# valvesoftware/gamescope **Attribution required: if you use, quote, or summarise this content, you must credit and link back to [awesome-repositories.com](https://awesome-repositories.com/repository/valvesoftware-gamescope).** 4,520 stars · 319 forks · C++ · other · fork ## Links - GitHub: https://github.com/ValveSoftware/gamescope - awesome-repositories: https://awesome-repositories.com/repository/valvesoftware-gamescope.md ## Description Gamescope is a Wayland micro-compositor that manages frame rates, resolution upscaling, shader application, and virtual displays. It functions as a system to isolate applications within a sandboxed session and control their display output. The project provides a virtual display manager that spoofs resolution and refresh rates to create a consistent screen environment independent of physical hardware. It includes a GPU post-processing wrapper to apply visual shaders and filters to an application stream and a game resolution upscaler to improve visual clarity on larger displays. The system manages frame rate limiting for focused and unfocused windows and utilizes asynchronous compute and direct flipping to reduce input lag. It also features a scripting extension interface that executes custom scripts via operational hooks to modify configuration and behavior at runtime. ## Tags ### Operating Systems & Systems Programming - [Sandboxed Wayland Sessions](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/operating-systems-systems-programming/display-windowing/display-compositors/gaming-compositor-tuning/sandboxed-wayland-sessions.md) — Runs each game in its own sandboxed Wayland session with a virtual display as a micro-compositor. - [Wayland Gaming Compositors](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/operating-systems-systems-programming/display-windowing/display-compositors/gaming-compositor-tuning/wayland-gaming-compositors.md) — Provides the core Wayland micro-compositor that isolates and manages game display output. - [Asynchronous Frame Flipping](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/operating-systems-systems-programming/asynchronous-frame-flipping.md) — Implements asynchronous frame flipping to reduce input latency in the compositor. - [Output Frame Rate Throttling](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/operating-systems-systems-programming/display-windowing/display-configuration-services/refresh-rate-controls/output-frame-rate-throttling.md) — Controls the composited output frame rate independently from the application's internal rate. ([source](https://github.com/ValveSoftware/gamescope/custom-properties)) - [Compositor Output Resolutions](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/operating-systems-systems-programming/display-windowing/display-configuration-services/refresh-rate-controls/output-frame-rate-throttling/compositor-output-resolutions.md) — Sets the compositor's output resolution, game internal resolution, and frame-rate limits for focused and unfocused states. ([source](https://github.com/ValveSoftware/gamescope#readme)) - [Virtual Display Spoofing](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/operating-systems-systems-programming/display-windowing/display-configuration-services/refresh-rate-controls/virtual-display-spoofing.md) — Spoofs a virtual screen with a custom resolution and refresh rate that the game sees, while resizing the output window independently. ([source](https://github.com/ValveSoftware/gamescope/blob/master/README.md)) - [Virtual Display Emulators](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/operating-systems-systems-programming/virtual-display-emulators.md) — Presents a virtual screen with custom resolution and refresh rate to the game. ([source](https://github.com/ValveSoftware/gamescope#readme)) ### Business & Productivity Software - [Resolution Upscalers](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/business-productivity-software/desktop-application-enhancers/resolution-upscalers.md) — Scales application rendered output to higher display resolutions using configurable filtering. ([source](https://github.com/ValveSoftware/gamescope/custom-properties)) ### Graphics & Multimedia - [XWayland Integrations](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/graphics-multimedia/compositors/x11/xwayland-integrations.md) — Integrates XWayland to run legacy X11 applications within the Wayland compositor session. ([source](https://github.com/ValveSoftware/gamescope/tree/master/protocol)) - [Game Graphics Upscalers](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/graphics-multimedia/game-graphics-upscalers.md) — Uses FSR, NIS, or integer scaling to resize game output to the display. ([source](https://github.com/ValveSoftware/gamescope#readme)) - [Game Output Upscaling Filters](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/graphics-multimedia/game-output-upscaling-filters.md) — Scales the game's rendered image to a higher output resolution using integer, FSR, or NIS filtering, adjustable via keyboard shortcuts. ([source](https://github.com/ValveSoftware/gamescope/blob/master/README.md)) - [GPU Post-Processing Wrappers](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/graphics-multimedia/gpu-post-processing-wrappers.md) — Provides a GPU post-processing wrapper that applies ReShade shaders to composited output. - [Shader Filter