Support and compatibility
What Polaris supports today, how well each path is validated, and where the honest limits are. Status words mean specific things here: Recommended paths have official package assets and the most validation, Supported installation paths have a maintained package/setup workflow with feature-specific hardware limits, Experimental paths need broader real-hardware coverage, and Source-build paths have no published package yet.
Polaris is Linux-only by design. Windows and macOS host ports are not planned.
Host distributions
Section titled “Host distributions”| Area | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fedora 44 | Recommended | Official RPM asset and most validated release path. See the Fedora guide. |
| Arch Linux | Recommended | Official package asset. See the Arch guide. |
| CachyOS / Arch derivatives | Expected via Arch package | Pacman-compatible derivatives should start there; report derivative-specific dependency or runtime gaps. |
| SteamOS 3.8 x86_64 | Supported on Steam Deck OLED | Dedicated package, proven in Desktop Mode and in Game Mode on a Steam Deck OLED. The Deck LCD, suspend, and update persistence are not yet certified. See the SteamOS guide. |
| Bazzite 44 | Supported installation | Layer the Fedora 44 RPM with rpm-ostree; NVIDIA Desktop Mode has streaming evidence. Game Mode and driver-specific game flows need more coverage. The standalone system extension remains withdrawn. See the Bazzite guide. |
| Ubuntu 24.04 | Experimental tester path | The DEB asset exists but this path needs broader real-hardware validation. See the Ubuntu guide. |
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | Source-build supported | Dedicated dependency and build guide plus CI build coverage; no published package asset yet. See the openSUSE guide. |
| Debian-family distros | Source-build oriented | Ubuntu 24.04 is the only direct DEB asset today. |
| Other Linux distros | Source-build / community validation | Bring distro, GPU, driver, compositor, and package details when reporting success or breakage. |
GPU and encoding
Section titled “GPU and encoding”| Area | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA / NVENC | Best-tested | The main fast path and most validated encoder and runtime combination. |
| AMD / VAAPI | Supported, expanding validation | Mesa VAAPI is the Linux AMD baseline; GPU-native DMA-BUF is preferred when available and reported truthfully when it falls back. |
| Software encode | Supported fallback | Useful for diagnostics and unsupported hardware, but not the performance target. |
| HDR / Main10 | Conditional | Main10 SDR can work when requested; true HDR requires real HDR metadata from the active capture path. |
Clients
Section titled “Clients”| Area | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Nova for Android | Best experience | Full launch contract, watch mode, tuning, and richer live state. |
| Standard Moonlight clients | Compatible | Core streaming works without Nova-specific UX. |
| Browser Stream | Experimental | Browser-based path using WebTransport and WebCodecs; best tested on Chromium-family browsers. |
Feature status
Section titled “Feature status”| Feature | Status | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Headless Stream runtime | Recommended path | Launches games into a stream-only compositor instead of rearranging your physical desktop. |
| Nova-aware launch contract | Supported | Lets Nova show Private Stream, Host Virtual Display, Mirror Desktop, watch and resume, and safety state before launch. |
| Mission Control | Supported | Shows runtime, capture path, encoder, clients, stream health, and host actions in one cockpit. |
| Game Control pairing preset | Supported / default for new devices | Trusted clients can browse, launch, and send input without clipboard, file-transfer, or server-command permissions. Existing devices keep their saved access until edited. |
| Doctor and optional AI explanation | Supported / optional | Deterministic telemetry drives diagnosis and safe actions. AI may explain that evidence, but cannot define launch settings or Doctor actions. |
Best-tested first setup
Section titled “Best-tested first setup”For the smoothest first run:
- Host distro: Fedora 44 or Arch Linux / CachyOS.
- GPU path: NVIDIA with NVENC is the most validated; AMD with Mesa VAAPI is supported and uses the same Headless Stream flow, with capture-path truth visible in Mission Control.
- Desktop: KDE Plasma Wayland is the most exercised daily driver, but Headless Stream launches its own compositor and is not KDE-only.
- Config:
headless_mode = enabled,linux_use_cage_compositor = enabled,linux_prefer_gpu_native_capture = enabled. - Client: Nova on an ARM64 Android handheld or Android TV device, or a standard Moonlight client for the core stream path.
The headless fallback matrix shows which capture path to expect on older LTS hosts and what packages each one needs.
Known limitations
Section titled “Known limitations”- Polaris is a Linux-only host. Windows and macOS host ports are not planned.
- Fedora and Arch are the most validated package paths. CachyOS should use the Arch path first, but derivative-specific issues still need reports.
- Bazzite uses the supported Fedora RPM installation. Desktop Mode has NVIDIA streaming evidence;
Game Mode and AMD/Intel game flows need additional hardware validation. The withdrawn
.rawsystem extension is a separate packaging path and is not promoted by this status. - Ubuntu 24.04 DEB packaging is experimental; other Debian-family distros are still source-build oriented.
- openSUSE Tumbleweed has source-build guidance and CI coverage but no published package asset yet. Leap and other RPM distros should start from source.
- NVIDIA and NVENC are the most heavily validated hardware path. AMD and Mesa VAAPI are supported but still need broader real-hardware coverage before claiming parity.
- Some UX surfaced in Nova — explicit launch recommendations, watch mode polish, live tuning — depends on the Nova Android client.
- MangoHud can still be risky on Steam Big Picture and some Steam and Proton launches.