Looking Glass is a display streaming tool that enables low-latency remote access to Windows virtual machines running on Linux hosts with GPU passthrough.
The tool solves the problem of using a Windows VM from a Linux system while maintaining responsiveness for interactive tasks. It works by implementing KVMFR, a frame relay protocol that captures video output from the guest's passed-through GPU and streams it to a Linux client with minimal latency. The current architecture uses an Indirect Display Driver running in the Windows guest to capture frames and place them in shared memory, which the Linux client then reads and displays.
Adoption requires building the Linux client from source code and configuring shared memory between host and guest. The setup process involves installing the Looking Glass IDD driver in Windows, building the client on Linux, and configuring the virtual machine appropriately. This tool is suited for users who need to run Windows applications on Linux while maintaining low-latency interaction, particularly for gaming or other latency-sensitive workloads where traditional remote desktop solutions introduce too much delay. The project provides comprehensive documentation covering requirements and setup procedures.
The project maintains active development with regular updates to both the client and driver components. Code contributions flow steadily into the repository, and the maintainers respond to issues and pull requests. Documentation receives ongoing attention, with the ability to build HTML documentation locally from source. The project emphasizes providing source archives for end users rather than requiring direct git checkout with submodules, indicating attention to the user experience for non-developers.
