@cynosure-mcp/webcam

MCP server for capturing still images from an attached webcam. Supports Windows, macOS, and Linux. No system dependencies required — ffmpeg is bundled automatically via npm.

Installation

npx @cynosure-mcp/webcam

Or install globally:

npm install -g @cynosure-mcp/webcam
webcam

Tools

| Tool | Description | | ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | list_webcam_devices | List all available webcam / video capture devices on the system | | capture_webcam_image | Capture a still image from a webcam; returns the image inline and on disk |

Configuration

| Variable | Required | Description | | ------------------- | -------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | WEBCAM_DEVICE | No | Default camera device. Windows: device name (e.g. Integrated Camera). macOS: AVFoundation index (0). Linux: device path (/dev/video0). Auto-detected if unset. | | WEBCAM_OUTPUT_DIR | No | Directory for saved images. Defaults to a system temp directory. |

MCP Config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "webcam": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@cynosure-mcp/webcam"],
      "env": {
        "WEBCAM_DEVICE": "Integrated Camera"
      }
    }
  }
}

Platform Notes

Windows

Uses DirectShow (dshow) via ffmpeg. Run list_webcam_devices to see the exact device name, then pass it as the device argument to capture_webcam_image or set it as WEBCAM_DEVICE.

macOS

Uses AVFoundation via ffmpeg. Device indices are numeric (e.g. "0" for the first camera). Run list_webcam_devices to see available devices.

Linux

Uses Video4Linux2 (v4l2) via ffmpeg. Devices appear as /dev/video0, /dev/video1, etc. Run list_webcam_devices to enumerate them.

License

MIT