> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/LizardByte/Sunshine/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Development Overview > Introduction to Sunshine development, project structure, and getting started with contributing Sunshine is a self-hosted game stream host for Moonlight, built with modern C++ and designed for cross-platform compatibility. This guide will help you understand the project structure and get started with development. ## What is Sunshine? Sunshine offers low-latency, cloud gaming server capabilities with support for AMD, Intel, and Nvidia GPUs for hardware encoding. Software encoding is also available. You can connect to Sunshine from any Moonlight client on a variety of devices. A web UI is provided to allow configuration and client pairing from your favorite web browser. ## Technology Stack ### Core Technologies **Backend** * **Language**: C++ (requires C++17 or later) * **Build System**: CMake (>= 3.25) * **Compilers**: GCC 13+, Clang 17+, or Apple Clang 15+ * **Key Libraries**: * Boost (filesystem, locale, log) * OpenSSL (cryptography) * FFmpeg (video/audio encoding) * libopus (audio codec) * miniupnpc (UPnP support) **Frontend (Web UI)** * **Framework**: Vue.js 3 * **Build Tool**: Vite * **Templating**: EJS * **Styling**: Bootstrap 5 * **Icons**: Lucide and Simple Icons **Platform-Specific Technologies** * **Linux**: VAAPI, KMS/DRM, X11, Wayland, CUDA (optional) * **Windows**: DirectX, DXGI, Windows.Graphics.Capture, NVENC * **macOS**: Video Toolbox, AVFoundation * **FreeBSD**: Wayland, X11 ## Project Structure The Sunshine repository is organized as follows: ``` sunshine/ ├── cmake/ # CMake build configuration │ ├── dependencies/ # Dependency management │ ├── packaging/ # Package generation scripts │ └── prep/ # Build preparation scripts ├── docs/ # Documentation source files ├── scripts/ # Build and utility scripts │ └── linux_build.sh # Comprehensive Linux build script ├── src/ # Main source code │ ├── platform/ # Platform-specific implementations │ │ ├── linux/ # Linux-specific code │ │ │ ├── input/ # Input handling │ │ │ ├── cuda.cpp # CUDA/NVENC support │ │ │ ├── kmsgrab.cpp # KMS capture │ │ │ ├── vaapi.cpp # VAAPI encoding │ │ │ ├── wayland.cpp # Wayland capture │ │ │ └── x11grab.cpp # X11 capture │ │ ├── windows/ # Windows-specific code │ │ │ ├── display_*.cpp # Display capture variants │ │ │ ├── input.cpp # Input emulation │ │ │ └── nvprefs/ # NVIDIA settings │ │ └── macos/ # macOS-specific code │ │ ├── av_video.m # AVFoundation capture │ │ ├── display.mm # Display management │ │ └── input.cpp # Input handling │ ├── audio.cpp # Audio capture/streaming │ ├── video.cpp # Video capture/encoding │ ├── stream.cpp # Streaming protocol │ ├── network.cpp # Network handling │ ├── input.cpp # Input processing │ ├── config.cpp # Configuration management │ ├── confighttp.cpp # Web UI backend │ ├── nvhttp.cpp # NVIDIA GameStream protocol │ ├── rtsp.cpp # RTSP server │ ├── process.cpp # Process management │ ├── crypto.cpp # Encryption/authentication │ └── main.cpp # Application entry point ├── src_assets/ # Asset files │ └── common/assets/web/ # Web UI source ├── tests/ # Unit and integration tests └── third-party/ # Git submodules for dependencies ``` ## Key Components Understanding the main components will help you navigate the codebase: ### Core Systems * **main.cpp** (`src/main.cpp:1`): Application entry point, initialization, and command-line handling * **config.cpp** (`src/config.cpp:1`): Configuration parsing and management * **process.cpp** (`src/process.cpp:1`): Application lifecycle and process management ### Streaming Pipeline * **nvhttp.cpp** (`src/nvhttp.cpp:1`): NVIDIA GameStream-compatible HTTP server * **rtsp.cpp** (`src/rtsp.cpp:1`): RTSP session management * **stream.cpp** (`src/stream.cpp:1`): Main streaming logic and session handling * **video.cpp** (`src/video.cpp:1`): Video capture and encoding * **audio.cpp** (`src/audio.cpp:1`): Audio capture and streaming ### Platform Abstraction * **platform/common.h** (`src/platform/common.h:1`): Platform interface definitions * **platform/linux/** (`src/platform/linux/`): Linux implementations (X11, Wayland, KMS, CUDA) * **platform/windows/** (`src/platform/windows/`): Windows implementations (DXGI, WGC) * **platform/macos/** (`src/platform/macos/`): macOS implementations (Video Toolbox) ### Web UI * **confighttp.cpp** (`src/confighttp.cpp:1`): REST API backend for web interface * **src\_assets/common/assets/web/**: Vue.js frontend application ## Getting Started with Development ### 1. Clone the Repository ```bash theme={null} git clone https://github.com/LizardByte/Sunshine.git --recurse-submodules cd Sunshine ``` The `--recurse-submodules` flag is important as Sunshine uses several git submodules for third-party dependencies. ### 2. Install Dependencies Dependencies vary by platform. See the [Building from Source](/development/building) guide for detailed platform-specific instructions. ### 3. Build the Project ```bash theme={null} mkdir build cmake -B build -G Ninja -S . ninja -C build ``` ### 4. Run Tests If built with `BUILD_TESTS=ON` (default): ```bash theme={null} ./build/tests/test_sunshine ``` ### 5. Run the Application ```bash theme={null} ./build/sunshine ``` ## Development Workflow ### Code Style Sunshine uses `clang-format` for code formatting. The configuration is in `.clang-format` at the repository root. **Format your code before committing:** ```bash theme={null} find ./ -iname *.cpp -o -iname *.h -iname *.m -iname *.mm | xargs clang-format -i ``` Or use the Python helper script: ```bash theme={null} python ./scripts/update_clang_format.py ``` ### Web UI Development The Web UI can be developed independently: **Using CMake:** ```bash theme={null} cmake -B build -G Ninja -S . --target web-ui ninja -C build web-ui ``` **Using npm directly:** ```bash theme={null} cd src_assets/common/assets/web npm run dev ``` ### Debugging Build in Debug mode for better debugging symbols: ```bash theme={null} cmake -B build -G Ninja -S . -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug ninja -C build ``` Recommended IDEs: * **CLion**: Full-featured C++ IDE from JetBrains * **Visual Studio Code**: With C++ and CMake extensions * **Visual Studio**: On Windows with CMake support ## Documentation Sunshine uses Doxygen for API documentation. Build docs with: ```bash theme={null} cmake -B build -G Ninja -S . -DBUILD_DOCS=ON ninja -C build docs ``` Generated documentation will be in `build/docs/html/`. ## Community and Support For development questions and discussions: * **GitHub Issues**: [Report bugs and request features](https://github.com/LizardByte/Sunshine/issues) * **GitHub Discussions**: [Ask questions and share ideas](https://github.com/LizardByte/Sunshine/discussions) * **Discord**: Join the LizardByte community server * **Documentation**: [Official docs](https://docs.lizardbyte.dev/projects/sunshine) ## Next Steps Learn how to build Sunshine on your platform Understand the system architecture and design Learn how to contribute code and documentation View the source code on GitHub