Introduction

LuminalShine is a self-hosted, low-latency game streaming host for modern Windows 11. It runs on the PC you want to stream from, and any Moonlight client — phone, tablet, TV, handheld, browser — can connect to it and play your library remotely with near-local latency.

It is maintained by the NortheBridge Foundation and is free and open source under the GNU GPL-v3.

Where LuminalShine fits

Component

What it does

Where it runs

LuminalShine

Captures, encodes, and streams the host’s display + audio; replays remote input

Windows 11 gaming PC

Moonlight client

Decodes the stream, sends input back

Phone, tablet, TV, browser, handheld, etc.

WebRTC client (built-in)

Same as above, but in any modern browser — no install

Any browser at /webrtc

If you have ever used NVIDIA GameStream, LuminalShine is the same shape: a host on your gaming PC, a client somewhere else. The difference is that LuminalShine is open-source, vendor-neutral (NVIDIA / AMD / Intel encoders all supported), and works on any modern GPU.

Why a separate project

LuminalShine is a hardened, Windows-first descendant of Sunshine by way of Vibeshine. It exists because:

  • Windows 11 Insider Preview support. The Canary and Dev channels ship dxgi.dll changes that broke upstream capture; LuminalShine works around them and tracks new flights as they release.

  • WGC capture in service mode. Higher throughput, captures frame-generated frames at full rate, survives VRAM exhaustion, and keeps the login screen and UAC prompts capturable.

  • Hardened credential storage. Admin credentials are sealed to the TPM by default on Windows, with platform-native fallbacks and a three-layer recovery flow. Argon2id replaces SHA-256 for the password KDF.

  • First-party virtual display work. SudoVDA ships and is enabled by default; MTT VDD is available; the in-house LuminalVGD driver is in development.

  • Single-platform focus. Linux and macOS code from upstream Sunshine has been deprecated so the team can invest fully in the Windows pipeline.

LuminalShine is a complementary fork, not a replacement. Sunshine remains the right choice for cross-platform deployments. Features do not flow back upstream — the architecture has diverged too far for clean merges.

A note on the name

“LuminalShine” is the adjective form of lumen — the SI unit for luminous flux — riffing on the first half of Sunshine.

Next steps

  • New here? Start with the Quick Start for a 10-minute happy-path setup.

  • Want to know if your hardware works? See System Requirements.

  • Want to understand what’s running on your PC? Read the Architecture overview.

  • Just want a glossary of the terms used throughout these docs? See Concepts.