PLANK (Playa Connekt) is an open-source, low-latency remote-workstation system for Linux and macOS. It is built for color-sensitive creative work and everyday desktop access, including physical workstations used both locally and remotely.
Install a Host on the workstation and a Client on the computer you use to access it. This repository brings together both products, their shared transport, packaging, documentation and qualification tests.
Downloads · Documentation · Build from source · Contribute
| Product | Platform | Package |
|---|---|---|
| Linux Host | Rocky Linux 9.7 / RHEL 9 family, x86-64, NVIDIA graphics and X11 | RPM |
| Linux Client | Ubuntu 26.04, x86-64; Wayland is the qualified desktop path | DEB |
| macOS Host | macOS 27 or newer, Apple Silicon | Signed, notarized PKG |
| macOS Client | macOS 15 or newer, Apple Silicon | Signed, notarized PKG |
Rocky Linux 9.7 is the Linux Host build and qualification baseline. The Mac Client uses one package for macOS 15 and newer, built with SDK 27 or newer; the Host has a separate macOS 27 minimum. Windows and other platforms are not currently qualified PLANK products.
PLANK is in late integration and production hardening. Use the release notes for the version you install. Supported targets do not imply that every GPU, tablet, display arrangement or OS update has passed qualification. See the platform boundaries and acceptance criteria.
- Video quality: selectable H.264 and HEVC profiles, including 8/10-bit and 4:4:4 workflows. Linux RGB-identity profiles preserve component mapping; available profiles and capture precision depend on the Host.
- Workstation access: operating-system account authentication, existing desktop access, session takeover and recovery across login/logout.
- Display choices: physical and virtual/headless layouts, Client display matching, and native-pixel or scaled presentation within each Host's limits.
- Input and audio: keyboard, mouse, Wacom/pen input, desktop audio and text clipboard synchronization. Tablet behavior is platform-specific; Linux raw-HID forwarding and macOS pen-pressure injection are different paths.
- Connection controls: per-bookmark capture, encoding and bitrate settings, plus an in-session toolbar with live statistics and session controls.
- Native transport: encrypted QUIC using Kyber/Kymux and Quinn, with RaptorQ forward error correction for media.
Microphone forwarding is available from Linux and macOS Clients to a compatible macOS Host, not to Linux Hosts. Optional media features require their supported Client/Host combination and OS permissions.
Ten-bit encoding does not guarantee ten-bit capture: the Linux NvFBC path has an 8-bit source even when encoded as 10-bit. Native X11/XShm capture is the experimental Linux 10-bit source path. Decoder selection preserves the requested format: exact-format hardware decoding is preferred, with software fallback where necessary. A GPU's generic HEVC support is not proof of 10-bit 4:4:4 support.
PLANK is not a drop-in GameStream, Sunshine or Moonlight replacement on the wire. Use PLANK Hosts and Clients with compatible release versions. Gamepads, generic touchscreen forwarding, HDR and automatic UPnP port mapping are not current product features.
Download packages from PLANK releases. Follow that release's upgrade notes; some transport changes require upgrading Host and Client together. Candidate builds are not releases.
On Linux, install the downloaded package with the package manager. Replace
VERSION and RELEASE below with the actual filename:
# Rocky Linux Host
sudo dnf install ./plank-host-VERSION-RELEASE.el9.x86_64.rpm
# Ubuntu Client
sudo apt install ./plank-client_VERSION_amd64.debOn macOS, open the appropriate Host or Client PKG and complete the setup window. macOS controls privacy approvals; installation does not silently grant them. See permission setup. The macOS Host installer requires FileVault to be disabled; remote FileVault preboot unlock is not supported.
Open PLANK Client, add a bookmark with the Host address and a nickname, and choose the display layout and encoding profile. Bookmarks can be created while a Host is offline. Reachable Hosts advertise their available options; check manual selections when configuring an offline Host.
The default Host port is 28989 on TCP and UDP. Provide a reachable path through your LAN, VPN or administrator-managed forwarding/firewall rules. PLANK does not supply a connection broker or configure your router. Host identity uses trust on first use; encryption does not independently verify an unknown Host on its first connection.
Administrator policy lives in /etc/plank/host.conf and
/etc/plank/client.conf on both operating systems. Use the template for your
platform; Linux and macOS Host options are not interchangeable:
Bookmarks and ordinary Client preferences are per-user. On the Linux Host,
[display] startup_layout = physical preserves a physical-first boot workflow;
virtual selects headless startup. Session display choices belong to bookmarks.
Remove Linux packages with sudo dnf remove plank-host or
sudo apt remove plank-client. On macOS, use the installed Host or Client
uninstall script described in macOS configuration and removal.
Ordinary macOS uninstall retains configuration and user data; it is not a purge.
| Location | Role |
|---|---|
Linux Host at apps/host/linux/ |
Maintained Sunshine-derived Host submodule |
Client at apps/client/ |
Shared Ubuntu/macOS Client submodule, derived from Moonlight Qt |
| macOS Host | Native Host source in this repository, not a separate fork |
| Transport and protocols | Shared transport, schemas and negotiation |
| Packaging and scripts | Platform installers, reproducible builds and validation |
| Tests, probes and documentation | Automated checks, hardware qualification and product contracts |
Start with Building from source, then the appropriate platform runbook. Build from the parent repository's pinned submodule revisions and required dependency patches, not independent upstream checkouts or arbitrary system libraries. Hosted CI and documented local builders use the same platform contracts. Root CMake builds qualification tools and tests, not all product packages.
See contributing for component changes and coordinated parent pin updates. HANDOFF.md records development state and outstanding tests; it is not a release announcement. Locally retained packages follow the artifact catalog layout.
PLANK builds on Sunshine, Moonlight Qt, Kyber, and other open-source projects. Their histories, copyright notices and component licenses are retained.
PLANK contains multiple licenses; consult the license files in each component and dependency. The PLANK transport boundary is AGPL-3.0-or-later.