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punktfunk/clients/linux
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fix(ci): the gates the PR run reaches and the boxes could not
- adl_emul.rs adl_malloc: panic-free (a reachable expect in an extern fn is an
  abort — gate B; the Err arm is unreachable, ADL treats null as failure)
- punktfunk-host main.rs: reword the carve-out comments so gate C's textual
  count stays at its baseline (comments count)
- clients/linux: forbid(unsafe_code) -> deny with two named allows — the SDL
  device-filter clear and the spawn test's HOME scoping are unsafe calls in
  edition 2024 (caught by the aarch64 leg, the only one with glib)
2026-08-12 17:44:15 +02:00
..

punktfunk — Linux client

The native Linux app for streaming a punktfunk host to your desktop, laptop, or Steam Deck. It's a clean relm4/GTK4/libadwaita shell that finds hosts on your network, pairs with a PIN, and manages your settings and library — the stream itself runs in the sibling punktfunk-session Vulkan binary (clients/session), which the shell spawns, putting the picture on glass at your display's own resolution and refresh rate.

Built in Rust end to end (no C ABI): the shell shares its plumbing with the session binary through crates/pf-client-core, which links the punktfunk-core protocol crate and speaks the fast punktfunk/1 protocol — QUIC control plane, GF(2¹⁶) FEC + AES-GCM data plane.

Features

  • Zero-copy hardware decode, and it's ours — the session presenter decodes with Punktfunk's own decoders; no FFmpeg is linked or bundled. Vulkan Video (pf-vkdecode, decoding onto the presenter's own device) leads on NVIDIA and AMD, VAAPI (pf-vaadec driving a dlopen'd libva, exporting DRM-PRIME dmabufs) leads on Intel, whichever isn't first is the fallback, and an OpenH264/rav1d CPU rung is last.
  • Your display's native mode — the host builds a virtual output at exactly your WxH@Hz; no scaling, no letterboxing. Steady 60 fps at 1080p60, ~6 ms capture→decoded on the LAN.
  • Audio both ways — PipeWire playback with a jitter ring, plus mic uplink to the host.
  • Full controller support — SDL3 gamepads with rumble and DualSense fidelity (lightbar, player LEDs, touchpad, motion, adaptive-trigger replay). Click-to-capture keyboard and mouse, with a release chord (Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Q) and focus-loss release.
  • Find hosts automatically — mDNS discovery lists hosts on your LAN; saved hosts persist. First connect does a one-time SPAKE2 PIN pairing (or TOFU on trusted LANs), then reconnects on a pinned identity.
  • Per-host speed test to pick a bitrate, plus compositor and mode preferences in Settings.
  • Game library browser (experimental, off by default) — "Browse library…" on a saved host shows its games (Steam + custom) as a poster grid; click one to launch it in the session. Fetched from the host's management API over mTLS — paired devices are authorized by their certificate, no extra host setup.
  • Gamepad library launcher (--browse host) — a console-style, controller-driven library view of a paired host's games, rendered by the session binary's Skia console UI: A plays the focused title, B quits, L1/R1 jump. Built for the Steam Deck plugin's "Open library" launch; session end returns to the launcher. Arrow keys/Enter/Esc drive it too (no pad needed).

Get it

Most people should install a package rather than build from source:

Distro Install
Flatpak (any distro, Steam Deck) io.unom.Punktfunk — see packaging/flatpak
Ubuntu / Debian (apt) sudo apt install punktfunk-client (after adding the repo)
Fedora / Bazzite (rpm) rpm-ostree install punktfunk-client
Arch (PKGBUILD) see packaging/arch

Per-device install steps and pairing walkthrough: docs.punktfunk.unom.io/docs/install-client.

Build & run from source

Requires GTK ≥ 4.16, libadwaita ≥ 1.5, PipeWire, and SDL3 (with hidapi) development packages, plus a C compiler (the CPU rung builds OpenH264 from source). No decoder development package is needed: libva and the Vulkan loader are both opened at runtime rather than linked, so hardware decode is a fact about the box you run on — a Vulkan loader and your GPU's driver, and libva for the VAAPI rung — not about the one you build on.

# from the repo root
cargo run -p punktfunk-client-linux                 # launch the app
cargo run -p punktfunk-client-linux -- --connect HOST[:PORT]   # skip the host list and connect
cargo run -p punktfunk-client-linux -- --browse HOST           # the gamepad library launcher

The binary is named punktfunk-client — the relm4/libadwaita desktop shell (hosts, pairing/trust, settings, the desktop library page). Every stream and the console game library run in the sibling punktfunk-session Vulkan binary; the shell spawns it for connects, and --connect/--browse on the shell exec it directly (so the Decky wrapper keeps working unchanged). Headless flags stay in the shell: --pair <PIN> --connect host[:port] (pairing ceremony), --wake host[:port], and --library host[:mgmt_port] (print a host's game library).

Layout

src/
  main.rs · app.rs        entry point, relm4 AppModel (window, trust gate, session child
                          lifecycle, typed messages), primary menu, CSS
  cli.rs                  headless paths (--pair/--wake/--library), the --connect/--browse
                          exec handoff to punktfunk-session, screenshot scenes
  ui_hosts.rs             hosts page component (FactoryVecDeque cards, saved + discovered
                          grids, add-host dialog, banner)
  ui_library.rs           game-library poster grid (per-host, launches titles)
  ui_trust.rs             TOFU / PIN-pairing / request-access dialogs
  ui_settings.rs          resolution · refresh · decoder · bitrate · compositor · mic
  spawn.rs                the session-child plumbing (stdout contract → AppMsg)
tools/screenshots.sh      store screenshot capture (app self-capture; Xvfb fallback)

The UI-agnostic plumbing — session pump, the native decode ladder (Vulkan Video · VAAPI · OpenH264/rav1d), PipeWire audio, SDL3 gamepads + keymap, trust store, mDNS discovery, library client, Wake-on-LAN — lives in crates/pf-client-core, shared with the Vulkan session binary.