Change Log

We are constantly trying to improve Parsec based on your feedback and ideas from the gaming community. If you ever want to suggest a product enhancement, you can vote on ideas or suggest new ones here, or you can shoot us a message on Discord. When you make a suggestion on our feedback site, you'll receive updates automatically as we work on it.

This change log is the comprehensive history of Parsec's product changes. Some of the features listed have been deprecated or were changed in later updates. We thought, rather than changing old posts, it would be fun for everyone to see the whole history of the product's development. For a perspective on Parsec's product and our product philosophy, we wrote a blog post in December 2017 about the early history of the Parsec Game Streaming software.

3/16/2018 - Build 146-0

• - Approved Apps: You can now enable approved apps, limiting your guests' access to only the apps you choose. Check this video for more details.
• - The server will now send a minimum framerate of ~16 fixing various graphical anomalies when viewing static images (eg the desktop).
• - Fixed "black border offset" issue on Intel devices (maybe others)
• - Fixed permissions in Linux .deb package to conform to standards.
• - Improved color accuracy when connecting to hosts using Intel video devices.
• - Improved stability of Android app.
• - Controllers should work more consistently on MacOS and Linux.
• - Fixes to our rendering to improve compatibility with Intel models that were showing a skewed image.
• - Several small bugfixes and optimizations.

2/14/2018 - Build 144-1

• - Incredible news...news...news. We released a new algorithm to fix the VOIP echo. This eliminates the issue that you can hear yourself when you speak in Discord, Teamspeak, and Skype (really? you still use this?) while connected to a friend. No more rage quitting! This is experimental, but we think it will help a lot. If you have an issue, please let us know.
• - Choose which monitor Parsec streams, so you can pick the monitor that you see in case you have one of those epic 8 monitor set ups. This setting is in the new Host Settings Tab.
• - Gaming laptops always had issues hosting sessions in Parsec. Now, you can choose the GPU that Parsec captures video from. This should make it easier to host from your 12 pound gaming laptop.
• - Parsec client on-the-go. You can download a client-only version of Parsec for Windows here. This lets you use Parsec on your work computer, school computer, or anywhere without administrative privileges. Once you launch the app, you will see the old interface, but it works!
• - Parsec Beta available in The Google Play Store.
• - Not so important to you all, but we replaced our infrastructure to make things snappier.

2/1/2018 - Build 142-1

• - Stop your friends from trolling you. Limit the access that your friends have to controlling your computer. New permissions allow you to specifically set each user's permissions to gamepads, mouse, and/or keyboard. These settings are available in the Friends tab (for permanent permissions) or available on the hosting tab during each connection.
• - Networking fixes to reduce 6023, 6025, and 6024 errors.
• - Less spam. No more emails from Parsec for now (except friend requests, password reset, and a few other important emails).
• - Stop breaking your host's resolution
• - you can default to the host resolution by choosing "Do not change" in the stream resolution settings on the computer settings tab.
• - Paperspace starts are fixed.

1/18/2018 - Build 141-0

• - UPnP is back...back again. The new network settings tab gives you the ability to turn UPnP on/off and set your start ports.
• - If you're running into networking errors, we improved the behavior when you've forwarded ports.
• - Let's play some games. Approve your friend connection requests from within the host tab without mashing ctrl + F1
• - Map your controllers. Option in the overlay menu or CTRL+ALT+m and start re-mapping that controller whose left trigger acts like a right bumper.
• - Right click and better mouse handling in Android. Civilization 6 on the train, yes.
• - Good riddance ugly yellow text. Replaced with a pretty bubble messaging system.
• - Error codes when something goes wrong, so you get to see the messy innards of our app. Error 37 anyone?
• - No more guessing which John is your friend. You can find your friends with their username + hash. Looking at you Link#1337
• - We now keep the Parsec Game Window looking nice when using non-standard DPI settings in Windows.
• - Relative and absolute mouse fixes. WoW and other MMOs have a lot of mouse mode switches.

