Sunshine Game Mass-Add Script

Automatically scan your PC for games and add them all to Sunshine for Moonlight streaming. Includes Steam library detection, cover art finding, and duplicate prevention.

Features

• ✅ Mass game detection - Scans multiple drives automatically
• ✅ Steam library support - Parses Steam manifests for proper game names
• ✅ Duplicate detection - Won't re-add games you already have
• ✅ Cover art detection - Finds existing images in game folders
• ✅ Smart filtering - Ignores installers, launchers, and non-game folders
• ✅ UTF-8 safe - Handles special characters in game names
• ✅ Automatic backups - Creates timestamped backups before changes

Requirements

• Windows with PowerShell 5.1 or higher
• Sunshine installed at default location (C:\Program Files\Sunshine)
• Administrator privileges (required to modify Sunshine config)

Quick Start

1. Download the Script

Save Add-SunshineGames.ps1 to a location like C:\Scripts\

2. Configure Your Game Paths

Edit the script and update the $gamePaths array with your game locations:

$gamePaths = @(
    "C:\Games",
    "D:\",
    "E:\SteamLibrary",
    "F:\",
    "F:\SteamLibrary"
)

3. Run the Script

Open PowerShell as Administrator:

# Navigate to script location
cd C:\Scripts

# Allow script execution (first time only)
Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process

# Run the script
.\Add-SunshineGames.ps1

4. Refresh Moonlight Client

Important: Moonlight caches the app list!

To see your new games:

1. Open Moonlight on your client device
2. Remove your Sunshine host (long-press/right-click → Delete)
3. Re-add the host (should auto-discover, or manually add IP)
4. Pair if needed
5. Games should now appear!

Alternative: Some Moonlight versions have a "Refresh" button in the app list.

What Gets Added?

✅ Included

• Standalone game executables (.exe files)
• Steam library games (properly named)
• Games with or without cover art

❌ Excluded

• System folders (WindowsApps, Program Files, etc.)
• Emulator directories (Switch, Wii U, 2DS, etc.)
• Installers and launchers (setup.exe, uninstaller.exe, etc.)
• Utilities (config.exe, updater.exe, etc.)
• Anti-cheat software (EAC, BattleEye, etc.)

Configuration Options

Custom Exclusions

Add folders to skip:

$excludeDirs = @(
    "WindowsApps", "_CommonRedist", "Program Files",
    "YourCustomFolderToSkip"  # Add your own here
)

Custom Executable Patterns

Exclude specific exe name patterns:

$excludeExePatterns = @(
    "unins", "setup", "launcher",
    "mycustompattern"  # Add your own here
)

Sunshine Config Location

If Sunshine is installed elsewhere:

$sunshineConfigPath = "D:\Custom\Path\Sunshine\config\apps.json"

Cover Art (Bonus Script)

Auto-Download Cover Art with SteamGridDB

1. Get API Key

   • Sign up at https://www.steamgriddb.com
   • Go to Profile → Preferences → API
   • Generate a free API key

2. Run the Cover Art Script

Save Download-GameCoverArt.ps1 and run:

.\Download-GameCoverArt.ps1

The script will:

• Search SteamGridDB for each game without cover art
• Download the best matching cover image
• Update Sunshine config with image paths
• Store images in C:\Program Files\Sunshine\config\covers

Manual Cover Art

You can also manually add images:

1. Place image files (PNG, JPG) in your game folders
2. Name them: cover.png, poster.jpg, banner.png, etc.
3. Re-run the main script - it will find them automatically

Troubleshooting

"Execution Policy" Error

Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process

Then re-run the script.

Games Not Showing in Moonlight

Most common cause: Moonlight caches the app list!

Solution:

1. Remove the host from Moonlight completely
2. Re-add the host
3. Reconnect

"Could not find a part of the path" Error

The script is trying to write to a location that doesn't exist.

Solution: The latest version creates the directory automatically. Make sure you're running as Administrator.

UTF-8 / Special Character Errors

If you see errors like ill-formed UTF-8 byte, a game has special characters causing issues.

