Sunshine
Open-source, self-hosted game streaming host for use with Moonlight clients
Recommended for streaming games from a desktop PC to TVs, phones and handhelds through Moonlight1234, with latency that users say is hard to notice and up to 4K HDR on wired setups.567 The most common caveat is that it needs wired Ethernet for good results8910, and some users report setup trouble and lag on Linux.111213
Why people recommend it
Many client devices · 3
Streams to phones, PS Vita, Nvidia Shield, Chromecast, Steam Deck, Apple TV and Android boxes.
“I use Sunshine/Moonlight between my desktop and PS Vita.”
“Then I stream with sunshine/moonlight to my phone.”
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“I use similar setup (CachyOS, Apple TV, Moonlight/Sunshine)”
Low latency · 3
Users with wired setups say input lag is unnoticeable or close to playing locally.
“I use Sunshine streaming from my home office gaming PC”
“MoonDeck for game streaming via Sunshine on my gaming PC.”
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“Then I use Sunshine[1] on my desktop to stream to Moonlight on the Shield.”
4K HDR quality · 3
Users run games at 4K HDR at 60 to 120 fps over gigabit Ethernet.
“I use Sunshine streaming from my home office gaming PC”
“MoonDeck for game streaming via Sunshine on my gaming PC.”
Show 1 more
“Use it for streaming (smarttube, some apps) and moonlight/sunshine. It does 4k with a ps5 controller so well.”
Customizable · 2
Offers more control than Steam Remote Play, including per-game settings, and isn't tied to Steam.
“you can get better/more customizable results with Sunshine/Moonlight”
“MoonDeck for game streaming via Sunshine on my gaming PC.”
Reliable, well documented · 3
Described as working fine for most users, with many guides available.
“Today I would say to a new user: use Sunshine, there's tons of guides and online information and it will likely work fine for you.”
“via Moonlight and Sunshine, and it works perfectly”
Show 1 more
“Sunshine/Moonlight was already cake with a fair layer of icing.”
Caveats and dissent
Needs wired network · 3
Users say the host, and ideally the client, should be on Ethernet rather than Wi-Fi.
“I use Sunshine/Moonlight between my desktop and PS Vita.”
“I use Sunshine streaming from my home office gaming PC”
Show 1 more
“Then I use Sunshine[1] on my desktop to stream to Moonlight on the Shield.”
Occupies host display · 2
The game must run visibly on the host desktop, so the host can't be used for anything else while streaming.
“Sunshine/Moonlight was already cake with a fair layer of icing.”
“Today I would say to a new user: use Sunshine, there's tons of guides and online information and it will likely work fine for you.”
Wayland issues · 1
One user reports noticeable input lag and artifacts under Wayland compared with X11.
“Sunshine/Moonlight work but the input lag is noticeable and there are artifacts in the game”
Setup fragility · 2
Users describe a hard early setup and a configuration broken by an OS image update.
“Setting up Moonlight Sunshine in the early days was such a headache.”
“the latest Bazzite image wrecked my Sunshine configuration”
Often compared with
Who recommends it in their own words
Threads where it came up
- Moonshine: Lets you stream games from your PC to any device running Moonlight 5 mentions
- My Steam Machine Is a 50ft HDMI Cable 3 mentions
- Cloudflare Quick Tunnels 1 mention
- LG monitors silently install software through Windows Update without consent 1 mention
- Measuring Input Latency on Linux: X11 vs. Wayland, VRR, and DXVK 1 mention
- Fox to Buy Roku Streaming Service in $22B Deal 1 mention
Data: sunshine.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 15
“I use it for Sunshine desktop streaming when I travel.”
“the latest Bazzite image wrecked my Sunshine configuration”
“Today I would say to a new user: use Sunshine, there's tons of guides and online information and it will likely work fine for you.”
“I use Sunshine/Moonlight between my desktop and PS Vita.”
“Then I stream with sunshine/moonlight to my phone.”
“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”
“I use Sunshine streaming from my home office gaming PC”
“MoonDeck for game streaming via Sunshine on my gaming PC.”
“I use similar setup (CachyOS, Apple TV, Moonlight/Sunshine)”
“Then I use Sunshine[1] on my desktop to stream to Moonlight on the Shield.”
“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”