moonlight-qt README

Moonlight PC

Moonlight PC is an open source PC client for NVIDIA GameStream and Sunshine.

Moonlight also has mobile versions for Android and iOS.

You can follow development on our Discord server and help translate Moonlight into your language on Weblate.

Features

Hardware accelerated video decoding on Windows, Mac, and Linux
H.264, HEVC, and AV1 codec support (AV1 requires Sunshine and a supported host GPU)
YUV 4:4:4 support (Sunshine only)
HDR streaming support
7.1 surround sound audio support
10-point multitouch support (Sunshine only)
Gamepad support with force feedback and motion controls for up to 16 players
Support for both pointer capture (for games) and direct mouse control (for remote desktop)
Support for passing system-wide keyboard shortcuts like Alt+Tab to the host

Downloads

Nightly Builds

Downloads

Special Thanks

Hosting for Moonlight's Debian and L4T package repositories is graciously provided for free by Cloudsmith.

Building

Windows Build Requirements

Qt 6.11 SDK or later (earlier versions may work but are not officially supported)
Visual Studio 2026 (Community edition is fine)
Select MSVC option during Qt installation. MinGW is not supported.
7-Zip (only if building installers for non-development PCs)
Graphics Tools (only if running debug builds)
- Install "Graphics Tools" in the Optional Features page of the Windows Settings app.
- Alternatively, run dism /online /add-capability /capabilityname:Tools.Graphics.DirectX~~~~0.0.1.0 and reboot.

macOS Build Requirements

Qt 6.11 SDK or later (earlier versions may work but are not officially supported)
Xcode 15 or later (earlier versions may work but are not officially supported)
create-dmg (only if building DMGs for use on non-development Macs)

Linux/Unix Build Requirements

Qt 6 is recommended, but Qt 5.12 or later is also supported (replace qmake6 with qmake when using Qt 5).
GCC or Clang
FFmpeg 4.0 or later
Install the required packages:
- Debian/Ubuntu:
  - Base Requirements: libegl1-mesa-dev libgl1-mesa-dev libopus-dev libsdl2-dev libsdl2-ttf-dev libssl-dev libavcodec-dev libavformat-dev libswscale-dev libva-dev libvdpau-dev libxkbcommon-dev wayland-protocols libdrm-dev
  - Qt 6 (Recommended): qt6-base-dev qt6-declarative-dev libqt6svg6-dev qt6-wayland qml6-module-qtquick-controls qml6-module-qtquick-templates qml6-module-qtquick-layouts qml6-module-qtqml-workerscript qml6-module-qtquick-window qml6-module-qtquick
  - Qt 5: qtbase5-dev qt5-qmake qtdeclarative5-dev qtquickcontrols2-5-dev qml-module-qtquick-controls2 qml-module-qtquick-layouts qml-module-qtquick-window2 qml-module-qtquick2 qtwayland5
- RedHat/Fedora (RPM Fusion repo required):
  - Base Requirements: openssl-devel SDL2-devel SDL2_ttf-devel ffmpeg-devel libva-devel libvdpau-devel opus-devel pulseaudio-libs-devel alsa-lib-devel libdrm-devel
  - Qt 6 (Recommended): qt6-qtsvg-devel qt6-qtdeclarative-devel
  - Qt 5: qt5-qtsvg-devel qt5-qtquickcontrols2-devel
Building the Vulkan renderer requires a libplacebo-dev/libplacebo-devel version of at least v7.349.0 and FFmpeg 6.1 or later.

Steam Link Build Requirements

Steam Link SDK cloned on your build system
STEAMLINK_SDK_PATH environment variable set to the Steam Link SDK path

Steam Link Hardware Limitations
Moonlight builds for Steam Link are subject to hardware limitations of the Steam Link device:

Maximum resolution: 1080p (1920x1080)
Maximum framerate: 60 FPS
Maximum video bitrate: 40 Mbps
HDR streaming is not supported on the original hardware

Docker containers

If you want to use Docker for building, look at this repo containing canonical containers for different architectures, which handle building deps and extra linking for you.