1/4/2018 - Build 140-0

• - New modern UI released!
• - Much more forgiving approval process when a friend is connecting to your PC
• - Ability to remap your current gamepad/controller via a menu option in the overlay button (or CTRL+SHIFT+M)
• - Attempt to try secondary GPU adapters when initializing the encoder
• - Misc. Android cleanup and bug fixes -- better touch support
• - Windows installer now automatically adds firewall rules for Parsec
• - More reliable overlay button behavior at low framerates
• - Faster update downloading via a globally distributed CDN
• - Much more resilient peer-to-peer connections (-12007/-12006 reduction)
• - Fixed a crash when pasting large amounts of data via the clipboard through Parsec
• - Wayland support in Ubuntu (Linux)
• - Major BUD revisions, improved congestion control on low quality networks
• - Improved connectivity through NATs (-6023/-6033 error improvements)
• - Fixed crashes related to high framerates in fullscreen mode while vsync is off
• - Parsec is now bundled with a system service that helps prevent -14003 errors -- requires a re-install
• - Fixed a bug that could prevent certain displays from changing resolutions
• - Fixed bugs related to Intel decoder crashing, reinitializes automatically
• - OpenGL rendering optimizations
• - Decoder now falls back to software mode with a warning message if there is no hardware support

9/13/2017 - Build 133-2

• - New on-screen button overlay added (appears in the upper lefthand corner of the client window)
• - Button currently allows you to switch to/from windowed mode and disconnect
• - The button can be hidden permanently in Settings (or client_overlay=0 in config.txt)
• - Many controller related fixes, updated to new ViGEm client library
• - If you haven't already, upgrade your ViGEm version to 1.13.0.0.
• - New "Reset controller driver" option added to system tray right-click for clearing misc. controller errors
• - Many common error codes (-6023/-6033 etc.) now have more informative error messages
• - Fixed unintuitive CTRL+F1 and CTRL+F2 behavior when approving friends
• * CTRL+F1 can now be passed to a remote machine from Windows clients if you are an admin
• * You will no longer toggle input off for yourself when pressing CTRL+F2 if connected to a remote machine
• - Fixed decoding bugs / black screen on Samsung (and perhaps other) Android devices
• - Fixed a bug that caused clipboard pasting through Parsec to fail if the text contained a '%' symbol
• - Reduced number of sockets from 4 to 3 for less connection overhead and easier port management
• - New client <-> server messaging system -- more informative error messages returned from the server
• - Parsec now prevents you from exiting the app while connected
• - Fixed RPI client to worth with Raspbian Stretch

8/15/2017 - Build 132-0

• - Now using ViGEm for virtual controller support -- special thanks to @Nefarius
• * Controller driver now works on 32-bit Windows
• - New Parsec Gallery feature: takes shareable screenshots as you play with Parsec! [DEPRECATED]
• * Hotkey is ALT+SHIFT+S
• - Fixed weird mouse behavior in certain games like Minecraft
• - Bug fixes related to UI freezes and crashes when starting/stopping Parsec
• - Joystick D-pad bug fixes
• - Android now displays error messages and server version warnings
• - Enhanced logging display in console and vastly improved backend logging system
• * This will help us (@benjy_parsec *cough*) debug your issues easier!
• - Parsec client now auto updates when running minimized or in the background
• - Parsec will not disconnect you while playing when an update is released
• - Parsec client can now launch headlessly via command line while server is running (Windows)
• - Fixed numerous problematic resolutions across platforms (i.e. 1366x768)
• - Many more connectivity bug fixes related to -6023 errors
• - Removed a handful of annoying and meaningless UPnP errors from the console
• - Fixed text overlay display on macOS (i.e. quit message when connecting)
• - Desktop icon included for Raspberry Pi .deb package
• - Exceptions on Windows are more obvious now (some of you have probably noticed the popup)

