Moonlight
Open-source game streaming client for playing PC games remotely from Sunshine or GameStream hosts.
Loved as a client for streaming PC games from a desktop to TVs, phones, handhelds and laptops,12345 with many reporting little or no noticeable lag, even at 4K.6789 The most common caveat is that it works best with a wired host connection,101112 and setup, Wayland hosts and remote access can take extra effort.13141516
Why people recommend it
Many client devices · 3
Runs on a wide range of clients, including the PS Vita, phones, Android TV boxes, the Shield, Apple TV and Samsung TVs.
“I use Sunshine/Moonlight between my desktop and PS Vita.”
“Then I use Sunshine[1] on my desktop to stream to Moonlight on the Shield.”
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“I use my appletv with moonlight to stream off my pc”
Low latency · 3
Users report little or no noticeable lag, especially on wired or Wi-Fi 7 networks.
“Over Wifi 7 I get basically no discernable lag, which was crazy to me the first time I tried it.”
“streaming dongle running the Moonlight client”
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“I use similar setup (CachyOS, Apple TV, Moonlight/Sunshine)”
High quality · 3
Streams up to 4K HDR at 60 fps, with smooth playback even on old hardware.
“streaming dongle running the Moonlight client”
“Use it for streaming (smarttube, some apps) and moonlight/sunshine. It does 4k with a ps5 controller so well.”
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“Sunshine/Moonlight was already cake with a fair layer of icing.”
Controller support · 3
Works well with gamepads such as DualSense and 8BitDo controllers.
“Use it for streaming (smarttube, some apps) and moonlight/sunshine. It does 4k with a ps5 controller so well.”
“Over Wifi 7 I get basically no discernable lag, which was crazy to me the first time I tried it.”
Show 1 more
“I use my appletv with moonlight to stream off my pc”
Customizable · 1
Gives more customizable results than Steam Remote Play and is not tied to Steam.
“you can get better/more customizable results with Sunshine/Moonlight”
Caveats and dissent
Needs wired host · 3
The host should use wired Ethernet for good results; Wi-Fi is best kept to the client side.
“I use Sunshine/Moonlight between my desktop and PS Vita.”
“streaming dongle running the Moonlight client”
Show 1 more
“Then I use Sunshine[1] on my desktop to stream to Moonlight on the Shield.”
Wayland issues · 1
One Linux user saw noticeable input lag and artifacts when streaming from Wayland compared with X11.
“Sunshine/Moonlight work but the input lag is noticeable and there are artifacts in the game”
Setup effort · 2
Setup used to be a headache, and installing it on Samsung TVs can be tedious without a helper tool.
“Setting up Moonlight Sunshine in the early days was such a headache.”
“Just yesterday I used Jellyfin2Samsung to install Moonlight on my TV.”
Remote access · 1
Streaming outside the home needs something like Tailscale rather than simple pairing.
“I really wish Moonlight would use Iroh.”
Host screen occupied · 1
With Sunshine, the game runs visibly on the host desktop, so the host can't be used for anything else.
“Sunshine/Moonlight was already cake with a fair layer of icing.”
Limited peripherals · 2
Mouse use on Apple TV is awkward, and the Xbox wireless adapter needed a custom fork.
“it works in the Moonlight client well enough to click through prompts etc.”
“I use moonlight on my Android TV to stream video games from my computer”
Often compared with
Who recommends it in their own words
From the makers not counted in the ranking
“Me too, but in TS/WebGPU”
Threads where it came up
- Moonshine: Lets you stream games from your PC to any device running Moonlight 4 mentions
- My Steam Machine Is a 50ft HDMI Cable 3 mentions
- New Apple TV 4K 1 mention
- Will Linux phones become a viable alternative to the Android/iOS duopoly? 1 mention
- PS5 Relapse Exploit 1 mention
- Steam Frame starts at $1059 1 mention
Also written as moonlight. Data: moonlight.json. Quotes are verbatim; the verdict and theme labels are written by a model from these comments, and every clause links to its sources.
All comments 20
“They just updated the moonlight client which I’m sure you’re on should be more reliable”
“the streaming software I often use”
“I use my appletv with moonlight to stream off my pc”
“my headless linux gaming rig that I use for Game on Whales/Moonlight playing on my 3060ti card”
“I really wish Moonlight would use Iroh.”
“I use moonlight on my Android TV to stream video games from my computer”
“I use Sunshine/Moonlight between my desktop and PS Vita.”
“Then I stream with sunshine/moonlight to my phone.”
“Over Wifi 7 I get basically no discernable lag, which was crazy to me the first time I tried it.”
“Sunshine/Moonlight was already cake with a fair layer of icing.”
“you can get better/more customizable results with Sunshine/Moonlight”
“Sunshine/Moonlight work but the input lag is noticeable and there are artifacts in the game”
“streaming dongle running the Moonlight client”
“it works in the Moonlight client well enough to click through prompts etc.”
“I use similar setup (CachyOS, Apple TV, Moonlight/Sunshine)”
“Then I use Sunshine[1] on my desktop to stream to Moonlight on the Shield.”
“Just yesterday I used Jellyfin2Samsung to install Moonlight on my TV.”
“Use it for streaming (smarttube, some apps) and moonlight/sunshine. It does 4k with a ps5 controller so well.”
“Setting up Moonlight Sunshine in the early days was such a headache.”
“via Moonlight and Sunshine, and it works perfectly”