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Virtual Camera in Linux

To use virtual cameras in Linux you will need the v4l2loopback kernel module installed and enabled.

Many distros come with a precompiled version. You can install it with the following command anyways.

  • Debian/Ubuntu-based:

    sudo apt install v4l2loopback-dkms

  • Red Hat/Fedora-based (requires RPM Fusion to be enabled)::

    sudo dnf install kmod-v4l2loopback

  • Fedora Silverblue/Kinoite:

    rpm-ostree install kmod-v4l2loopback

  • Arch Linux-based/Manjaro:

You will need to install the kernel headers package of your actual kernel before hand or the module will not be completely installed 

sudo pacman -S v4l2loopback-dkms
OBS Studio will normally load the module while starting the virtual camera if the module was not already loaded.

Possible Problems

Sometimes the v4l2loopback-dkms package might be outdated. In this case you will need to build the module.

Ensure you have the necessary build tools and kernel headers.

git clone https://github.com/umlaeute/v4l2loopback.git
cd v4l2loopback
make
sudo make install