Polaris

Self-hosted game streaming for Linux.

Stream PC games to Nova and Moonlight clients without letting the stream take over your desktop. Polaris combines an isolated Linux compositor runtime, GameStream-compatible pairing, GPU-aware capture, and a web console that shows what the host is actually doing.

Quick Start · Install · Compatibility · Tour · Nova · Docs · FAQ · Security · Changelog · Roadmap

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fedora_version="$(rpm -E %fedora)"
wget "https://github.com/papi-ux/polaris/releases/latest/download/Polaris-fedora${fedora_version}-x86_64.rpm"
sudo dnf install "./Polaris-fedora${fedora_version}-x86_64.rpm"
sudo polaris --setup-host
polaris

wget https://github.com/papi-ux/polaris/releases/latest/download/Polaris-arch-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst
sudo pacman -U ./Polaris-arch-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst
sudo polaris --setup-host
polaris

Open https://localhost:47990/#/welcome, create your web UI account, and pair a client. After credentials are created, https://localhost:47990 opens the normal console.

1. Open the first-run setup at https://localhost:47990/#/welcome.
2. Confirm the recommended Linux path: headless_mode = enabled, linux_use_cage_compositor = enabled, and linux_prefer_gpu_native_capture = disabled.
3. Pair with Trusted Pair on a trusted LAN, QR pairing for Nova, or manual PIN for standard Moonlight clients.
4. Start a game from the Polaris library, Nova, or a Moonlight client.
5. Watch the live session dashboard to confirm the active runtime and encoder path.

Polaris v1.0.12 focuses on corrected Fedora/Bazzite NVIDIA release assets.

• Fedora/Bazzite RPM assets are rebuilt with CUDA enabled so NVIDIA/NVENC hosts can use the validated GPU-native upload path.
• Tagged Fedora RPM release builds now fail validation if polaris --version reports Build features: cuda=disabled.
• Fedora CUDA header patching is normalized for CUDA 13.2 and Fedora 42/43/44 release builds.
• Browser Stream, Linux stream-runtime diagnostics, and Headless Stream behavior remain aligned with v1.0.11.

See the changelog for the full release history.

Use the release package for your distro before considering source builds. Packages install the host binary, web console assets, desktop metadata, and user service file; host integration remains explicit through sudo polaris --setup-host.

Detailed source builds, local Arch package builds, distro dependency lists, and Browser Stream build flags live in docs/building.md.

• Polaris is not a Windows host today. Linux is the supported platform.
• Bazzite support is experimental. Desktop Mode has NVIDIA validation with the recommended Headless Stream settings, while real Steam/Game Mode, AMD, and Steam Deck client flows need more hardware coverage.
• Ubuntu 24.04 DEB packaging is extremely experimental; other Debian-family distros are still source-build oriented.
• NVIDIA/NVENC is the most heavily validated hardware path. Other encode backends work, but they are not equally battle-tested.
• Some UX surfaced in Nova, such as explicit launch recommendations, watch mode polish, and live tuning, depends on the Nova Android client.
• MangoHud can still be risky on Steam Big Picture and some Steam/Proton launches.

Traditional Linux streaming hosts often treat your real desktop as disposable: mode switches, broken layouts, portal prompts, and post-session cleanup are all your problem.

Polaris takes a different route:

• Desktop-safe streaming: games run in a dedicated compositor instead of hijacking your normal desktop layout
• Runtime transparency: the dashboard shows the real backend, transport, frame residency, and format
• Headless-first Linux path: designed to avoid HDMI dummy plugs, display scripts, and manual compositor surgery
• Practical control surface: live preview, telemetry, quality controls, library management, and pairing in one UI
• Shared viewing: additional clients can watch an active stream without stealing ownership

Nova is the Polaris-aware Android client and the best way to experience the newer host features.

The Obtainium shortcut is prefiltered to Nova's public app-nonRoot_game-arm64-v8a-release.apk asset so updates resolve cleanly. Polaris is also compatible with standard Moonlight clients on any platform.

Polaris is built around a dashboard that answers the questions stream hosts usually have to reverse-engineer from logs: what runtime is active, what capture path is in use, whether the GPU-native path survived, and how much headroom remains.

When a stream is active, Polaris shifts from setup to operations: preview, charts, runtime-path telemetry, recording controls, and recommendations are visible in one place.

Game library Import from Steam, Lutris, and Heroic, attach art, organize categories, and tune launch behavior.

Pairing Use Trusted Pair (TOFU), QR for Nova, or manual PIN pairing for standard Moonlight clients.

More screens

Configuration General, input, audio/video, network, AI, and encoder settings in one place.

Troubleshooting Inspect diagnostics without jumping between CLI tools and guesswork.

Polaris launches games into a dedicated stream runtime, captures that runtime instead of your desktop session, and routes frames into the best available encoder path for the host.

The practical result: your real desktop can keep its layout, refresh rate, and windows while the stream gets its own controlled environment. The dashboard shows the active runtime, capture transport, frame residency, encoder, and session role so you can verify what actually happened.

For the deeper runtime model, see Runtime and Streaming Model.

Config file: ~/.config/polaris/polaris.conf

# Headless Stream path
headless_mode = enabled
linux_use_cage_compositor = enabled
linux_prefer_gpu_native_capture = disabled

# Pairing on your trusted LAN
trusted_subnets = ["10.0.0.0/24"]

# Encoding
encoder = nvenc

# Optional
adaptive_bitrate_enabled = enabled
max_sessions = 2

Full config tables, AI provider examples, HDR notes, and credential recovery steps live in docs/configuration.md.

systemctl --user stop sunshine
systemctl --user enable --now polaris

rm -rf ~/.local/share/Steam/config/htmlcache/

Polaris is a maintainer-led project. I use AI-assisted tools as research, debugging, comparison, and drafting aids, especially when validating unfamiliar Linux compositor, packaging, and client behavior.

Those tools do not decide what Polaris is or what ships. I review changes, test every aspect, and own the final decisions around validation, trust boundaries, and release quality.

Contributions are welcome, especially focused fixes, docs, translations, packaging improvements, and careful feature work. Polaris is still a small maintainer-led project, so the easiest pull requests to review are the ones that explain the problem clearly and keep the change scoped.

1. Fork the repo and branch from master.
2. Make your changes and test them locally.
3. For web UI changes, run npm run lint, npm test, and npm run build in the repo root.
4. For browser-facing changes, run npm run test:e2e against a local Polaris instance when possible.
5. Open a pull request that explains what changed, why it helps, and what you were able to test.

Polaris is a spare-time project built to make Linux game streaming safer, clearer, and easier to trust. If it becomes part of your setup, that alone makes my day, donations are appreciated but never expected. They help with my actual coffee budget, which coffee obviously keeps the project moving. Bug reports, testing notes, and thoughtful feedback help too.

Polaris is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0. See LICENSE for the full text.

Polaris builds on Apollo and Sunshine under GPLv3 lineage, and remains compatible with Moonlight clients.