Virtual Camera Troubleshooting
Table of Contents
Install or remove the virtual camera
If the Start Virtual Camera button isn't showing in the Controls dock, follow these instructions to install the virtual camera. You can also remove the virtual camera if it conflicts with other software.
| Platform | Install | Remove |
|---|---|---|
Windows |
|
Follow the instructions at the left, but use virtualcam-uninstall.bat (note the un) instead. |
If you have installed OBS Studio to a different folder or you are using portable mode:
|
||
macOS |
The virtual camera will be installed when you first click on Start Virtual Camera. |
Delete /Library/CoreMediaIO/Plug-Ins/DAL/obs-mac-virtualcam.plugin. |
Linux |
On Linux, the virtual camera is powered by v4l2loopback. Install the |
macOS compatibility
While we try our best to make the virtual camera available to all applications that accept webcam input, some applications may not be able to use the virtual camera.
The following apps are known to not work with the OBS Studio virtual camera:
- Safari
- FaceTime
- Photo Booth
- Bluejeans Events
- Tencent Meeting
There are two suggestions for making the virtual camera available to other applications: re-signing the app or disabling System Integrity Protection
Option 1: re-signing the application
Install the Command Line Tools
To resign an application, you will need to install the Command Line Tools. If they are not installed:
- open Terminal (you can find it in /Applications/Utilities, or search using Launchpad/Spotlight)
- paste into Terminal: xcode-select --install
- enter your password then press Return. Note: you will not see the password being put in but it will be registering it
- follow the on-screen prompts to install the Command Line Tools
Re-signing instructions
In the following steps, replace APPLICATION NAME HERE with the application's full name.
For example, if you are resigning Microsoft Teams, an example path would be: "/Applications/Microsoft Teams.app"
- open Terminal
- paste into Terminal and then input your password again:
- sudo codesign --remove-signature "/Applications/
APPLICATION NAME HERE.app"
- sudo codesign --remove-signature "/Applications/
- paste into Terminal and then input your password again:
- sudo codesign --sign - "/Applications/
APPLICATION NAME HERE.app"
- sudo codesign --sign - "/Applications/
Certain applications, especially those based on Electron, may require these additional commands:
- sudo codesign --remove-signature "/Applications/
APPLICATION NAME HERE.app/Contents/Frameworks/APPLICATION NAME HEREHelper (Renderer).app" - sudo codesign --remove-signature "/Applications/
APPLICATION NAME HERE.app/Contents/Frameworks/APPLICATION NAME HEREHelper (GPU).app" - sudo codesign --remove-signature "/Applications/
APPLICATION NAME HERE.app/Contents/Frameworks/APPLICATION NAME HEREHelper (Plugin).app"
Option 2: disable System Integrity Protection
If re-signing does not work, the other option is to disable the protections that cause the virtual camera plugin to fail to load in other applications.
This is NOT necessary to use the virtual camera in normal circumstances; this is a last resort and should only be attempted by users who understand the consequences.
You take responsibility for your computer's security if you choose to disable System Integrity Protection.
Apple provides instructions for disabling and enabling System Integrity Protection on the Apple Developer website.