diff --git a/include/libcamera/internal/software_isp/debayer.h b/include/libcamera/internal/software_isp/debayer.h
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..39e6f393
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/libcamera/internal/software_isp/debayer.h
@@ -0,0 +1,132 @@
+/* SPDX-License-Identifier: LGPL-2.1-or-later */
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2023, Linaro Ltd
+ * Copyright (C) 2023, Red Hat Inc.
+ *
+ * Authors:
+ * Hans de Goede <hdegoede@redhat.com> 
+ *
+ * debayer.h - debayering base class
+ */
+
+#pragma once
+
+#include <stdint.h>
+
+#include <libcamera/base/log.h>
+#include <libcamera/base/signal.h>
+
+#include <libcamera/geometry.h>
+#include <libcamera/stream.h>
+
+#include "libcamera/internal/software_isp/debayer_params.h"
+
+namespace libcamera {
+
+class FrameBuffer;
+
+LOG_DECLARE_CATEGORY(Debayer)
+
+/**
+ * \class Debayer
+ * \brief Base debayering class
+ *
+ * Base class that provides functions for setting up the debayering process.
+ */
+class Debayer
+{
+public:
+	virtual ~Debayer() = 0;
+
+	/**
+	 * \brief Configure the debayer object according to the passed in parameters.
+	 * \param[in] inputCfg The input configuration.
+	 * \param[in] outputCfgs The output configurations.
+	 *
+	 * \return 0 on success, a negative errno on failure.
+	 */
+	virtual int configure(const StreamConfiguration &inputCfg,
+			      const std::vector<std::reference_wrapper<StreamConfiguration>> &outputCfgs) = 0;
+
+	/**
+	 * \brief Get the width and height at which the bayer pattern repeats.
+	 * \param[in] inputFormat The input format.
+	 *
+	 * \return pattern size or an empty size for unsupported inputFormats.
+	 */
+	virtual Size patternSize(PixelFormat inputFormat) = 0;
+
+	/**
+	 * \brief Get the supported output formats.
+	 * \param[in] inputFormat The input format.
+	 *
+	 * \return all supported output formats or an empty vector if there are none.
+	 */
+	virtual std::vector<PixelFormat> formats(PixelFormat inputFormat) = 0;
+
+	/**
+	 * \brief Get the stride and the frame size.
+	 * \param[in] outputFormat The output format.
+	 * \param[in] size The output size.
+	 *
+	 * \return a tuple of the stride and the frame size, or a tuple with 0,0 if there is no valid output config.
+	 */
+	virtual std::tuple<unsigned int, unsigned int>
+		strideAndFrameSize(const PixelFormat &outputFormat, const Size &size) = 0;
+
+	/**
+	 * \brief Process the bayer data into the requested format.
+	 * \param[in] input The input buffer.
+	 * \param[in] output The output buffer.
+	 * \param[in] params The parameters to be used in debayering.
+	 *
+	 * \note DebayerParams is passed by value deliberately so that a copy is passed
+	 * when this is run in another thread by invokeMethod().
+	 */
+	virtual void process(FrameBuffer *input, FrameBuffer *output, DebayerParams params) = 0;
+
+	/**
+	 * \brief Get the supported output sizes for the given input format and size.
+	 * \param[in] inputFormat The input format.
+	 * \param[in] inputSize The input size.
+	 *
+	 * \return The valid size ranges or an empty range if there are none.
+	 */
+	SizeRange sizes(PixelFormat inputFormat, const Size &inputSize)
+	{
+		Size pattern_size = patternSize(inputFormat);
+
+		if (pattern_size.isNull())
+			return {};
+
+		/*
+		 * For debayer interpolation a border of pattern-height x pattern-width
+		 * is kept around the entire image. Combined with a minimum-size of
+		 * pattern-height x pattern-width this means the input-size needs to be
+		 * at least (3 * pattern-height) x (3 * pattern-width).
