skip the disk image.
Note
Regi isn't currently signed by an Apple-trusted developer ID, so macOS Gatekeeper refuses the first launch with "can't be opened because Apple cannot check it for malicious software." Bypass once and macOS remembers your choice:
- Finder: right-click
Regi.app→ Open → confirm in the dialog. Subsequent double-clicks work normally. - Terminal:
xattr -d com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Regi.app
git clone https://github.com/mcuelenaere/regi.git
cd regi
open Regi.xcodeprojHit ⌘R in Xcode.
Regi is Esperanto for to rule, to govern, to take control — which is, roughly, what a KVM client does. You point it at a remote machine and you're in charge: keyboard, mouse, screen. The name is short, pronounceable in most languages (REH-ghee), and has no prior tech-product baggage.
Apache 2.0 — see LICENSE.
- The JetKVM project for the hardware and the open firmware Regi talks to.
- The PiKVM project for KVMD and its documented HTTP / WebSocket / Janus interfaces.
stasel/WebRTCfor the WebRTC.framework SwiftPM distribution.