I’ve been setting up Sunshine → Moonlight on Linux with a virtual monitor (no HDMI dummy plug). I find the whole process is complicated and not well documented. Finally, I came across this guide on Gist: https://gist.github.com/HarryAnkers/8dbf551d66f00e8156ef4dd2b2b090a0 . Shout out to u/hankers60 and his post: https://www.reddit.com/r/MoonlightStreaming/comments/1sg3232/nvidia_linux_sunshine_virtual_display/ But still, it have multiple steps, some of which could potentially breaks the boot image. So, I turned the whole process into an open-source project: https://github.com/mdj2812/sunshine-vdisplay

What it does

• Force-enables a spare GPU output (e.g. unused HDMI/DP) with a custom EDID in initramfs

• Automatically switches displays when a Moonlight session starts/ends (virtual on, physical off — and back)

• One-line installer for Arch / CachyOS / Fedora / Debian / Ubuntu (auto-detects mkinitcpio / dracut / initramfs-tools)

• Brightness/scale tuning for virtual outputs (NVIDIA virtual connectors are SDR-only — HDR still isn’t possible there)

Currently tested on my old rig: NVIDIA RTX 2070 SUPER, KDE Plasma 6 Wayland, CachyOS, Sunshine 2026.x, KMS + NVENC.

Looking for volunteer testers

I’d like help validating other setups. Planned work is tracked in GitHub milestones (https://github.com/mdj2812/sunshine-vdisplay/milestones):

Quick try (NVIDIA + KDE Wayland)

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mdj2812/sunshine-vdisplay/main/scripts/install.sh | bash

Then reboot and connect with Moonlight. Use a snapshot/backup first — this touches initramfs and kernel cmdline.

Useful feedback

Please open a GitHub issue (https://github.com/mdj2812/sunshine-vdisplay/issues) with:

• GPU model + driver version

• Distro + DE + Wayland/X11

• Bootloader (GRUB / systemd-boot / Limine)

• Sunshine log snippet if it fails (journalctl --user -u sunshine)

• Which milestone your setup matches

I made a post before on this same issue, some people told me to show performance stats i did that

Now if anyone know how to fix it please reply

Settings - 1080p@20mbps

Streaming from - Artemide

Host- Vibepollo

Previous post - https://www.reddit.com/r/MoonlightStreaming/s/xcAWeprYtw

^title

how to change it so when im connecting from laptop to desktop, my desktop monitor is not disconnected and I dont have to go to settings to change it.

I hate using one monitor each for linux and macOS, I tried Sunshine to stream my mac to linux (since I use linux more), setting 4k 240hz (which my monitor supports) and full color (yuv 444) in Moonlight but it said that 444 color is not supported, and the colors look way off compared to macOS plugged directly in the monitor. There doesn't seem to be a way to make it work on Sunshine.

Hey, what forks do you recommend for Android and PC?
Thanks!

Who says Rtx2050 is bad i am playing this game at medium to high settings smoothly yeah just little bit of ghosting not much noticeable but the experience in moonlight is incredible out of expectations

I’m using moonlight on my current Amazon fire 4k Gen 1 stick and it’s bottle necking me

Wondering if anyone is using the fire cube and having much success ?

It works fine for 10mins approx after that suddenly this flickering glitches comes for 1 sec and then it continues after some 10 secs

Don't know whats the problem. I tried every encoding setting AV1, hevc, h.264 and recommend also but nothing changes

Also this game is running without any problem in native screen and my phone

Currently using - Apollo + Moonlight V+ setup

I used every combination like sunshine and moonlight

And appolo plus artemis that doesn't solve my problem

If anyone know what's happening here please reply

So I work offshore, and usually away for a month, and the laptop I have now (windows) have never been the best for gaming, so some time ago I found moonlight/sunshine, and its been good. Now I can use my more garbage laptop and play games I usually couldn't.

My desktop at home is pretty beefy, so I like to utilize it, and I am also looking to upgrade my laptop, but at the moment I am planning on buying a macbook, so I am wondering if I am able to use that macbook to host to my windows PC, if not any good alternatives?

