Availability

vcam is currently in development and not yet publicly available.

🚧

Coming soon

vcam is in active development. A public release with installation packages will be announced on stri.be.

Planned Distribution

When vcam is released, it will be available through these channels:

Platform Method Status
Debian / Ubuntu .deb package Planned
Fedora / RHEL .rpm package Planned
Arch Linux AUR Planned
Flatpak Flathub Planned

Prerequisites

1

v4l2loopback kernel module

Required for virtual camera output. Install and load it:

sudo apt install v4l2loopback-dkms v4l2loopback-utils sudo modprobe v4l2loopback
2

A webcam

Any USB webcam or built-in camera works. DroidCam (Android phone as webcam) is also supported.

Using DroidCam (Optional)

1

Install DroidCam on your phone

Download the DroidCam app from the Google Play Store on your Android device.

2

Install DroidCam client on Linux

Download from droidcam.app or install via your package manager.

sudo apt install droidcam
3

Connect and use in vcam

Connect your phone via USB or WiFi, start DroidCam, then open vcam. Your phone will appear automatically in the camera picker.

Updating

When vcam is publicly available, updating will be simple:

1

Check for updates and install

The update script checks whether a newer version is available, downloads it, and installs it. Your profiles and virtual cameras are kept.

./update.sh
2

Reinstall if something broke

Force a reinstall of the current version without checking for updates.

./update.sh --reinstall
3

Clean reinstall (optional)

Reinstall and choose which user data to reset. You'll be asked individually about profiles, virtual camera config, and cached AI models.

./update.sh --clean

Uninstalling

When vcam is publicly available, removing it will be straightforward:

1

Remove the package

This removes the application but keeps your profiles and settings.

sudo apt remove vcam
2

Remove user data (optional)

Delete saved profiles, virtual camera config, and cached AI models.

rm -rf ~/.config/vcam
3

Clean up dependencies (optional)

Remove packages that were installed alongside vcam and are no longer needed.

sudo apt autoremove

System Requirements

Component Minimum Recommended
OS Linux (kernel 5.x+) Ubuntu 22.04+, Fedora 38+, or Arch
CPU Any x86_64 4+ cores for real-time processing
RAM 2 GB free 4 GB free
GPU None (CPU fallback) NVIDIA GTX 1650+ for AI Enhance+
Camera Any USB webcam 1080p capable webcam

Stay updated

Check stri.be for release announcements and package availability.