enricobuehler
883c317872
The host has been able to describe a launcher entry since M2 — `role: "launcher"`,
the `steam_ui` and `launcher_ui` kinds — and the web console has grouped them into
their own rail since M4. No other client ever looked. `pf-client-core` decoded
`role` into an `is_launcher()` helper with zero call sites, and the shared console
model dropped the field entirely on its way to the renderer.
So a launcher tile arrived everywhere else as an ordinary game with no cover art:
indistinguishable from a title whose poster failed to load, sorted into the middle
of the alphabet, and captioned "Play".
One contract, implemented in each client's own idiom:
* launchers never interleave with titles — they lead, and each group keeps the
host's title order
* grid surfaces get a labelled section; a coverflow keeps its single carousel and
names the group the cursor is in, changing as it crosses the boundary. A second
focus rail would mean a new up/down nav model in three renderers for two or
three tiles
* an art-less launcher gets an accent face naming its launcher, not a title
monogram on the neutral one — "opens Steam", not "a cover that didn't load"
* anything that is not `"launcher"` is a game, and a host that omits the field
renders exactly as before (design D4's intended degradation)
* launching is unchanged: the client sends an id, the host resolves the recipe
The grouping is enforced once per client stack rather than per screen. In the
console UI it is an invariant of `LibraryShared::set_games`, so the cursor
arithmetic, the art pump and every future consumer inherit it; on Apple and Android
it is applied where the library is fetched/parsed.
Fixed in passing: the Apple and Android store badges were hard-coded
`isCustom ? "Custom" : "Steam"`, so every Lutris, GOG, Heroic, Epic and Xbox title
was labelled "Steam". Both now carry the same store table the Rust clients use.
The CLI's `--library` gains a fourth column (`game`/`launcher`), appended rather
than folded into an existing one so anything reading the first three is untouched.
Gates: punktfunk-host 436 passed / 0 failed and pf-console-ui 49 passed / 0 failed
on .21 (three new tests), workspace clippy -D warnings and cargo fmt --check clean
there; `swift build` of the full PunktfunkClient and `:app:compileDebugKotlin` clean
on macOS; `cargo check` + `clippy -D warnings` for the Windows client on .173.
Still unproven on hardware: no launcher tile has been clicked on a real host — that
needs the plugins published, which needs this branch's base merged first.
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 — the session presenter decodes via Vulkan Video on every GPU vendor (including NVIDIA), falling back to FFmpeg VAAPI → DRM-PRIME dmabuf and then software when Vulkan Video is unavailable.
- 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, FFmpeg 7 or 8 (with VAAPI for hardware decode), PipeWire, and SDL3 (with hidapi) development packages.
# 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, FFmpeg decode, 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.
Related
- Documentation — quick start, pairing, troubleshooting
- Steam Deck plugin — launches this client fullscreen in Gaming Mode
- Project README — the host, the other clients, and how it all fits together