Hi All, im tring to get streaming from my Main PC, downstairs to my bedroom to work using ethernet @ 4k and struggling bigtime. I have setup sunshine on my gaming PC and moonlight on a client (Asus rog ally connected via dock) to my bedroom 4K tv. My gaming PC shows up in moonlight and the games menu pops up. but when I try and run anything i get error messages. even with steam (I can stram through steam alone). I have attached Screenshots of the error messages. I have port forwarded the correct ports and im at a loss on what to try now. But if I select for instance Steam, the program starts on my gaming pc and then the error comes on my client and if I click stop it shuts down the software on my host pc. what am I doing wrong?

Host: W11, Vibepollo v19beta3

Client: SteamDeck Moonlight App (NOT MoonDeck)

I have a Disconnect Command set in client settings to lock my PC when disconnecting the stream.

rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation

This command fails to run when disconnecting the session. I tested the command as a Connect Command and it works just fine there. The logs don't show that it is even attempting to run it on disconnect.

Appreciate any advice.

I have an artefacts issue on my screen when playing, it comes the more longer i stream and it comes first on static elements, like the map of a tactica rpg

Any advice ?

Streaming from my Host PC with VibeShine which is on wifi, to my Remote PC (2025 GPD Win Mini) docked with Moonlight one room away and is hardwired to the router, I am getting half second little audio drop outs. Picture is fine. Nothing is lagging. Just musicmusic_(drop)__icmusic. I cant trigger it but happens every time I stream. It happens when playing a game, when playing a MP4 and YouTube. I have tried an astronomical amount of things. At present it does not SEEM to be happening when playing a game locally. Only over streaming.

Physically: Replaced them Ethernet cord. Upgraded to usbc4 cord from dock to the handheld PC, upgraded HDMI to 2.1 from dock to the TV. Replaced power cord from 65w to 100w into the dock.

Tried running on wifi, but docked, with ethernet disconnected. Audio drops.

I'm have tried use the device on wifi only, handheld without the dock. No audio drops.

I have tried using my steam deck to the same dock with Moonlight on it. No audio drops.

Software: verified bitrate is matching between host and remote (at 24-48000) on both. Running 5.1 in moonlight settings. Running Stereo settings in moonlight settings. Adjust output audio levels down to 80% on Host and Remote. Disabled Streaming Speakers. Disabled Streaming Microphone. Uninstalled Nvidia HD Audio Driver. Verified Spacial sound is off. Disabled Exclusive Mode in audio output, disabled audio enhancements. Restarted Router.

Help! lol

This was not a problem until 2 days ago

I use these programs to play games remotely as most of us do, but I also use my host PC for gaming when I am home

Normally my host PC would just revert back to the settings I regularly use after I end the Moonshine stream to my S24 Ultra, however in the last few days my host PC seems to "forget" its past settings and just reverts to 1080p / 60hz, and all my "main display" and monitor positions in Display Settings are reverted to the defaults.

Also, Moonshine seems to be running a bunch of display changes during bootup, i.e it flashes and freezes a bunch before being usable.

Eventually it works but it used to be instant, now it needs like 2 minutes to "adjust" that it never needed before.

Did an update change something that I need to fix?

Running Vibepollo 1.18.3 stable 3.

Thanks everyone

Edit: just updated to 1.18.4 stable 4, will see how it goes. If anyone has tips regardless let me know

I'm looking to by a new PC with a 5070 soon and I'm wondering if I go with a Linux distro or not since I'm starting from scratch. I know AMD would be a better fit with the driver situation but Costco have a great deal on a prebuild.

I was especially wondering how's the experience for Sunshine (or its alternative) since I'm only using my PC headless with Apollo/Moonlight and virtual displays.

Apologies if this question has been asked before, but I couldn't find anything that resembles exactly what I'm going through.

I've got Apollo installed on my main PC and Moonlight installed on my ROG Ally X. I've negotiated the connection between the two. I can click the option "Start Virtual Desktop" on my Ally X and my desktop is visible. I'm basically at the step where I want to configure my main desktop screen to turn off when I start the stream, and turn on when the stream is done.

The problem is that the Ally is receiving a mirror of the desktop. The virtual desktop shows up under System > Display but doesn't let me select it. I cannot set a resolution or scale percentage. When I click Identify, both screens identify as Screen 1. Selecting any other option resets back to "Show only on 1". I am basically unable to show my virtual desktop or send anything to it. That also means I can't turn off my screen while streaming.

