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Install Sunshine

Sunshine is the streaming host — install it on the gaming PC (the machine with the GPU that runs the games), then play from anywhere with Moonlight (see Stream games). It is free and open-source (LizardByte) and works on NVIDIA, AMD and Intel. Our lab server already runs it — ask an admin for its address and PIN if you would rather not host your own.

Windows

  1. 1
    Download sunshine-windows-installer.exe from app.lizardbyte.dev/Sunshine (or the GitHub Releases).
  2. 2
    Run it and accept the prompts — it installs Sunshine as a service plus the virtual-gamepad driver (ViGEmBus). Reboot if asked.
  3. 3
    Allow Sunshine through Windows Firewall when prompted (tick Private networks).
  4. 4
    Launch Sunshine from the Start menu, then continue at First run below.

Linux

  1. 1
    Easiest cross-distro is Flatpak: flatpak install -y flathub dev.lizardbyte.app.Sunshine, then run flatpak run dev.lizardbyte.app.Sunshine.
  2. 2
    Or install a native package from the LizardByte / GitHub releases — Debian/Ubuntu sudo apt install ./sunshine-*.deb, Fedora sudo dnf install ./sunshine-*.rpm, Arch from the AUR.
  3. 3
    Let it install the udev / uinput rules for the virtual gamepad (the .deb/.rpm do this automatically; for Flatpak follow the setup notes), then log out and back in.
  4. 4
    Start it with sunshine, or enable the user service: systemctl --user enable --now sunshine. X11 captures out of the box; Wayland needs a recent Sunshine with KMS grab.

First run — the web UI

  1. 1
    Open https://localhost:47990 and accept the self-signed certificate.
  2. 2
    Set a username and password on first launch — this protects the host.
  3. 3
    Under Applications add your games, or use the auto-detected Desktop entry to stream the whole desktop.
  4. 4
    Leave Sunshine running; it now listens for Moonlight clients.

Pair Moonlight

  1. 1
    Install Moonlight on your device and add the host — full client steps are on Stream games.
  2. 2
    When the client shows a 4-digit PIN, type it into Sunshine's PIN page to pair once.
  3. 3
    Playing from home? Bring up the WireGuard VPN first and use the host's VPN IP.

Firewall & troubleshooting

  1. 1
    Open TCP/UDP 47984–48010 to the host; the web UI on 47990 stays local.
  2. 2
    Host not found in Moonlight? Check Sunshine is running, you are on the same network (or VPN), and those ports are not blocked.
  3. 3
    Headless Linux box? Attach a real display or a dummy/virtual-display plug so there is a screen to capture.
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