{"slug": "steam-link", "name": "Steam Link", "category": "other", "category_name": "Other software", "description": "", "recommenders": 4, "commenters": 7, "warners": 0, "score": 4.285, "rising": -1.31, "first": "2025-12-13", "latest": "2026-07-20", "why": "It works great as long as the game works well with a PS5 controller", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 4, "neutral": 2, "compare": 1, "warn": 0}, "spark": [0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "It works great as long as the game works well with a PS5 controller", "kind": "", "icon": false, "domain": null, "github_repo": null, "official_url": "", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["Steam Link"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 783707328, "item_id": 48981708, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48981708", "by": "dpoloncsak", "date": "2026-07-20", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "But Steam is always running on my Desktop, and the phone-app helps a lot.", "excerpt": "Steam Link creates an RDP session (I assume their own protocol but for lack of a better term for it) that lets me control my Desktop from my phone. Once I'm remote on the desktop, I can access my home-lab locally instead of via VPN. Before I moved to Tailscale, my self-hosted Wireguard setup was pretty shaky, and was running on an old Pi that had seen better days. It's basically just using Steam to jump-box to my LAN", "context": "has a home-lab", "use_case": "remote desktop to home LAN", "switched_from": "", "story": "Moonshine: Lets you stream games from your PC to any device running Moonlight"}, {"id": 779122416, "item_id": 48695151, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48695151", "by": "tacticalturtle", "date": "2026-06-26", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "You can run steam link on a Raspberry Pi.", "excerpt": "You can run steam link on a Raspberry Pi. Or like the other commenter said, Apple TV is what I use.", "context": "", "use_case": "Streaming games to TV", "switched_from": "", "story": "My Steam Machine Is a 50ft HDMI Cable"}, {"id": 770024720, "item_id": 48126545, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48126545", "by": "criddell", "date": "2026-05-13", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "It works great as long as the game works well with a PS5 controller", "excerpt": "I use Steam Link on my AppleTV which lets me play games on my PC. It works great as long as the game works well with a PS5 controller (and lots of them do).", "context": "", "use_case": "stream PC games to Apple TV", "switched_from": "", "story": "Linux gaming is faster because Windows APIs are becoming Linux kernel features"}, {"id": 749414096, "item_id": 46838381, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46838381", "by": "DecoPerson", "date": "2026-01-31", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "My partner and I use ours regularly to play co-op games on our TV.", "excerpt": "The Steam Link, also from 2015, is also still receiving updates! My partner and I use ours regularly to play co-op games on our TV. I really appreciate the efforts of whomever is keeping it running.", "context": "", "use_case": "streaming games to TV", "switched_from": "", "story": "Nvidia's 10-year effort to make the Shield TV the most updated Android device"}]}], "caveats": [], "who": [{"by": "dpoloncsak", "context": "has a home-lab", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48981708", "date": "2026-07-20"}], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["streaming games to tv", "game streaming", "remote desktop to home lan", "stream pc games to apple tv"], "compared": [{"slug": "moonlight", "name": "Moonlight", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48648550", "title": "My Steam Machine Is a 50ft HDMI Cable", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48972970", "title": "Moonshine: Lets you stream games from your PC to any device running Moonlight", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48087887", "title": "Linux gaming is faster because Windows APIs are becoming Linux kernel features", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46837346", "title": "Nvidia's 10-year effort to make the Shield TV the most updated Android device", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46369860", "title": "I didn't realize my LG TV was spying on me until I turned off Live Plus", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46243655", "title": "Sick of smart TVs? Here are your best options", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {}, "2025-12": {"compare": 1, "neutral": 1}, "2026-01": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-02": {}, "2026-03": {}, "2026-04": {}, "2026-05": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-06": {"neutral": 