Moonlight-NX
~6 min read · Third-party project overview
Moonlight-NX is the homebrew client that streams video + audio from a NVIDIA GameStream or Sunshine host PC to your Switch, letting you play PC games on the handheld. 1080p60 at 30 Mbps is realistic over LAN, and even WAN works on a good connection.
What you need
- A GameStream host:
- An NVIDIA GeForce GTX 600-series or newer GPU + GeForce Experience (legacy GameStream), or
- Any PC + Sunshine (the OSS GameStream successor — works on AMD/Intel too)
- Same LAN or a stable WAN (5 GHz Wi-Fi or wired strongly preferred)
- A Switch with homebrew enabled
2026 reality: NVIDIA deprecated stock GameStream in 2023. Sunshine + Moonlight-NX is the maintained path going forward.
Setup (host side)
- Install Sunshine on your PC → start the service.
- Open
https://localhost:47990 in a browser.
- Set admin password on first run.
- In the Applications tab, register the games you want to stream (or just "Desktop").
Setup (Switch side)
- Download
moonlight-nx.nro from GitHub → drop into /switch/moonlight-nx/.
- Launch from hbmenu.
- Hosts on the same LAN auto-discover (manual IP if needed).
- Switch shows a PIN → type it into Sunshine's Web UI → pair.
- Pick an app from the list and launch.
Performance ballpark
| Resolution | FPS | Bitrate | Notes |
|---|
| 1280×720 | 60 | 10-15 Mbps | Best for handheld, stable on Wi-Fi |
| 1280×720 | 120 | 20-30 Mbps | Switch can't display 120 Hz, mostly pointless |
| 1920×1080 | 60 | 20-40 Mbps | Dock/TV mode, wired LAN recommended |
Latency tips
- 5 GHz Wi-Fi is mandatory — 2.4 GHz drops frames.
- Pick H.264 over HEVC — Switch's decoder is lighter on H.264 (HEVC saves ~30% bandwidth but costs CPU).
- Match host resolution to Switch display (1280×720 sweet spot).
- Cap Sunshine's frame rate at an integer multiple of your monitor's refresh.
- Avoid twitch shooters; turn-based and adventure titles fare best.
Latency floor: over WAN you're looking at ~50 ms minimum no matter how well you tune. Apex Legends-style reflex games lose 1–2 frames even on LAN — fine for casual, not for ranked.
Relation to the secretchat.tel loader
Moonlight-NX and our loader both run as homebrew NROs under Atmosphère. Drop both onto the same SD; use cases don't overlap (PC streaming vs native Switch Apex).
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