Sound, camera & Rooms
Use your desktop as a webcam
Send a Mac screen, window or spare desktop into a compatible video app as Decky Desktop, with optional annotations and a webcam overlay.
In Decky Desktop, choose the screen or window to send. Allow screen recording and approve the camera extension if prompted. This example uses one design window.
Step by step
- Open Decky on the presenting Mac and start its server if it is stopped. Expand Decky Desktop in the menu-bar panel. Choose a screen, a window or a spare desktop as the source. Allow screen recording and approve Decky’s camera extension when macOS asks.
- In the video app on that same Mac, choose Decky Desktop as the camera and turn video on. In FaceTime, use the Video menu; in Teams, use Settings → Devices → Camera. Check the preview before the call. People watching join through their usual devices and call app; they do not need Decky.
- Keep the chosen source open while presenting. Enable Draw and hold Control (⌃) while dragging to include annotations. Use the Decky Desktop menu to add a face or change the source. Press Stop in Decky when finished, then select your normal camera in the call app if you want to continue on camera.
What to know
Decky Desktop is the outgoing virtual camera: its picture comes from your workspace instead of a camera sensor. This uses the call app’s camera input, not its screen-sharing button. Your microphone is selected separately in the call app. A Room is a different workflow, for people watching and annotating through Decky Display.
Add a webcam or a Decky Cam
Open the Decky Desktop three-dot menu and choose a camera under Show my face. It can be a built-in or connected webcam, or a paired device already available on the Mac as “device name (Decky Cam)”. Set up that device’s Webcam feature first if it is missing.
Drag the floating face to move it and resize its window to change its size. Click to hide it from the outgoing picture; click the hidden-face preview to show it again. Hiding the face is different from turning its camera off: use Turn Off under My face to stop the overlay camera. The call app should still have Decky Desktop selected.
Call-app compatibility
FaceTime, Teams and WhatsApp Desktop have been verified with Decky Desktop on Mac. In WhatsApp Desktop, the picker may also show the name “Decky Desktop (Decky Cam)”.
Compatibility can differ between apps and versions. A virtual camera supplies a software-generated picture; the call app must accept that input. Check both the app’s preview and what another participant receives before presenting.
If an app shows no picture, first check the source, permissions and selected camera. Try the same Decky camera in another app. If it works there, check the original app’s camera settings and version. Decky cannot change which camera inputs another app supports; use a compatible app if that input is not supported.
Keep text readable and check the outgoing picture
For text, a single window or a spare desktop is often easier to read than a whole wide monitor. Enlarge the content and keep private windows out of the chosen source. The call app controls its delivered picture quality; the source’s resolution does not guarantee what viewers receive.
A mirrored self-preview does not always mean viewers see reversed text. Check with someone watching before using Flip Horizontally in Decky Desktop. Changing the source keeps the same camera name, so the call app need not select it again. Check Draw again after a source change if you want to keep annotating.
If it does not work
If Decky Desktop is missing everywhere, check the camera-extension approval and reopen the call app. If it is listed but blank, check that Decky Desktop is running, the selected source still exists, screen-recording permission is allowed and video is enabled in the call. Test FaceTime or Teams to separate setup problems from app compatibility. If only the face is blank, check that camera’s permissions and availability; if only sound is missing, check the call app’s microphone selection.