🎥 Webcam in Garry’s Mod

Bring your local webcam into Garry’s Mod with a tiny, self‑hosted Node.js server.
Use it inside a DHTML panel or render it onto a 3D2D surface with GLua — all privacy‑first.

Getting Started • Requirements • Security • Troubleshooting • Roadmap • Contributing

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✨ What it does

• Shows your local webcam feed inside Garry’s Mod.
• Runs a tiny Node.js server that you host yourself.
• Can be embedded in a DHTML panel or rendered onto a 3D2D surface using GLua.
• Privacy‑first: your camera never touches third‑party services unless you expose the server.

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⚙️ Requirements

• Garry’s Mod (client)
• Node.js 18+ (recommended)
• A modern webcam
• (Optional) HTTPS certificate for camera permissions on some systems

Note

Chromium/CEF usually requires a secure context for getUserMedia.
localhost is generally treated as secure; for LAN use HTTPS.

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🚀 Quick Start

1) Clone and install

git clone https://github.com/maryblackfild/webcam_in_gmod.git
cd webcam_in_gmod
npm install

2) Configure (optional) — create .env

# .env
PORT=3000          # change if you like
HOST=127.0.0.1     # 0.0.0.0 to allow LAN
ORIGIN=*           # lock this down to your client if needed

3) Run the server

# If package.json defines a start script:
npm start

# Otherwise:
node server.js

You should see the server listening (e.g. http://127.0.0.1:3000).

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🔒 Security & Privacy

• Local-first: keep HOST=127.0.0.1 for single‑PC use. Use 0.0.0.0 only when you need LAN access.
• Restrict origins: set ORIGIN to your exact URL if you add CORS.
• HTTPS is strongly recommended when accessing from devices other than localhost.

Quick self-signed HTTPS (optional)

mkdir -p certs
openssl req -x509 -nodes -days 365 -newkey rsa:2048 \
  -keyout certs/key.pem -out certs/cert.pem \
  -subj "/CN=localhost"

Then (if your server.js supports it) run with HTTPS env flags, or adapt server.js to use Node’s https.createServer with those certs.

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🧪 Troubleshooting

Tip

Work through these from top to bottom—most issues are permission or context related.

• Black/empty video → ensure camera permission is granted. Use HTTPS if not on localhost.
• CEF prompt not visible → reload the DHTML, or temporarily open the page in an external browser to approve permissions first.
• Nothing loads → verify the Node server is running and the URL/port matches your .env.
• LAN clients can’t see it → set HOST=0.0.0.0, open the firewall for the port, and browse to http://PC_IP:PORT from GMod.
• Performance → keep panel dimensions reasonable (e.g., 640×360–1280×720).

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🗺️ Roadmap ideas

• Toggleable audio capture (mic) with mute button
• UI overlay: FPS/readout, camera switcher, quality slider
• Server auth for exposed instances (simple token/Bearer)
• Multi‑client rooms with per‑player visibility
• OBS/NDI passthrough mode for streamers

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🤝 Contributing

PRs and issues are welcome. (keeplove)