camera_desktop 0.0.4

A Flutter camera plugin for desktop platforms (Linux, macOS, Windows). Implements camera_platform_interface for easy integration with the standard camera package.

camera_desktop

A Flutter camera plugin for desktop platforms. Implements camera_platform_interface so it works seamlessly with the standard camera package and CameraController.

Platform Support

Platform	Backend	Status
Linux	GStreamer + V4L2	Included
macOS	AVFoundation	Included
Windows	Media Foundation	Included

Installation

Add camera_desktop alongside camera in your pubspec.yaml:

dependencies:
  camera: ^0.11.0
  camera_desktop: ^0.0.1

That's it. All three desktop platforms are covered — no additional packages needed.

Usage

Use the standard camera package API:

import 'package:camera/camera.dart';

final cameras = await availableCameras();
final controller = CameraController(cameras.first, ResolutionPreset.high);
await controller.initialize();

// Preview
CameraPreview(controller);

// Capture
final file = await controller.takePicture();

// Record
await controller.startVideoRecording();
final video = await controller.stopVideoRecording();

Platform-Specific Setup

Linux

Install GStreamer development libraries:

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install libgstreamer1.0-dev libgstreamer-plugins-base1.0-dev gstreamer1.0-plugins-good

# Fedora
sudo dnf install gstreamer1-devel gstreamer1-plugins-base-devel gstreamer1-plugins-good

# Arch
sudo pacman -S gstreamer gst-plugins-base gst-plugins-good

macOS

Add camera and microphone usage descriptions to your Info.plist:

<key>NSCameraUsageDescription</key>
<string>This app needs camera access.</string>
<key>NSMicrophoneUsageDescription</key>
<string>This app needs microphone access for video recording.</string>

For sandboxed apps, add to your entitlements:

<key>com.apple.security.device.camera</key>
<true/>
<key>com.apple.security.device.audio-input</key>
<true/>

Windows

No additional setup required.

Features

Feature	Linux	macOS	Windows
Camera enumeration	Yes	Yes	Yes
Live preview	Yes	Yes	Yes
Photo capture	Yes	Yes	Yes
Video recording	Yes	Yes	Yes
Image streaming	Yes	Yes	No
Audio recording	Yes	Yes	Yes
Resolution presets	Yes	Yes	Yes

Limitations

Desktop cameras generally do not support mobile-oriented features:

• Flash/torch control
• Exposure/focus point selection
• Zoom (beyond 1.0x)
• Device orientation changes
• Pause/resume video recording

These methods either no-op or throw CameraException as appropriate.