How to Open Camera in Linux

When attending web conferences or meetings, having a functional camera on your Linux system is essential. While many platforms like Zoom, Skype, or Google Meet offer easy access to your camera, there’s no native application on most Linux distributions for simply using your camera for offline activities, such as taking photos or videos. However, Linux provides a way to access your camera through third-party applications.

In this article, we'll walk you through how to open and use your camera on Linux using a simple tool called Cheese. Cheese is a widely used, easy-to-install application designed to capture images and videos using your device's camera.

Quick Preview to Open Camera in Linux

1. Open the Terminal.
2. Install the Cheese application using the command sudo apt-get install cheese.
3. Run the camera by executing the command cheese.

Steps to Open Camera in Ubuntu/Linux

If you are looking for easy steps to turn on the integrated webcam when using Ubuntu/Linux, follow the below steps:

Step 1: Open the Linux Terminal

To begin, open the Terminal. You can do this by pressing CTRL + ALT + T simultaneously or by searching for "Terminal" in your application launcher.

• Once the Terminal is open, type the following command to install Cheese, a lightweight third-party application used to open and control your camera on Linux.

sudo apt-get install cheese

This command will download and install the Cheese application from the official repositories. Wait for the installation process to complete.

Step 2: Launch the Camera with Cheese

After installing Cheese, you can now open the camera by executing the following command:

Command: cheese

This will launch the Cheese camera interface, allowing you to take snapshots or record videos. The camera window should open in your default display. If the camera works as expected, you’ll see the video feed from your camera in real-time.

Step 3: Open Camera Without Terminal (Optional)

Once the Cheese application is installed, you don't have to rely on the Terminal to open your camera. You can also launch it from the application menu.

• Search for "Cheese" or "Camera" in your application launcher (or App Preferences on Ubuntu).
• Click the Cheese icon to open the camera directly without using the command line.

Additional Recommendations

guvcview: If Cheese doesn’t work for you, guvcview is another popular application for Linux that allows you to access and control your webcam. Install it with the following command:

sudo apt-get install guvcview

Webcamoid: Another advanced webcam tool for Linux is Webcamoid, which supports more features such as video recording and applying effects to webcam streams.

sudo apt-get install webcamoid

Conclusion

Using the Linux Terminal to start your camera is simple and quick with the help of the Cheese application. Once installed, Cheese provides a straightforward interface for taking pictures and videos. If you don’t want to use the Terminal, you can always open Cheese through your system’s applications menu.

Troubleshooting: No Camera Found in VirtualBox

If you're running Ubuntu or another Linux distribution on VirtualBox, and your camera isn’t being recognized, it may be due to VirtualBox not passing the camera feed from your host machine to the virtual machine. Here's how to fix it:

1. Install the VirtualBox Extension Pack: This adds support for USB devices, including cameras.
2. Enable USB Controller: In VirtualBox, make sure the USB controller is enabled in the settings for the virtual machine. You’ll also need to add your camera to the list of available USB devices.
3. Restart Your VM: Once you’ve made the changes, restart your virtual machine.
4. Run Cheese: Now, when you run the cheese command inside the VM, your camera should be detected.