Best Long Duration Video Recording Software for Linux Webcam

Webcam recording is no longer just for video calls or short clips. Today, creators, educators, streamers, and even security-conscious users need tools that can record webcam video for long durations – ranging from several hours to even full days. Whether you’re documenting a lecture, capturing a time-lapse, monitoring a space for security, or simply recording content continuously, Linux offers several powerful and free tools to meet this demand.

However, recording long-duration video on Linux comes with unique challenges. You need software that’s resource-efficient, crash-resistant, supports large file sizes, and ideally, splits recordings into manageable chunks. In this article, we’ll review the best long-duration webcam recording software for Linux, and offer a bonus tip for users who want more effortless solutions.

1. Best Long Duration Video Recording Software for Linux Webcam

1) OBS Studio

Best for: Content creators, streamers, educators
Type: GUI-based, open-source

OBS Studio is one of the most popular open-source applications for recording and streaming, available on Linux, Windows, and macOS, offering a robust suite of tools for both webcam and screen capture.

Why it’s ideal for long-duration webcam recording:

• Stable even during 12+ hour recordings
• File splitting by size or duration
• Record in MKV to safeguard your footage from data loss.
• Hardware acceleration support (VAAPI, NVENC)
• Scene and source setup flexibility (multi-camera setups supported)

Pro tip: Set OBS to record in segments every hour (Settings > Output > Recording > Automatically split recording every X MB or minutes) to avoid file size issues.

2) FFmpeg

Best for: Developers, sysadmins, headless systems
Type: Command-line, lightweight

FFmpeg is a command-line tool that’s capable of nearly any kind of video processing task—including long webcam recordings. It can stream directly from /dev/video0 (or your USB webcam device), encode in real time, and write to disk.

Why it’s ideal for long-duration webcam recording:

• Extremely low resource usage
• Can run in the background or via cron jobs
• Perfect for automation and scripting
• Supports segmenting output automatically
• Broad codec and format support

Here’s an example FFmpeg command to record webcam video for 2 hours on Linux:

ffmpeg -f v4l2 -framerate 25 -video_size 1280×720 -i /dev/video0 -t 02:00:00 output.mkv

Use -f segment -segment_time 3600 to split recordings into hourly files.

3) Webcamoid

Best for: Intermediate users who want a GUI
Type: GUI-based

Webcamoid is a cross-platform webcam suite that offers rich settings for capture and filters, making it more feature-rich than Cheese, but simpler than OBS.

Why it’s suitable for long recordings:

• Allows full control over output resolution, format, and codec
• Stable for several-hour recordings
• Intuitive UI with webcam preview
• Works well with multiple webcams

While it doesn’t offer file-splitting natively, it’s solid for long single-session recordings up to several hours.

4) GUVCView

Best for: Lightweight desktop webcam recording
Type: GUI-based

GUVCView is a lightweight and reliable video capture application that uses the UVC driver, making it ideal for fast, stable, and straightforward webcam recordings.

Key features:

• Custom resolution, frame rate, and audio input
• Works with ALSA and PulseAudio
• Easy-to-use interface
• Supports popular formats like AVI, MKV, MP4

While GUVCView doesn’t offer fancy extras like motion detection or file splitting, it’s reliable for multi-hour sessions if you have ample disk space.

5) Motion

Best for: Surveillance and security setups
Type: Daemon-based CLI, background service

Motion is a tool that turns your webcam into a motion-detecting surveillance camera. It can record video (or save images) when motion is detected and run indefinitely in the background.

Why it’s ideal for long-duration needs:

• Constant monitoring or motion-triggered recording
• Minimal CPU usage
• Saves files in small chunks
• Web UI for live streaming
• Advanced event-based configuration

If you need long-term passive recording for security purposes, Motion is unbeatable on Linux.

2. Bonus: Try the Best Easy-to-Use Screen Recorder on Windows/Mac

While Linux offers flexible screen recording tools, they can sometimes require technical knowledge or manual setup. If you’re on Windows or macOS and want a simple, user-friendly screen and webcam recorder, check out Swyshare Recordit .

Why Swyshare Recordit is Worth Trying:

• One-click to start recording your screen or webcam, with audio.
• Capture continuous video without time limits.
• Support screen recording in resolutions up to 8K.
• Export recordings in MP4, AVI, GIF, and more fromats.
• Minimal resource usage with a clean interface.

3. Conclusion

Linux users have a wide range of Linux screen recorders at their disposal for long-duration webcam recording, each catering to different expertise levels and use cases:

• OBS Studio – best for advanced users and creators needing reliability, features, and customization
• FFmpeg – for automation, headless systems, and script-based workflows
• Webcamoid – user-friendly, middle-ground choice with good customization
• GUVCView – lightweight and effective for basic tasks
• Motion – designed for hands-off security and automated surveillance

However, if you’re looking for a fuss-free, powerful, and reliable solution on Windows or Mac, we strongly recommend Swyshare Recordit . It’s perfect for anyone who wants to record long webcam videos or screen sessions without technical setup or command-line gymnastics. With its stable performance, auto-segmentation, and recording scheduler, Recordit makes long video capture easy – even for beginners.