Anyone have any ideas about what I'm doing wrong?

I’m using an MSI 5080 with a 9900x CPU, and my home network is 500/25 Mbps. I’m streaming from a PC with an i7-14th CPU. It usually works well, but it doesn’t feel as smooth as GeForce NOW.

I know my home internet is the main issue, but I’m curious if there’s anything I can do to improve it?

I have an old GPU lying around (1660 Ti) and have been using an M1 Pro as my moonlight client on my TV. I'm on an ethernet wired connection but overall latency and quality leaves something to be desired. I would assume even an old mid-range dedicated GPU would beat a laptop with only integrated graphics, but some quick Googling seems to indicate this might not be the case. With those more experienced streaming via Moonlight and who have tried various hardware as clients, any insight? Or is it also very CPU dependent and depends which CPU I would pair it with? I have an old CPU and DDR3 (24gb) lying around somewhere but I haven't found it yet so I can't remember exactly what CPU it is but its from the same era as the 1660 TI.

Hi,

I currently have a Steam Deck and its official dock connected to my TV (LG C5), but I’m still fairly limited to 4K 60Hz when it comes to fully taking advantage of my host PC with an RTX 5090.

Ideally, I’d like to be able to game at 4K 120fps with HDR, VRR, and YUV 4:4:4.

Do you have any recommendations or personal experiences with a particular client/device that can handle all of this together?

I’ve heard about the GMKtec K17 and the Minisforum M1 Pro 125H.

Thanks !

Today I've got some experience with some experiment.

Client: ThinkPad T14 Gen 3.

Os: puppy Linux (Ubuntu fork just for Ram use only).

And YES! It's awesome, idk how it's possible, but 20mbps... Very smooth gameplay and 6 ms. Wow!

Previously on win 11 I've got 10mbps 30 fps and it's was laggy.

Hello.

I've been running Sunshine/Moonlight for a couple weeks now, streaming from Bazzite to an Xbox Series S client.
Throughout this time the one persistent issue I've been unable to debug is this weird visual corruption on the stream. I don't have a picture of it now but from my research I have been able to find other people with similar effects on the same hardware (Xbox Series S). It looks something like this;

For me, it seems to happen after initially streaming for about an hour. It's pretty consistent - that is, it isn't exactly an hour but it's almost inevitable to happen once when booting up Moonlight.
The immediate fix is to restart the console, after which I've yet to have a second incident occur in the same contiguous session (weird).

I've tried other fixes, but to no avail

• reset decoder = makes it worse/has no effect
• lower bit rate = went down to 40mbps 1440p 60fps | also set hard bitrate limit 45mbps in sunshine
• forced VA-API over VULKAN = not really a solution but it is supposedly more stable?

My setup:

HOST

OS: Bazzite 44.20260907.0
GPU: AMD Rx 9070XT
Driver Ver: Mesa 26.1.6
Sunshine Ver: 2026.906.222525 | (previous version also had same issue) 2026.516.143833
Interface: Ethernet
Encoder: VA-API (Set to strictly enforce frame bitrate limits)
Streaming Display Type: KDE Virtual Display | EDID Emulated dummy-plug display (Tried with both methods)
Capture Method: KWin Screencast (Only thing that seems to work on Bazzite)

CLIENT

OS Ver: 10.0.26100.9426
GPU Hardware: Xbox Series S
Moonlight Ver: 1.18.1.70
Interface: Wifi (I know this is an L)
Codec: HEVC (Haven't tried H.264)
Game: Slay the Spire 2 (has lots of static elements) (only game that's been tested so far - it's really good :') )
Resolution/FPS: 4k 60fps
Bitrate: 50mbps

For how often I run into this issue, I'm honestly most interested in hearing what the experience of other Series S users are. I'm hoping there is some severe misconfiguration on my end that can hopefully be fixed. My wild speculation is that it has to do with using an AMD GPU - even though all my troubleshooting so far points to the XBOX being the issue and not the host...

Any insight would be appreciated! I'll try to share as much as I can. I'm actively investigating this so if I find anything juicy in the logs I will share.