+		 */
+		if (inputSize.width < (3 * pattern_size.width) ||
+		    inputSize.height < (3 * pattern_size.height)) {
+			LOG(Debayer, Warning)
+				<< "Input format size too small: " << inputSize.toString();
+			return {};
+		}
+
+		return SizeRange(Size(pattern_size.width, pattern_size.height),
+				 Size((inputSize.width - 2 * pattern_size.width) & ~(pattern_size.width - 1),
+				      (inputSize.height - 2 * pattern_size.height) & ~(pattern_size.height - 1)),
+				 pattern_size.width, pattern_size.height);
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * \brief Signals when the input buffer is ready.
+	 */
+	Signal<FrameBuffer *> inputBufferReady;
+
+	/**
+	 * \brief Signals when the output buffer is ready.
+	 */
+	Signal<FrameBuffer *> outputBufferReady;
+};
+
+} /* namespace libcamera */
diff --git a/include/libcamera/internal/software_isp/debayer_params.h b/include/libcamera/internal/software_isp/debayer_params.h
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..8f515304
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/libcamera/internal/software_isp/debayer_params.h
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+/* SPDX-License-Identifier: LGPL-2.1-or-later */
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2023, Red Hat Inc.
+ *
+ * Authors:
+ * Hans de Goede <hdegoede@redhat.com> 
+ *
+ * swstats.h - software statistics base class
+ */
+
+#pragma once
+
+namespace libcamera {
+
+/**
+ * \brief Struct to hold the debayer parameters.
+ */
+struct DebayerParams {
+	/**
+	 * \brief Red Gain.
+	 *
+	 * 128 = 0.5, 256 = 1.0, 512 = 2.0, etc.
+	 */
+	unsigned int gainR;
+	/**
+	 * \brief Green Gain.
+	 *
+	 * 128 = 0.5, 256 = 1.0, 512 = 2.0, etc.
+	 */
+	unsigned int gainG;
+	/**
+	 * \brief Blue Gain.
+	 *
+	 * 128 = 0.5, 256 = 1.0, 512 = 2.0, etc.
+	 */
+	unsigned int gainB;
+	/**
+	 * \brief Gamma correction, 1.0 is no correction.
+	 */
+	float gamma;
+};
+
+} /* namespace libcamera */
diff --git a/include/libcamera/internal/software_isp/meson.build b/include/libcamera/internal/software_isp/meson.build
index 1d9e4018..7e40925e 100644
--- a/include/libcamera/internal/software_isp/meson.build
+++ b/include/libcamera/internal/software_isp/meson.build
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: CC0-1.0
 
 libcamera_internal_headers += files([
+    'debayer.h',
+    'debayer_params.h',
     'swisp_stats.h',
     'swstats.h',
     'swstats_cpu.h',
diff --git a/src/libcamera/software_isp/debayer.cpp b/src/libcamera/software_isp/debayer.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..442da1ac
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/libcamera/software_isp/debayer.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+/* SPDX-License-Identifier: LGPL-2.1-or-later */
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2023, Linaro Ltd
+ * Copyright (C) 2023, Red Hat Inc.
+ *
+ * Authors:
+ * Hans de Goede <hdegoede@redhat.com> 
+ *
+ * debayer.cpp - debayer base class
+ */
+
+#include "libcamera/internal/software_isp/debayer.h"
+
+namespace libcamera {
+
+LOG_DEFINE_CATEGORY(Debayer)
+
+Debayer::~Debayer()
+{
+}
+
+} /* namespace libcamera */
diff --git a/src/libcamera/software_isp/meson.build b/src/libcamera/software_isp/meson.build
index d31c6217..d4ae5ac7 100644
--- a/src/libcamera/software_isp/meson.build
+++ b/src/libcamera/software_isp/meson.build
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: CC0-1.0
 
 libcamera_sources += files([
+	'debayer.cpp',
 	'swstats.cpp',
 	'swstats_cpu.cpp',
 ])
