Spiggot

A macOS menu bar app that captures video from gphoto2-compatible cameras and outputs to Syphon for use in OBS, video software, or any Syphon client.

Requirements

• macOS 26.0 or later
• Xcode 15+
• Homebrew
• A gphoto2-compatible camera (Canon, Nikon, Sony, etc.)

Setup

1. Install gphoto2

brew install gphoto2

2. Install Syphon.framework

This project vendors Syphon.framework under Frameworks/. To (re)build it from source and copy it into the right place:

bash scripts/update_syphon_framework.sh

Or run the one-shot bootstrap (recommended):

bash scripts/bootstrap_deps.sh

Notes:

• Requires git and Xcode command line tools.
• By default it clones https://github.com/Syphon/Syphon-Framework.git.
• You can override with SYPHON_REPO_URL and/or SYPHON_REF (tag/branch).

3. Build the project

Open Spiggot.xcodeproj in Xcode and build (⌘B).

If you get header errors, verify the paths in Build Settings:

• Header Search Paths: Should include /opt/homebrew/include (Apple Silicon) or /usr/local/include (Intel)
• Library Search Paths: Should include /opt/homebrew/lib (Apple Silicon) or /usr/local/lib (Intel)

4. Run

1. Connect your camera via USB
2. Set camera to Manual (M) mode for best results
3. Launch Spiggot
4. Click the camera icon in the menu bar
5. Select "Start Capture"

The app will appear as "GPhoto2 Camera" in any Syphon client.

Using with OBS

1. Install the OBS Syphon plugin: https://github.com/zakk4223/obs-syphon
2. Add a new "Syphon Client" source
3. Select "Spiggot - GPhoto2 Camera"

Troubleshooting

"Failed to initialize camera"

macOS's PTP camera daemons may grab the camera and prevent gphoto2 from claiming the USB interface.

This app will always best-effort stop those daemons and then retry gp_camera_init quickly.

If you want to verify who owns the USB interface from the CLI:

ioreg -l -w0 -r -c IOUSBHostInterface -k "USB Vendor Name" -k "USB Product Name" -k UsbExclusiveOwner | less

Camera not detected

Run this to verify gphoto2 sees your camera:

gphoto2 --auto-detect

Linker errors

Make sure gphoto2 is installed and the library paths are correct for your system:

Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3):

• Header Search Paths: /opt/homebrew/include
• Library Search Paths: /opt/homebrew/lib

Intel Mac:

• Header Search Paths: /usr/local/include
• Library Search Paths: /usr/local/lib

License

BSD 2-Clause License. See LICENSE.

Distribution

This project is set up so the built .app can be distributed as a single zip with no Homebrew runtime dependency.

• Syphon is embedded as Syphon.framework.
• libgphoto2 + its dependent dylibs are copied into the app’s Contents/Frameworks/ during the build.
• libgphoto2 “camlibs” (camera drivers) are copied into Contents/Resources/libgphoto2/camlibs/.

To build a distributable zip:

bash scripts/package_release_zip.sh