MintCam

MintCam is a lightweight, feature-rich webcam application for Linux Mint. It provides a clean, dark-themed interface with live preview, photo capture, video recording, and advanced features like QR scanning, focus assist, face auto-framing, and time-lapse support.

Screenshots

Features

• Live webcam preview with real-time FPS counter
• Photo capture (single and burst modes)
• Video recording with automatic codec detection (mp4v, XVID, MJPG fallback)
• QR/Barcode scanner integration
• Focus assist with visual indicator (Laplacian variance scoring)
• Face auto-framing using OpenCV face detection
• Time-lapse recording with automatic MP4 assembly
• Filters: Normal, Grayscale, Sepia, Negative, High Contrast
• Adjustments: brightness, contrast, saturation
• Composition grid overlay
• Live mirror toggle
• Multiple aspect formats: 16:9, 4:3, 9:16
• Photo timer: 3, 5, 10 seconds
• Photo burst: 3, 5, 10, 15 shots
• Preview pause
• Recording duration limit (auto-stop clips)
• Adjustable photo quality
• Autostart with system
• Dark theme UI
• Custom icon

Requirements

• OS: Linux Mint 21+ (Ubuntu 22.04+)
• Python: 3.10 or newer
• System packages: v4l-utils, ffmpeg, libxcb-cursor0
• Python packages: opencv-python, pyzbar, Pillow

Installation

From .deb Package

Download the latest .deb from Releases and install:

sudo dpkg -i dist/mintcam_0.1.0_all.deb

From Source

git clone https://github.com/jeaders/MintCam.git
cd MintCam
python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt
./run.sh

Usage

After installation, you can:

1. Search for MintCam in the Linux Mint menu
2. Or run from terminal:

   mintcam

3. Or from the source directory:

   ./run.sh

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Space	Capture photo
R	Start/stop recording
F	Toggle focus assist
G	Toggle grid
M	Toggle mirror
Q	Toggle QR scanner

Output Locations

Photos and videos are saved to:

~/MintCam/photos/     - Captured images
~/MintCam/recordings/  - Recorded videos
~/MintCam/logs/        - Application logs

Verify Webcam

To verify your webcam is detected:

v4l2-ctl --list-devices
v4l2-ctl --list-formats-ext -d /dev/video0

Autostart on Login

1. Open Menu → Preferences → Startup Applications
2. Click "Add"
3. Name: MintCam
4. Command: mintcam
5. Save

Troubleshooting

App doesn't start from menu

After installing via .deb, run once from terminal to initialize the user virtual environment:

/usr/bin/mintcam

Recording stops unexpectedly

Make sure you're not setting a clip duration limit. Disable "Limit duration" in settings if recording cuts off.

Camera not detected

Verify your camera works with v4l2-ctl (see above). Ensure no other application is using the camera.

QR Scanner not working

Install dependencies:

pip install pyzbar Pillow
sudo apt install libzbar0

Uninstall

sudo dpkg --purge mintcam || true
rm -rf ~/.local/share/mintcam
rm -f ~/.local/share/applications/mintcam.desktop

Development

Project Structure

MintCam/
├── app/
│   ├── main.py            # Application entry point
│   ├── camera.py          # Webcam capture thread
│   ├── recorder.py        # Video recording with codec fallback
│   ├── settings.py        # Settings persistence
│   ├── storage.py         # File management
│   └── ui/
│       ├── main_window.py # Main UI window
│       └── styles.py      # Dark theme stylesheet
├── assets/                # Logo and banner images
├── tests/                 # Unit tests
├── requirements.txt       # Python dependencies
├── packaging/             # .deb packaging files
├── build-deb.sh           # Build .deb package script
└── run.sh                 # Run from source script

Building the .deb Package

./build-deb.sh

The package will be created in dist/.

Changelog

0.1.0

• Initial public release
• Live webcam preview with FPS counter
• Photo capture (single, burst, timer)
• Video recording with codec auto-detection
• QR/Barcode scanner
• Focus assist with visual indicator
• Face auto-framing
• Time-lapse recording
• Filters and adjustments (brightness/contrast/saturation)
• Dark theme UI
• .deb package for Linux Mint
• AppStream metadata for Software Manager

License

Prototype without a defined license. See PRIVATE_README.md for internal documentation.

Copyright

© 2026 Alex Mirici - Web Developer

Support

Report issues at https://github.com/jeaders/MintCam/issues