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https://github.com/FeralInteractive/gamemode.git
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This is a small daemon/libary to enable games to request a performance "game mode" from the system. Currently only implemented to upgrade the CPU governor and automatically downgrade it once done. A game only needs to load libgamemodeauto to activate the request. Which means an LD_PRELOAD can be applied to any game to activate the mode as needed. However gamemode_client.h can be used to manually activate/deactivate the mode as needed, and also perform error checking. The libs are miminal loaders to call into an installed libgamemode which, if the daemon is installed and running, will send through the equivelant game mode request, and magic will happen. See the README.md for more details. Currently licensed under the BSD 3 clause license.
112 lines
2.9 KiB
Markdown
112 lines
2.9 KiB
Markdown
# GameMode
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A preliminary implementation of a daemon/lib combo to allow games to request a performance mode from the host OS on Linux. It was designed primarily as a stop-gap solution to problems with the Intel and AMD CPU powersave or ondemand governors, but is intended to be expanded beyond just CPU power states as needed.
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Currently using `sd-bus` on the user bus internally for messaging
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---
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## Components
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### Host
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#### gamemoded
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Runs in the background, waits for requests, refcounts and also checks caller PID lifetime.
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Accepts `-d` (daemonize) and `-l` (log to syslog)
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#### libgamemode
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Dynamic library to dispatch requests to the daemon
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Note: Behaviour of `gamemoded` may change, so `libgamemode` should never be linked with directly.
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#### cpugovctl
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Small program used to to control the cpu governor.
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Accepts `get` (gets current governor) and `set <GOVERNOR>` (sets the current governor).
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### Clients
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#### libgamemodeauto
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Simple dynamic library that automatically requests game mode when loaded. Minimal dependencies.
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Useful to `LD_PRELOAD` into any game as needed.
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#### gamemode\_client.h
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Very small header only lib that lets a game request game mode and handle errors. Minimal dependencies.
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Can also be included with `GAMEMODE_AUTO` defined to behave automatically.
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---
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## Build and install
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### Daemon and host library
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#### Dependencies
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* meson
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* systemd
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```bash
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# Ubuntu
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apt install meson libsystemd-dev
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# Arch
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pacman -S meson systemd
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```
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```bash
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git clone <git repo>
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cd gamemode
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meson --prefix=/usr build
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cd build
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ninja
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sudo ninja install
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```
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---
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## Using with any game or program
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After installing `libgamemodeauto.so` simple preload it into the program. Examples:
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```bash
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LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/libgamemodeauto.so ./game
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```
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Or steam launch options
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```bash
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LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/libgamemodeauto.so %command%
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```
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---
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## Building into a game or program
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You may want to build in functionality directly into an app, this stops the need for users to have to manually set anything up.
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`gamemode_client.h` and `libgamemodeauto` are safe to use regardless of whether libgamemode and gamemoded are installed on the system. They also do not require `systemd`.
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### Using directly
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```C
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#include "gamemode_client.h"
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if( gamemode_request_start() < 0 )
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fprintf( stderr, "gamemode request failed: %s\n", gamemode_error_string() );
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/* run game... */
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gamemode_request_end(); // Not required, gamemoded will clean up after game exists anyway
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```
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### Using automatically
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#### Option 1: Include in code
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```C
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#define GAMEMODE_AUTO
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#include "gamemode_client.h"
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```
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#### Option 2: Link and distribute
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Add `-lgamemodeauto` to linker arguments and distribute `libgamemodeauto.so` with the game
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#### Option 3: Distribute and script
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Distribute `libgamemodeauto.so` with the game and add to LD\_PRELOAD in a launch script
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---
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## TODO
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* Use polkit for cpugovctl (currently simply using chmod +4555)
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* Implement some kind of user confuguration to allow for whitelists, extra behaviour, etc.
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