{"id":47448,"date":"2024-10-29T16:12:08","date_gmt":"2024-10-29T16:12:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/?p=47448"},"modified":"2026-04-03T12:27:53","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T12:27:53","slug":"howdy-ubuntu-2404","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/index.php\/2024\/10\/howdy-ubuntu-2404\/","title":{"rendered":"Install Howdy in Ubuntu 26.04, 24.04 for Windows Hello Style Facial Authentication"},"content":{"rendered":"

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This tutorial shows how to install and setup howdy to get Windows Hello\u2122 style authentication in Ubuntu 24.04, Ubuntu 25.10, and Ubuntu 26.04.<\/p>\n

Howdy<\/a> is a free open-source Python program, that can use your built-in IR emitters and camera in combination with facial recognition to prove who you are.<\/p>\n

With it, you will no longer need to type password anymore for login, un-lock screen, sudo commands, or launching apps that need root permission (e.g., Grub Customizer and Synaptic).<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

NOTE: Howdy is NOT as secure as a password and will never be! It’s just a quick and convenient way of logging in, not a more secure one.<\/b><\/p>\n

Step 1: Install Howdy<\/h3>\n

The software has official PPA<\/a> that contains the .deb packages for all current Ubuntu releases.<\/p>\n

The official PPA package however does NOT work for Ubuntu 24.04, due to outdated post-install script. It will try the old pip install<\/code> method to get numpy and dlib modules, which no long works due to upstream Python policy change<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, Slimbook, a Spanish laptop manufacturer, rebuilt the package along with dlib module into this PPA<\/a> for Ubuntu 24.04. As the PPA contains lots of other slimbook specific packages, I rebuilt them into this unofficial PPA<\/a> with Ubuntu 24.04 and Ubuntu 24.10 support.<\/p>\n

1. Add PPA<\/b><\/p>\n

For Ubuntu 22.04 and earlier<\/b>, open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command to add the official PPA:<\/p>\n

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:boltgolt\/howdy<\/pre>\n
For Ubuntu 24.04, 25.10, and Ubuntu 26.04,<\/b> add the unofficial PPA instead:<\/p>\n
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1\/howdy<\/pre>\n
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2. Install Howdy package<\/b><\/p>\n
Ubuntu now automatically refresh package cache while adding PPA, but if you’re following this tutorial in Linux Mint 22<\/b>, then you need to run command to do the update manually:<\/p>\n
sudo apt update<\/pre>\n
Next, run command to install the howdy package:<\/p>\n
sudo apt install howdy<\/pre>\n
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The official PPA package will automatically run post-install script, that will ask you to select between “Fast”, “Balanced”, and “Secure” modes, then update pip, numpy, dlib modules automatically.<\/p>\n
For Ubuntu 24.04, 25.10, 26.04<\/b>, you also need to manually install the modules by running the commands below:<\/p>\n
sudo apt install python3-numpy python3-opencv python3-dlib libpam-python dlib-models libinireader0<\/pre>\n
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Step 2: Configure Howdy<\/h3>\n
After installed howdy, you need to edit the config file and tell path to your webcam device.<\/p>\n
1. To find out the device path<\/b>, open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command:<\/p>\n
v4l2-ctl --list-devices<\/pre>\n
Run sudo apt install v4l-utils<\/code> if the command above not found. And, run sudo apt install ffmpeg<\/code> if ffplay command below not found.<\/p>\n
Then, try ffplay command (e.g., ffplay \/dev\/video0<\/code>, ffplay \/dev\/video1<\/code>) to open each device one by one. If it successfully opens an app window with your camera screen, then that’s the device path for next step.<\/p>\n
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2. Next, edit the config file<\/b> by running the command below in terminal:<\/p>\n
sudo howdy config<\/pre>\n
When file opens, scroll down and set “device_path” value according to last step. For laptops’ builtin webcam, it’s usually \/dev\/video0<\/b>.<\/p>\n
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Optionally, you may configure more options via the file. They include:<\/p>\n