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Native-Swift game-streaming client for Sunshine/Moonlight hosts (macOS, Apple Silicon)

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# Glimmer

Mac-native game-streaming client. Speaks the GameStream/Sunshine protocol
end-to-end in a from-scratch native Swift engine - no `moonlight-common-c`
runtime, no external player. (The transport was ported from
`moonlight-common-c`; see [CREDITS.md](CREDITS.md).)

## What it does

- Pure native engine. No external player, no shelling out to other apps.
- Decodes H.264, HEVC, HEVC Main10, AV1, and AV1 Main10 through VideoToolbox
  into an `AVSampleBufferDisplayLayer`.
- 10-bit HDR pipeline: BT.2020 NCL YUV→RGB, ITU-R BT.2100 PQ/HLG color space,
  EDR metadata from the host's HDR-mode control message.
- PIN pairing, mDNS discovery (`_nvstream._tcp`, `_nvstream-tcp._tcp`),
  self-signed client identity stored as mode-0600 files under
  `~/Library/Application Support/Glimmer/` (see
  [docs/SECURITY.md](docs/SECURITY.md) for why not the keychain).
- Configurable in-stream quit hotkey, quality presets (Smooth / Match my display
  / Maximum / Custom), menu-bar item.

## Wi-Fi stutter helper

AirDrop and Continuity share the Mac's Wi-Fi radio (AWDL). During a stream they
can grab the channel out from under you and cause multi-second freezes. Glimmer
ships an optional helper that parks `awdl0` for the life of a stream and
restores it the moment you stop.

Enable it in **Settings > General > Network** ("Smooth out Wi-Fi stutter while
streaming"). Because the helper runs as a privileged background service, macOS
requires a one-time approval in **System Settings > General > Login Items &
Extensions** the first time you turn it on.

**Troubleshooting.** If it ever reports `operation not permitted` or
`rejected by BTM` (can happen after many reinstalls), reset the Background Task
Management database once and re-enable:

```bash
sudo sfltool resetbtm
```

## Requirements

To run: macOS 26 or newer on Apple Silicon. The notarized download is
self-contained - it bundles OpenSSL, Opus, and Sparkle, so there is nothing else
to install.

Your **host** (the gaming PC) needs Sunshine plus a display that can present the
exact resolution/refresh you stream at - on Windows a Virtual Display Driver, on
Linux a current Sunshine that resizes the session. See
[docs/HOST_SETUP.md](docs/HOST_SETUP.md).

To build from source: the Xcode 26 toolchain (Swift 6, strict concurrency) and
Homebrew with `openssl@3` and `opus`.

## Install

### Download

Grab the latest notarized `.dmg` from the
[Releases](https://github.com/Se7enbrc/glimmer/releases) page and drag Glimmer
to Applications. From then on it updates itself (Sparkle).

Glimmer is a Developer-ID-signed, notarized, **unsandboxed** app - it is not on
the Mac App Store. (The unsandboxed posture is what lets it run the Wi-Fi
stutter helper; see [docs/SECURITY.md](docs/SECURITY.md).)

### Homebrew

A Homebrew cask (`brew install --cask glimmer`) is planned - not yet available.

### From source

```bash
git clone https://github.com/Se7enbrc/glimmer.git
cd glimmer
brew install openssl@3 opus
make release && make install
open /Applications/Glimmer.app
```

## Build

```bash
make            # Debug build of Glimmer.app
make release    # Release configuration
make install    # copy to /Applications, adhoc re-sign
make clean      # wipe build/
make uninstall  # remove Glimmer.app
```

The streaming engine is pure Swift under `Glimmer/Stream/`, built directly by
the app target - there is no separate native library or submodule. See
[docs/ARCHITECTURE.md](docs/ARCHITECTURE.md) for the layout.

## Why this exists

[Moonlight](https://github.com/moonlight-stream/moonlight-qt) on macOS is a Qt6
port of a multi-platform C++ codebase. It works, but it lives downstream of
every Qt quirk and presents a UI that doesn't match the rest of the OS. Glimmer
is a from-scratch native Swift client - its streaming transport was ported from
`moonlight-common-c` (GPLv3; see [CREDITS.md](CREDITS.md)) and it owns its own
video / audio / input pipeline through VideoToolbox + AVAudioEngine, running
entirely in-process - no helper daemon and no external player. (OpenSSL and Opus
are linked for crypto and audio decode, and bundled inside the app.)

On first launch Glimmer migrates paired hosts and the RSA client identity from a
prior moonlight-qt install (if one exists) so the user keeps their hosts without
re-pairing.

## License

Glimmer's Swift streaming transport is **ported from
[moonlight-common-c](https://github.com/moonlight-stream/moonlight-common-c)**
(GPLv3). Because that port is a derivative work, Glimmer is distributed under
the GNU General Public License v3. A clean-room reimplementation from the
published GameStream/Sunshine wire protocol is planned, after which Glimmer will
become independently licensed. See [CREDITS.md](CREDITS.md) for the full
acknowledgment.

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