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Install the IPU6 Webcam Driver on Debian 13 (Trixie)
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install-intel-ipu6-driver-on-debian-13.md

Install the IPU6 Webcam Driver on Debian 13 (Trixie)

Since kernel 6.10, the IPU6 driver has been included in the mainline kernel. This guide explains how to install the driver on Debian 13 and its derivatives.

Tested Environment

  • PC: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12
    • Camera: UHD 8.0MP + IR discrete, with privacy shutter, MIPI, fixed focus, Computer Vision, temporal noise reduction
  • OS: Debian GNU/Linux 13 “Trixie”
    • Kernel: 6.12.38+deb13-amd64

Installation Steps

  1. Install the required packages

    sudo apt install linux-headers-amd64 dkms git

  2. Clone the driver source

    git clone https://github.com/intel/ipu6-drivers
cd ipu6-drivers

  3. Add the DKMS module

    sudo dkms add .

  4. Build and install the module

    sudo dkms build ipu6-drivers/0.0.0
sudo dkms install ipu6-drivers/0.0.0

    Or, simply run:

    sudo dkms autoinstall ipu6-drivers/0.0.0

References

@huyhoang8398
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huyhoang8398 commented Jan 13, 2026

im on debian sid with 6.18, and qcam is fine but the quality is terrible

Unfortunately, I "also" (assuming that many people also couldn't get it working) have no luck with the Dell Latitude 7640. The MIPI camera just doesn't work. Here I use Debian Stable with the kernel from the trixie-backport, which is currently at 6.17.13. Only with qcam, you can reliably get the camera working again and again, but the picture is upside down. Other methods will occasionally work only.

I hope for the Linux kernel 6.18 release, which is said to ship support for MIPI cameras https://www.phoronix.com/news/Linux-6.18-USB If someone should have Debian Sid running, then you might be able to test this right now already.

@Johndeep
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Johndeep commented Feb 7, 2026 •
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Very fresh today and trying to contain my excitement, with stable and backport, I finally received the 6.18.5+deb13 version of the Linux kernel.
But.
After retesting first with qcam, which is at least now 100% stable, the image is still upside down. Which wasn't a good sign.
Next, I tried the snapshot app from gnome. The indicator light next to the webcam always lit up at start, but no image, only black screen. This is my very critique about snapshot that you cannot change the webcam somewhere. It seems that it always tries to find and use the first camera it can find. Assuming a device only has one.
And then by running a simple webcam test within Firefox, I noticed it always seems to "get" the first time signal (indicator light goes on for a bit), but after initializing (turning camera on, off and on again in succession), it seems to get "stuck" in re-getting the webcam again.

So unfortunately almost the same symptom like before.. sadly.. I might have to resort to the webcam installation process again if I have time.. I might add that my hardware seems to have a "ov02c10" camera device.

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