Ubuntu — KDE Plasma

Set up a punktfunk host on Ubuntu running KDE Plasma. The host uses KDE's KWin compositor to create a per-client virtual display. Needs KWin 6.5.6 or newer.

New to this? Skim Requirements first.

NVIDIA driver, dependencies, and build

These steps are identical to the GNOME guide — follow steps 1–3 of Ubuntu — GNOME:

1. Install the NVIDIA driver and the libnvidia-gl-<version> userspace; enable nvidia-drm modeset=1; reboot and verify with nvidia-smi.
2. Install the build toolchain and runtime libraries (the same apt line).
3. Clone and cargo build --release -p punktfunk-host.

Configure

The host reads ~/.config/punktfunk/host.env. For KDE Plasma:

mkdir -p ~/.config/punktfunk
cat > ~/.config/punktfunk/host.env <<'ENV'
WAYLAND_DISPLAY=wayland-0
XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP=KDE
PUNKTFUNK_COMPOSITOR=kwin
PUNKTFUNK_VIDEO_SOURCE=virtual
PUNKTFUNK_ZEROCOPY=1
PUNKTFUNK_INPUT_BACKEND=libei
ENV

Make sure you're on a KDE Wayland session (not X11) — the picker on the login screen. The virtual-display path is Wayland-only. See the Configuration reference for every option.

Run

From a terminal inside your Plasma session:

cargo run --release -p punktfunk-host -- serve --native

The host starts listening and advertises itself on the network. Now connect a client.

To run it at boot — including fully headless, with KWin brought up automatically and no login — see Running as a Service; the headless appliance is built around KDE.

Troubleshooting

• KWin too old: virtual outputs need KWin ≥ 6.5.6. Check with kwin_wayland --version.
• No picture / capture fails: confirm you're on a Wayland session and the NVIDIA GL userspace is installed (libnvidia-gl-<version>). More in Troubleshooting.