How to stream a webcam to a web browser in Ubuntu

readme.md

Grr this took hours to figure out. I was trying to install MJPG-streamer and running VLC command lines and all this crap but nothing worked.

First install motion:

~> sudo apt-get install motion

Then create a config file:

~> mkdir ~/.motion
~> nano ~/.motion/motion.conf

In it, the bare minimum to run a web server and view it on other computers:

webcam_port 8081
webcam_localhost off

Then run motion:

~> motion

Now you can view the webcam at http://hostname:8081 If it doesn't work, try rebooting between steps or something.

Isn't that easy? >:(

See also: How to run webcam software only when I am not home