How to Install Howdy (Face Unlock) on Ubuntu

Howdy is a Windows Hello–style facial authentication tool for Linux.
Unfortunately, the official installation method is currently broken on recent Ubuntu-based systems, since it depends on direct system-wide pip3 installs.

This guide documents a working method for Ubuntu 24.04+ using the patched PPA provided by Panda Jim, the maintainer of UbuntuHandbook.org.
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⚠️ Disclaimer:

This repository is only documentation. I am not the creator or maintainer of the Howdy software or the patched PPA.
Installing software from third-party PPAs is done at your own risk. Always review the source before trusting it with root privileges.

Full credit goes to Panda Jim for maintaining the patched PPA.

• Profile: Panda Jim
• PPA: ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/howdy
• Website: UbuntuHandbook
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📦 Installation Steps

1. Add the Patched Howdy PPA

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/howdy

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2. Install Howdy

sudo apt install howdy

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3. Add Your Face

sudo howdy add

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🛠️ Troubleshooting Section

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🔧 Fixing "Camera Not Found" error

If you see "camera not found", you’ll need to configure the IR camera path.

1. Open the Howdy config:

sudo howdy config

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2. Find this line: device_path =

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Now, change it to your IR camera device path, for example:

device_path = /dev/video2
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3. To discover your camera path, run:

v4l2-ctl --list-devices

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If v4l2-ctl is missing, install it:

sudo apt install v4l-utils

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👉🏻 Start testing from /dev/video0, /dev/video1, etc. until you find the working one.

Example: on my laptop, the IR camera was at /dev/video2.

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🔓 Optional: Enable Login-Screen Face Unlock

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1. Edit the GDM password PAM file:

sudo nano /etc/pam.d/gdm-password

2. Add this 👇🏻 line above @include common-auth:

auth    sufficient      pam_python.so /lib/security/howdy/Howdy.py

Move text input cursor with arrow keys.

To save the file, use Ctrl+O. Press Enter to confirm the file name.

To exit the editor (from Nano), use Ctrl+X.

3. Save, exit, then reboot:

sudo reboot

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✅ Credits

• Patched Howdy PPA by Panda Jim
• Documentation inspired by a helpful GitHub community comment (original source where I found the method).

This repo exists to provide a clear, centralized guide for Ubuntu users struggling with the broken official Howdy installation.

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📜 License

This documentation is released under the MIT License.

The Howdy software itself is under its own license (see the official Howdy repo for details).

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