balaraj74/linux-webcam
skills/linux-webcam/SKILL.md
Capture images and video from webcam on Linux using fswebcam or ffmpeg. Take snapshots, record video clips, and stream from camera. Use when a user asks FRIDAY to take a photo, capture webcam, or record video on Linux.
tools
Updated Apr 3, 2026
$ install --global
skillsauthnpx skillsauth add balaraj74/f.r.i.d.a.y linux-webcamInstall this skill globally with one command. Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and Windsurf.
Security Scan Results
3 of 9 scanners reported clean
Some scanners were skipped, did not run, or reported a non-clean status. Review each row below.
3
Scanners Passed
9
Scanners in report
Clean
TrivyContainer and dependency vulnerability scanner
95%
Clean
SemgrepStatic code analysis for vulnerabilities
95%
Clean
mcp-scan (Snyk)Model Context Protocol security validation
95%
Skipped
Snyk (dep)Open source security scanning
50%
Skipped
Socket.devSupply chain security analysis
50%
Skipped
VirusTotalMulti-engine malware detection
50%
Skipped
CrowdStrikeAdvanced threat intelligence
50%
Skipped
OSV-ScannerOpen Source Vulnerability database check
50%
Skipped
OWASP Dep-Check
50%
Last scanned: Apr 3, 2026, 9:07 PM4.6s1 file scanned
SKILL.md
- name:
- linux-webcam
- description:
- Capture images and video from webcam on Linux using fswebcam or ffmpeg. Take snapshots, record video clips, and stream from camera. Use when a user asks FRIDAY to take a photo, capture webcam, or record video on Linux.
- homepage:
- https://github.com/fsphil/fswebcam
- metadata:
- {"friday":{"emoji":"📷","os":["linux"],"requires":{"bins":["fswebcam"]},"install":[{"id":"apt-fswebcam","kind":"apt","package":"fswebcam","bins":["fswebcam"],"label":"Install fswebcam via apt"}]}}
Linux Webcam CLI
Use fswebcam or ffmpeg to capture images and video from webcam. This is a Linux alternative to macOS camsnap.
Setup
Install fswebcam:
sudo apt-get install -y fswebcam
Install ffmpeg (for video):
sudo apt-get install -y ffmpeg
Check available cameras:
ls -la /dev/video*
Capture Photos with fswebcam
Basic snapshot
fswebcam ~/Pictures/webcam.jpg
Specify device
fswebcam -d /dev/video0 ~/Pictures/webcam.jpg
Set resolution
fswebcam -r 1280x720 ~/Pictures/webcam-hd.jpg
High resolution
fswebcam -r 1920x1080 ~/Pictures/webcam-fhd.jpg
No banner (clean image)
fswebcam --no-banner ~/Pictures/webcam.jpg
With delay (let camera adjust)
fswebcam -D 2 --no-banner ~/Pictures/webcam.jpg
Skip initial frames (better exposure)
fswebcam -S 10 --no-banner ~/Pictures/webcam.jpg
Multiple frames averaged (reduces noise)
fswebcam -F 5 --no-banner ~/Pictures/webcam.jpg
Best quality shot
fswebcam -r 1920x1080 -D 2 -S 20 -F 5 --no-banner ~/Pictures/webcam.jpg
PNG format
fswebcam --png 9 ~/Pictures/webcam.png
With timestamp
fswebcam --timestamp "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S" ~/Pictures/webcam.jpg
Record Video with ffmpeg
Record 10 seconds of video
ffmpeg -f v4l2 -framerate 30 -video_size 1280x720 -i /dev/video0 -t 10 ~/Videos/webcam.mp4
Record with audio
ffmpeg -f v4l2 -framerate 30 -video_size 1280x720 -i /dev/video0 \
-f pulse -i default \
-c:v libx264 -preset ultrafast -c:a aac \
-t 10 ~/Videos/webcam-audio.mp4
Record until stopped (Ctrl+C)
ffmpeg -f v4l2 -framerate 30 -video_size 1280x720 -i /dev/video0 -c:v libx264 -preset ultrafast ~/Videos/webcam.mp4
Preview webcam (without recording)
ffplay -f v4l2 -framerate 30 -video_size 640x480 /dev/video0
Lower quality for smaller file
ffmpeg -f v4l2 -framerate 30 -video_size 640x480 -i /dev/video0 -c:v libx264 -crf 28 -t 30 ~/Videos/webcam.mp4
Timelapse
Capture timelapse frames
mkdir -p ~/Pictures/timelapse
for i in $(seq 1 100); do
fswebcam -r 1280x720 --no-banner ~/Pictures/timelapse/frame-$(printf "%04d" $i).jpg
sleep 5
done
Convert frames to video
ffmpeg -framerate 10 -pattern_type glob -i '~/Pictures/timelapse/*.jpg' -c:v libx264 -pix_fmt yuv420p ~/Videos/timelapse.mp4
Advanced
List camera capabilities
v4l2-ctl --list-formats-ext -d /dev/video0
Adjust camera settings
v4l2-ctl -d /dev/video0 --set-ctrl brightness=128
v4l2-ctl -d /dev/video0 --set-ctrl contrast=128
List available controls
v4l2-ctl -d /dev/video0 --list-ctrls
Cheese (GUI Alternative)
Install Cheese
sudo apt-get install -y cheese
Launch
cheese
Notes
- Linux-only (alternative to macOS camsnap).
- Default camera is usually
/dev/video0. - Use
v4l2-ctlfor advanced camera control. fswebcamskips first few frames by default for better exposure.- Add user to
videogroup if permission denied:sudo usermod -aG video $USER
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