Installation

Installation Guide

Prerequisites

• OS: Linux (Fedora, Ubuntu, Debian, Arch, etc.)
• Python: 3.8 or newer
• Camera: A functional webcam (IR recommended but RGB works fine)
• System Dependencies (auto-installed by install.sh when run with sudo):
  • OpenBLAS, BLAS, LAPACK (for NumPy/dlib)
  • CMake, GCC/G++ (for dlib compilation)
  • tpm2-tools (optional, for TPM support)

Quick Install

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/rexackermann/linux-hello.git
   cd linux-hello

2. Run the installer (with sudo for GDM support):

   sudo ./install.sh

   When run with sudo, the installer will:

   • Auto-copy to /opt/linux-hello for system-wide access
   • Install system dependencies (OpenBLAS, cmake, etc.)
   • Create a virtual environment with proper permissions
   • Install the face-auth command to /usr/local/bin

3. Install PAM Module (For sudo/login capability):

   sudo ./pam/install_pam.sh

   • This configures /etc/pam.d/ files to use face authentication.
   • Face auth runs first, password fallback is always available.

Post-Installation Setup

1. Test your Camera

Run the camera test tool to confirm your device is detected:

face-auth camera-test

2. Enroll your Face

face-auth enroll

Follow the prompts to capture face samples.

3. Verify

face-auth test

Uninstallation

To remove Linux Hello:

# Remove user data and config
rm -rf ~/.local/share/face-auth/
rm -rf ~/.config/face-auth/

# Remove the binary link
rm ~/.local/bin/face-auth

# (Optional) If you installed PAM module
cd pam/ && sudo ./uninstall_pam.sh