enricobuehlerandClaude Opus 5
d383161723
~1150 feat/fix commits landed since v0.19 and the docs drifted badly. This is a full sweep of every page against the code as shipped: ~280 verified corrections, nine new pages, and one deletion. The worst of what was wrong: the quickstart's five-minute path could not work (`serve` never started the web console, so step 3 had no PIN to read); every packaged Linux host runs `serve --gamestream` while security.md told readers to leave GameStream off; HDR was documented as Windows-only; `PUNKTFUNK_SECURE_DDA` was documented as a working knob that nothing reads; `PUNKTFUNK_INPUT_BACKEND` listed a `uinput` value that does not exist and named libei for KDE instead of kwin; README linked three pages deleted on 2026-07-05; and the rpm-ostree update command pointed at a script no package installs. Completeness: about half of what shipped since v0.19 had no page at all. New: support-matrix (what works where, from 217 verified capability cells), input (mouse/touch/pen — and the in-stream chords, so the docs finally say how to get your mouse back), client-settings, profiles-and-links, game-library, clipboard, wake-on-lan, hdr, uninstall. Updating existed but had zero inbound links. status.md is gone: its facts moved into the support matrix, its shell stays as a redirect so the public URL does not 404. roadmap.md is themes now, not a feature checklist — checkboxes are what rotted. Debian is no longer claimed. The .deb's Depends resolve against Ubuntu images, nothing in CI builds or tests Debian, and Debian 12 is below the glibc 2.39 floor. The `debian` in the repo URL is the package format. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
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title, description
| title | description |
|---|---|
| Quick Start | From nothing to streaming — set up a host and connect your first client. |
This is the shortest path to a working stream. Each step links to the details.
A streaming host is remote control of the machine, so it's built for trusted local networks — keep it on your LAN or a VPN and don't expose it to the internet. Two minutes on Security & Safe Use before you start is worth it.
1. Set up the host
On your gaming machine (NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel GPU), follow the install guide for your system:
Each one covers the GPU driver, the dependencies, and how to install and run the host. After installing, configure for your desktop (KDE / GNOME / gamescope / Hyprland / Sway). Check the Requirements first if you're not sure your machine is a fit.
2. Start the host
On Windows there's nothing to start. The installer registered and started the PunktfunkHost
service, so the host is already running and comes back on every boot. Confirm it:
Get-Service PunktfunkHost
Don't run punktfunk-host serve on top of it — a second host process refuses to touch the
virtual-display driver and collides with the service on its ports. Details:
Running as a Service → Windows.
On Linux you don't run the host by hand either. Every Linux package ships a systemd user unit.
That unit reads ~/.config/punktfunk/host.env and won't start until the file exists, so put it in
place first — your distro and desktop pages (step 1) have the template to copy and what to put in it.
Then enable the unit once, from a terminal inside your desktop session, and it comes back at
every login:
systemctl --user enable --now punktfunk-host
journalctl --user -u punktfunk-host -f # watch it come up and print its identity fingerprint
Once up, the host advertises itself on your local network, so clients find it by name. It works out where your compositor is by itself, so there is nothing to export.
That unit runs serve --gamestream: the native punktfunk/1 plane plus the
GameStream/Moonlight-compatible planes, so stock Moonlight clients work too. Those
extra planes pair over plain HTTP and belong on a trusted LAN only — for a native-only host, see
What the unit starts.
If the host runs a firewall (Fedora enables firewalld, CachyOS enables ufw), open its ports — the
firewall step in your distro guide has the exact commands, for both punktfunk-native and
punktfunk-gamestream, because the packaged unit serves both planes.
On SteamOS even that is done for you — the install script wrote its own punktfunk-host user
service and started it (GameStream on by default there too; pass --no-gamestream to the install
script for a native-only host). Check it with systemctl --user status punktfunk-host.
3. Open the web console
The console is a separate process from the host, and you need it in the next step — arming PIN pairing is done there.
-
Windows: the installer already set it up and starts it at boot. Open
https://<host-ip>:47992. The login password is the one the installer showed you on its final page; it's stored in%ProgramData%\punktfunk\web-password. -
Linux: on Ubuntu, Fedora and Bazzite the
punktfunk-webpackage comes in with the host but isn't enabled for you. On Arch it's an optional dependency, so install it first (sudo pacman -Syu punktfunk-web— a full-Syu, never a bare-S). Either way, start it as your desktop user, then openhttps://<host-ip>:47992:systemctl --user enable --now punktfunk-web sed -n 's/^PUNKTFUNK_UI_PASSWORD=//p' ~/.config/punktfunk/web-passwordThe second command prints the login password generated on first start.
-
SteamOS: the install script already started the console and printed its URL when it finished. It generated the login password into
~/.config/punktfunk/web.env.
The certificate is the host's own self-signed one, so your browser warns once — trust it and continue. Full details: The Web Console.
4. Connect and pair a client
On the device you want to stream to, use a native Punktfunk client for the lowest latency, or any Moonlight client:
- Native client (Apple, Linux, Windows, Android): install it first — Install a Client has the download for every device (Steam Deck: the Decky plugin). Then open the Punktfunk app — your host appears in the list of hosts found on your network. Select it, and when prompted, pair.
- Anything with Moonlight: add the host (it should be discovered automatically), then pair.
To pair, the host needs to show a PIN. Arm pairing from the web console you opened in step 3 — the host displays a 4-digit PIN, you type it into the client, and they trust each other from then on. Pairing is required by default. Full details: Pairing & Trust.
5. Stream
Once paired, select the host and start streaming. The host creates a virtual display at your device's resolution and refresh, and the picture comes up. Mouse, keyboard, and controllers flow back to the host.
Worth knowing before you need it: on the desktop clients the stream takes your mouse and keyboard when it starts, and again whenever you click into it. Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Q (⌃⌥⇧Q on macOS) hands them back. The other in-stream shortcuts, and the mouse, touch and pen modes, are on Mouse, touch and pen.
Now that it works
Punktfunk does more than mirror a screen:
- Browse the host's installed games and launch one straight into the stream — Game library.
- Save named stream settings, bind them to a host, and start a session from a shortcut or a script — Profiles and links.
- Copy on one machine and paste on the other — Shared clipboard.
- Connect to a host that's asleep — Wake-on-LAN.
- Get a 10-bit HDR picture where the whole chain allows it — HDR.
Keep it running
- Tune the picture — resolution, refresh, bitrate, codec and HDR are all client settings; the host's own knobs are in Configuration.
- Make it always-on — no login, no monitor: Running as a Service.
- Keep it current with Updating; changed your mind? Uninstall.
- Hit a snag? See Troubleshooting.