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Aurora – Build and installation for LG webOS

This guide explains how to enable developer mode on the TV, build Aurora, and install it manually on LG webOS TVs (LG C1 and compatible).

Table of contents

  1. Developer mode on the TV
  2. Manual installation
  3. Build
  4. Troubleshooting
  5. webOS Homebrew (catalog)

1. Developer mode on the TV

To install apps manually (.ipk), the TV must be in developer mode.

Step-by-step (LG official)

  1. LG developer account

  2. Developer Mode app on the TV

    • Press Home on the remote
    • Open LG Content Store
    • Search for "Developer Mode"
    • Install the app

  3. Enable developer mode

    • Open the Developer Mode app
    • Sign in with your LG account
    • Turn on "Dev Mode Status" (the TV may restart)
    • Turn on Key Server

  4. Connection passphrase

    • In the Developer Mode app, note the passphrase shown
    • You will use it to connect the TV to your PC

Developer mode disables automatically after several reboots without a network connection. Re-enable it from the app when needed.

Alternative: webosbrew

If you use webosbrew:

  1. Install the Homebrew Channel (see webosbrew docs)
  2. Install dev-manager-desktop to install .ipk via the GUI

2. Manual installation

Prerequisites

  • TV in developer mode (see section 1)
  • TV and PC on the same network
  • Built .ipk package (section 3) or from a release

Method A: ares-cli (command line)

  1. Install webOS CLI

    • Follow webOS TV Developer – CLI
    • Windows: npm install -g @webos-tools/ares-cli
    • Linux: sudo npm install -g @webos-tools/ares-cli

  2. Configure the device

    ares-setup-device
    • Enter name, TV IP, and when prompted, the passphrase from the Developer Mode app

  3. Install the .ipk

    ares-install dist/com.aurora.gamestream_1.0.2_arm.ipk -d <TV_NAME>

    (Adjust the filename for your build version.)

  4. Launch Aurora

    ares-launch com.aurora.gamestream -d <TV_NAME>

Method B: dev-manager-desktop (GUI)

  1. Install webosbrew on the TV
  2. Install dev-manager-desktop
  3. Ensure TV and PC are on the same network
  4. Open dev-manager-desktop and install the .ipk file

3. Build

Aurora is built via cross-compilation on Linux (or WSL2 on Windows).

Compatibility

  • webOS 6.x (LG C1) – NDL, SMP, H.265, HDR
  • ARM – toolchain arm-webos-linux-gnueabi

Prerequisites

Linux (Ubuntu/Debian):

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y cmake gawk curl git build-essential

Windows: Use Docker or WSL2 with Ubuntu (see section 3.4).

3.1. Quick build (automated script)

cd moonlight-tv   # or your repo folder name
chmod +x scripts/webos/build_for_lg.sh
./scripts/webos/build_for_lg.sh

The .ipk will be created in dist/.

3.2. Manual build (step by step)

1. webOS SDK

cd /tmp
curl -L -O https://github.com/openlgtv/buildroot-nc4/releases/download/webos-b17b4cc/arm-webos-linux-gnueabi_sdk-buildroot.tar.gz
tar -xzf arm-webos-linux-gnueabi_sdk-buildroot.tar.gz
./arm-webos-linux-gnueabi_sdk-buildroot/relocate-sdk.sh

2. Submodules

cd moonlight-tv   # repo folder
git submodule update --init --recursive

3. Configure and build

export TOOLCHAIN_FILE=/tmp/arm-webos-linux-gnueabi_sdk-buildroot/share/buildroot/toolchainfile.cmake
./scripts/webos/easy_build.sh -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release

4. Release build

CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release ./scripts/webos/build_for_lg.sh

3.3. Output

The resulting package will be at:

dist/com.aurora.gamestream_1.0.2_arm.ipk

3.4. Windows (Docker or WSL2)

Docker:

.\scripts\webos\build_with_docker.ps1

WSL2 (Ubuntu):

wsl --install -d Ubuntu
# In Ubuntu:
sudo apt-get install cmake gawk curl git build-essential
./scripts/webos/build_for_lg.sh

4. Troubleshooting

"TOOLCHAIN_FILE not found"

Set the SDK path:

export WEBOS_SDK_DIR=/path/to/arm-webos-linux-gnueabi_sdk-buildroot
./scripts/webos/build_for_lg.sh

Custom SDK location

sudo mv /tmp/arm-webos-linux-gnueabi_sdk-buildroot /opt/
export TOOLCHAIN_FILE=/opt/arm-webos-linux-gnueabi_sdk-buildroot/share/buildroot/toolchainfile.cmake
./scripts/webos/easy_build.sh -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release

CMake dependency errors

The buildroot-nc4 SDK includes pbnjson_c, PmLogLib, webosi18n, etc. If something is missing, verify your SDK installation.

TV does not appear in ares-setup-device

  • TV and PC on the same network
  • Developer mode enabled on the TV
  • Firewall not blocking the ares-cli port

HEVC artifact drift (long sessions)

If blockiness or color smearing builds up over time with H.265 streams, try Settings → Video → Periodic decoder refresh (HEVC) (interval 10–30 s). This only applies when HEVC is active; it has no effect on H.264-only streams.

Streaming over Tailscale

Aurora does not bundle a Tailscale client on the TV. To reach a PC over Tailscale:

  1. Install and sign in to Tailscale on your PC (Sunshine/Vibepollo host).
  2. Note the PC's Tailscale IP (usually 100.x.x.x) or MagicDNS name from the Tailscale admin console.
  3. In Aurora, Add host manually and enter that IP (port 47989 for HTTP discovery, or the port shown in your host settings).
  4. Pair and stream as on the local LAN.

The TV and PC do not need to be on the same physical network, but both must reach each other through your tailnet.

5. webOS Homebrew catalog

To list Aurora in the Homebrew Channel app store (repo.webosbrew.org), submit a PR to webosbrew/apps-repo using deploy/webosbrew/com.aurora.gamestream.yml and the checklist in WEBOS_HOMEBREW.md.