moonshine

Headless game streaming server for Moonlight clients

TLDR

Install from the Arch User Repository

$ yay -S moonshine

Enable the user service (start now and on boot)

$ sudo systemctl enable --now moonshine@$USER

Allow the service to run when you are not logged in

$ sudo loginctl enable-linger $USER

Run the server directly with a config file (builds from source)

$ moonshine [/path/to/config.toml]

Pair a Moonlight client by submitting its PIN

$ curl -X POST "http://localhost:47989/submit-pin" -d "uniqueid=0123456789ABCDEF&pin=[PIN]"

moonshine is a Linux-only headless streaming host compatible with [Moonlight](https://moonlight-stream.org/) clients. It streams games (or any application) from your PC to phones, tablets, and other devices, and sends keyboard, mouse, and controller input back to the host.Unlike desktop-sharing hosts, each stream runs in its own isolated Wayland compositor session, separate from your local desktop. The host remains usable while streaming, and no physical monitor or HDMI dummy plug is required.Video is hardware-encoded (H.264, H.265, and experimental AV1) via Vulkan on NVIDIA RTX, AMD RDNA2+, or Intel Arc GPUs. Audio uses low-latency Opus (stereo or 5.1/7.1). HDR (10-bit) is supported when the game and client allow it. Clients need Moonlight v6.0.0 or newer. systemd is required to launch and manage application processes.

PARAMETERS

config.toml

Path to the TOML configuration file. Created automatically with defaults if it does not exist. The AUR package defaults to $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/moonshine/config.toml.

-V, --version

Print version and exit.

CONFIGURATION

$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/moonshine/config.toml (typically ~/.config/moonshine/config.toml)

Main configuration. Define applications and optional scanners.

Example application entry:

$ [[application]]
title = "Steam"
boxart = "/path/to/steam.png"
command = ["/usr/bin/steam", "steam://open/bigpicture"]
pre_command = [
["/usr/bin/systemctl", "stop", "conflicting.service"],
]
post_command = [
["/usr/bin/nvidia-smi", "pstate", "performance"],
]

Steam library scanner (auto-discovers installed games):

$ [[application_scanner]]
type = "steam"
library = "$HOME/.local/share/Steam"
command = ["/usr/bin/steam", "-bigpicture", "steam://rungameid/{game_id}"]

Desktop scanner (from .desktop files):

$ [[application_scanner]]
type = "desktop"
directories = [
"$HOME/.local/share/applications",
"/usr/share/applications",
]
include_terminal = false
resolve_icons = true

MOONSHINE_LOG

Environment filter for tracing (default level: error). Passed to the Rust tracing EnvFilter.

First-time pairing: connect with Moonlight, then open http://localhost:47989/pin on the host (or use the curl example above) to submit the PIN.

INSTALL

yay -S moonshine

CAVEATS

Linux and systemd only. Requires a GPU with Vulkan video encoding. AV1 encoding is experimental and can grow frame sizes over time on some NVIDIA drivers; prefer H.264 or H.265 until fixed. Not safe on public networks: the GameStream protocol is not fully encrypted at the application layer — use a VPN (tailscale, wg/WireGuard) for remote access and never expose ports to the internet.

HISTORY

Moonshine is a Rust reimplementation of a Moonlight-compatible host focused on isolated headless sessions on Linux. It builds on ideas from Sunshine (GameStream host API), Inputtino (input devices), and magic-mirror (Vulkan/Wayland compositor streaming).

RESOURCES

Source code · Homepage · Documentation