switch_camera

Description:

switch camera

switch_camera #
switch_camera is a Dart library that provides a Dart FFI interface to interact with camera and audio recording functionalities from Rust. It supports video capturing, frame streaming, and video writing, as well as audio recording and merging video with audio. I used the switch_camera library to build a desktop application named Zed Camera, and you can watch a demonstration of it on YouTube. This library is particularly useful in IoT, CCTV, and industrial contexts where multiple camera inputs and reliable audio-visual recording are essential.
Features #

List available camera devices
Open and release camera devices
Capture video frames (with and without flip)
Stream video frames (with and without flip)
Start video writer
Write video frames (with and without flip)
Audio recording (start, stop, pause, resume)
Merge audio and video

Platform Support #

Linux

Installation #
To install switch_camera, use flutter pub add:
Flutter #
flutter pub add switch_camera
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Dependencies #
Linux - Ubuntu: #

sudo apt-get update
Getting OpenCV: sudo apt-get install libopencv-dev clang libclang-dev
Install JACK development files: sudo apt-get install libjack-jackd2-dev
Install ALSA development files: sudo apt-get install libasound2-dev
Install FFmpeg: sudo apt-get install ffmpeg

Usage #
Camera #
import 'package:switch_camera/switch_camera.dart';

void main() {
final camera = Camera();

// List available 10 devices
final devices = camera.getDevices(10);
print('Available devices: $devices');

// Open a camera device
camera.open(0);

// Capture a frame
final frame = camera.captureFrame();
print('Captured frame: ${frame.length} bytes');

// Capture a flipped frame
final flippedFrame = camera.captureFrameFlip();
print('Captured flipped frame: ${flippedFrame.length} bytes');

// Stream frames
camera.streamFrames();

// Stream flipped frames
camera.streamFramesFlip();

// Start video writer
camera.startVideoWriter('output.mp4', 30.0, 1920, 1080);

// Write a frame
camera.writeFrame();

// Write a flipped frame
camera.writeFrameFlip();

// Release the camera
camera.release();

// Dispose the camera
camera.dispose();
}

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Audio Recorder #
import 'package:switch_camera/switch_camera.dart';

void main() {
final recorder = RustAudioRecorder();

// Start recording
recorder.startRecording();

// Pause recording
recorder.pauseRecording();

// Resume recording
recorder.resumeRecording();

// Stop recording
recorder.stopRecording();
}
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Merge Audio and Video #
import 'package:switch_camera/switch_camera.dart';

void main() {
final result = mergeCamAudioVideo('output_with_audio.mp4');
print('Merge result: $result');
}

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NB: Prepare Linux apps for distribution #
To build flutter applciation as release run the following command:
flutter build linux --release
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After that, go to build/linux/release/bundle/ and run the application using the following command:
./projectname
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"By runnung the application in the directory, a file will be automatically copied to lib folder with the following directory src/rust_native/librust_camera.so. This file is responsible for this library to work in your application."
API Reference #
Camera #


List<int> getDevices(int limit)

Lists available camera devices up to the specified limit.



void open(int index)

Opens a camera device by index.



void release()

Releases the currently opened camera device.



Uint8List captureFrame()

Captures a single video frame.



Uint8List captureFrameFlip()

Captures a single flipped video frame.



Stream<Uint8List> streamFrames()

Streams video frames.



Stream<Uint8List> streamFramesFlip()

Streams flipped video frames.



void startVideoWriter(String filename, double fps, int width, int height)

Starts video writing to the specified file.



void startAVideoWriter(double fps, int width, int height)

Starts a video writer without specifying a filename.



void writeFrame()

Writes a video frame.



void writeFrameFlip()

Writes a flipped video frame.



void dispose()

Disposes the camera resources.



RustAudioRecorder #

void startRecording()

Starts audio recording.


void stopRecording()

Stops audio recording.


void pauseRecording()

Pauses audio recording.


void resumeRecording()

Resumes audio recording.



Merge Functions #

String mergeCamAudioVideo(String outputFilePath)

Merges the recorded camera video and audio into the specified output file.



Author #
Zacchaeus Oluwole #
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zacchaeus-oluwole/
X: https://x.com/ZTechPlus
Email: [email protected]
Github: https://github.com/Zacchaeus-Oluwole