Usage#

  1. See the setup section for your specific OS.

  2. If you did not install the service, then start sunshine with the following command, unless a start command is listed in the specified package installation instructions.

    Note

    A service is a process that runs in the background. Running multiple instances of Sunshine is not advised.

    Basic usage
    sunshine
    Specify config file
    sunshine <directory of conf file>/sunshine.conf

    Note

    You do not need to specify a config file. If no config file is entered the default location will be used.

    Attention

    The configuration file specified will be created if it doesn’t exist.

  3. Configure Sunshine in the web ui

    The web ui is available on https://localhost:47990 by default. You may replace localhost with your internal ip address.

    Attention

    Ignore any warning given by your browser about “insecure website”. This is due to the SSL certificate being self signed.

    Caution

    If running for the first time, make sure to note the username and password that you created.

    Add games and applications.

    This can be configured in the web ui.

    Note

    Additionally, apps can be configured manually. src_assets/<os>/config/apps.json is an example of a list of applications that are started just before running a stream. This is the directory within the GitHub repo.

  4. In Moonlight, you may need to add the PC manually.

  5. When Moonlight request you insert the correct pin on sunshine:

    • Login to the web ui

    • Go to “PIN” in the Navbar

    • Type in your PIN and press Enter, you should get a Success Message

    • In Moonlight, select one of the Applications listed

Network#

The Sunshine user interface will be available on port 47990 by default.

Warning

Exposing ports to the internet can be dangerous. Do this at your own risk.

Arguments#

To get a list of available arguments run the following:
sunshine --help

Setup#

Linux#

The deb, rpm, Flatpak and AppImage packages handle these steps automatically. Third party packages may not.

Sunshine needs access to uinput to create mouse and gamepad events.

  1. Add user to group input, if this is the first time installing.
    sudo usermod -a -G input $USER
  2. Create udev rules.
    echo 'KERNEL=="uinput", GROUP="input", MODE="0660", OPTIONS+="static_node=uinput"' | \
sudo tee /etc/udev/rules.d/85-sunshine-input.rules

  3. Optionally, configure autostart service

    • filename: ~/.config/systemd/user/sunshine.service

    • contents:
      [Unit]
Description=Sunshine self-hosted game stream host for Moonlight.

[Service]
ExecStart=<see table>
#Flatpak Only
#ExecStop=flatpak kill dev.lizardbyte.sunshine

[Install]
WantedBy=graphical-session.target

      package

      ExecStart

      Auto Configured

      aur

      /usr/bin/sunshine

      ✔

      deb

      /usr/bin/sunshine

      ✔

      rpm

      /usr/bin/sunshine

      ✔

      AppImage

      ~/sunshine.AppImage

      ✔

      Flatpak

      flatpak run dev.lizardbyte.sunshine

      ✔
    Start once
    systemctl --user start sunshine
    Start on boot
    systemctl --user enable sunshine
  4. Additional Setup for KMS

    Note

    cap_sys_admin may as well be root, except you don’t need to be root to run it. It is necessary to allow Sunshine to use KMS.

    Enable
    sudo setcap cap_sys_admin+p $(readlink -f $(which sunshine))
    Disable (for Xorg/X11)
    sudo setcap -r $(readlink -f $(which sunshine))
  5. Reboot
    sudo reboot now

macOS#

Sunshine can only access microphones on macOS due to system limitations. To stream system audio use Soundflower or BlackHole and select their sink as audio device in sunshine.conf.

Note

Command Keys are not forwarded by Moonlight. Right Option-Key is mapped to CMD-Key.

Caution

Gamepads are not currently supported.

Configure autostart service
MacPorts
sudo port load Sunshine

Windows#

For gamepad support, install ViGEmBus

Sunshine firewall
Add rule
cd /d "C:\Program Files\Sunshine\scripts"
add-firewall-rule.bat
Remove rule
cd /d "C:\Program Files\Sunshine\scripts"
remove-firewall-rule.bat
Sunshine service
Enable
cd /d "C:\Program Files\Sunshine\scripts"
install-service.bat
Disable
cd /d "C:\Program Files\Sunshine\scripts"
uninstall-service.bat

Shortcuts#

All shortcuts start with CTRL + ALT + SHIFT, just like Moonlight

  • CTRL + ALT + SHIFT + N - Hide/Unhide the cursor (This may be useful for Remote Desktop Mode for Moonlight)

  • CTRL + ALT + SHIFT + F1/F13 - Switch to different monitor for Streaming

Application List#

  • Applications should be configured via the web UI.

  • A basic understanding of working directories and commands is required.

  • You can use Environment variables in place of values

  • $(HOME) will be replaced by the value of $HOME

  • $$ will be replaced by $, e.g. $$(HOME) will be become $(HOME)

  • env - Adds or overwrites Environment variables for the commands/applications run by Sunshine

  • "Variable name":"Variable value"

  • apps - The list of applications

  • Advanced users may want to edit the application list manually. The format is json.

  • Example application:
    {
    "cmd": "command to open app",
    "detached": [
        "some-command",
        "another-command"
    ],
    "image-path": "/full-path/to/png-image",
    "name": "An App",
    "output": "/full-path/to/command-log-file",
    "prep-cmd": [
        {
            "do": "some-command",
            "undo": "undo-that-command"
        }
    ],
    "working-dir": "/full-path/to/working-directory"
}

    • cmd - The main application

    • detached - A list of commands to be run and forgotten about

      • If not specified, a process is started that sleeps indefinitely

    • image-path - The full path to the cover art image to use.

    • name - The name of the application/game

    • output - The file where the output of the command is stored

    • prep-cmd - A list of commands to be run before/after the application

      • If any of the prep-commands fail, starting the application is aborted

      • do - Run before the application

        • If it fails, all undo commands of the previously succeeded do commands are run

      • undo - Run after the application has terminated

        • Failures of undo commands are ignored

    • working-dir - The working directory to use. If not specified, Sunshine will use the application directory.

Considerations#

  • When an application is started, if there is an application already running, it will be terminated.

  • When the application has been shutdown, the stream shuts down as well.

    • For example, if you attempt to run steam as a cmd instead of detached the stream will immediately fail. This is due to the method in which the steam process is executed. Other applications may behave similarly.

  • In addition to the apps listed, one app “Desktop” is hardcoded into Sunshine. It does not start an application, instead it simply starts a stream.

  • For the Linux flatpak you must prepend commands with flatpak-spawn --host.

Tutorials#

Tutorial videos are available here.

Community!

Tutorials are community generated. Want to contribute? Reach out to us on our discord server.