CouchRelay for Windows ========================== Share your PC's screen with friends so they can play your games with their own controllers, or join a friend's shared screen. Friends use CouchRelay on Windows or the CouchRelay Decky plugin on a handheld. CouchRelay is beta software: it works well on the devices it has been tested on, but expect rough edges on others. The app tells you when an update is ready. Getting started --------------- 1. Unzip the folder anywhere and run couchrelay-app.exe. Keep the folder together: the app needs the files next to it. If Windows says "Windows protected your PC", select "More info", then "Run anyway" (the app is not signed with a paid certificate yet). 2. Up-to-date graphics drivers are recommended. Sharing uses the graphics card's video encoder. Share this PC (host) -------------------- 1. Open "Share this PC" and select "Start hosting". 2. The first time, CouchRelay installs a virtual controller driver so friends' controllers work in your games. It asks first, and Windows asks for administrator permission. 3. If Windows Firewall asks about couchrelay-stream, allow it. 4. Give your friend your address and the PIN shown on screen. 5. When your friend has typed the PIN, CouchRelay asks whether to allow their device: select "Allow". (To skip this question, turn on "Allow new devices without asking".) Friends on your home network or a VPN need nothing else. For friends over the internet without a VPN, turn on "Open ports with UPnP", or forward UDP port 47910 on your router to this PC ("Router ports" shows the details). CouchRelay uses that one port for everything, encrypted. Join a friend (guest) --------------------- 1. Open "Join", type the address your friend gave you, then the PIN (only the first time). 2. Their screen opens in a window. Your controller, keyboard and mouse work in their games. In the stream window: - Move the pointer to the top-right corner of the picture for the "End stream" button. - Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Q ends the stream, Ctrl+Alt+Shift+X switches full screen on and off. Every other key goes to your friend's PC. Settings apply when a stream starts. "Optimize automatically" (the default) adapts the quality to your connection. "Favor" chooses what it keeps first: frame rate (as smooth as your screen allows, the default) or quality (at most 60 fps, for a sharper picture). Updates ------- When a new version is out, a banner at the top of the app offers it: "Update now" downloads it, checks that it is genuine, and restarts the app with it (not while you share or stream). Removing CouchRelay ----------------------- In the app: Settings, About, "Remove CouchRelay from this PC". This removes the controller driver it installed (with its certificate), your pairings and your settings. Then close the app and delete the folder. Privacy ------- CouchRelay connects only to the friends you share with or join. Once a day it also checks CouchRelay's website for a new version: it downloads a small file and sends nothing about you (Settings, About, "Check for updates automatically" turns this off). Licence ------- CouchRelay is free for noncommercial use under the PolyForm Strict License 1.0.0 (LICENSE.md, NOTICE.md). It ships open-source software under its own licences: see Settings, About, Licences in the app, or the licences folder.