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, Experimental paths ship but 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 | Experimental Desktop Mode package | Dedicated package; physical Steam Deck gameplay, Game Mode, suspend, and update persistence are not yet certified. See the SteamOS guide. |
| Bazzite | Experimental | Layer the Fedora RPM with rpm-ostree; Desktop Mode validated on NVIDIA with Headless Stream, real Steam and Game Mode need more coverage. 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 | Trusted clients can browse, launch, and send input without broad server-admin permissions. |
| AI Auto Quality | Optional | Provider-configured tuning and recovery guidance; core streaming requires no AI or cloud service. |
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 support is experimental. Desktop Mode has Headless Stream validation on NVIDIA and growing AMD Mesa VAAPI coverage; real Steam and Game Mode flows need more hardware reports.
- 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.