The pacman-repo setup step used a bash heredoc (`<<'EOF'`), which fish — the
default shell on CachyOS — cannot parse ("expected a string, but found a
redirection"). Replace it with a cross-shell `printf | sudo tee -a` form in both
the Arch guide and packaging/arch/README.md; `$repo`/`$arch` stay literal for
pacman and the output is byte-identical to the old heredoc.
Firewall: stock Arch ships none (ports already open), but CachyOS enables
firewalld by default and an Arch package must never touch the running firewall.
Ship firewalld service definitions the host package installs to
/usr/lib/firewalld/services/ (punktfunk-gamestream, punktfunk-native), not
auto-enabled; the install scriptlet prints the enable command only when
firewall-cmd is present. Document it in the Arch guide (new section) and README.
The mgmt API (loopback) and web console ports are deliberately not opened.
Also fix the "GTK4 couch/Deck client" mislabel — it's the native
GTK4/libadwaita Linux client (desktop/laptop/Deck are targets; the
controller-optimized launcher is one view, not its identity) — across the Arch
PKGBUILD/README, Arch guide, and the Debian README.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
11 KiB
punktfunk on Arch Linux / SteamOS
Packaging for punktfunk on Arch and Arch-derived immutable distros. The PKGBUILD is a split
package producing punktfunk-host (the gaming-rig host) and punktfunk-client (the native
GTK4/libadwaita Linux client) — mirrors the rpm subpackages (packaging/rpm/punktfunk.spec) and the
deb build scripts. On a Steam Deck used as a client you want punktfunk-client (it's what the
Decky plugin launches); on a gaming rig, punktfunk-host.
Steam Deck as a HOST: don't use this PKGBUILD — SteamOS's read-only root makes
makepkg/sysext awkward, and a prebuilt binary breaks on OS library bumps. Use the on-device build script instead:scripts/steamdeck/install.sh(it builds in a Debian-trixie distrobox ABI-matched to SteamOS and uses VAAPI on the Deck's AMD GPU). The Deck host path is the one exception to "host encode is NVENC-only" below.
A third member, punktfunk-web (the browser management console — pairing + status), is
opt-in: build it by setting PF_WITH_WEB=1, which requires bun at build time (bun-bin
from the AUR if it isn't in your repos). bun is also the runtime — the console serves HTTPS
(HTTP/1.1 over TLS) via Bun.serve, so the package vendors the bun binary (no nodejs dependency). A
default makepkg builds only host+client with no JS tooling — mirroring the RPM spec's %bcond_with web.
Host encode: NVENC on NVIDIA, VAAPI on AMD/Intel (
PUNKTFUNK_ENCODER=autopicks one). The host now has a VAAPI encoder + zero-copy dmabuf path alongside NVENC/CUDA, sopunktfunk-hostworks on Arch + NVIDIA and AMD/Intel (incl. the Steam Deck — see the on-device path above). The client decodes via VAAPI on AMD/Intel with a software fallback.
Install from the binary repo (recommended)
CI (.gitea/workflows/arch.yml) builds this PKGBUILD in an archlinux:base-devel container on
every push and publishes the packages to the Gitea Arch package registry — a plain pacman
repo, so an Arch box installs and updates punktfunk with pacman -Syu like everything else.
Two repos mirror the deb/rpm channels: punktfunk (release tags) and punktfunk-canary
(rolling main-branch builds, versioned X.Y.Z-0.<run#> so a later release always outranks
them). Enable exactly one.
The registry signs the repo database and every package, so first import its key into pacman's keyring (a one-time step — after this, packages install signature-verified):
# 1. Trust the registry signing key.
curl -fsS https://git.unom.io/api/packages/unom/arch/repository.key \
| sudo pacman-key --add -
sudo pacman-key --lsign-key E0CA04465C99C936E0B0C6510A317015A34DDD69
# 2. Add the repo (pick ONE channel — punktfunk for releases, punktfunk-canary for main builds).
# printf, not a heredoc, so this works in fish too (CachyOS's default shell has no `<<EOF`).
printf '\n[punktfunk]\nServer = https://git.unom.io/api/packages/unom/arch/$repo/$arch\n' \
| sudo tee -a /etc/pacman.conf >/dev/null
# 3. Sync + install.
sudo pacman -Sy punktfunk-host # gaming rig
sudo pacman -Sy punktfunk-client # the native GTK4 Linux client
sudo pacman -Sy punktfunk-web # optional browser management console
(No SigLevel line needed — pacman's default Required DatabaseOptional verifies the signed
packages against the key you just trusted. Arch is rolling, so the packages are built against
current Arch sonames — keep the box itself updated too.)
