enricobuehler
2f9e61d191
Now that the per-capture worker subprocess makes an NVENC EGL/CUDA driver fault survivable (design/zerocopy-worker-isolation.md), the reason the NVENC zero-copy path stayed opt-in is gone. zerocopy::enabled() now defaults ON for both GPU backends (was ON VAAPI / OFF NVENC). Fallbacks are intact: VAAPI's one-shot CPU auto-downgrade (VAAPI-gated, never trips for NVENC) and NVENC's per-capture fallback + worker-death latch. Reframe the shipped host.env examples and setup guides to rely on the default rather than force PUNKTFUNK_ZEROCOPY=1 (an explicit =1 skips the VAAPI auto-downgrade). Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
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title, description
| title | description |
|---|---|
| Bazzite | Set up a punktfunk host on Bazzite — it follows the box between Steam Gaming Mode (gamescope) and the KDE Plasma desktop automatically. |
Bazzite already ships everything a punktfunk host needs — the NVIDIA driver, NVENC, PipeWire, gamescope, and the KDE Plasma desktop. So a Bazzite host is the most "appliance-like" setup, and it streams both of Bazzite's faces:
- Steam Gaming Mode (gamescope) — the couch/handheld game UI.
- The KDE Plasma desktop — the full desktop you get from "Switch to Desktop".
The host auto-detects which one is live and follows the box across the switch — including
mid-stream. You flip between Gaming Mode and Desktop with Bazzite's normal Steam UI /
"Switch to Desktop"; the host just re-targets whatever's running and keeps streaming. Nothing in
host.env forces a mode.
Ideal for a dedicated game-streaming box that you also occasionally want as a remote desktop. For a pure desktop machine, install on Ubuntu or Fedora and configure the KDE or GNOME desktop directly — simpler.
New here? Read Security & Safe Use first — a streaming host is remote control of the machine, so keep it on a trusted LAN or VPN and require pairing.
Install
The host installs as a systemd system extension (sysext) — no rpm-ostree layering. The
Bazzite docs treat layering as a last resort (layered packages slow every OS update and can block
upgrades until removed); a sysext never enters an rpm-ostree transaction: it overlays /usr
read-only from /var/lib/extensions/, survives OS updates, installs and updates without a
reboot, and is removable in one command. This is the same mechanism the Fedora Atomic
maintainers ship via the fedora-sysexts project.
# One-time bootstrap (afterwards the updater is on PATH as `punktfunk-sysext`):
curl -fsSLO https://git.unom.io/unom/punktfunk/raw/branch/main/packaging/bazzite/punktfunk-sysext.sh
sudo bash punktfunk-sysext.sh install # add `--channel canary` for rolling builds
That downloads the newest image (host + tray + web console, SHA-256-verified over HTTPS from punktfunk's package registry), merges it, and applies the udev/sysctl setup on the spot — the host is usable immediately, no reboot. From then on:
sudo punktfunk-sysext update # fetch + merge the newest build
sudo punktfunk-sysext status # channel, installed vs latest version
sudo punktfunk-sysext remove # unmerge and delete — the box is back to stock
Two things to know:
- After a Bazzite major rebase (Fedora 43 → 44) the old image refuses to load rather than
run against mismatched system libraries — run
sudo punktfunk-sysext updateonce and it fetches the image built for the new base. - Already layering punktfunk? Install the sysext (it shadows the layered copy immediately),
then drop the layer so it stops slowing your updates:
sudo rpm-ostree uninstall punktfunk punktfunk-web && systemctl reboot.
For a fully baked appliance image there's also a bootc Containerfile that installs the RPMs
from the registry at image-build time — see packaging/bootc/ in the repo. Plain rpm-ostree
layering from the RPM registry keeps working too (see
packaging/bazzite/README.md), but the sysext is the supported default. Building from source
also works (Bazzite is Fedora Atomic underneath — same steps as Fedora).
Allow controller input
Gamepad and DualSense input needs your user in the input group. On Bazzite, don't use
usermod — the base is immutable and the group is managed by a recipe. Use:
ujust add-user-to-input-group
Then log out and back in. (A controller that's "detected but does nothing" is almost always this permission, not a client problem.)
Configure
The RPM ships a Bazzite-tuned config you can copy as your starting point:
mkdir -p ~/.config/punktfunk
cp /usr/share/punktfunk/host.env.bazzite ~/.config/punktfunk/host.env
The template is deliberately minimal — it does not force a compositor, because the host auto-detects Gaming Mode (gamescope) vs Desktop (KWin) on every connect and follows the switch mid-stream. The only settings that matter are the session anchors (GPU zero-copy is on by default):
XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=/run/user/1000
DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS=unix:path=/run/user/1000/bus
PUNKTFUNK_VIDEO_SOURCE=virtual
# GPU zero-copy (dmabuf → CUDA → NVENC) is ON by default; auto-falls back to CPU. Set =0 to force CPU.
PUNKTFUNK_GAMESCOPE_ATTACH=1 # Gaming Mode = attach to the box's own session (see below)
Gaming Mode: attach vs managed
For Gaming Mode there are two models (pick one; the shipped default is attach):
- Attach (
PUNKTFUNK_GAMESCOPE_ATTACH=1, the default) — the box owns its gamescope session, the host attaches to whatever's live and never tears it down, and the streamed game-mode resolution is the box's own gamescope mode. Switching Desktop ↔ Game is rock-solid. - Managed (
PUNKTFUNK_GAMESCOPE_MANAGED=1, and remove the attach line) — the host launches its own gamescope at the client's exact resolution and refresh. Client-mode-following, but there must be no physical gaming session already running.
Full treatment: Steam / gamescope → Attach vs managed.
Mid-stream Gaming ↔ Desktop following (PUNKTFUNK_SESSION_WATCH) is on by default on
Bazzite/SteamOS. See Configuration for the full list of knobs.
Streaming the KDE Plasma desktop
The virtual output (video) for the Desktop session needs no config — the host package ships an
io.unom.Punktfunk.Host.desktop file whose X-KDE-Wayland-Interfaces grants the host KWin's
restricted screencast protocol on a normal interactive Plasma session (background:
KDE Plasma). After a fresh host install, log out and back into the Desktop session
once so KWin re-reads that grant.
The one thing a normal KDE login lacks is the RemoteDesktop grant for headless input injection. Seed it once (as the streaming user, no root) so the host auto-approves instead of popping an un-answerable dialog:
bash /usr/share/punktfunk/bazzite/kde-desktop-setup.sh
Gaming Mode needs none of this — it auto-attaches.
Run as an always-on host
Bazzite hosts are typically headless. Enable the host service and linger so it starts at boot — see Running as a Service. One host service covers both Gaming Mode and the Desktop; it follows whichever the box is in.
systemctl --user enable --now punktfunk-host
systemctl --user enable --now punktfunk-web # web console: pairing + status
Then open The Web Console for the login password and to arm pairing.
Good to know
These apply to the Gaming Mode (gamescope) path; the KDE Desktop path is unaffected:
- gamescope 3.16.22 or newer is required. Older versions can deadlock during capture. Bazzite's current gamescope is fine; this only bites if you've pinned an old one.
- The mouse cursor isn't included in the captured image — a gamescope limitation for now. (The KDE Desktop path renders the cursor normally.)
- HDR isn't supported yet on the gamescope path — gamescope's capture output is 8-bit. SDR streams normally.
Canonical list: gamescope → Known limits.
Then connect a client — Moonlight works great for couch gaming, and the Apple app for Apple TV / iPad.