Polaris v1.4.9

A setup update shaped by a fresh install on a real host. First-time setup now also covers the encoder, the launch mode and a trusted network, saved settings take effect without a restart, and restarting Polaris from the console or the tray works again. Nova 1.4.9 comes out alongside it, and Nova 1.4.8 keeps working with this host. Existing settings and paired devices keep working.

New

• First-time setup has two optional steps. Artwork checks a SteamGridDB key with SteamGridDB before saving it, and AI Explanations picks a provider, tests it and turns it on.
• First-time setup also shows which graphics card encodes your streams and what it still needs, such as the driver swap AMD cards need on Fedora, lets you pick a launch mode, and can trust your home network with one click. A trusted network now applies as soon as you save it.
• Artwork alternatives in Nova work: pick a different poster, hero, logo or icon for a game. Earlier versions of Polaris could not answer that request.
• A saved SteamGridDB key or AI provider takes effect right away, for the cover search, artwork search in Nova and AI explanations. Settings ask for a restart only when a change still needs one.
• With the Codex CLI, the AI model list is the one Codex offers your account, and the model Codex is set to use is the default. When Codex refuses a request, the test says why.
• The uninstall guide covers removing Polaris cleanly or starting over, including what a package removal leaves behind.
• A Space can be removed for good, deleting its games and saves after you type its name. Archiving, which keeps them, stays the default.
• With Nova 1.4.9, Play Setup can move Steam Big Picture between your Desktop and a Space.
• Host Setup on the Spaces page checks the gaming runtime this PC needs and can download it by itself, once a Polaris build includes one.
• The app editor on Linux shows Mirror the host desktop, so an app can stream your real desktop on a Private Stream host without editing apps.json.
• Host Setup on the Spaces page can install the Spaces security support and give Polaris access to Docker. A password prompt opens on the host's screen for someone at the PC to approve, and the terminal steps still work.

Fixed

• Host Virtual Display stays available on a KDE host that borrows a connector while another mode, such as Private Stream, is set, and a mode switch from Nova no longer erases that connector from the settings file.
• Host Virtual Display says what it will do on a KDE host without EVDI, where it borrows a connector instead of adding a display, and the settings page shows the host's current answer again after a restart.
• Restart from the console or the tray works again. On a host that runs Polaris as a user service, the request could do nothing, and a later restart of the service could stall and leave a crash report.
• The application launcher and the panel show the Polaris icon; packages shipped the launcher entry without one. The tray's playing, pausing and locked states now look different.
• Host setup removes the copy of the controller rules or module settings that an older Polaris left in /etc, and names a copy it keeps because you may have edited it.
• KDE hosts stop collecting a hidden launcher entry with every update, and the old ones are cleaned up.
• The Spaces page says plainly that a Space cannot be created on this version yet and points at regular streaming meanwhile, instead of showing a setup check you cannot fix.
• The Spaces security helper names what it found and the command that fixes it, and accepts an input rule identical to the one it installs.
• Hosts with a virtual display no longer log two warnings about it that did not apply.
• Choosing Desktop as a device's Default Space no longer removes its Spaces. Default Space now only sets where a device opens first, and two devices with the same name are told apart by when they paired.
• Automatic artwork no longer borrows another game's pictures. An entry only gets artwork from its own game, matched by Steam app id or by exactly its name, and desktop entries keep the desktop image. The app editor can remove an entry's artwork and stop Polaris looking it up again.

Heads up

• New installs start in Private Stream, where games run on a private display instead of your desktop. Existing hosts keep the stream mode they have, and Desktop still shows your desktop.
• Every Polaris install or update removes the KMS capture permission. If this host uses KMS capture, run sudo -H polaris --setup-host --enable-kms after installing, then restart Polaris. The startup log and Doctor now say so.
• The public Spaces runtime download is still not available, so a Space cannot be created on a released build yet.
• Bazzite hosts should still install the Fedora 44 RPM through rpm-ostree. The system extension stays withdrawn.
• SteamOS remains experimental Desktop Mode support rather than certified Game Mode support.
• Steam Input stays manual and read-only.

wget --output-document=./Polaris-fedora44-x86_64.rpm https://github.com/papi-ux/polaris/releases/download/v1.4.9/Polaris-fedora44-x86_64.rpm &&
sudo dnf install "./Polaris-fedora44-x86_64.rpm" &&
sudo -H polaris --setup-host &&
systemctl --user restart polaris

wget --output-document=./Polaris-arch-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst https://github.com/papi-ux/polaris/releases/download/v1.4.9/Polaris-arch-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst &&
sudo pacman -U ./Polaris-arch-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst &&
sudo -H polaris --setup-host &&
systemctl --user restart polaris

wget --output-document=./Polaris-ubuntu24.04-x86_64.deb https://github.com/papi-ux/polaris/releases/download/v1.4.9/Polaris-ubuntu24.04-x86_64.deb &&
sudo apt install ./Polaris-ubuntu24.04-x86_64.deb &&
sudo -H polaris --setup-host &&
systemctl --user restart polaris

wget --output-document=./Polaris-steamos3.8-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst https://github.com/papi-ux/polaris/releases/download/v1.4.9/Polaris-steamos3.8-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst &&
(
set -e
trap 'sudo steamos-readonly enable' EXIT
sudo steamos-readonly disable || exit $?
sudo pacman-key --init || exit $?
sudo pacman-key --populate || exit $?
sudo pacman -Sy || exit $?
sudo pacman -U ./Polaris-steamos3.8-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst || exit $?
sudo -H polaris --setup-host || exit $?
sudo steamos-readonly enable || exit $?
trap - EXIT
) &&
systemctl --user enable --now polaris

Assets: Polaris-fedora44-x86_64.rpm · Polaris-arch-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst · Polaris-ubuntu24.04-x86_64.deb · Polaris-steamos3.8-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst