DancherLink

DancherLink is a specialized PC client for NVIDIA GameStream and Sunshine, built upon the robust foundation of Moonlight PC.

It focuses on enhanced window management, stability during resolution changes, and a polished user experience on Windows.

Downloads

• Stable Release: Latest Release
• Nightly Build: Nightly Release (Updated with every commit to main)

DancherLink Enhancements

DancherLink represents a comprehensive refactor of the Moonlight codebase, designed to be modern, stable, and extensible.

• Modernized Core:

  • Qt 6 & CMake: Fully ported to Qt 6 and CMake, updating library structures and dependencies from the legacy codebase.
  • Infrastructure Overhaul: Refactored underlying architecture to fix bugs and pave the way for rapid feature expansion.

• Smart Display Adaptation:

  • Dynamic Resolution: Automatically detects local resolution and adapts.
  • Monitor Hot-Plug Support: Intelligently prompts to sync resolution when connecting or disconnecting external displays during a stream.
  • Robust Dialogs: Uses system-modal, always-on-top dialogs for resolution changes so they never get lost behind game windows.

• Enhanced Experience:

  • Auto-Exit on Sleep: Automatically quits the stream when the system sleeps or the lid is closed.
  • Seamless Windowing: Initializes directly in the correct fullscreen/windowed state without visual glitches or resizing animations.
  • State Restoration: Remembers and restores your window state (Maximized/Windowed) across sessions.

• Performance & Optimization:

  • Resource Scheduling: Superior decoding resource scheduling compared to the original, ensuring smoother playback.
  • Memory Management: Refactored memory handling logic for better efficiency and lower overhead.

• Stability & Polish:

  • Codebase Hardening: Extensive cleanup of compiler warnings and legacy code issues.
  • Visual Fixes: Resolved overlay transparency and z-ordering bugs.

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Core Features (Inherited from Moonlight)

• Hardware accelerated video decoding on Windows, Mac, and Linux
• H.264, HEVC, and AV1 codec support (AV1 requires Sunshine and a supported host GPU)
• YUV 4:4:4 support (Sunshine only)
• HDR streaming support
• 7.1 surround sound audio support
• 10-point multitouch support (Sunshine only)
• Gamepad support with force feedback and motion controls for up to 16 players
• Support for both pointer capture (for games) and direct mouse control (for remote desktop)
• Support for passing system-wide keyboard shortcuts like Alt+Tab to the host

Building

Windows Build Requirements

• Qt 6.8 SDK or later (MSVC 2022 64-bit)
• CMake 3.16 or later
• Visual Studio 2022 (Community edition is fine)
• Ninja (Recommended generator)
• 7-Zip (for packaging)

Build Instructions

To build a binary for use on non-development machines:

1. Open a "x64 Native Tools Command Prompt for VS 2022".
2. Ensure Qt bin directory is in your %PATH%.
3. Run scripts\build-arch.bat Release x64 from the root of the repository.

Note: The project uses standard CMake, so you can also open it directly in IDEs like Qt Creator, Visual Studio, or Trae that support CMake.

Release Process (Maintainers Only)

To publish a new stable release:

1. Update the version number in app/version.txt.
2. Commit the change: git commit -am "Bump version to X.Y.Z".
3. Create a git tag: git tag vX.Y.Z.
4. Push changes and tags: git push && git push --tags.

GitHub Actions will automatically build and publish the release with the corresponding version number.

Credits

DancherLink is based on the open-source Moonlight PC project. Hosting for original Moonlight Debian and L4T package repositories is provided by Cloudsmith.

License

This project is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0.