1, "recommend": 1}, "2026-07": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-08": {}, "2026-09": {}, "2026-10": {}}, "versions": [], "version_unnamed": 0, "family_ref": null, "runs_on": null, "lines": [], "quotes": [{"id": 783707328, "item_id": 48981708, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48981708", "by": "dpoloncsak", "date": "2026-07-20", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "But Steam is always running on my Desktop, and the phone-app helps a lot.", "excerpt": "Steam Link creates an RDP session (I assume their own protocol but for lack of a better term for it) that lets me control my Desktop from my phone. Once I'm remote on the desktop, I can access my home-lab locally instead of via VPN. Before I moved to Tailscale, my self-hosted Wireguard setup was pretty shaky, and was running on an old Pi that had seen better days. It's basically just using Steam to jump-box to my LAN", "context": "has a home-lab", "use_case": "remote desktop to home LAN", "switched_from": "", "story": "Moonshine: Lets you stream games from your PC to any device running Moonlight"}, {"id": 779122416, "item_id": 48695151, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48695151", "by": "tacticalturtle", "date": "2026-06-26", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "You can run steam link on a Raspberry Pi.", "excerpt": "You can run steam link on a Raspberry Pi. Or like the other commenter said, Apple TV is what I use.", "context": "", "use_case": "Streaming games to TV", "switched_from": "", "story": "My Steam Machine Is a 50ft HDMI Cable"}, {"id": 779083200, "item_id": 48692700, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48692700", "by": "mistyvales", "date": "2026-06-26", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I used a Raspberry Pi 4 as a Steam Link for many years.", "excerpt": "I used a Raspberry Pi 4 as a Steam Link for many years. It was only 1080p60 and had a touch of input delay, but it wasn't terrible. It actually got better with bug fixes over the years.", "context": "", "use_case": "game streaming", "switched_from": "", "story": "My Steam Machine Is a 50ft HDMI Cable"}, {"id": 770024720, "item_id": 48126545, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48126545", "by": "criddell", "date": "2026-05-13", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "It works great as long as the game works well with a PS5 controller", "excerpt": "I use Steam Link on my AppleTV which lets me play games on my PC. It works great as long as the game works well with a PS5 controller (and lots of them do).", "context": "", "use_case": "stream PC games to Apple TV", "switched_from": "", "story": "Linux gaming is faster because Windows APIs are becoming Linux kernel features"}, {"id": 749414096, "item_id": 46838381, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46838381", "by": "DecoPerson", "date": "2026-01-31", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "My partner and I use ours regularly to play co-op games on our TV.", "excerpt": "The Steam Link, also from 2015, is also still receiving updates! My partner and I use ours regularly to play co-op games on our TV. I really appreciate the efforts of whomever is keeping it running.", "context": "", "use_case": "streaming games to TV", "switched_from": "", "story": "Nvidia's 10-year effort to make the Shield TV the most updated Android device"}, {"id": 742018257, "item_id": 46376141, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46376141", "by": "QuiEgo", "date": "2025-12-24", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "dumb front end for Plex, Steam Link", "excerpt": "I used to use a NUC with a K400 as well (and a Logitech Harmony (RIP)), and the Apple TV is a way better experience. The Apple TV remote is way more useable, and HDMI CEC just works\u2122, which never ever was true with the NUC. I really like the client-server model - the Apple TV is my dumb front end for Plex, Steam Link, and so on. It also is well supported by every streaming service. I could fiddle with the NUC and mak", "context": "", "use_case": "Game streaming", "switched_from": "", "story": "I didn't realize my LG TV was spying on me until I turned off Live Plus"}, {"id": 740088689, "item_id": 46255543, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46255543", "by": "sander1095", "date": "2025-12-13", "version": null, "stance": "compare", "quote": "An alternative to steam link.", "excerpt": "Have you tried moonlight? An alternative to steam link. You can use install it on the lg tv by sideloading the app. Alternatively, you can plug in a Raspberry Pi that runs steam link :)", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Sick of smart TVs? Here are your best options"}]}