Build Setup Steps

Install the latest Qt SDK (and optionally, the Qt Creator IDE) from https://www.qt.io/download
- You can install Qt via Homebrew on macOS, but you will need to use brew install qt --with-debug to be able to create debug builds of Moonlight.
- You may also use your Linux distro's package manager for the Qt SDK as long as the packages are Qt 5.12 or later.
- This step is not required for building on Steam Link, because the Steam Link SDK includes Qt 5.14.
Download submodules and dependencies
- Run git submodule update --init --recursive from within moonlight-qt/.
- On Windows and macOS, you must also run setup-deps.ps1 (Windows) or setup-deps.py (macOS).
- Perform these steps each time you pull new changes from the Git repository.
Open the project in Qt Creator or build from qmake on the command line.
- To build a binary for use on non-development machines, use the scripts in the scripts folder.
  - For Windows builds, use scripts\build-arch.bat and scripts\generate-bundle.bat. Execute these scripts from the root of the repository within a Qt command prompt. Ensure 7-Zip binary directory is on your %PATH%.
  - For macOS builds, use scripts/generate-dmg.sh. Execute this script from the root of the repository and ensure Qt's bin folder is in your $PATH.
  - For Steam Link builds, run scripts/build-steamlink-app.sh from the root of the repository.
- To build from the command line for development use on macOS or Linux, run qmake6 moonlight-qt.pro then make debug or make release.
  - The final binary will be placed in app/moonlight.
- To create an embedded build for a single-purpose device, use qmake6 "CONFIG+=embedded" moonlight-qt.pro and build normally.
  - This build will lack windowed mode, Discord/Help links, and other features that don't make sense on an embedded device.
  - For platforms with poor GPU performance, add "CONFIG+=gpuslow" to prefer direct KMSDRM rendering over GL/Vulkan renderers. Direct KMSDRM rendering can use dedicated YUV/RGB conversion and scaling hardware rather than slower GPU shaders for these operations.

Contribute

Fork us
Write code
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Check out our website for project links and information.

19.1K ·GitHub

Moonlight-qt

What is this?

An open source client that streams games from your own PC to another screen using NVIDIA GameStream or Sunshine, with hardware-accelerated video and gamepad support.

Is this the app I put on the PC running the games, or on the device I play from?

It goes on the device you play from — a Windows, Mac, or Linux PC, Steam Link, or Raspberry Pi. Your games keep running on the host PC and are streamed over the network.

What limits will I hit on weaker hardware like the Steam Link?

The original Steam Link box tops out at 1080p, 60 FPS, and a 40 Mbps bitrate, with no HDR. Those caps come from the device itself; desktop builds are not restricted this way.

Is it strictly for games, or can it double as a remote desktop?

Both: games can capture the pointer, and a direct mouse control mode serves remote desktop use. System-wide shortcuts like Alt+Tab can also be passed through to the host.

What devices can it run on besides a normal computer?

Steam Link hardware, Raspberry Pi 4 and 5, generic ARM 32/64-bit Debian packages, experimental RISC-V builds, NVIDIA Jetson boards, and even Nintendo Switch (Ubuntu L4T).

Does the PC I stream from have to have an NVIDIA GPU?

Not necessarily: the host can run NVIDIA GameStream or Sunshine, the open-source host. Choosing Sunshine frees you from the NVIDIA-only stack.

Is there a Moonlight app for phones and tablets?

Yes — the same project ships separate Moonlight apps for Android and iOS.

What are similar projects?

Sunshine, stop-stutter, OpenNOW, pt-pc, Apollo, OrcaSlicer-bambulab, SCSKiller, mocktail

Which topics is it in?

game-streaming, sdl2, pc-gaming, multimedia, flatpak, linux-app, qt, vulkan, raspberry-pi, macos-app, hardware, windows-app

Creator: moonlight-stream
Size: 348.8 MB
Stars: 19.1K
Updated: CommitOct 14 Releasev6.2.0Oct 04
Age: 8y
Commits · 90 Days