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Tips and Tricks ​

Using your phone as a webcam ​

There are various ways to use your phone as a webcam. This guide shows you how to use scrcpy on Linux to accomplish that without the need for droidcam or OBS.

Requirements ​

  • Linux
  • Android 12 or Higher

  1. Download and Install Scrcpy

    • Ubuntu/Debian:

      bash
      sudo apt install scrcpy

    • Archlinux:

      bash
      sudo pacman -S scrcpy

    • Fedora:

      bash
      sudo dnf copr enable zeno/scrcpy && sudo dnf install scrcpy

    • Snap:

      bash
      snap install scrcpy

  2. Setup Video4Linux (v4l2loopback)

    1. Install the Kernel module:

      • Ubuntu/Debian:

        bash
        sudo apt install v4l2loopback-dkms

      • Archlinux:

        bash
        sudo pacman -S v4l2loopback-dkms

      • Fedora:

        bash
        sudo dnf copr enable rothgar/v4l2loopback && sudo dnf install v4l2loopback-dkms

      • Snap:

        Not Applicable; follow distro-specific instructions to install the kernel module.

    2. Then load the Kernel module:

      bash
      sudo modprobe v4l2loopback-dkms

      or

      bash
      sudo modprobe v4l2loopback

  3. Run Scrcpy

    1. After you've installed everything, run this to get the device created by v4l2loopback:

      bash
      ls /dev/video*

    2. Now that you have that device, you can finally run scrcpy:

      bash
      scrcpy --v4l2-sink=/dev/video<insert device number here> --camera-ar=sensor --video-source=camera --camera-facing=<insert front or back here> --no-video-playback

  4. Use your new webcam

    1. Test your webcam:

      bash
      ffplay -i /dev/video<insert device number here> or vlc v4l2:///dev/video<insert device number here>

    2. Normal Use: Open any web browser and visit https://webcamtests.com/ to confirm it works on a web browser too

Debugging ​

  1. Doesn't start:

    If you face this error:

    log
    [server] ERROR: Capture/encoding error: java.io.IOException: android.hardware.camera2.CameraAccessException: The camera device is currently in the error state; no further calls to it will succeed.

    Append this to the scrcpy command:

    • -m2560

  2. Doesn't work with Chromium based browser:

    Try loading the module in exclusive_caps mode:

    bash
    sudo modprobe v4l2loopback-dkms exclusive_caps=1

    or

    bash
    sudo modprobe v4l2loopback exclusive_caps=1

Acknowledgments ​