enricobuehler
04dd3e3a19
Rewrite the Windows host docs page for first-time setup, on par with the other host guides: remove the standout "Status:" banner, restructure into Requirements / Install (web console + pairing + configure) / How it works / Notes & limits. Bring the content up to date with the shipping host: - encode is all-vendor (NVENC/AMF/QSV + software fallback), not NVIDIA-only - virtual display is punktfunk's own pf-vdisplay IDD (SudoVDA removed) - gamepads need no prerequisite — UMDF drivers bundled; ViGEmBus is gone - add HDR10 + Vulkan-game HDR layer coverage Fix the same stale claims where other pages cross-reference the Windows host (requirements, running-as-a-service, install, roadmap, status). Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
116 lines
4.6 KiB
Markdown
116 lines
4.6 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: Running as a Service
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description: Start the host at boot — for a desktop you log into, or a fully headless always-on machine.
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---
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Running `serve` in a terminal is fine for trying punktfunk out. To make a machine an
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always-available host, run it as a service. There are two cases.
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> The bundled unit `scripts/punktfunk-host.service` runs `serve --gamestream`, so it serves both the
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> native `punktfunk/1` plane and stock [Moonlight](/docs/moonlight) clients. For a **secure native-only
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> host** (no GameStream — its pairing runs over plain HTTP and its legacy encryption is weaker;
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> security-review #5/#9), drop `--gamestream` from the unit's `ExecStart` and use bare `serve`.
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## A. A desktop you log into
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If you sit at the machine (or it auto-logs-in to a desktop), run the host as a **systemd user
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service** that starts with your session:
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```sh
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mkdir -p ~/.config/systemd/user
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cp scripts/punktfunk-host.service ~/.config/systemd/user/
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# Put your host.env in place first — see the setup guide for your desktop.
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systemctl --user daemon-reload
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systemctl --user enable --now punktfunk-host
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```
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The host now starts whenever you log in. Check it with `systemctl --user status punktfunk-host`.
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## B. A headless, always-on host
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To run with **no monitor and no login** — a machine in a closet that's always ready — you need two
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things: a desktop session that comes up at boot, and the host service started without a login.
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Start by making the host service start at boot even when nobody logs in:
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```sh
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sudo loginctl enable-linger "$USER"
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```
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Then bring up a session automatically, depending on your desktop:
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### Headless GNOME
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Have GDM auto-login your user, so a GNOME Wayland session is always running:
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```ini
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# /etc/gdm3/custom.conf (Ubuntu) · /etc/gdm/custom.conf (Fedora)
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[daemon]
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AutomaticLoginEnable = true
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AutomaticLogin = your-user
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```
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Then **disable the screen lock** — a locked GNOME session blocks screen capture, and there's no one to
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unlock a headless box:
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```sh
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gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.screensaver lock-enabled false
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gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.session idle-delay 0
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```
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Enable the host user service (section A) and reboot. The host comes up on the auto-login session.
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### Headless KDE
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punktfunk ships a unit that brings up a headless KWin/Plasma session with no display manager, so the
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host has a desktop to stream even with no monitor attached:
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```sh
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cp scripts/punktfunk-kde-session.service scripts/punktfunk-host.service ~/.config/systemd/user/
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# host.env: PUNKTFUNK_COMPOSITOR=kwin, WAYLAND_DISPLAY=wayland-kde
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systemctl --user daemon-reload
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systemctl --user enable punktfunk-kde-session punktfunk-host
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sudo loginctl enable-linger "$USER"
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reboot
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```
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The session unit starts headless KWin; the host unit follows it and starts listening. (KWin only needs
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to be up by the time a client connects, so the ordering is soft.)
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### Headless Bazzite
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On Bazzite, the host launches its own gamescope/Steam session per client, so you don't need a separate
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session unit — see [Bazzite](/docs/bazzite).
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## Windows
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> punktfunk has first-class **Linux and Windows** hosts. On Windows it ships as a signed installer
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> with an SCM service and a virtual-display driver — including punktfunk's own **indirect display
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> driver** the host pushes frames straight into. The Windows host is newer than the Linux host. (Not
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> to be confused with the Windows *client*, which streams *to* a Windows PC.)
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On Windows the host runs as a `LocalSystem` service that launches into the interactive session, so it
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captures the secure desktop (UAC / lock screen) and survives reboots with nobody logged in — the same
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model Sunshine/Apollo use.
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The easy path is the **signed installer**: download `punktfunk-host-setup-<ver>.exe` from the package
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registry ([`punktfunk-host-windows`](https://git.unom.io/unom/-/packages)) and run it. It drops the host
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into `C:\Program Files\punktfunk`, installs the bundled **pf-vdisplay** virtual-display driver, and
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registers + starts the service for you (`/VERYSILENT` for unattended). Upgrades and uninstall are
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handled through Add/Remove Programs.
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Prefer the CLI? Run `punktfunk-host service install` from an elevated prompt — see
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[Windows service](https://git.unom.io/unom/punktfunk/src/branch/main/docs/windows-service.md). For
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hardware encode you need a GPU — NVIDIA (NVENC), AMD (AMF), or Intel (QSV); the host falls back to
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software H.264 without one.
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## Verifying
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After a reboot, from another machine on the network:
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```sh
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punktfunk-probe --discover # or just look for the host in a native client / Moonlight
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```
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If the host is listed, it's up. If not, check `journalctl --user -u punktfunk-host` on the host.
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