scrcpy is a free program that shows the screen of an Android phone on a computer and lets you control the phone with the computer's keyboard and mouse. It is for people who want to view or control their Android phone from a Windows, Mac or Linux computer without installing anything on the phone.
Has 1 of 5
How many people bookmarked its code on GitHub. It shows how popular it is, not how good it is or how well it replaces the app.
How hard it is to start using it. Easy: install it like a normal app, or use it in your browser. Advanced: you run it on your own server, use the command line, or it is a tool for developers.
Its code changed within the last year, so someone is still looking after it.
Does part of the job.
Ordered by how fully it replaces the app, Verified, setup and, when there are enough, people's votes.
Windows · Mac · Linux · AndroidGPL-3.0Replaces partly
Webcamoid is a camera program that lets you take photos and videos, add over 60 visual effects, and use several webcams or phone sources. It is for everyday people who want to make their camera look better or use it for video calls, streaming, and recording.
Has 1 of 5
How many people bookmarked its code on GitHub. It shows how popular it is, not how good it is or how well it replaces the app.
How hard it is to start using it. Easy: install it like a normal app, or use it in your browser. Advanced: you run it on your own server, use the command line, or it is a tool for developers.
Its code changed within the last year, so someone is still looking after it.
Does part of the job.
Ordered by how fully it replaces the app, Verified, setup and, when there are enough, people's votes.
Backscrub is a free program that replaces the background behind you in video calls, so your room stays hidden. It is for people who use a webcam on Linux computers and want to blur or swap their background in apps like Firefox, Skype or Zoom.
Has 0 of 5 · Phone as webcam ✗ +2
How many people bookmarked its code on GitHub. It shows how popular it is, not how good it is or how well it replaces the app.
How hard it is to start using it. Easy: install it like a normal app, or use it in your browser. Advanced: you run it on your own server, use the command line, or it is a tool for developers.
Nobody has changed its code in over a year. It may still work well, but help is less likely.
Does part of the job.
Ordered by how fully it replaces the app, Verified, setup and, when there are enough, people's votes.
None of these match. Try another device.
Help me choose
I want to pick an open-source replacement for Camo. Below is a list from Open Source Everything (CC BY-SA 4.0), in the order its website shows it. The order is a starting point, not a verdict.
- scrcpy: scrcpy is a free program that shows the screen of an Android phone on a computer and lets you control the phone with the computer's keyboard and mouse. It is for people who want to view or control their Android phone from a Windows, Mac or Linux computer without installing anything on the phone. [Easy setup; Windows · Mac · Linux; replaces partly; Apache-2.0; https://github.com/Genymobile/scrcpy]
- Webcamoid: Webcamoid is a camera program that lets you take photos and videos, add over 60 visual effects, and use several webcams or phone sources. It is for everyday people who want to make their camera look better or use it for video calls, streaming, and recording. [Easy setup; Windows · Mac · Linux · Android; replaces partly; GPL-3.0; https://github.com/webcamoid/webcamoid]
- Backscrub: Backscrub is a free program that replaces the background behind you in video calls, so your room stays hidden. It is for people who use a webcam on Linux computers and want to blur or swap their background in apps like Firefox, Skype or Zoom. [Advanced setup; Linux; replaces partly; Apache-2.0; no changes in over a year; https://github.com/floe/backscrub]
Setup rating: "Easy setup" means you can install it like a normal app, use it in a browser. "Advanced setup" means you must run it on your own server or use the command line, or it is a tool for developers.
Full details: https://opensourceeverything.org/data/groups/webcam-tools.json
Before recommending anything, ask me these three questions (one at a time, in plain words): 1) Which device or devices will I use it on (Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iPhone)? 2) How comfortable am I with technical setup: only installing apps from a store, happy to follow a step-by-step guide, or comfortable with servers and the command line? 3) What is my budget: free only, or willing to pay for hosting or support? Then recommend one to three projects from this list only, and for each say why, using how fully it replaces the app, its setup rating, and the devices it runs on. If nothing on the list fits me, say so plainly instead of stretching.
Want an open Camo?
Before you build
Read the list of open-source projects at https://opensourceeverything.org/data/groups/webcam-tools.json. Compare it with my project or idea below. Tell me which projects overlap, what I could reuse instead of rewriting, and what mine does that none of them do.
My project or idea:
