Zoom has no built-in way to play a video file instead of your camera. There is no "use video as camera" button in its settings, and screen sharing a video is obvious to everyone on the call — it lands in the shared-content area, not in your camera tile.

The way to do it is a virtual camera: a small piece of software that registers itself with your operating system as if it were a webcam. Zoom sees it in the camera list like any other device, and whatever the software feeds it becomes your video. Here is how to set that up.

What you need

A video file — MP4 is the safest choice, ideally 1280×720 or 1920×1080
A virtual camera app such as CamLooper or OBS Studio
Zoom, fully closed before you start (this matters — see step 3)

Step 1 — Install a virtual camera

CamLooper installs its virtual camera automatically. On Windows it registers a DirectShow camera device during install; on Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora and RHEL the .deb and .rpm pull in v4l2loopback and load it for you, so the device is ready after installation with nothing to configure.

OBS Studio also ships a virtual camera and is a reasonable choice if you already use it. It is a full broadcasting suite, so expect scenes, sources and a first-run wizard before you get to a camera output.

Step 2 — Load your video and start the camera

Open CamLooper, choose your video file, and start the virtual camera. The video loops seamlessly — when it reaches the end it returns to the beginning without a gap or a flash of black, which is what makes a recording read as a live feed rather than a clip that obviously restarts.

Leave the app running. The virtual camera exists only while it is open; closing it removes the device from Zoom's list.

Step 3 — Select the camera in Zoom

Start CamLooper before you open Zoom. Zoom enumerates cameras when it launches, so a virtual camera that appears afterwards will not show up until you restart it. This is the single most common reason people think the setup has not worked.

Then, in Zoom:

Click your profile picture, then Settings
Open the Video tab
Open the Camera dropdown and choose CamLooper Virtual Camera
Your video appears in the preview — it is now what everyone on the call sees

You can also switch mid-call: click the arrow next to Stop Video in the toolbar and pick the virtual camera from the list there.

If the camera does not appear in Zoom

Restart Zoom. Quit it completely — on Windows check the system tray, on macOS use Cmd+Q — then start the virtual camera app first and Zoom second.
Check another app. If the camera shows up in your browser at a webcam test site but not in Zoom, the problem is Zoom's device list, not the virtual camera.
On macOS, virtual cameras must be signed and notarized to load. An unsigned build will run but its camera will not register.
On Linux, confirm the module is loaded with lsmod | grep v4l2loopback. If you installed the .deb or .rpm this is handled for you.

A note on mirroring

Zoom mirrors your self-view by default, so text in your video may look reversed to you while appearing correct to everyone else. Before you assume something is wrong, turn off Mirror my video in Settings → Video and compare.

Is this allowed?

Virtual cameras are ordinary software and Zoom supports them — they are widely used for overlays, branded backgrounds and pre-recorded demos. What you play through one is your responsibility. Be straightforward with the people on the call, and do not use a virtual camera to impersonate someone or to defeat identity checks such as proctored exams or KYC verification.

How to Play a Video as Your Webcam in Zoom