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docs: update README + docs site for public readiness
Refresh the README and documentation for public visitors:

- README: public-facing rewrite with accurate status for all four native
  clients (macOS, Linux, Windows, Android) and the Windows host.
- docs site: fix stale client status (Android is a full client, not a
  scaffold; Windows client is stage-1 complete + signed MSIX), add the
  missing Android client section, correct "which client" guidance.
- Windows host: corrected from "deferred/scoped" to implemented & shipping
  (NVIDIA-only, x64-only) across windows-host, roadmap, status,
  requirements, running-as-a-service, and the README.
- Remove internal infrastructure from public docs (box names, private IPs,
  SSH/token commands, deploy topology); rewrite status.md as a public
  project-status page; sanitize ci.md and implementation-plan.md.
- Update clients/android and clients/apple READMEs to current state.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-06-20 18:59:23 +02:00

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4.1 KiB
Markdown

---
title: Running as a Service
description: Start the host at boot — for a desktop you log into, or a fully headless always-on machine.
---
Running `serve --native` in a terminal is fine for trying punktfunk out. To make a machine an
always-available host, run it as a service. There are two cases.
## A. A desktop you log into
If you sit at the machine (or it auto-logs-in to a desktop), run the host as a **systemd user
service** that starts with your session:
```sh
mkdir -p ~/.config/systemd/user
cp scripts/punktfunk-host.service ~/.config/systemd/user/
# Put your host.env in place first — see the setup guide for your desktop.
systemctl --user daemon-reload
systemctl --user enable --now punktfunk-host
```
The host now starts whenever you log in. Check it with `systemctl --user status punktfunk-host`.
## B. A headless, always-on host
To run with **no monitor and no login** — a machine in a closet that's always ready — you need two
things: a desktop session that comes up at boot, and the host service started without a login.
Start by making the host service start at boot even when nobody logs in:
```sh
sudo loginctl enable-linger "$USER"
```
Then bring up a session automatically, depending on your desktop:
### Headless GNOME
Have GDM auto-login your user, so a GNOME Wayland session is always running:
```ini
# /etc/gdm3/custom.conf (Ubuntu) · /etc/gdm/custom.conf (Fedora)
[daemon]
AutomaticLoginEnable = true
AutomaticLogin = your-user
```
Then **disable the screen lock** — a locked GNOME session blocks screen capture, and there's no one to
unlock a headless box:
```sh
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.screensaver lock-enabled false
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.session idle-delay 0
```
Enable the host user service (section A) and reboot. The host comes up on the auto-login session.
### Headless KDE
punktfunk ships a unit that brings up a headless KWin/Plasma session with no display manager, so the
host has a desktop to stream even with no monitor attached:
```sh
cp scripts/punktfunk-kde-session.service scripts/punktfunk-host.service ~/.config/systemd/user/
# host.env: PUNKTFUNK_COMPOSITOR=kwin, WAYLAND_DISPLAY=wayland-kde
systemctl --user daemon-reload
systemctl --user enable punktfunk-kde-session punktfunk-host
sudo loginctl enable-linger "$USER"
reboot
```
The session unit starts headless KWin; the host unit follows it and starts listening. (KWin only needs
to be up by the time a client connects, so the ordering is soft.)
### Headless Bazzite
On Bazzite, the host launches its own gamescope/Steam session per client, so you don't need a separate
session unit — see [Bazzite](/docs/bazzite).
## Windows
> punktfunk is Linux-first, but a native **Windows host** also ships — a signed installer with an SCM
> service and a bundled virtual-display driver. It's **NVIDIA-only** (NVENC) and newer than the Linux
> host. (Not to be confused with the Windows *client*, which streams *to* a Windows PC.)
On Windows the host runs as a `LocalSystem` service that launches into the interactive session, so it
captures the secure desktop (UAC / lock screen) and survives reboots with nobody logged in — the same
model Sunshine/Apollo use.
The easy path is the **signed installer**: download `punktfunk-host-setup-<ver>.exe` from the package
registry ([`punktfunk-host-windows`](https://git.unom.io/unom/-/packages)) and run it. It drops the host
into `C:\Program Files\punktfunk`, optionally installs the bundled **SudoVDA** virtual-display driver,
and registers + starts the service for you (`/VERYSILENT` for unattended). Upgrades and uninstall are
handled through Add/Remove Programs.
Prefer the CLI? Run `punktfunk-host service install` from an elevated prompt — see
[Windows service](https://git.unom.io/unom/punktfunk/src/branch/main/docs/windows-service.md). Either
way you need an NVIDIA GPU + driver (the host is NVENC-only on Windows).
## Verifying
After a reboot, from another machine on the network:
```sh
punktfunk-probe --discover # or just look for the host in a native client / Moonlight
```
If the host is listed, it's up. If not, check `journalctl --user -u punktfunk-host` on the host.