Then the same first-run steps as a source build (printed by the install scriptlet): input
group, host.env, systemctl --user enable --now punktfunk-host — see the next section.
Build from source — Arch Linux (mutable)
cd packaging/arch
# Build the working tree (CI / dev) — no git fetch:
PF_SRCDIR="$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)" makepkg -f --holdver
# …or build the tagged release the AUR way:
makepkg -si
# …add the web console too (needs bun / bun-bin):
PF_WITH_WEB=1 PF_SRCDIR="$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)" makepkg -f --holdver
Then the standard first-run (printed by the install scriptlet):
sudo usermod -aG input "$USER" # virtual gamepads; re-login after
mkdir -p ~/.config/punktfunk
cp /usr/share/punktfunk/host.env.bazzite ~/.config/punktfunk/host.env # gamescope backend
systemctl --user enable --now punktfunk-host
# Web console (if you installed the punktfunk-web package): enable it + read the login password.
systemctl --user enable --now punktfunk-web
journalctl --user -u punktfunk-web-init | sed -n 's/.*password generated: //p' # open https://<host-ip>:47992
NVENC/EGL come from the NVIDIA driver: sudo pacman -S --needed nvidia-utils. Arch's stock
ffmpeg already has NVENC built in — no RPM-Fusion-style swap needed (unlike Fedora).
Runtime dependency map (Fedora/Debian → Arch)
| Need | Arch package |
|---|---|
| FFmpeg + NVENC | ffmpeg (NVENC built in) |
| PipeWire + Pulse + session mgr | pipewire pipewire-pulse wireplumber |
| Opus / input injection | opus libei |
| GL/EGL + gbm + xkb + wayland | libglvnd mesa libxkbcommon wayland |
| NVIDIA driver (NVENC/EGL/CUDA) | nvidia-utils (optdepend — never a hard dep) |
| Compositor backends | gamescope (≥3.16.22) / kwin / mutter / sway (optdepends) |
SteamOS 3 (immutable) — use a systemd-sysext
SteamOS has a read-only /usr on A/B partitions, and every OS update reimages the rootfs —
so steamos-readonly disable + pacman (and flatpak/distrobox) are fragile or unusable for a
host that needs /dev/uinput, /dev/uhid, the host PipeWire socket, the GPU render node, and the
right to spawn a compositor. The update-survivable, SteamOS-blessed mechanism is a
systemd-sysext: an overlay image merged read-only over /usr at boot, living in the writable
/var/lib/extensions/ (so it persists across A/B updates, no readonly-disable).
Build the package, then wrap its /usr payload into a sysext image:
# 1. build the pacman package (needs an Arch environment / container)
cd packaging/arch && PF_SRCDIR="$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)" makepkg -f --holdver
# 2. turn it into a sysext .raw (extracts the package's /usr into an image + extension-release)
bash build-sysext.sh punktfunk-host-*.pkg.tar.zst
# 3. on the SteamOS box:
sudo cp punktfunk-host.raw /var/lib/extensions/
sudo systemctl enable --now systemd-sysext # merges it; survives OS updates
systemctl --user enable --now punktfunk-host # the user unit is now under /usr/lib
The udev rule, sysctl, and systemd user unit all live under /usr/lib, so the merged sysext
exposes them. systemd-sysext refresh re-merges after a reboot.
Steam Deck — the client (what the Decky plugin launches)
To stream to a Deck, you install punktfunk-client there — same sysext mechanism, but
wrapping the client package instead. The split makepkg produces both .pkg.tar.zst files; on the
Deck use the client one:
cd packaging/arch && PF_SRCDIR="$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)" makepkg -f --holdver
bash build-sysext.sh punktfunk-client-*.pkg.tar.zst # → punktfunk-client.raw
# on the Deck:
sudo cp punktfunk-client.raw /var/lib/extensions/
sudo systemctl enable --now systemd-sysext
sudo pacman -S --needed libva-mesa-driver # VAAPI hw decode on the Deck's AMD APU
Now punktfunk-client is on PATH, so the Decky plugin finds and
launches it (punktfunk-client --connect host:port) — gamescope composites its video like a game.
