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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.

Building from source

The v4l2loopback-dkms package might be outdated in certain distros. In this case you will need to build the module.

The module is hosted at Github.

Ensure you have the necessary build tools and kernel headers.

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