# boltgolt/howdy

🛡️ Windows Hello™ style facial authentication for Linux

Repository: https://github.com/boltgolt/howdy
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/howdy
Language: Python
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: face-recognition, ubuntu, camera, pam, pam-module, ir-camera, arch-linux, fedora, linux, debian, opensuse
Last push: 2025-07-29T10:07:27+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 38/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 34, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3163, "days_push": 400, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 7738, forks 407 (observed 2026-08-28T04:10:02.710790+00:00)

## What it is
Howdy provides Windows Hello-style facial authentication for Linux using IR emitters and a camera with facial recognition. It integrates with PAM so face login works everywhere a password would: login screen, lock screen, sudo, and su.

## Use cases
- unlock my linux laptop with my face like windows hello
- use face recognition for sudo authentication
- log in to my linux desktop with an infrared camera
- replace password prompts with facial authentication on ubuntu
- set up face unlock on fedora or arch linux
- authenticate the lock screen with my webcam

## When to choose
- you have a laptop with an IR camera and Windows Hello-style sensors
- you want system-wide PAM-based face authentication on a supported distro
- you prefer biometric login over typing passwords for sudo and lock screens

## When to avoid
- your machine lacks an IR camera or compatible webcam
- you need strong security guarantees, since face recognition is weaker than passwords
- you run a distro without packaging support or with retired Python 2 dependencies

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: active
- function: auth, computer-vision, security
- domain: security, operating-systems, computer-vision
- platform: python
- tags: facial-authentication, pam-module, windows-hello, ir-camera, biometrics, linux

## Member repositories
- boltgolt/howdy (main) score 38

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:02.710790+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 2026-08-29T17:35:11.215032+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/boltgolt/howdy (fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:02.710790+00:00, sha 678b9625dd95)
  - registry_pypi: https://pypi.org/pypi/howdy/json (fetched 2026-08-29T08:31:15.773607+00:00, sha cff810394e1a)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.