7/10/2017 - Build 130-1

• - New preset quality settings that change things like min_qp and encoder_bitrate under the hood
• * These presets also include new quality optimizations like VBR two pass encoding
• * The "Performance" setting will leave Parsec operating exactly the same as it does now
• * The "Bandwidth" setting now serves as an override to the bitrate chosen via the presets
• - Switched to new server ID (sid) system -- your machine will keep a persistent ID across sessions
• * The ID is displayed in the console
• * You can use this ID to connect to your machine via the command line argument "server_id="
• * If you have saved your password, server_id is the only argument needed (headless!)
• - Complete connectivity initialization overhaul in an effort to fix 400X and -60XX errors
• - Ports are now semi-randomized to prevent uPnP port collisions
• * Set "network_server_start_port=8000" to preserve the old behavior
• - Numerous low level bug fixes aimed at proper application cleanup and updating
• * Fewer hangs/crashes when connecting/disconnecting
• - Linux now uses lower level hardware decoding via VAAPI for improved speed and support
• * No runtime dependency on libva (run from a USB stick?)
• - Updates are now gzipped for faster binary downloads
• - Linux .deb package now includes a desktop icon
• - Added a warning message when hitting the "Turn Off" button when connected remotely
• - Android client latency improvements
• - Fixed some strange numlock/arrow keys behavior on macos
• - Parsec now uses the new "uncurl" HTTP library created by yours truly (open source, MIT license)
• * Compiles into a 20KB static library, only dependency is OpenSSL 1.1.0+
• * There is no documentation, but there will be soon! Look at include/uncurl/uncurl.h for the API
• - New "auth snippet" (userdata) system from self launching from the cloud
• * Those running on AWS with and existing auth snippet will need to refresh it with the new one

6/19/2017 - Build 126-1

• - Introducing EXPERIMENTAL Android client -- this will contain bugs, find it here.
• - Parsec on Windows now has uiAccess, which allows interaction with protected apps like the Task Manager
• * Requires a reinstall from the downloads page, does not come with automatic update
• - Added a convenience link to open the configuration file on the Settings page
• - Network code cleanup in an attempt to reduce 4001 and other networking errors
• - Added an 'Autodetect' setting for Remote Resolution
• - Added the Network Adapter setting to select a specific NIC by slot
• - Added prevention against deadlocks during errors in encode loop due to resolution/capturing issues
• - Binary names changed to parsec and parsec.exe (new installations only)
• - Binaries on Linux/Raspberry Pi will now live in /usr/bin/ (new installations only)
• - Switched to major/minor build tagging system
• * Major build numbers (the number before the '-') will be compatible across minor releases
• - Raspberry Pi installer switched to a Debian package, install with dpkg -i
• - Configuration file and Parsec assets now live in ~/.parsec on macOS/Linux/Raspberry Pi
• - 'Refresh' is now shown when no servers are available

5/22/2017 - Build 125

• - Introducing Linux x86-64 client, .deb available on the downloads page
• * Tested to work well with Ubuntu 16.04 LTS; may work with other recent gnome/X11 based distros
• * Hardware support for Intel/AMD based decoders; software decoder also available for fallback
• - Multi-client support added with revised "Host" tab
• * i.e. multiple people can connect to one host at the same time
• * Controller support enabled for all connected clients
• * Resolution and other settings set by "client 0", the first connected client
• * Bitrate setting divided by number of connected clients
• * The "Host" tab now allows for toggling input and kicking clients individually
• * Added the CTRL+F3 global hotkey to act as a kill switch to boot all connected clients
• * Maximum number of clients can be set with 'server_max_clients'
• - Revised connectivity and NAT traversal with BUD
• * If you had trouble connecting through a firewall, give it another try
• * Client side now also uses uPnP, requesting ports 9000+
• * Server side may require more ports open if multiple clients connecting, uPnP will make requests
• * Server side port range starts at 8000 and works it way up
• * Port ranges can be changed with 'network_server_start_port' and 'network_client_stat_port'
• * TCP is much dumber; it needs open ports and traditional accept/connect flow
• - Server will now be smarter about switching to a supported resolution
• - Software decoding now available as a fallback on Windows
• - Added hotkey messages on Connect/Host tabs
• - Fixed a bug that could cause "beachballing" on macOS
• - Automated web launching back by popular demand
• * Can be launched via the command line with valid 'session_id' and 'server_instance_id' arguments
• - Tooltip explanations added to certain settings on "Settings" tab

