burakgon/stop-stutter

# Stop Stutter

### Smoother game streaming on Mac.

A native, automatic streaming boost for Moonlight, GeForce NOW, Punktfunk, Parsec, and Steam Link.

Open your game. Boost kicks in. Quit when you’re done.

[](https://github.com/burakgon/stop-stutter/releases)

[](https://developer.apple.com/xcode/swiftui/)

[](LICENSE)

[](https://github.com/burakgon/stop-stutter/actions/workflows/ci.yml)

[Download for Mac](https://github.com/burakgon/stop-stutter/releases/latest) · [How it works](#how-it-works) · [Build from source](#build-from-source) · [Report an issue](https://github.com/burakgon/stop-stutter/issues/new/choose)

Good signal. Plenty of bandwidth. Video still hitching every few seconds? Your Mac’s peer-to-peer Wi-Fi may be getting in the way of your stream. When AWDL is the cause, turning it off can reduce latency spikes, uneven frame delivery, and audio interruptions. The issue has been [reported by Moonlight users for years](https://github.com/moonlight-stream/moonlight-qt/issues/753).

Stop Stutter makes that workaround effortless. Open a selected app → Boost starts. Quit the last selected app → Boost ends. No Terminal commands to repeat. No setting to remember after every game.

## What changes when Boost is on?

Boost ON means AWDL OFF. Your regular Wi-Fi connection stays enabled. Boost controls the peer-to-peer interface, awdl0, during your session. [Apple documents the latency impact of peer-to-peer Wi-Fi](https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/751839); [AWDL research explains its channel-sharing mechanism](https://arxiv.org/abs/1808.03156).

The trade-off: AirDrop, peer-to-peer AirPlay, and some Continuity features may be unavailable during Boost. AWDL is restored when Boost ends.

## Pick your streaming apps

These presets identify the native clients automatically. Add other .app bundles from Applications → Add App. Existing selections stay yours; missing presets are available under More apps to boost.

The benefit depends on whether AWDL causes your stutter. Preset support means automatic app detection, not a measured performance gain for each client. See the [validation record](docs/VALIDATION.md) for what has actually been tested.

## Why can AWDL cause lag?

One radio, two jobs. AWDL—Apple Wireless Direct Link—is the peer-to-peer interface used by AirDrop and related Apple features. It shares the Mac’s Wi-Fi radio with the connection to your router. AWDL’s discovery and communication schedule can take the radio onto a different channel, leaving normal network packets waiting. The protocol’s channel switching is described in [AWDL research](https://arxiv.org/abs/1808.03156), and [Apple’s networking engineers explain that peer-to-peer Wi-Fi can also add latency to infrastructure traffic](https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/751839).

A live stream notices short delays. Downloads can buffer and catch up. A game stream needs frames, audio, and inputs delivered consistently. Those brief interruptions can feel like stutter even when a speed test reports excellent bandwidth.

The target is jitter: variation in packet arrival time. A stream can receive plenty of data overall and still receive some of it too late. If AWDL is causing those delays, disabling it can help. Router congestion, packet loss, decoding, and display timing can still cause stutter independently.

Stop Stutter automates the workaround. While Boost is on, its helper repeats /sbin/ifconfig awdl0 down every second because macOS can reactivate the interface. In Auto mode it brings AWDL back after the final watched app quits, so Apple sharing can resume.

### Try the difference on your Mac

[Download Stop Stutter →](https://github.com/burakgon/stop-stutter/releases/latest) Free, MIT-licensed, and native to macOS. The diagrams explain the mechanism; the [validation record](docs/VALIDATION.md) separates verified app behavior from performance measurements.

See the in-app explanation

## What you get