Prerequisites

  • Install
    • scrcpy
    • v4l2loopback
    • modprobe
  • Enable “Developer Settings” -> “USB Debugging” on your phone

Run scrcpy (follow along!)

Check the available cameras

scrcpy --list-cameras

The output would list the cameras available on your android phone

INFO: ADB device found:
INFO:     --> (tcpip)  192.168.xx.xx:8888             device  <sensitive-info>
/usr/local/bin/scrcpy-server: 1 file pushed, 0 skipped. 80.7 MB/s (90888 bytes in 0.001s)
[server] INFO: Device: [DevName] DevName <sensitive-info> (Android 14)
[server] INFO: List of cameras:
    --camera-id=0    (back, 4208x3120, fps=[14, 15, 30])
    --camera-id=1    (front, 3264x2448, fps=[15, 30])
    --camera-id=2    (back, 4208x3120, fps=[14, 15, 30])
    --camera-id=3    (front, 3264x2448, fps=[15, 30])
  1. Run this command after listing the available cameras to stream only the phone camera
    # opens the rear facing camera by default
scrcpy --video-source=camera
# opens the front facing camera
scrcpy --video-source=camera --camera-facing=front
  • Use --camera-id=<NUM> to select specific camera on your Android phone.
    scrcpy --video-source=camera --camera-id=1
  • Adjust camera resolution & framerate , using:
    • --camera-size=1920x1080
    • --camera-fps=30
    scrcpy --video-source=camera --camera-id=1 --camera-size=1920x1080 --camera-fps=30

    Use --list-camera-sizes to check the supported resolutions of your phone.

Optional + Linux Only: Use v4l2loopback to make the camera available as a webcam device

  • The v4l2loopback module & it creates a virtual video device on your Linux system.
  • The below command loads the v4l2loopback module into the Linux kernel, creating the virtual webcam device, as /dev/videoN.
    sudo modprobe v4l2loopback exclusive_caps=1

    exclusive_caps=1, improves compatibility (recommended)

  • This last command captures your phone’s camera feed only while ignoring the rest of the phone screen.
    scrcpy --video-source=camera --v4l2-sink=/dev/videoN --no-display
    • --v4l2-sink=/dev/videoN: Routes the video stream into the virtual video device.
    • --no-playback: disable the video playback, but a window pop-ups anyway.

Optimal Usage

scrcpy \
> --video-source=camera \
> --video-codec=h264 \
> --v4l2-sink=/dev/video0 \
> --camera-facing=front \
> --no-playback \
  • --video-source=camera: Select the source as camera.
  • --video-codec=h264: Uses the H264 encoder.
  • camera-facing=front: Uses the front facing camera.c
  • --v4l2-sink=/dev/video0: Sends the camera feed into the virtual device.
  • --no-playback: Disable the video playback, but a window pop-ups anyway.