Legal & Licensing
GPL-3.0 operator summary, trademarks, codec patents, redistribution checklist, and privacy.
License#
SolarFlare is distributed under GNU General Public License v3.0 (GPL-3.0-only). The tree contains work derived from LizardByte/Sunshine and other third-party components, each retaining its own copyright notices where applicable. This page is informational only, not legal advice.
Caution
Consult a qualified attorney for questions about using, modifying, or distributing SolarFlare in your jurisdiction.
SolarFlare and Sunshine relationship#
| Aspect | Detail |
|---|---|
| Copyright | SolarFlare fork holders per LICENSE and commit history |
| Upstream | Substantial code lineage from Sunshine (GPL-3.0) |
| Trademarks | "SolarFlare" is the fork product name; "Sunshine" and "Moonlight" are third-party marks |
| Compatibility | Binary sunshine, ~/.config/sunshine, service IDs retained for compatibility — not a trademark grant |
GPL-3.0 summary for operators#
Permitted: private runs without distribution, personal modifications, commercial use of the software itself. Required when you convey the program: provide corresponding source or a written offer, include license and copyright notices, document changes in modified files, and license derivatives under GPL-3.0. Read the full LICENSE text.
Redistribution checklist#
- Source offer matching the binary (or exact tag link). 2. Include LICENSE and preserve notices. 3. Aggregate third-party licenses from third-party/ into NOTICE where required. 4. Do not imply LizardByte, NVIDIA, or Moonlight endorsement. 5. Label forks clearly. 6. Assess H.264/HEVC distribution rules in target regions. Verify SHA256SUMS on repackaged release artifacts.
Privacy and data handling#
Self-hosted: no mandatory cloud telemetry in the streaming path. Pairing certs and config stay on the host (~/.config/sunshine/). Optional webhook_url_* sends events you configure to third-party URLs. API tokens are stored hashed; protect sunshine.conf permissions. Operators own GDPR, logging, and LAN exposure of the HTTPS Web UI (default 47990). Report vulnerabilities privately via GitHub Security Advisories.