# FaceTracker

Real time deformable face tracking in C++ with OpenCV 3.

Repository: https://github.com/kylemcdonald/FaceTracker
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/facetracker
Language: C++
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: opencv, facetracker, computer-vision, realtime
Archived: true
Last push: 2020-07-24T18:26:28+00:00
Link (homepage): http://facetracker.net/

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 10/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 5085, "days_push": 2231, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases, archived
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1014, forks 352 (observed 2026-08-28T04:03:13.929853+00:00)

## What it is
ofxFaceTracker is an openFrameworks addon for real-time non-rigid face tracking, based on Jason Saragih's FaceTracker C++ library and OpenCV. It provides facial landmark detection, pose estimation, expression analysis, and blink detection with examples for creative coding projects.

## Use cases
- track facial landmarks from a webcam in real time
- detect blinks and facial expressions in creative coding projects
- get 3D face pose for AR-style face augmentation
- stream face tracking data over OSC to Max, Pure Data, or Processing
- build face substitution or face mesh effects

## When to choose
- you are working in openFrameworks with older OpenCV versions and need face tracking
- you want proven examples for expression analysis and blink detection
- you need OSC output of face data for prototyping in visual programming environments

## When to avoid
- you are using openFrameworks 0.11.0 or later with OpenCV 4, where this addon breaks
- you need a commercially licensed tracker without negotiating with the original FaceTracker author
- you need actively maintained, modern face tracking

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: maintenance
- function: computer-vision, image-processing
- domain: computer-vision, graphics
- platform: cpp, cross-platform, windows
- tags: face-tracking, openframeworks, opencv, facial-landmarks, osc, real-time, creative-coding, clm, macos, linux, ios

## Member repositories
- kylemcdonald/FaceTracker (main) score 10
- kylemcdonald/ofxFaceTracker (plugin) score 23

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:03:13.929853+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T04:39:08.276736+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/kylemcdonald/FaceTracker (fetched 2026-08-28T04:03:13.929853+00:00, sha 70ade4afabaa)
  - homepage: http://facetracker.net/ (fetched 2026-08-29T11:53:17.983844+00:00, sha f9333e336b1e)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.