The client needs no /dev/uinput or compositor-spawning rights (it captures input and decodes),
so it's a much lighter sysext than the host.
Firewall
Stock Arch ships no firewall — every port is open by default, so there is nothing to do.
Spins that enable one do not get their ports opened for you: an Arch package never touches the
admin's running firewall. CachyOS is the common case — its installer turns on firewalld by
default, so out of the box the host is unreachable until you allow it.
The punktfunk-host package ships firewalld service definitions (installed to
/usr/lib/firewalld/services/) so enabling is one command — pick the plane your host serves:
# Reload once so firewalld picks up the just-installed service definition, add it, reload to apply.
sudo firewall-cmd --reload
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=punktfunk-gamestream # Moonlight/GameStream host
# --add-service=punktfunk-native # …or the native-only host
sudo firewall-cmd --reload
punktfunk-gamestream opens the fixed Moonlight ports + mDNS; punktfunk-native opens the QUIC
control port (UDP 9777) + mDNS. Enable both if the host runs serve --gamestream (which serves
both planes). The data plane is an ephemeral UDP port negotiated per session, so there is no
fixed data port in either service; a restrictive firewall must additionally allow a UDP range (the
project does not pin one). The mgmt REST API (TCP 47990) binds to loopback by default — leave it
closed unless you move it off loopback with --mgmt-bind IP:PORT (which then requires
--mgmt-token).
For a non-firewalld setup, open the ports directly. The native punktfunk/1 plane:
- QUIC control plane: UDP 9777 (
serve --native-port Nto change). - Data plane: an ephemeral UDP port — negotiated per session, so there is no fixed port to open. For a restrictive firewall you'd need to allow a UDP range (the repo does not pin one).
And the GameStream / Moonlight ports (fixed) — only needed if you run the host with
serve --gamestream (opt-in, trusted LAN only); bare serve is native-only and doesn't open these:
| Port | Proto | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| 47984 | TCP | HTTPS nvhttp (paired, mutual-TLS) |
| 47989 | TCP | HTTP nvhttp (/serverinfo, /pair PIN flow) |
| 48010 | TCP | RTSP handshake |
| 47998–48010 | UDP | Video RTP (+ FEC), ENet control (47999), audio (48000) |
| 5353 | UDP | mDNS auto-discovery |
The mgmt API (TCP 47990) binds to loopback by default — leave it closed unless you move it off
loopback with --mgmt-bind IP:PORT (which then requires --mgmt-token).
With ufw:
sudo ufw allow 9777/udp # punktfunk/1 control plane
sudo ufw allow 47984/tcp && sudo ufw allow 47989/tcp && sudo ufw allow 48010/tcp
sudo ufw allow 47998:48010/udp
sudo ufw allow 5353/udp
# plus the ephemeral punktfunk/1 data port — open a UDP range you reserve for it.
With raw nftables (add to your inet filter input chain):
udp dport 9777 accept # punktfunk/1 control plane
tcp dport { 47984, 47989, 48010 } accept
udp dport { 47998-48010, 5353 } accept
# plus the ephemeral punktfunk/1 data port (a reserved UDP range).
Files
PKGBUILD— split package:punktfunk-host+punktfunk-client(builds the working tree viaPF_SRCDIR, or a git tag for AUR).punktfunk-host.install/punktfunk-client.install— pacman scriptlets (udev reload + sysctl + first-run hint, incl. the firewalld enable command when firewalld is present), mirror the RPM%post/ deb postinst.punktfunk-gamestream.xml/punktfunk-native.xml— firewalld service definitions the host package installs to/usr/lib/firewalld/services/(not auto-enabled; see Firewall above).build-sysext.sh— wraps either built.pkg.tar.zstinto asystemd-sysext.rawfor SteamOS (derives the name from the package, so it works for host or client).