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📷 Fake Webcam Streamer

FFmpeg Badge Ubuntu Badge GNU Bash Badge Linux Badge GNOME Terminal Badge

Fake Webcam Streamer is an automated Bash script designed to turn a video file into a virtual webcam on Ubuntu. Using v4l2loopback and ffmpeg, it creates a seamless virtual webcam experience that can be utilized in any video input-enabled application. Whether you’re simulating a live feed for testing, presentations, or just for fun, this script handles everything from device detection to cleanup, so you don't have to.

🚀 Features

  • 🔧 Automated Setup: Automatically detects and configures the next available video device.
  • 🔄 Seamless Streaming: Streams your chosen video file in a continuous loop as a virtual webcam.
  • 🧹 Automatic Cleanup: Ensures the virtual webcam module is removed when the script exits, leaving no traces.
  • ⚠️ Error Handling: Built-in checks for missing or invalid video files to prevent issues.

📋 Requirements

  • Ubuntu (Tested on versions 20.04 and above)
  • v4l2loopback: A kernel module to create virtual video devices. Refer to the official v4l2loopback GitHub repository for installation instructions.
  • ffmpeg: A powerful multimedia framework to handle video streams. Install it using: 
    sudo apt-get install ffmpeg

💻 Installation

  1. Clone the repository to your local machine:

    git clone https://github.com/yourusername/fake-webcam-streamer.git
cd fake-webcam-streamer

  2. Make the script executable:

    chmod +x fake_webcam.sh

  3. Install the required dependencies as mentioned in the Requirements section.

▶️ Usage

To use the script, pass the path to your video file as an argument:

./fake_webcam.sh /path/to/video.mkv

Example:

./fake_webcam.sh ~/Videos/sample_video.mkv

⚙️ How It Works:

  • Cleanup Function: A function is defined to remove the virtual webcam module when the script exits (triggered by signals like SIGINT or SIGTERM).
  • Validation: The script checks if the video file path is provided and verifies its existence.
  • Device Detection: Finds the next available video device number (/dev/videoX), loads the v4l2loopback module on that device, and streams the video in a loop using ffmpeg.

🔗 Notes

  • The virtual webcam will be accessible under /dev/videoX (where X is the device number found by the script). You can use this in applications like Zoom, OBS, or any other video conferencing software.
  • The video will loop continuously until the script is stopped.

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.

🙏 Acknowledgements

  • v4l2loopback - For creating virtual video devices on Linux.
  • ffmpeg - For handling multimedia files and streams.