usb camera identifier and lister for debian/ubuntu linux

list_usb_cameras.sh

#!/bin/bash

# This script is designed to identify and list all USB cameras and audio devices connected to a system.
# It provides detailed information about each device, including vendor ID, product ID, serial number,
# device description, and supported video modes for cameras. It also identifies audio devices and
# lists their card and device numbers, names, and descriptions.

# Required Packages:
# - udevadm: Provides information about device attributes.
# - v4l2-ctl: A utility to control video4linux devices and list video formats.
# - lsusb: Lists USB devices and provides descriptions for connected devices.
# - arecord: A command-line sound recorder and player for ALSA soundcard driver, used to list audio devices.

# Installation for required packages:
# $ sudo apt-get install v4l-utils
# $ sudo apt-get install usbutils
# $ sudo apt-get install alsa-utils

# Directory to store camera information
CAMERA_INFO_DIR="/tmp/camera_info"
mkdir -p $CAMERA_INFO_DIR

# Clear previous camera info
rm -f $CAMERA_INFO_DIR/*

# Log file for debugging
LOG_FILE="/tmp/list_usb_cameras.log"
echo "Starting camera identification..." > $LOG_FILE

# Update the lsusb information
LSUSB_INFO=$(lsusb)

# Find all video devices and check if they are USB cameras
for video_device in /dev/video*; do
    # Get device attributes
    udevadm info --name=$video_device --query=all > $CAMERA_INFO_DIR/$(basename $video_device).info

    # Check if the device is a USB camera
    if grep -q 'ID_USB_DRIVER=uvcvideo' $CAMERA_INFO_DIR/$(basename $video_device).info; then
        echo "$video_device is a USB camera" >> $LOG_FILE
        # Get vendor, product ID, and serial number (if available)
        vendor_id=$(grep 'ID_VENDOR_ID=' $CAMERA_INFO_DIR/$(basename $video_device).info | cut -d'=' -f2)
        product_id=$(grep 'ID_MODEL_ID=' $CAMERA_INFO_DIR/$(basename $video_device).info | cut -d'=' -f2)
        serial=$(grep 'ID_SERIAL_SHORT=' $CAMERA_INFO_DIR/$(basename $video_device).info | cut -d'=' -f2)

        # Determine the mode
        formats=$(v4l2-ctl --device=$video_device --list-formats-ext 2>/dev/null)
        echo "$formats" > $CAMERA_INFO_DIR/$(basename $video_device).formats
        modes=$(echo "$formats" | grep -oP "(?<=')[A-Z0-9]+(?=')" | tr '\n' ',' | sed 's/,$//')

        # Skip devices without video modes
        if [ -z "$modes" ]; then
            echo "$video_device does not have valid video modes, skipping..." >> $LOG_FILE
            echo "Device $video_device (Vendor ID: $vendor_id, Product ID: $product_id) is likely an audio device." >> $LOG_FILE
            continue
        fi

        # Fetch a more descriptive name from lsusb
        device_description=$(echo "$LSUSB_INFO" | grep "$vendor_id:$product_id" | cut -d' ' -f7-)

        # Print camera information
        echo "Camera: $video_device" >> $LOG_FILE
        echo "  Vendor ID: $vendor_id" >> $LOG_FILE
        echo "  Product ID: $product_id" >> $LOG_FILE
        echo "  Serial: $serial" >> $LOG_FILE
        echo "  Description: $device_description" >> $LOG_FILE
        echo "  Modes: $modes" >> $LOG_FILE
    fi
done

# Check for audio devices
echo "Checking for audio devices..." >> $LOG_FILE
arecord -l | grep '^card' | while read -r line; do
    card=$(echo "$line" | awk '{print $2}' | tr -d ':')
    device=$(echo "$line" | awk '{print $5}' | tr -d ':')
    name=$(echo "$line" | awk -F '[][]' '{print $2}')
    description=$(echo "$line" | awk -F '[][]' '{print $4}')
    echo "Audio Device - Card: $card, Device: $device, Name: $name, Description: $description" >> $LOG_FILE
done

echo "Camera and audio identification completed." >> $LOG_FILE

# Output the log file content
cat $LOG_FILE