5/2/2017 - Build 120

• - Parsec client and server are now a single program on Windows
• * You may safely uninstall the Parsec server and use only the client
• * The server will continue to update, but will no longer be downloadable from the website
• - New user interface on macOS and Windows
• * Added a link to "Sign up" from the login page
• * The "Connect" section is a replacement for the server list
• * The "Host" section (Windows 8.1+ only) allows you to toggle the server on/off
• * New "Settings" section contains easy settings management via dropdown menus
• ** Configuration file is still available, see this support article
• * The "Console" section is for advanced debugging
• * Added convenience links to "Friends" page on the website, the FAQ, and Discord
• - Added protection against running multiple instances of Parsec on Windows
• - New friendly error messages on connection failure. Hopefully you will never see these ;)
• - Fixed a bug that gave a "Unable to connect" message when incorrect password was supplied
• - Fixed a bug that could cause program deadlocks when incorrect password was supplied (server only)
• - Servers disappear faster from your server list after they are shut down (really this time)
• - Fixed a bug that could cause updating to fail for users with high latency or low bandwidth
• - Connection errors pertaining to failed resolution changes are more obvious now
• - Fixed 1366x768 resolution on macOS

4/20/2017 - Build 115

• - Added the ability to multiple controllers to be functional at the same time in the same game (up to 4)
• - 32-bit Windows binaries now available
• - Client can now pass ALT+TAB, ALT+F4 and other system keys when 'client_immersive' setting is set to 1
• * Press CTRL+ALT+I to toggle
• - Fixed a critical memory leak in the client causing poor performance / instability for AMD based systems
• - macOS will now fall back on software decoding when a hardware decoder is not available
• * If you see a warning pertaining to this, take it seriously!
• - Added the ability to manually set FPS via 'encoder_fps' setting (will not be as smooth if left unset)
• - Added the ability to subscribe to the Parsec 'warp' release channel
• * The 'warp' channel can be set in the config by setting 'app_channel=warp'.
• * Do NOT count on this release working on your system, it is for testing and evaluation only
• - Added "true" fullscreen desktop mode via the 'client_fullscreen' setting (spaces on macOS!)
• - Added support to manually add controller mappings via the controller.txt in the client directory
• - Fixed a bug that caused the edge of the screen to be 1px less than intended (fixes Windows snap)
• - Servers that are gracefully closed will now be removed from server list immediately
• - macOS and Windows binaries are now trusted/signed
• - New Windows installer with proper labeling in "Programs and Features"
• - Fixed a bug that could cause client/server to continue to ask for login even after saving password
• - UPnP will now complete faster on server startup if ports are already open
• - Fixed a bug that caused UPnP to open ports 8000-8004 even if other ports were manually set in config
• - Fixed a bug that could cause client lockup in Windows in rare situations
• - More numlock fixes related to SHIFT+UP et al.

4/6/2017 - Build 114

• - Significant revision to dynamic bandwidth adjustment algorithm
• * This should help a lot with blocky or blurry video, even when you have the bandwidth
• - Overhaul to joystick/controller handling system -- if yours didn't work, give it another try
• - Windows & macOS now support 1440p (2560x1440) and 2560x1600 -- if your GPU supports it on the other end
• - Dramatically reduced CPU usage on macOS
• - Lower latency and better decoding performance on macOS
• - Disabled "big cursor" when moving mouse rapidly on macOS
• - Disabled press-and-hold accent menu from popping up over window on macOS
• - Command+Q works again for quitting the streaming window on macOS
• - Fixed bugs related to mismatched Num Lock or Caps Lock state between client and server
• * i.e. arrow keys sending numbers... no longer die after sending "8" instead of running away
• - Fixed a bug that could crash or cause poor performance when games were in fullscreen mode above 60Hz
• - Reworked error codes and logging system for better debugging/support
• - Multiple servers can now be made available from the same WAN IP address
• - Added the ability to shut off server temporarily from taskbar icon
• - Fixed a bug causing green padding at 1680x1050 resolution
• - Fixed a bug that would cause bitrate to drop to 1Mb/s after resolution change mid session
• - Switched to hostname instead of IP address from server selection screen
• - Switched on-screen font to something a bit less unreadable, and improved performance when being shown
• - Client will warn you when trying to connect to a server that is incompatible
• - Switched to Dockerized, more scalable backend infrastructure -- you don't care, but it's good for you
• - Switched to unified build number across client and server apps

3/21/2017 - Client 78, Server 111

• - Fixed a bug that could cause garbled audio
• - Added on-screen text display for quit key reminder
• - Fixed a bug that could cause the terminal to show up on macOS (requires reinstall)
• - Raspberry Pi now autogenerates a config.txt file
• - Fixed a bug that could cause long email addresses to be truncated
• - Network stability improvements over UDP (BUD)

