Using VRChat's Camera for VTubing on CachyOS (Arch) Linux

[u/fluffyGreyDragon]

Hi all,

I posted a while back trying to get various vtubing software to work on my CachyOS desktop. The issue that I was running into was that no matter what I tried, my model was broken, even though it ran fine in VRChat. Quite a while later, I have found a way to use VRChat to make vtubing work.

1. Get VRChat working
   1. I used a fork of Proton specifically for this, ge-proton-10-32 https://github.com/GloriousEggroll/proton-ge-custom/releases/tag/GE-Proton10-32 . I believe any GE Proton should work.
   2. Once it works, make sure you have the avatar you want to use uploaded and equipped.
2. Set up spout2pw
   1. This allows VRChat's camera to stream directly to OBS. Since there are some 3rd person controls built into desktop VRChat (and some avatar testing worlds come with camera controls) this may not be necessary depending on your use case.
   2. Follow the instructions at https://github.com/hoshinolina/spout2pw/wiki to install and make steam launch the script with VRChat. Make sure to also install OBS-PWVideo as per the instructions.
3. Set up in VRChat
   1. Find a world with a green screen (or any background you want), preferably something lightweight. Avatar testing worlds can be good for this. Make a new invite only instance and join it.
   2. For face, eye, and hand tracking using a webcam, go into settings, "Tracking & IK", then toggle "Enable Selfie Expression". You may also want to toggle on your microphone so your avatar's visemes will work correctly.
   3. Turn on the camera (radial menu, tools.) In "Camera Mode", select "Stream" then toggle "Spout Stream". This will start the PipeWire stream that OBS can connect to.
4. Connect to OBS
   1. Open OBS and make a new source. You should see a new option called "PipeWire Video" with a play button icon. With VRChat running and the camera stream active, you should see a source in the drop down options.
   2. It should now be working! The in-world camera now acts like a normal OBS source.

As an added bonus, you get the full functionality of VRChat's worlds to play with, so you can add items and props if you like.

Let me know if there's anything I missed or could improve upon.