v6.1.0-vrr12: Smooth cadence pacing and self-calibrating latency (Beta)

VRR12 changes how frames are timed on the display. Earlier VRR betas reproduced the host's frame timestamps exactly; that is precise, but host capture timestamps jitter by a few milliseconds from frame to frame even when the game runs at a steady rate, and a VRR display shows every one of those steps. VRR12 presents on a tracked source cadence instead, and sizes its buffer from measured arrival jitter rather than a fixed reserve.

What's New

• Cadence smoothing. Presented frame intervals now follow the game's cadence rather than copying per-frame timestamp jitter. On recorded 1440p and 4K sessions the share of frames with a visible interval change (over 2 ms) dropped from 15 to 28 percent to 1 to 2 percent, for 1 to 2 ms of added median latency. Host stalls and rate changes snap back to the raw timing immediately.
• Self-calibrating playout delay. The buffer in front of the display is learned per source frame-rate band from the measured lateness of arriving frames (1 to 8 ms, starting at 6 ms whenever the game's frame rate changes), replacing the fixed reserves of earlier betas. Latency at 1440p/116 FPS is typically 8 to 11 ms from decode to submission.
• One pacing policy. The separate "smoothness" option has been removed; there is a single VRR mode that adapts on its own.

Actual results will vary with the host, network, GPU, operating system, selected stream frame rate, and display. If VRR cannot be used safely, Moonlight falls back to normal fixed V-Sync. Frames the host never produces cannot be smoothed: a game that stalls for 50 ms on the host still stalls on the client.

Existing users: After updating, open Settings and confirm that V-Sync and Enable VRR are enabled. VRR remains opt-in in this beta. Moonlight automatically uses borderless fullscreen while VRR is active.

Downloads

Steam Deck Installation

1. Switch to Desktop Mode.

2. Download Moonlight-VRR-6.1.0-vrr12-linux-x86_64.flatpak from the assets below.

3. Open Konsole and change to the download folder:

   cd ~/Downloads

4. For a first installation, run:

   flatpak install --user ./Moonlight-VRR-6.1.0-vrr12-linux-x86_64.flatpak

   To update or replace an earlier VRR beta, run:

   flatpak install --user --reinstall ./Moonlight-VRR-6.1.0-vrr12-linux-x86_64.flatpak

5. Open Steam in Desktop Mode and add Moonlight as a non-Steam game. If an older Moonlight shortcut already exists, remove it and add Moonlight again so Steam selects the user-installed VRR12 Flatpak.

6. Return to Gaming Mode and launch Moonlight.

No sudo, Mesa downgrade, Flatpak mask, or compatibility installer script is required.

Other Linux Distributions

Install Flatpak through your distribution if it is not already available, download the .flatpak asset, then run from the directory containing the download:

flatpak install --user ./Moonlight-VRR-6.1.0-vrr12-linux-x86_64.flatpak

To replace an existing Moonlight VRR build:

flatpak install --user --reinstall ./Moonlight-VRR-6.1.0-vrr12-linux-x86_64.flatpak

Launch it from the desktop application menu or with:

flatpak run com.moonlight_stream.Moonlight

This bundle targets 64-bit x86 Linux and uses the same Flatpak application ID as standard Moonlight. If both a system-wide and user installation exist, your desktop shortcut may need to be recreated so it opens the user installation.

Windows Installation

Installer

1. Close Moonlight completely before installing the update.
2. Download MoonlightSetup-x64-6.1.0-vrr12.msi from the assets below.
3. Open the downloaded MSI and follow the installer prompts.
4. If Windows warns that the build is from an unknown publisher, confirm that you downloaded it from this release before continuing. This beta build is intentionally unsigned.
5. Launch Moonlight from the Start menu when installation finishes.

The installer can replace an earlier Moonlight VRR beta; uninstalling the previous beta first is not required.

Portable ZIP

1. Close any running copy of Moonlight.
2. Download MoonlightPortable-x64-6.1.0-vrr12.zip from the assets below.
3. Extract the entire ZIP to a new writable folder. Do not run Moonlight directly from inside the ZIP.
4. Run Moonlight.exe from the extracted folder.

Keep all extracted files together. The portable package includes the runtime libraries required by this build.

If replacing an older portable beta, use a fresh folder or replace the complete extracted directory while Moonlight is closed.

How to Use VRR

1. Enable V-Sync in Moonlight.
2. Enable Enable VRR.
3. Make sure FreeSync, G-Sync, or Adaptive-Sync is enabled for the display.
4. In Moonlight's frame-rate setting, choose one of the entries marked VRR.
5. For the best result, select a stream frame rate the host can sustain consistently and that remains inside the display's VRR range.

SHA-256 Checksums

74afff585402722561134f0b6bedb92f5b6f05d22d8b6be4144d32afc6a59962  Moonlight-6.1.0-vrr12-x86_64.AppImage
e405bc8c508f1c4dbdacb3d308ce82a85e199f2e8f5c9359feb5991c3c908a73  Moonlight-VRR-6.1.0-vrr12-linux-x86_64.flatpak
ca3c6ea07a3802f718598d58210912b47756b6a3a104c0f804c9ead1f14cc5de  MoonlightSetup-x64-6.1.0-vrr12.msi
7d78028c40a1a4b2f81d3531aabad10c2bf6b8f29c272d912e9bf5043c6c37e1  MoonlightPortable-x64-6.1.0-vrr12.zip

Beta Notice

This remains an experimental beta. When reporting a regression, include:

• the Moonlight session log;
• operating system and GPU;
• display model and refresh rate;
• selected stream resolution and FPS;
• whether VRR, HDR, and hardware decoding were enabled; and
• for Steam Deck, whether the issue occurred in Desktop Mode or Gaming Mode.