ATEM Fleet Admin

Provision a fleet of Blackmagic ATEM switchers at once. Define any number of ATEMs in one place, build each device's configuration through model-aware forms (dropdowns + text fields), then either:

1. Generate folders — write a loadable config.xml + Media/ folder per device for manual loading into ATEM Software Control, or
2. Connect & apply — push the settable subset of the config to a switcher over the network via atem-connection.

Built with electron-vite + React + TypeScript, matching the stack of its sibling animATEM.

A 45-second tour of the real app. Two switchers of different models, showing the form adapt: a Mini Extreme has Streaming and Recording tabs, a 4 M/E Broadcast Studio has SuperSource instead.

The same adaptation as a still: three switchers in the sidebar, two models between them. The selected 4 M/E exposes a SuperSource tab and twenty inputs with full AUX routing — the Mini Extremes above it show neither.

Why

Configuring ATEMs one at a time in ATEM Software Control — input/output names, SuperSource, media pools, streaming/recording, transitions — is slow and error-prone across a fleet. Fleet Admin turns it into a single form-driven pass with a repeatable, versionable project file (*.afa.json).

Model-aware profiles

Each device is assigned a model. The editor shows only the tabs and options that model supports, and the XML generator only emits the sections it has. Phase 1 ships two profiles spanning the two hardware classes:

Capability	ATEM Mini Extreme ISO	ATEM 4 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K
Input / output names	✅	✅
Output routing (AUX)	✅	✅
UVC / USB-C output	✅	—
Default transition	✅	✅
Fade to black	✅	✅
DVE	✅	✅
Media pool + players	✅	✅
Streaming	✅	—
Recording (bitrate/ISO)	✅	—
SuperSource	—	✅
Multi-M/E	—	✅ (4 M/E)

Adding a model is a single new entry in src/shared/models.ts.

Fields covered

Input/output names · show/project name (recorder filename) · recording bitrate · recording mode (program vs ISO) · output sources incl. UVC · SuperSource layout & sources · media pool items · media player assignments · streaming destination / key / type / bandwidth · fade-to-black on/off · default transition time & type · DVE settings.

The two output paths

Generate folders (highest fidelity)

Pick an output directory; Fleet Admin writes:

<OutputDir>/<FleetName>/<DeviceName>/config.xml
<OutputDir>/<FleetName>/<DeviceName>/Media/...

Drag the Media/ files into the switcher's media pool, then use ATEM Software Control's Load to apply config.xml. The <Profile> XML matches the element/attribute/nesting conventions of real ATEM save files (see xmlGenerator.spec.ts).

Connect & apply (live)

Set a network address on the Project tab and click Connect & apply selected. The settable subset (input names, AUX routing, SuperSource boxes, media-player assignments, transition/FTB rates, streaming service, ISO mode) is applied live. Settings the Ethernet protocol can't reach — media-pool uploads, UVC routing, recording bitrate — are reported as folder-export only so nothing is applied silently.

Note on Mini streaming/recording XML. No ATEM Mini save file was available as ground truth, so the Mini <Streaming>/<Recording> XML elements are reconstructed from the protocol and should be validated against a real Mini. The live Connect & apply path is the authoritative route for those fields.

Two ways to run it

The same tool ships as two targets from this one repo, sharing all the provisioning logic (src/shared + src/main/services):

1. Electron desktop app — the native app (npm run dev), packaged as installers on the main release. Uses IPC + native file dialogs.
2. Web app + av-launcher tray shell — a local Node server (src/server) serving the same React UI in the browser, wrapped by the fleet's av-launcher shell so it lives in the menu bar (pick interface + port, Start/Stop, Open). Ships as a self-contained desktop app with an embedded Node runtime — see launcher/. This matches how the sibling atem-overseer ships. The tray app ships for macOS, Windows and Linux (.deb/.rpm).

The React UI is identical across both; only window.api differs (Electron IPC vs HTTP — see src/web/webApi.ts).

Documentation

Doc	Contents
docs/USER-GUIDE.md	Provisioning a fleet: both output paths, what to check, troubleshooting
docs/API.md	HTTP + IPC surfaces, the model catalog, the full apply-step table, export layout
docs/DEVELOPING.md	Two run targets, three tsconfigs, and the catalog invariant

Develop

npm install

# Electron target
npm run dev          # launch the Electron app
npm run build        # electron-vite production build

# Web target
npm run server:dev   # run the web server (tsx watch) on :4720
npm run preview:web  # vite dev server for the web UI on :5199 (proxies /api → :4720)
npm run web          # build web + server, then serve at http://localhost:4720

# Shared
npm test             # vitest unit tests (XML generator, exporter, network apply)
npm run typecheck    # node (electron) + web + server

Electron installers: npm run build:mac / build:win / build:linux (win/mac/linux × x64/arm64 via electron-builder). The av-launcher desktop app is built by .github/workflows/release-desktop.yml (see launcher/README.md).

Architecture

• src/shared/ — models.ts (capability profiles), config.ts (the single source-of-truth data model), protocol.ts (IPC types).
• src/main/services/ — xmlGenerator.ts, folderExporter.ts, fleetStore.ts, networkApply.ts.
• src/renderer/src/ — React UI: fleet sidebar + capability-gated tabbed device editor + export bar.

Disclaimer

This project was developed with AI assistance (Claude). It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Blackmagic Design. "ATEM" is a trademark of Blackmagic Design. Generated configurations — especially the reconstructed Mini streaming/recording XML — should be verified on your own hardware before use in production.

Unsigned builds — Gatekeeper, SmartScreen & Defender Firewall

The release binaries are not code-signed or notarized — that needs paid Apple and Microsoft developer certificates this project doesn't carry. The downloads are fine; the OS just can't identify the publisher, so it warns you the first time.

• macOS — "cannot be opened because the developer cannot be verified". Right-click the app → Open → Open, or clear the flag: xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/ATEM Fleet Admin.app"
• Windows — SmartScreen shows "Windows protected your PC" → More info → Run anyway.
• Windows Defender Firewall — first launch pops "Allow ATEM Fleet Admin to communicate on these networks". Tick Private (and Domain on a managed network) — ATEM Fleet Admin needs it to serve the web UI and push configuration to ATEMs over the network. Deny it and "Connect & apply" will fail — the folder-export path still works offline.
• Linux — no signing gate.

Per-artifact steps, self-signing, checksum verification and the Defender Firewall reset procedure: docs/UNSIGNED.md.

License

MIT