punktfunk/docs-site/content/docs/moonlight.md

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Connect with Moonlight	Stream from a Punktfunk host using any Moonlight client.

Punktfunk speaks the GameStream protocol, so Moonlight connects to it like it would to any GameStream host — no punktfunk-specific app needed. It's a great option for a browser, a smart TV, or any device without a native client.

Many platforms also have a native Punktfunk client with lower latency and built-in discovery/pairing — including Windows and Android (phone and Android TV). See Clients before reaching for Moonlight.

1. Make sure the host is running with GameStream enabled

Moonlight needs the GameStream planes, which are opt-in on the host — but most installs already enable them:

• Linux packages, NixOS, SteamOS / Steam Deck — already on: the shipped punktfunk-host user unit runs serve --gamestream. To turn it off, override ExecStart with a drop-in so a package upgrade doesn't undo it — see What the unit starts — or set services.punktfunk.host.gamestream = false on NixOS, or re-run the Deck installer with --no-gamestream.

• Windows — off unless you ticked the installer's Enable GameStream (Moonlight) compatibility checkbox. To turn it on afterwards, run this from an elevated prompt (=off puts it back) — see Windows Host:

  punktfunk-host service install --gamestream=on
  punktfunk-host service restart
  

• Running serve by hand — add the flag yourself:

  punktfunk-host serve --gamestream
  

(Bare serve is the secure native-only default and stock Moonlight clients can't connect to it; the native plane is always on, and --gamestream adds the Moonlight-compat surface.) GameStream pairs over plain HTTP and its legacy control encryption is weaker than the native plane's, so only enable it on a trusted LAN. See Running as a Service for the bundled unit. The host advertises itself on the network, so Moonlight usually finds it on its own.

2. Add the host in Moonlight

Open Moonlight. Your host should appear automatically on the same network. If it doesn't, use Add Host manually and enter the host machine's IP address.

Still nothing? Two causes account for almost all of it:

• The GameStream ports aren't open on the host. They are TCP 47984 / 47989 / 48010 and UDP 47998 / 47999 / 48000, plus mDNS on UDP 5353. On Linux the packages ship a ready-made rule for your distro's firewall but never enable it:

  sudo ufw allow punktfunk-gamestream                               # ufw
  sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=punktfunk-gamestream  # firewalld
  sudo firewall-cmd --reload
  

  On Windows the installer adds these rules itself — but only for Private and Domain networks, unless you ticked Allow connections on Public networks during setup.

• Another GameStream host is running on the same machine. Sunshine, Apollo and their forks bind the same fixed ports and advertise the same mDNS name, so the wrong host answers (or neither does). Run punktfunk-host detect-conflicts on the host machine — it lists any it finds.

Both are covered in more detail in Troubleshooting.

3. Pair

Moonlight's PIN is typed in on the host side, so you need the host's web console running — it's the only UI where a Moonlight PIN can be entered.

1. Open the console at https://<host-ip>:47992 and go to Pairing.
2. In Moonlight, select the host and choose Pair — it shows a 4-digit PIN.
3. The console's Moonlight (GameStream) pairing card now says a client is waiting. Type the PIN there and press Submit PIN.

The device then appears under Paired devices, and Moonlight remembers the host. See Pairing & Trust for the full picture.

4. Stream

Moonlight lists Desktop plus the games the host found installed (Steam, Epic, GOG, Xbox), with cover art — the same library the native clients show. Pick one and start streaming. The host creates a virtual display at the resolution and frame rate Moonlight requests (set these in Moonlight's settings), encodes it on the GPU, and streams it. Mouse, keyboard, and controllers flow back to the host — and a Moonlight client that sends pen events, an iPad's Apple Pencil included, drives the same host-side tablet a native client would, with pressure and tilt intact (see Pen and stylus).

That Desktop entry is the operator base list. An apps.json in the host's config directory replaces it (it doesn't add to it), so put every entry you want in that file if you write one.

Tips

• Set your resolution and frame rate in Moonlight's settings before connecting — the host matches whatever Moonlight asks for, creating the virtual display at that exact mode.
• Codec: HEVC (H.265) is a good default; AV1 is available if your client supports it.
• HDR: Moonlight only offers its HDR toggle when the host advertises a 10-bit codec, which it does only when its capture path and its encoder can really deliver 10-bit BT.2020 PQ. If the toggle is there, turn it on and pick HEVC or AV1 — H.264 stays SDR. Setting PUNKTFUNK_10BIT=0 in host.env withdraws the offer entirely; it is on by default.
• Bitrate: start moderate and raise it. For very high bitrates, the native clients have a built-in speed test; with Moonlight, set the bitrate manually.
• Moonlight uses the GameStream protocol, not Punktfunk's native FEC/encryption extensions. On a solid LAN this is fine; on a lossy link a native client holds up better.
• Comparing Moonlight's performance overlay with a Punktfunk client's stats HUD? The numbers measure different slices of the pipeline — see Understanding the Stats Overlay for a line-by-line comparison matrix before drawing conclusions.