v6.1.0-vrr9: Rebuilt VRR Pacing for Smoother, Lower-Latency Streaming (Beta)
VRR9 rewrites most of Moonlight's experimental VRR pacing code from scratch.
VRR8 delivered major improvements, but it grew through many rounds of fixes and tuning. Over time, that left it with overlapping buffering systems, recovery rules, and platform-specific exceptions that were difficult to maintain and could work against each other.
VRR9 removes that bloat and technical debt in favor of a smaller, cleaner design shared by Windows and Linux.
The Fundamental Difference from VRR8
VRR8 kept a reserve of frames and continuously adjusted that buffer using several layers of feedback and recovery logic. This helped absorb timing changes, but the added complexity could sometimes keep extra latency around after conditions improved.
VRR9 takes a more direct approach: it gets the next frame completely ready first, then waits until the right moment to show it. It learns only the small timing margin needed from recent frames instead of managing the older stack of buffering rules.
If VRR cannot be used safely, Moonlight falls back to normal fixed V-Sync.
What This Means
- Less bloat and technical debt. Most of the old pacing machinery has been replaced instead of extended again.
- Lower and more consistent latency. Frames are held only as long as the current stream needs.
- Smoother changes in frame rate. The new design can follow gameplay, menus, cutscenes, and temporary performance dips without carrying old delay forward.
- More consistent behavior across platforms. Windows and Linux now share the same core pacing design.
- A cleaner foundation for future fixes. There are fewer interacting systems to tune, debug, and maintain.
Actual results will still vary with the host, network, GPU, operating system, and display.
Existing users: After updating, open Settings and enable Enable VRR. VRR remains off by default in this beta and requires V-Sync. Moonlight automatically uses borderless fullscreen while VRR is active.
Downloads
| Platform | Download |
|---|---|
| Steam Deck guided installer | install-vrr9-steamos.sh
|
| SteamOS / Linux x86_64 Flatpak | Moonlight-VRR-6.1.0-vrr9-linux-x86_64.flatpak
|
| Windows 10 / 11 installer | MoonlightSetup-x64-6.1.0-vrr9.msi
|
| Windows 10 / 11 portable | MoonlightPortable-x64-6.1.0-vrr9.zip
|
Steam Deck Installation
- Switch to Desktop Mode.
- Download
install-vrr9-steamos.sh. - Open Konsole and run:
cd ~/Downloads
bash install-vrr9-steamos.sh- Follow the prompts, then add Moonlight to Steam and return to Gaming Mode.
The installer does not use sudo and changes only the current user's Flatpak installation. It also applies the current temporary SteamOS Gaming Mode compatibility fix and removes that fix automatically after 14 days.
Manual Flatpak Installation
flatpak install --user ./Moonlight-VRR-6.1.0-vrr9-linux-x86_64.flatpakTo replace an earlier VRR beta:
flatpak install --user --reinstall ./Moonlight-VRR-6.1.0-vrr9-linux-x86_64.flatpakHow to Use VRR
- Enable V-Sync in Moonlight.
- Enable Enable VRR.
- Make sure FreeSync, G-Sync, or Adaptive-Sync is enabled for your display.
- Choose one of Moonlight's VRR FPS options.
Windows SHA-256 Checksums
1F25B3D61767E9B9426880251347191A95940D4912D02F94031C90BB68E8CEAE MoonlightSetup-x64-6.1.0-vrr9.msi
8A0D21AC91BDB44AA4333C62043BC320B24A79E88F1183EFC11F1D53490D85FE MoonlightPortable-x64-6.1.0-vrr9.zip
Beta Notice
This is an experimental beta. When reporting an issue, include the Moonlight session log, platform, display refresh rate, selected stream FPS, and whether SteamOS testing was done in Desktop Mode or Gaming Mode.