alan
1ed57291f9
An Omarchy shell plugin: a Python/asyncio daemon that discovers network displays and serves an encoded screen capture for them to pull, plus a Quickshell bar widget and panel to drive it. The screen comes from the xdg-desktop-portal ScreenCast interface (asked for every time, never remembered), goes through GStreamer, and is served from a local HTTP port. Desktop audio is mixed in from the default output's monitor. The container follows the receiver: WebM/VP8 for Cast, MPEG-TS/H.264 for DLNA, HLS for AirPlay video. The stream port has to be reachable from the LAN, and none of these protocols can carry a credential, so the capability is the URL: a fresh random path per session, refused to anything off the LAN, capped at four concurrent readers.
88 lines
3.5 KiB
Markdown
88 lines
3.5 KiB
Markdown
# Screencast
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An [Omarchy](https://omarchy.org) shell plugin that finds the displays on your
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network and casts this desktop to them, with the controls in the bar.
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Google Cast (Chromecast, Google TV, Nest), DLNA/UPnP TVs, and AirPlay video.
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The screen is captured through the `xdg-desktop-portal` ScreenCast interface,
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encoded with GStreamer, and served from a local HTTP port that the receiver
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pulls from. Desktop audio is mixed in from the default output's monitor.
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> **Status: early. Looking for testers.** It works here on Cast; DLNA and
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> AirPlay have had far less exercise. Bug reports welcome.
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## Install
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```bash
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omarchy plugin add https://github.com/alanfortlink/omarchy-screencast --enable
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```
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On first run the plugin builds a private virtualenv under
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`~/.local/lib/screencast` for its daemon. That needs no password. It does need
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these Arch packages, and it will tell you in the panel if any are missing:
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```
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gstreamer gst-plugins-base gst-plugins-good gst-plugins-bad gst-plugin-pipewire
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gst-libav xdg-desktop-portal xdg-desktop-portal-hyprland
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```
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Remove with `omarchy plugin remove io.github.alanfortlink.screencast`.
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## Using it
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Click the cast icon (), click a display. The portal asks which screen to
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share every time — the choice is deliberately never remembered. While casting
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you get stop, pause, change-screen, a live preview and the receiver's volume.
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Quality, bitrate, desktop audio and pointer visibility are at the bottom of the
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panel.
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Keys while the panel is open: `↑`/`↓` and `Enter` to cast, `r` rescan, `s` stop,
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`p` pause, `Esc` close.
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For a keybinding:
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```
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bind = SUPER SHIFT, C, exec, omarchy-shell io.github.alanfortlink.screencast cast "TV name"
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bind = SUPER SHIFT, X, exec, omarchy-shell io.github.alanfortlink.screencast stop
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```
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The same from a terminal: `screencast-server devices | cast "TV name" | status |
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stop | pair "TV name"`.
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Settings live in `~/.config/screencast/config.json` (`fps`, `maxHeight`,
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`bitrate`, `encoder`, `audio`, `cursor`, `port`, `autoReconnect`) and the panel
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writes the same file.
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## Two things to know
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**It is not low latency.** Cast, DLNA and AirPlay video are *pull* protocols:
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you hand the device a URL and it buffers. Expect one to three seconds, same as
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casting a tab from a phone. Fine for a film, a talk or a dashboard; wrong for
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playing a game on the TV. Low-latency mirroring means Miracast or real AirPlay
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mirroring, neither of which has a working Linux sender.
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**The receiver connects to you**, so a default-deny inbound firewall — which
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Omarchy sets up — silently drops it. The panel notices and offers a button that
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opens the port for your subnet only, through one polkit password dialog.
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Nothing to type.
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AirPlay here is AirPlay *video*, not mirroring (mirroring needs Apple's
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FairPlay handshake). Apple TVs and most AirPlay 2 TVs accept it; some want
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pairing first, via the **Pair** button on the row. Support comes from `pyatv`,
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which is installed best-effort — if it fails, Cast and DLNA carry on.
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## Troubleshooting
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* **Nothing found.** mDNS and SSDP do not cross subnets, VPNs, or the client
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isolation some routers apply to Wi-Fi. Compare with
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`avahi-browse -rt _googlecast._tcp`.
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* **The TV spins forever.** Almost always the firewall above.
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* **Stutter.** Lower the bitrate or resolution; Wi-Fi is usually the limit.
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Cast is the one path that encodes VP8 on the CPU.
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* **Logs.** `~/.local/state/screencast/daemon.log`, and
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`~/.cache/screencast/install.log` for the install.
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## Licence
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MIT — see [LICENSE](LICENSE).
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