Open-Source Alternatives to Parsec

Apollo is a remote desktop streaming server designed to transmit a low-latency video feed of a host screen to remote clients using hardware-accelerated encoding. It functions as a remote input controller and virtual display manager, allowing the host to match the resolution and framerate of connected devices. The system includes a gamepad input emulator that simulates controller hardware on the host machine to translate remote inputs into local events. Server configurations and client pairing are managed through a web-based remote access interface. The project also covers bidirectional clipb

Sunshine is a self-hosted remote desktop and game streaming server designed to broadcast desktop environments and applications over a network. It functions as a host application that captures system display output and encodes it into low-latency video streams for transmission to remote client devices. The system distinguishes itself through hardware-accelerated media encoding, which utilizes graphics processor pipelines to compress high-resolution video in real time. To ensure interactive control, it performs virtual input emulation by translating remote controller and keyboard signals into n

This project is a remote desktop software suite and administration tool designed for controlling remote devices via web browsers or desktop applications across different operating systems. It functions as a secure remote access gateway and device manager, providing a centralized backend for auditing sessions and deploying private infrastructure to target machines. The system distinguishes itself through the use of GPU-accelerated video streaming and hardware encoding to reduce latency. It enables multi-device monitoring via a screen wall and supports the creation of virtual display emulations

RustDesk is a cross-platform remote desktop client that enables users to initiate and receive remote sessions. It provides a complete infrastructure for self-hosted remote access, utilizing a signaling and relay server architecture to maintain connectivity when direct peer-to-peer links are unavailable. The software is designed to function across desktop and mobile environments, offering native remote control, screen sharing, and file management capabilities. What distinguishes the platform is its centralized administrative control plane, which allows for granular management of security polic

parsec-vdd is a virtual display driver manager and headless server display emulator. It simulates active software-defined monitors to enable remote desktop sessions and game streaming on host systems that lack physical displays. The project provides a system tray interface for managing the monitor lifecycle, allowing users to add or remove virtual screens and capture screenshots. It enables the definition of custom widths, heights, and refresh rates for these virtual displays via system registry presets. The tool handles display property configuration and monitors device status using hardwar

This project provides a containerized environment for running Steam games and applications without a physical monitor. It consists of a Docker image designed for headless game server hosting, utilizing a virtual display server to enable remote game streaming of video and audio to a web browser. The system integrates NVIDIA GPU virtualization to provide hardware acceleration for high-performance 3D graphics rendering within the container. A remote desktop gateway allows users to access and manage the virtualized desktop environment and game client remotely. The software includes capabilities

Virtual-Display-Driver is a kernel-level driver for Windows that emulates physical monitors and audio devices. It serves as a virtual monitor emulator, headless server display emulator, and virtual audio device driver to enable extended desktop space and sound routing on systems without physical hardware connections. The project enables the simulation of monitors with custom resolutions, refresh rates, and identification profiles, including support for High Dynamic Range output. It also provides software-defined audio interfaces to simulate virtual microphones and speakers. The software cove

Moonlight-qt is a cross-platform client application designed to stream high-fidelity audio and video from a remote host computer to a local device. It functions as a remote desktop and gaming client, enabling users to interact with host environments by forwarding local keyboard, mouse, and controller inputs to the remote machine. The software distinguishes itself through the use of hardware-accelerated decoding, which processes incoming high-bitrate streams to maintain low latency and minimal CPU overhead. It supports high frame rate streaming and multi-channel surround sound, ensuring that i

Moonlight for Android is a remote game streaming client that receives low-latency video from a remote host computer and transmits input commands back in real time. It enables remote desktop control and the management of a host computer from a mobile device. The project supports remote VR video output via 3D side-by-side video rendering for compatible monitors or headsets. It includes display output optimizations such as portrait mode, screen rotation, and view panning. The software manages input through the mapping of physical gamepads, virtual touch buttons, and mouse modes. It handles remo

This project is an open source Linux GPU kernel driver implemented as a loadable kernel module. It functions as a GPU firmware loader, providing the low-level driver services necessary to enable direct communication between the operating system and graphics processing units. The driver utilizes a dual-module architecture that separates GPL-licensed kernel code from proprietary firmware blobs. This system extracts and links signed binary firmware images into the kernel modules at driver load time. The project provides driver support for Turing-architecture GPUs and all subsequent newer hardwa

Input Overlay is a system for rendering real-time keyboard, gamepad, and mouse activity as an on-screen visual display. It functions as an input event broadcaster that captures physical hardware signals and transmits them to a rendering client for use in recording and live broadcasting software. The project includes a layout configuration tool that uses structured JSON files to map hardware events to specific textures and screen coordinates. It also provides a mechanism to convert legacy configuration files into current schemas to ensure compatibility across versions. The software covers inp

Neko is a virtual desktop infrastructure platform that provides containerized browser isolation and remote desktop environments. It enables users to host secure, ephemeral browser instances that can be accessed and managed through a standard web browser, ensuring consistent execution across different host systems. The platform distinguishes itself through its collaborative capabilities, allowing multiple users to view and interact with a single shared browser session in real time. It synchronizes keyboard, mouse, and gamepad inputs from multiple participants while providing integrated tools f