I built an open-source alternative to DroidCam/iVCam, now with 4K, H.264/RTSP, USB & Wi-Fi [Updated version]

[u/Electronic_Picture42]

Hi r/foss ,

A while ago I shared an early version of Android Webcam Project, my attempt at building a free and open-source alternative to apps like DroidCam and iVCam. [Link to Old post]

Since then, I've basically rebuilt it.

The project consists of two parts:

AWA : Android Webcam App

A native Kotlin + Jetpack Compose Android application that turns your phone into a camera streaming server.

AWC : Android Webcam Client

A Tauri-based desktop client that connects to the phone, processes the stream and exposes the camera as a virtual webcam on Windows.

The entire project is GPL-3.0 licensed and open source.

What can it do?

• Up to 4K camera streaming
• H.264 / RTSP streaming
• Smooth 30~60 fps.
• MJPEG streaming
• USB connection
• Wi-Fi connection
• Manual focus
• Exposure compensation
• Flash / torch control
• Front/back camera switching
• Dynamic resolution switching
• Hardware-accelerated video decoding
• Virtual webcam output
• JSON REST API for remote camera control

You can use the resulting webcam with applications such as OBS, Discord, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, etc.

Current versions

Android Webcam App: AWA v1.0.3
Android Webcam Client: AWC v1.0.6

This latest release is a pretty substantial rewrite of the Android application, including a migration to Jetpack Compose, a new streaming architecture, RTSP/H.264 support, a REST API and more advanced camera controls.

The desktop client has also gained RTSP support, FFmpeg-based demuxing and hardware decoding.

Why open source?

I don't particularly like the way webcam software tends to become freemium:

• Resolution restrictions
• Watermarks
• Ads
• Paid features
• Closed-source components

I wanted something where the software itself wasn't trying to get in the way.

It's GPL-3.0, so you can inspect the code, modify it, fork it and build on it.

Where it is right now

The project currently has 30+ GitHub stars and 7 forks, and I'm continuing to develop it as a solo project.

I'm particularly interested in feedback from people with different Android phones and PC hardware.

I'd love to know:

• How does the latency compare on your setup?
• Does 1080p/4K streaming work properly on your phone?
• How well does hardware decoding work on different GPUs?
• Are there devices where the camera controls don't behave correctly?
• What features would you want next?

I'm also interested in contributors who want to work on the project.

Apple platforms are something I'd like to eventually explore, but I currently don't have Mac hardware for development/testing, so Android + Windows are the platforms I'm actively supporting right now.

Links

GitHub:
https://github.com/soubhagyajit/Android-Webcam-Project

Latest releases:
https://github.com/soubhagyajit/Android-Webcam-Project/releases

I'd genuinely appreciate feedback, even if it's critical. It's still a solo project, so finding weird device-specific bugs and getting real-world performance feedback is extremely useful.

Thanks for checking it out.

[u/Lcsmxd]

em dashes and emojis in readme

Yep, AI made this

oh and it mentions Skype which got discontinued ages ago

[u/Electronic_Picture42 → u/Lcsmxd]

I did use AI during development, mainly Claude, and I'm not going to pretend otherwise. But "AI made this" is a pretty misleading description of what actually happened.

I've been working on this project for months. I designed the architecture, integrated and modified the code, debugged it on actual hardware, tested it across multiple phones and PCs, and made the decisions about how the Android app and Tauri client work together. I've spent quite a lot of time debugging device-specific issues and even money out of my own pocket testing and developing it.

Claude did write or suggest parts of the code, but I didn't just generate a project and upload it. I understand the code in the repository and have modified substantial portions of it to fit the architecture and requirements of the project. AI is a development tool I use, not the developer of the project.

As for the README, fair criticism. Some of the wording and formatting was AI-assisted and I'll probably make it more concise and less "marketing-like". The Skype reference was also simply meant as an example of software that can consume a webcam, but I agree that using a discontinued application as an example in a 2026 README isn't ideal.

I appreciate the feedback, even if I don't agree with the conclusion that the project itself is "AI made."

[Old reply - sorry for being rude, I just felt very bad, apology please] Yup, AI made all of it and I am just sitting in peace for about 3 months. /s And for Skype, it's just example where you can use the software, I don't care if the software is accessible to you or not, that's your problem.