The Open Home Foundation (OHF) Matter.js Server just reached a new milestone with version 0.7.0, bumping its specification support to the latest Matter 1.5.1 and offering initial camera integration.
This update makes Home Assistant potentially the second major smart home platform to support Matter cameras, following the initial rollout by Samsung SmartThings. It highlights the commitment of the OHF to embrace, contribute to, and promote open standards.
Key changes in beta
The Open Home Foundation Matter.JS Server now has initial support for cameras, with the most essential controls exposed directly through the Matter Server web interface.
The update adds experimental camera live view support using WebRTC streaming with snapshot capture. You can access this through a new live view button available on camera and video doorbell device types.
It adds an experimental dashboard interface for camera audio and video settings. This includes pan, tilt, and zoom controls, presets, and stream information, plus a compact control strip located in the live view overlay. You can get all the controls needed like watermark option, streaming and snapshot resolution.
I tested the Aqara Camera Hub G350 with the beta Matter Server. The audio and snapshot works great, but it won’t stream. Currently, OHF and Aqara teams are working to address this issue. Ingo, the main maintainer of Matter.JS, shared some screenshots of how the streaming actually works with a demo device.
Aqara Camera G350
Home Assistant still needs more work to make a fully functional and user-friendly camera interface available soon, and you can check the development progress on the official GitHub roadmap.
Along with cameras, the update brings an experimental dashboard interface for the Chime cluster, which is part of the Matter Doorbell devices. It allows you to select sounds, play them, and read out the last played event.
The new beta update also enables Matter TCP support, which is primarily required for camera devices. It seeds certificates and vendor information directly to allow basic functionality without internet access. Previously, the server pulled certification data from the internet upon booting. Now, it can function much better offline because it has the certifications stored locally and updated along with the add-on (or App).
With testing work from the community, storage optimization is now available by default for beta users. The change is to reduce overall disk usage and input and output operations for better efficiency. It would take some minutes to migrate data to the new format if you have multiple Matter devices, so patience on the first boot after the update is required.
The foundation plans to get this build ready for an official release (Matter.JS Server 1.0.0 and Home Assistant Add-on 9.0.0) in two weeks, and will apply for official Matter certification through the fast track program of the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA). This would mark a successful migration from the legacy C++ Matter Server to the new Matter.JS version.
What is coming next
The development roadmap highlights several key features planned for future releases. Support for Intermittently Connected Devices (ICD) is in the works, which will optimize how the Matter server interacts with sleepy, battery-powered gadgets like contact sensors or temperature meters. By allowing these devices to wake up periodically and predictably to check in with the server rather than maintaining a constant active connection, the network can significantly improve their battery life without sacrificing overall responsiveness.
Another addition on the horizon is Time Sync support, ensuring Matter devices to get a proper clock for automation and features like IKEA ALPSTUGA’s clock display.
ALPSTUGA Air Quality Sensor
Bluetooth proxy commissioning is planned to make the initial device setup process much easier. Currently, you need a specific Bluetooth interface, such as a USB dongle or a dedicated PCI-E adapter, and you must let the Matter server use it exclusively just to onboard a brand-new device over Bluetooth Low Energy.
With this planned feature, you will be able to use everyday connected gadgets you already own, like a Shelly switch or ESPHome devices, to act as a Bluetooth proxy. This means you can pair a new Matter device from anywhere in your house as long as a proxy device is nearby, eliminating the need to physically bring the new gadget right next to your central server during the setup process and extra work to configure the Bluetooth adapter for the Matter server.
(Source: GitHub, OHF; Image Source: OHF/Ingo, Matter Alpha/Ward Zhou)