Applications](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/graphics-multimedia/shader-filter-applications.md) — Applies ReShade-compatible shader effects like CRT or film grain to composited game output. ([source](https://github.com/ValveSoftware/gamescope#readme)) - [Display Frame Streams](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/graphics-multimedia/audio-music/audio-streaming-engines/audio-stream-filtering/configurable-filter-chain-pipelines/pipewire-integrations/display-frame-streams.md) — Exports composited display frames as a PipeWire video stream for recording or remote viewing. - [Display Buffer Managers](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/graphics-multimedia/display-configuration-managers/display-hardware-initializers/display-buffer-managers.md) — Coordinates allocation and presentation of graphics buffers between the application and compositor. ([source](https://github.com/ValveSoftware/gamescope/tree/master/protocol)) - [ReShade-Compatible Shader Loading](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/graphics-multimedia/reshade-compatible-shader-loading.md) — Loads and applies ReShade-compatible shader effects to the final composited image before display. ([source](https://github.com/ValveSoftware/gamescope/custom-properties)) - [ReShade Shader Overlays](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/graphics-multimedia/reshade-shader-overlays.md) — Loads Reshade shader effects (e.g., CRT, film grain, HDR histograms) on top of the displayed content without hooking into the game process. ([source](https://github.com/ValveSoftware/gamescope/blob/master/README.md)) ### Security & Cryptography - [Game Session Isolation](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/security-cryptography/guest-session-sandboxing/game-session-isolation.md) — Runs each game in its own Xwayland desktop to prevent interference with the host system. ([source](https://github.com/ValveSoftware/gamescope/blob/master/README.md)) - [Application Sandboxes](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/security-cryptography/sandbox-session-management/application-sandboxes.md) — Isolates each game in its own Xwayland desktop to prevent interference with the host system. ### System Administration & Monitoring - [Focused-Unfocused Frame Rate Limits](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/system-administration-monitoring/frame-rate-controllers/focused-unfocused-frame-rate-limits.md) — Ships a frame rate limiting engine that applies different caps to focused and unfocused windows. ### User Interface & Experience - [Application Event Dispatching](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/user-interface-experience/form-and-input-management/interaction-and-event-handling/event-handling-architectures/input-event-dispatchers/application-event-dispatching.md) — Routes keyboard and pointer events from the compositor to the correct sandboxed application. ([source](https://github.com/ValveSoftware/gamescope/tree/master/protocol)) - [XWayland Bridges](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/user-interface-experience/gui-application-bridges/xwayland-bridges.md) — Integrates XWayland to run legacy X11 applications within the Wayland compositor session. - [Application Window Managers](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/user-interface-experience/application-window-managers.md) — Controls the placement, sizing, and stacking of application windows on the display. ([source](https://github.com/ValveSoftware/gamescope/tree/master/protocol)) - [Color Management Systems](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/user-interface-experience/color-spaces/color-management-systems.md) — Manages color metadata and applies color transformations to sandboxed application output. ([source](https://github.com/ValveSoftware/gamescope/tree/master/protocol)) - [Display Mode Toggles](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/user-interface-experience/interactivity-mode-coordination/interaction-mode-toggles/display-mode-toggles.md) — Switches between fullscreen, borderless, and windowed modes via keyboard shortcuts. ([source](https://github.com/ValveSoftware/gamescope#readme)) - [Windowed Fullscreen Toggles](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/user-interface-experience/presentation-frameworks/presentation-modes/fullscreen-controls/windowed-fullscreen-toggles.md) — Switches the compositor window between fullscreen and windowed mode and toggles keyboard capture. ([source](https://github.com/ValveSoftware/gamescope/blob/master/README.md)) ### Development Tools & Productivity - [Custom Key Action Bindings](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/development-tools-productivity/terminal-action-bindings/custom-key-action-bindings.md) — Maps physical input events to custom compositor actions for controlling the sandboxed session. ([source](https://github.com/ValveSoftware/gamescope/tree/master/protocol)) ### Programming Languages & Runtimes - [Compositor Scripting Hooks](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/programming-languages-runtimes/embedded-scripting-extensions/compositor-scripting-hooks.md) — Executes custom scripts via operational hooks to modify compositor configuration and behavior at runtime. ### Part of an Awesome List - [Compositors and Shells](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/awesome-lists/devtools/compositors-and-shells.md) — Compositor designed for SteamOS.