3/6/2017 - Client 77, Server 110

• - New client and server UI on macOS and Windows! Welcome to '90s
• - Fixed a bug that could cause remote non-admin access to fail, along with sharing input
• - Fixed a bug that could cause emails/passwords with non-standard characters to be rejected
• - Smoother framerate on Raspberry Pi

2/22/2017 - Client 76, Server 109

• - Ability to select local network adapter via network_adapter configuration variable
• * Can be set to a slot number (i.e. "1") or the address (i.e. "192.168.1.105")
• - Much smoother performance in true fullscreen mode... borderless window still preferred
• - More robust cursor handling when going in and out of relative mode
• - Better cursor compression (Diablo 3 large cursors anyone?)
• - Monochrome cursors now have a white halo to appear better on dark backgrounds (I-beam)
• - Fixed a bug that could cause a crash on client close
• - Faster window close on client exit for when your boss walks into your cubicle at work

2/15/2017 - Client 75, Server 106

• - Introduction of the Raspberry Pi 3 client, get it here
• - Server resolution can now be changed mid session without ill effects
• - More robust NAT traversal via UDP hole punching, port forwarding probably no longer needed
• - Clipboard data is now shared from client to server
• - Fixed a bug that could cause inputs (mouse & keyboard) to stop working mid session
• - Server will not start if ports can not bind
• - Improved connection speed (by about one second)
• - Fixed a bug that could cause quick client reconnections to same server to fail
• - When using TCP, connection will no longer hang for very long periods of time
• - Intel QuickSync encoder stability fixes
• - Additional special quit key combination: ALT + CTRL + ~

1/23/2017 - Client 71, Server 97

• - Improved connection speed
• - Improved rendering latency on all platforms
• - Client resolution now preserves aspect ratio of server, inserts black bars
• - Client window is now resizable
• - TCP can now be used as a fallback by setting network_protocol=1 in client.txt
• - Server can now output video as an MPEG transport stream by setting network_mpeg_ts=1

12/29/2016 - Client 56, Server 74

• - AMD hardware decoder implemented for Windows
• - New low latency UDP protocol w/ dynamic bandwidth adjustment... open UDP ports 8000-8004!
• - All connections secured with DTLS 1.2, AES 128-bit encryption
• - Reduced default audio buffer for lower latency
• - Fixed a bug related to audio capture and opus encoding (server)
• - Client can now be launched in windowed mode with 'client_windowed' configuration option
• - Windowed mode size can be set with 'client_window_x' and 'client_window_y'
• - Mouse button 4 and 5 now work on mice with more than 3 buttons
• - Fixed reversed axis on certain controllers
• - More joystick/controller support
• - Windows 32 bit binaries now available
• - Fixed a bug related to Windows 7 D3D9 mode and NVIDIA decoder
• - Fixed a bug that caused strange app behavior on remote server on client exit

10/17/2016 - Client 44, Server 55

• - Fixed a bug that could cause the server to shut down unexpectedly while idle

10/16/2016 - Client 43

• - Dramatically improved NVIDIA CUVID decoder latency -- on par with Quick Sync now

10/15/2016 - Client 42, Server 53

• - Added option to skip UPnP
• - New configuration option to adjust audio buffer (latency)
• - Fixed "Carbon Component Manager" warning message OSX
• - Numlock now turned off on server upon every client connection
• - Monochrome cursors now appear properly (ibeam)

10/13/2016 - Client 41, Server 52

• - Fixed windows 7 DLL dependency issue

10/12/2016 - Client 40, Server 51

• - Controller support -- server requires ScpVBus driver, included in re-installation of Parsec Server
• - Switch from GLFW to SDL for window handling, event processing, and audio
• - Color cursors now appear with proper colors
• - Client and server binaries now entirely statically linked, no DLLs
• - Update to new AMD video processing libraries, requires recent drivers

10/10/2016 - Client 39, Server 50

• - SSL now enabled by default on all sockets, AES128-GCM-SHA256 cipher, option in configuration files
• - Video streaming protocol changes, better protection against TCP buffer overflows

9/29/2016 - Client 38, Server 49

• - Fixed slowdown on Intel decoding due to MFX_WRN_DEVICE_BUSY
• - Fixed a bug that caused the server to shutdown when losing connectivity