enricobuehler
34bdda7d96
Gen12+/Arc iHD exposes ONLY EncSliceLP, so the default open fails with 'no usable encoding entrypoint'. Try full-feature first (AMD unchanged, validated on the 780M), retry low_power=1, cache the mode per codec; PUNKTFUNK_VAAPI_LOW_POWER pins it. Probes inherit the ladder. Docs note the Intel HuC firmware requirement. Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
75 lines
4.0 KiB
Markdown
75 lines
4.0 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: Requirements
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description: What you need to run a punktfunk host — GPU, driver, desktop, and network.
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---
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## Supported setups
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A punktfunk host runs primarily on a Linux machine with a dedicated GPU — NVIDIA (NVENC) is the
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most-exercised path, and AMD/Intel GPUs work via VAAPI (a native
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[Windows host](/docs/windows-host) is also available — see below). These are the Linux desktop
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environments it supports today, each with its own guide:
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| Setup | Desktop / compositor | Guide |
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|---|---|---|
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| **Ubuntu** (Desktop or Server) | GNOME (Mutter) | [Ubuntu — GNOME](/docs/ubuntu-gnome) |
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| **Ubuntu** (Desktop or Server) | KDE Plasma (KWin) | [Ubuntu — KDE](/docs/ubuntu-kde) |
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| **Fedora** | KDE Plasma (KWin) | [Fedora — KDE](/docs/fedora-kde) |
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| **Bazzite** | gamescope (Steam) | [Bazzite](/docs/bazzite) |
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Other wlroots compositors (Sway/Hyprland) also work but aren't a primary target. If your desktop isn't
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listed, the host still needs one of these compositor backends to create a virtual display.
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> **Windows host:** punktfunk also runs as a native host on **Windows 10/11 (x64)** — a signed
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> installer that registers a service and bundles a virtual-display driver. It encodes on NVIDIA
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> (NVENC), AMD (AMF), or Intel (QSV), with a software fallback, and is newer than the Linux host; see
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> [Windows Host](/docs/windows-host).
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## GPU and driver
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- **An NVIDIA GPU** with NVENC — effectively any GeForce RTX or workstation card. NVENC is what
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encodes the video in hardware.
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- **NVIDIA driver 535 or newer** (550+ recommended). The driver must include the **GL/EGL userspace**,
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not just `nvidia-utils` — without it the compositor can't initialise the GPU and capture fails. Each
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setup guide installs the right package (e.g. `libnvidia-gl-<version>` on Ubuntu).
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- **`nvidia-drm modeset=1`** must be enabled (Wayland on NVIDIA needs it). The setup guides cover this.
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- **AMD / Intel GPUs** encode via **VAAPI** instead (install `mesa-va-drivers` or
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`intel-media-driver`; validated live on AMD RDNA3). The NVIDIA-specific notes above don't apply
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there. On modern Intel (Gen12/Tiger Lake and newer, including Arc) the driver only offers the
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**low-power (VDEnc)** encode entrypoint — the host detects this and falls back automatically
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(`PUNKTFUNK_VAAPI_LOW_POWER=1|0` pins it) — and low-power encode needs the **HuC firmware**
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loaded (the kernel default on those platforms; check `dmesg | grep -i huc` if encoding fails).
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A GPU-less software H.264 encoder also exists (`PUNKTFUNK_ENCODER=software`), meant as a
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fallback rather than a daily driver.
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> Consumer GeForce cards historically cap the number of **concurrent** NVENC sessions (a few at once);
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> workstation cards don't. This only matters if you stream to many devices simultaneously.
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## Desktop session
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The host attaches to a **Wayland** desktop session and creates virtual displays in it, so a session
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needs to be running for the user the host runs as. This can be:
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- a **normal logged-in desktop** (you're sitting at the machine, or it auto-logs-in), or
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- a **headless session** that comes up at boot with no monitor or login — see
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[Running as a Service](/docs/running-as-a-service).
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Minimum compositor versions (newer is fine):
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- **KWin ≥ 6.5.6** (KDE Plasma) — headless virtual outputs.
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- **GNOME ≥ 48** (Mutter) — virtual-monitor screen-cast.
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- **gamescope ≥ 3.16.22** (Bazzite/Steam) — older versions deadlock during capture.
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## Network
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- Host and client on the **same network** — a LAN, or a VPN that puts them on one subnet. punktfunk
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assumes a trusted local network; it's not built to be exposed to the public internet.
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- For best results, a wired or fast Wi-Fi link. The host can run a built-in **speed test** to pick a
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bitrate for your link (see [Configuration](/docs/configuration)).
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## A client
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You also need something to stream *to* — see [Connect a Client](/docs/clients). There are native
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punktfunk clients for **Apple (macOS, iOS, iPadOS, tvOS), Linux, Windows, and Android**, and any
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Moonlight client works too. All of them can discover the host on your network automatically.
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