punktfunk/docs-site/content/docs/gamescope.md at acce43ebbfe64db80f321bf120619ac4457c8a1f

Files

T

enricobuehler acce43ebbf feat(steamdeck): self-healing reliability — post-OS-update rebuild check + script/docs polish

- rebuild-check.sh + punktfunk-rebuild-check.service (enabled, ordered
  Before=punktfunk-host): ldd-probes the host binary at session start —
  milliseconds when healthy, a full update.sh rebuild only when a
  SteamOS update actually broke its library links. update.sh restarts
  go --no-block so the check → update.sh → restart chain can't deadlock
  against the unit ordering. update.sh retrofits the unit.
- installer summary: web console is https (the unit serves TLS).
- docs: steamos-host.md (runner in the build step, keep-list + auto
  rebuild = updates survive hands-free), gamescope.md (Gaming Mode
  touch = single-finger pointer, exact taps, no multi-touch),
  plugins.mdx (SteamOS runner note), scripts/steamdeck/README.md
  (rebuild-check, runner payload, keep list, honest packaging
  trade-off + the CI-prebuilt future direction).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

2026-07-22 11:56:09 +02:00

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title, description

title	description
Steam / gamescope	Configure a gamescope/Steam host — attach vs managed, session following, and limits.

gamescope is the compositor behind Steam Gaming Mode — the couch/handheld game UI on Bazzite, SteamOS, or any distro running a gamescope session. The host auto-detects gamescope from your live session, so you rarely need to set anything here. It also follows a Gaming ↔ Desktop switch mid-stream — flip between Gaming Mode and the desktop with Steam's normal UI and the host re-targets whatever's running without a reconnect.

This page covers the gamescope-specific choices. To get a host running on an appliance box, start from the install guide for your OS: Bazzite or SteamOS (Host).

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.

Attach vs managed

There are two mutually-exclusive models for a gamescope box; pick one. The shipped default is attach.

Attach (PUNKTFUNK_GAMESCOPE_ATTACH=1, the default) — the box owns its gamescope session and decides Gaming vs Desktop via the normal Steam UI. The host just attaches to whatever's live and never tears it down, so switching Desktop ↔ Game is rock-solid and disconnecting leaves the box where it was. The streamed game-mode resolution is the box's gamescope mode (SCREEN_WIDTH/HEIGHT in /etc/gamescope-session-plus/sessions.d/steam), not the client's.
Managed (PUNKTFUNK_GAMESCOPE_MANAGED=1, and remove the attach line) — the host tears the box's gamescope down on connect and launches its own at the client's exact resolution and refresh, restoring on idle. Client-mode-following, but it can't coexist with a box-owned game-mode session, and there must be no physical gaming session already running.

Session following

PUNKTFUNK_SESSION_WATCH follows a Gaming ↔ Desktop switch mid-stream — the host rebuilds the backend in place, with no reconnect. It is on by default on Bazzite/SteamOS; set 0 to disable. One host service covers both faces of the box: it streams Gaming Mode over gamescope and the desktop over its own compositor, and re-targets whichever is live on each switch.

Start the host

On an appliance box (Bazzite, SteamOS) the install guide already enables the host service for you. On any other distro running a gamescope session, start it from your session — the default attach model just latches onto whatever gamescope session is live:

systemctl --user enable --now punktfunk-host

Then bring up The Web Console to arm pairing.

gamescope knobs

The gamescope-specific settings in host.env. Leave them unset to auto-detect; set one only to force a model. See the full Configuration reference for every other knob.

Setting	Values	Meaning
`PUNKTFUNK_GAMESCOPE_ATTACH`	`1`	Attach model: the box owns its gamescope session; the host captures whatever's live and never tears it down. Streamed resolution is the box's gamescope mode. The default.
`PUNKTFUNK_GAMESCOPE_MANAGED`	`1`	Managed model: the host tears the box's gamescope down on connect and launches its own at the client's exact mode, restoring on idle. Doesn't coexist with a box-owned game-mode session.
`PUNKTFUNK_GAMESCOPE_SESSION`	`steam`	The host owns a `gamescope-session-plus` (Steam) session at the client's mode — a headless appliance with no physical session running.
`PUNKTFUNK_GAMESCOPE_NODE`	`auto` · node id	Discover and capture a running gamescope's PipeWire node at a fixed mode. Do not combine with `SESSION`.
`PUNKTFUNK_GAMESCOPE_APP`	command	For an ad-hoc bare-gamescope session, the nested command to run (e.g. `vkcube`).
`PUNKTFUNK_SESSION_WATCH`	`1` · `0`	Follow a Gaming ↔ Desktop switch mid-stream (rebuild in place, no reconnect). On by default on Bazzite/SteamOS; set `0` to disable.

Known limits

These apply to the Gaming Mode (gamescope) path only; the desktop path is unaffected.

gamescope 3.16.22 or newer is required. Older versions can deadlock during capture. Bazzite's and SteamOS'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.
Touch arrives as a single-finger pointer. gamescope's virtual input device has no touchscreen, so the host maps a client's touchscreen to an absolute pointer: taps click exactly where you touch and drags work, but multi-touch gestures (pinch) aren't available in Gaming Mode. The desktop path has full multi-touch.
HDR isn't supported on the gamescope path — gamescope's capture output is 8-bit. SDR streams normally.

To stream the KDE Plasma desktop of a Steam box instead, see KDE Plasma. To bring up the web console and pair a client, see The Web Console.

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