Check Sunshine logs:

Get-Content "C:\Program Files\Sunshine\config\sunshine.log" -Tail 50

Solution: The script now uses UTF-8 encoding by default. If issues persist, manually remove the problematic game from apps.json.

Games Added But Still Not Visible

Verify games are in the config:

$config = Get-Content "C:\Program Files\Sunshine\config\apps.json" -Raw | ConvertFrom-Json
$config.apps.Count  # Should show total number of apps
$config.apps | Select-Object -First 10 name  # Show first 10 games

Restart Sunshine service:

Restart-Service -Name "SunshineService" -Force

Connecting via Tailscale/VPN

If you access Sunshine over Tailscale or VPN:

• Make sure you're editing the config on the actual Sunshine host
• Verify the web UI shows games at https://YOUR_TAILSCALE_IP:47990
• Refresh Moonlight client as described above

File Locations

Item	Location
Sunshine Config	C:\Program Files\Sunshine\config\apps.json
Sunshine Logs	C:\Program Files\Sunshine\config\sunshine.log
Config Backups	C:\Program Files\Sunshine\config\apps.json.backup_TIMESTAMP
Downloaded Covers	C:\Program Files\Sunshine\config\covers\

Script Output Example

========================================
  Sunshine Game Mass-Add Script
========================================

✓ Backup created: apps.json.backup_20260112_180000
✓ Found 23 existing games in Sunshine config

📁 Scanning: C:\Games
  ✓ Found: Eden-Windows
  ✓ Found: Horizon - Zero Down CE
  ⊘ Skipped (duplicate): Split Fiction

📁 Scanning: D:\
  ✓ Found: Cyberpunk 2077 🖼️
  ✓ Found: God of War Ragnarok 🖼️
  ...

📁 Scanning: F:\SteamLibrary
  ✓ Steam: Overwatch
  ✓ Steam: NARUTO SHIPPUDEN Ultimate Ninja STORM 4

✓ Configuration saved successfully

========================================
📊 SUMMARY
========================================
✓ Added: 89 new games
⊘ Skipped: 14 duplicates
📁 Total in Sunshine: 112 games
💾 Config: C:\Program Files\Sunshine\config\apps.json
========================================

🖼️  Found images for 23/89 games

⚠️  NEXT STEPS:
1. Restart Sunshine service (option below)
2. In Moonlight: Remove and re-add your host to refresh app list
3. Optionally: Add custom cover art (see script comments)

Restart Sunshine service now? (Y/N):

Advanced Usage

Run Without Prompts

.\Add-SunshineGames.ps1
# Answer 'N' to service restart prompt, or modify script to auto-restart

Schedule Automatic Updates

Create a scheduled task to run weekly:

$action = New-ScheduledTaskAction -Execute "PowerShell.exe" -Argument "-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File C:\Scripts\Add-SunshineGames.ps1"
$trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -Weekly -DaysOfWeek Sunday -At 3am
Register-ScheduledTask -Action $action -Trigger $trigger -TaskName "Sunshine Game Sync" -Description "Auto-add new games to Sunshine" -RunLevel Highest

Export Game List

$config = Get-Content "C:\Program Files\Sunshine\config\apps.json" -Raw | ConvertFrom-Json
$config.apps | Select-Object name, cmd | Export-Csv "sunshine_games.csv" -NoTypeInformation

Contributing

Found a bug? Have a suggestion? This script was created to solve a specific problem - feel free to modify it for your needs!

Common improvements you might want:

• Add support for GOG Galaxy libraries
• Add support for Epic Games Store
• Implement better image quality selection
• Add categories/tags for games
• Create Sunshine "collections" automatically

Credits

• Created for use with Sunshine and Moonlight
• Cover art powered by SteamGridDB

License

Free to use and modify. No warranty provided. Use at your own risk.

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💡 Tip: After running the script for the first time, you can run it again whenever you install new games. It will only add new ones thanks to duplicate detection!