# Moonlight Published January 1, 2026 · Updated August 10, 2026 Open source game streaming client Category: Media & Entertainment · Free · Open source · [Official website](https://moonlight-stream.org) ## Install with Homebrew `brew install --cask moonlight` ## Quick take Moonlight plus Sunshine is still the best free way to turn a powerful PC into a private game-streaming server for Mac clients. Client release schedule is slower than Sunshine’s host updates, but the stack is mature, widely praised for LAN 4K play and costs $0 in software licenses. Best for: Mac users with a powerful gaming PC on the LAN, People avoiding cloud gaming subscriptions, Living-room or handheld streaming of a desktop library ## What is Moonlight? August 2026 status: Moonlight remains the free open-source GameStream-compatible client; NVIDIA’s proprietary GameStream host path is long dead. The practical host is **Sunshine** (LizardByte), with latest host releases in the 2026.5xx series (e.g. v2026.516.143833 in May 2026). Moonlight PC (moonlight-qt) stable client sits at **v6.1.0**, with community pressure for a newer 6.2 train while nightlies absorb fixes. Apollo exists as an alternate host but 2026 community threads note development pauses,Sunshine is the default recommendation. Users on X still report excellent LAN 4K60/120 experiences to TVs, handhelds and other clients. Moonlight is an open-source game streaming client that lets you play PC games on your Mac by streaming them from a Windows gaming PC over your network. Your gaming PC renders the game at full quality, encodes the video using its NVIDIA GPU (or any GPU with the Sunshine host) and streams the video to your Mac. Your Mac decodes and displays the stream while sending your keyboard, mouse and controller inputs back to the PC. The result: play AAA PC games on a MacBook, Mac Mini, iPad, or any other device that runs Moonlight. Moonlight started as a third-party implementation of NVIDIA's GameStream protocol. NVIDIA built GameStream into its GeForce Experience software, allowing streaming from NVIDIA GPUs to NVIDIA Shield devices. Moonlight reverse-engineered the protocol and brought it to every platform,macOS, iOS, Android, Linux, Windows, Raspberry Pi, ChromeOS and more. When NVIDIA discontinued GameStream in early 2023, the community created Sunshine, an open-source host that replaces NVIDIA's server component and works with any GPU (NVIDIA, AMD, Intel). The streaming quality is impressive when your network is good. On a wired gigabit LAN, Moonlight streams 4K at 120fps with hardware-accelerated H.265/HEVC encoding. Input latency is 15-30ms on a local network,noticeable in competitive shooters but perfectly playable for single-player games, RPGs and most genres. On a 5GHz Wi-Fi connection, quality is good at 1080p/60fps. Over the internet (with proper port forwarding or a VPN), it works but adds latency proportional to your ping to the host PC. For Mac users, Moonlight solves a real problem: most AAA games don't run natively on macOS. Instead of maintaining a separate gaming PC at your desk, you can put the gaming PC in a closet (or use a friend's) and stream games to your Mac wherever you are. Combined with a controller connected to your Mac via Bluetooth, it's a legitimate gaming setup that doesn't require Apple to port games to macOS. ## Features - **High-Resolution, High-Framerate Streaming.** Moonlight supports streaming at up to 4K resolution at 120fps, depending on your host GPU's encoding capabilities and your network bandwidth. On a local network with a modern NVIDIA GPU (RTX 3060 or later), 4K/120 streaming uses NVENC hardware encoding with negligible performance impact on the host. H.265 (HEVC) encoding delivers better quality at lower bitrates than H.264, reducing network bandwidth requirements. Adaptive bitrate adjusts quality in real-time based on network conditions. - **HDR Support.** Moonlight supports HDR streaming on compatible displays. If your host PC is playing a game in HDR and your Mac's display supports HDR (MacBook Pro with XDR display, or an external HDR monitor), Moonlight can stream the HDR signal. The result is wider color gamut and higher contrast in supported games. HDR streaming requires an NVIDIA GPU with NVENC and Sunshine or GeForce Experience (legacy) as the host. - **Controller, Keyboard & Mouse Support.** Connect controllers to your Mac via Bluetooth or USB,Xbox Wireless Controller, PS5 DualSense, Nintendo Switch Pro Controller and MFi controllers all work. Moonlight maps controller inputs to the host PC as if the controller was connected directly. Keyboard and mouse work natively. For trackpad users, Moonlight can emulate mouse input from trackpad gestures. Multi-controller support allows local multiplayer,connect four controllers to your Mac for couch co-op games streamed from your PC. - **Sunshine Host Compatibility.** After NVIDIA discontinued GameStream, the open-source Sunshine project became the standard host application. Sunshine runs on Windows (any GPU), Linux and macOS (as a host). It provides hardware-accelerated encoding via NVENC (NVIDIA), AMF (AMD), or QuickSync (Intel). This means you're no longer limited to NVIDIA GPUs,any modern gaming PC can serve as a Moonlight host. Sunshine is actively maintained and adds features faster than NVIDIA's legacy GameStream. - **Surround Sound Audio.** Moonlight streams audio from the host PC, supporting up to 7.1 surround sound. Audio is compressed using Opus codec for low latency. If your Mac is connected to a surround sound system or spatial audio headphones (AirPods Pro with spatial audio), the surround mix is preserved. Audio sync stays tight with video,latency is typically under 5ms between audio and video streams. - **WAN Streaming (Over the Internet).** Moonlight works over the internet, not just local networks. Configure port forwarding on your router (or use a VPN like Tailscale or ZeroTier for easier setup) and you can stream from your home PC to your Mac anywhere with a decent internet connection. A stable 50 Mbps connection supports 1080p/60fps streaming. 100+ Mbps supports 4K. Latency depends on your ping to the host,under 30ms for a good experience, under 50ms for playable. - **High-Refresh HDR Streaming.** Moonlight clients target up to 4K with high frame rates and HDR when host encode and network allow, with controller, keyboard and mouse support. LAN performance is the sweet spot; WAN play needs solid upload and realistic bitrate caps. ## How to Install Moonlight on Mac Moonlight requires a host PC running Sunshine (or legacy GeForce Experience with GameStream) and the Moonlight client on your Mac. 1. **Set Up the Host PC.** On your Windows gaming PC, download and install Sunshine from github.com/LizardByte/Sunshine. Sunshine runs as a service and provides the streaming host. Alternatively, if you have an NVIDIA GPU, you can use GeForce Experience with GameStream enabled (legacy, being deprecated). 2. **Install Moonlight on Mac.** Run `brew install --cask moonlight`. This installs the Moonlight client to your Applications folder. 3. **Pair Your Mac with the Host.** Open Moonlight on your Mac. It should discover your host PC on the local network automatically. Click the host and enter the PIN shown on your Mac into the Sunshine web interface (https://localhost:47990 on the host). Pairing is one-time. 4. **Start Streaming.** After pairing, your host PC's game library appears in Moonlight. Click a game to launch it. Moonlight starts the game on the host PC and begins streaming video to your Mac. Connect a controller, grab a keyboard and mouse and play. ## Pros - Completely free open-source client and host stack - Excellent LAN latency for 4K high-refresh play when hardware allows - Works beyond Steam libraries,full desktop and any GPU vendor via Sunshine - Wide client ecosystem (Mac, mobile, TV, embedded) - No cloud queues or subscription metering - Active Sunshine host development through 2026 ## Cons - Requires a powered host PC and non-trivial first-time setup - moonlight-qt stable releases are less frequent than some users want - Internet streaming quality depends heavily on upload and NAT setup - Troubleshooting encode/bitrate issues has a learning curve - Some alternate hosts (e.g. Apollo) lag in maintenance ## Closer look: How Game Streaming Actually Works The technical pipeline from PC GPU rendering to playable game on your Mac. ## FAQ ### Does Moonlight still need NVIDIA GameStream? No. NVIDIA discontinued GameStream years ago. Use Sunshine (or another compatible host) on the PC and Moonlight as the client. ### What is the latest Moonlight PC version? moonlight-qt stable is v6.1.0; check GitHub releases for newer tags and nightlies as 6.2 work continues. ### Is Moonlight free? Yes. Client and Sunshine host are free open-source projects. ### Can I stream to a Mac from a Windows gaming PC? Yes. Install Sunshine on the host and Moonlight on the Mac client. Wired Ethernet or strong Wi-Fi 6 helps. ### Moonlight vs Steam Link in 2026? Steam Link is easier if you only play Steam games. Moonlight+Sunshine usually offers better configurability, codecs and non-Steam desktop streaming. ### Does it work over the internet? Yes with port forwarding, VPN, or a tunnel, but latency and upload bandwidth dominate quality. Most flawless reports are LAN setups. ### What about Apollo vs Sunshine? Community consensus in 2026 favors Sunshine for active maintenance; Apollo users report pause-risk on updates. ## Sources - [Moonlight Game Streaming](https://moonlight-stream.org/) - [moonlight-qt GitHub](https://github.com/moonlight-stream/moonlight-qt) - [moonlight-qt releases](https://github.com/moonlight-stream/moonlight-qt/releases) - [LizardByte Sunshine](https://github.com/LizardByte/Sunshine) - [Sunshine releases](https://github.com/LizardByte/Sunshine/releases) - [Moonlight vs Steam Link 2026](https://shattered.io/moonlight-vs-steam-link/) - [Sunshine product page](https://app.lizardbyte.dev/Sunshine/) ## Related - [Kap](https://bundl.run/apps/kap) - [Spotify](https://bundl.run/apps/spotify) - [VLC](https://bundl.run/apps/vlc) - [DaVinci Resolve](https://bundl.run/apps/davinci-resolve) - [OBS Studio](https://bundl.run/apps/obs) - [HandBrake](https://bundl.run/apps/handbrake) - [Moonlight vs Parsec](https://bundl.run/compare/parsec-vs-moonlight) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://bundl.run/#organization", "name": "Bundl.run", "url": "https://bundl.run", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://bundl.run/og-image.png", "width": 1200, "height": 630 }, "description": "The Ninite for Mac. Install all your essential Mac apps with one terminal command.", "sameAs": [ "https://github.com/abhiofficial/bundl-mac-setup", "https://x.com/bundlrun", "https://www.producthunt.com/products/bundl-run" ], "foundingDate": "2024", "contactPoint": { "@type": "ContactPoint", "contactType": "customer support", "url": "https://bundl.run/faq" } }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://bundl.run/#website", "name": "Bundl.run", "url": "https://bundl.run", "description": "The Ninite for Mac. Install all your essential Mac apps with one terminal command.", "publisher": { "@id": "https://bundl.run/#organization" }, "inLanguage": "en-US" }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://bundl.run/authors/maya-rodriguez#person", "name": "Maya Rodriguez", "jobTitle": "Creative Software Expert", "url": "https://bundl.run/authors/maya-rodriguez", "worksFor": { "@id": "https://bundl.run/#organization" }, "description": "Maya Rodriguez specializes in design and creative software, bringing 10 years of experience as a professional graphic designer and UI/UX specialist. Maya evaluates design tools, media applications, and creative workflows with an eye toward both artistic capability and technical performance. Having worked at design agencies and as a freelance creative director, Maya understands the demanding requirements of professional creative work. Each review includes assessment of color accuracy, export quality, collaboration features, and integration with broader creative ecosystems.", "knowsAbout": [ "Design & Graphics Software", "Photo & Video Editing", "UI/UX Design Tools", "Creative Workflows", "Media Production", "Design Systems & Tokens" ], "image": "https://bundl.run/authors/maya-rodriguez.svg" }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://bundl.run/apps/moonlight#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://bundl.run" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Apps", "item": "https://bundl.run/apps" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Moonlight", "item": "https://bundl.run/apps/moonlight" } ] }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://bundl.run/apps/moonlight", "url": "https://bundl.run/apps/moonlight", "name": "Moonlight for Mac", "description": "Open source game streaming client", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://bundl.run/#website" }, "publisher": { "@id": "https://bundl.run/#organization" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "datePublished": "2026-01-01T00:00:00Z", "dateModified": "2026-08-10T13:34:04.000Z", "author": { "@id": "https://bundl.run/authors/maya-rodriguez#person" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://bundl.run/apps/moonlight#software" }, "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://bundl.run/apps/moonlight#breadcrumb" } }, { "@type": "SoftwareApplication", "@id": "https://bundl.run/apps/moonlight#software", "name": "Moonlight", "description": "Open source game streaming client", "applicationCategory": "MultimediaApplication", "operatingSystem": "macOS", "url": "https://bundl.run/apps/moonlight", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.logo.dev/moonlight-stream.org", "caption": "Moonlight app icon for Mac" }, "sameAs": [ "https://moonlight-stream.org/", "https://formulae.brew.sh/cask/moonlight" ], "review": { "@type": "Review", "author": { "@id": "https://bundl.run/authors/maya-rodriguez#person" }, "reviewBody": "Moonlight plus Sunshine is still the best free way to turn a powerful PC into a private game-streaming server for Mac clients. Client release schedule is slower than Sunshine’s host updates, but the stack is mature, widely praised for LAN 4K play and costs $0 in software licenses." }, "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Moonlight", "description": "Open source game streaming client" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://bundl.run/#website" } }, { "@type": "Article", "@id": "https://bundl.run/apps/moonlight#article", "headline": "Moonlight for Mac — Full Review & Installation Guide 2026", "description": "Moonlight plus Sunshine is still the best free way to turn a powerful PC into a private game-streaming server for Mac clients. Client release schedule is slower than Sunshine’s host updates, but the stack is mature, widely praised for LAN 4K play and costs $0 in software licenses.", "image": "https://img.logo.dev/moonlight-stream.org", "author": { "@id": "https://bundl.run/authors/maya-rodriguez#person" }, "publisher": { "@id": "https://bundl.run/#organization" }, "datePublished": "2026-01-01T00:00:00Z", "dateModified": "2026-08-10T13:34:04.000Z", "mainEntityOfPage": { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://bundl.run/apps/moonlight" }, "articleSection": "MultimediaApplication", "speakable": { "@type": "SpeakableSpecification", "cssSelector": [ "h1", ".key-facts" ] }, "about": { "@type": "SoftwareApplication", "name": "Moonlight", "url": "https://bundl.run/apps/moonlight" } }, { "@type": "FAQPage", "@id": "https://bundl.run/apps/moonlight#faq", "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "Does Moonlight still need NVIDIA GameStream?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "No. NVIDIA discontinued GameStream years ago. Use Sunshine (or another compatible host) on the PC and Moonlight as the client." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What is the latest Moonlight PC version?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "moonlight-qt stable is v6.1.0; check GitHub releases for newer tags and nightlies as 6.2 work continues." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Is Moonlight free?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Yes. Client and Sunshine host are free open-source projects." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Can I stream to a Mac from a Windows gaming PC?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Yes. Install Sunshine on the host and Moonlight on the Mac client. Wired Ethernet or strong Wi-Fi 6 helps." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Moonlight vs Steam Link in 2026?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Steam Link is easier if you only play Steam games. Moonlight+Sunshine usually offers better configurability, codecs and non-Steam desktop streaming." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Does it work over the internet?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Yes with port forwarding, VPN, or a tunnel, but latency and upload bandwidth dominate quality. Most flawless reports are LAN setups." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What about Apollo vs Sunshine?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Community consensus in 2026 favors Sunshine for active maintenance; Apollo users report pause-risk on updates." } } ], "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://bundl.run/apps/moonlight" } }, { "@type": "ItemList", "name": "Moonlight Video Tutorials", "description": "Tutorial videos for learning Moonlight on Mac", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "VideoObject", "name": "How to Play PC Games on a MAC! [MOONLIGHT TUTORIAL]", "description": "How to Play PC Games on a MAC! [MOONLIGHT TUTORIAL] The following video is currently outdated. the video was recorded late 2022 and we were not aware of nvidias plans on changing the game stream funct", "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/udQGY0oyEUQ/mqdefault.jpg", "uploadDate": "2023-01-14T23:00:33Z", "duration": "PT5M11S", "embedUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/embed/udQGY0oyEUQ", "interactionStatistic": { "@type": "InteractionCounter", "interactionType": "https://schema.org/WatchAction", "userInteractionCount": 14153 } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "VideoObject", "name": "Sunshine+Moonlight Setup #cloudgaming #linuxgaming #steamdeck #moonlightgaming", "description": "Sunshine+Moonlight Setup #cloudgaming #linuxgaming #steamdeck #moonlightgaming", "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dlyknIVEYp8/mqdefault.jpg", "uploadDate": "2025-01-14T02:25:51Z", "duration": "PT15S", "embedUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/embed/dlyknIVEYp8", "interactionStatistic": { "@type": "InteractionCounter", "interactionType": "https://schema.org/WatchAction", "userInteractionCount": 123708 } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "VideoObject", "name": "Setting up Moonlight Streaming for MacOSX", "description": "Just a quick video on how to setup moonlight on the mac. The same general instructions should work on the PC. 0) Setup B) Open a terminal window to where you downloaded moonlight. 1) Pair Machines A) ", "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LOdYV74nS6A/mqdefault.jpg", "uploadDate": "2015-05-21T03:31:39Z", "duration": "PT5M51S", "embedUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/embed/LOdYV74nS6A", "interactionStatistic": { "@type": "InteractionCounter", "interactionType": "https://schema.org/WatchAction", "userInteractionCount": 21809 } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "VideoObject", "name": "Goodbye Sunshine & Moonlight, Hello Apollo & Artemis (Setup Guide)", "description": "In this video, we ditch Sunshine & Moonlight for in-home streaming and replace them with Apollo & Artemis. ----------------------------------------------------------- Support Me: Recommended Handhelds", "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/H0jmqVIhwIA/mqdefault.jpg", "uploadDate": "2025-01-17T16:20:17Z", "duration": "PT20M40S", "embedUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/embed/H0jmqVIhwIA", "interactionStatistic": { "@type": "InteractionCounter", "interactionType": "https://schema.org/WatchAction", "userInteractionCount": 496047 } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "VideoObject", "name": "Self Hosted Game Streaming / Remote Desktop Server (Sunshine + Moonlight)", "description": "Sunshine is a self hosted game streaming server built for Moonlight which lets you access your computer from anywhere in the world with extremely low latency. Ports to manually forward if UPnP doesn't", "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/HVuYQ8UQ9Yg/mqdefault.jpg", "uploadDate": "2024-06-03T19:00:57Z", "duration": "PT10M5S", "embedUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/embed/HVuYQ8UQ9Yg", "interactionStatistic": { "@type": "InteractionCounter", "interactionType": "https://schema.org/WatchAction", "userInteractionCount": 160213 } } } ], "numberOfItems": 5 } ] } ```