Getting Started with SimplyStream

What is SimplyStream?

SimplyStream is a powerful platform for deploying and streaming applications to users worldwide. Whether you're building games, productivity tools, or creative applications, SimplyStream handles the infrastructure so you can focus on building great experiences.

What You'll Learn

In this guide, you'll learn how to:

1. Create your first project
2. Upload and configure your application
3. Connect a custom domain (optional)
4. Deploy and start streaming to users

Estimated Time: 5-10 minutes

Your Trial Credits

As a new user, you've been granted $10.00 in trial credits to explore the platform. This is enough to:

• Deploy multiple test applications
• Stream to hundreds of users
• Experiment with different configurations

No credit card required to get started!

Creating Your First Project

Projects are containers for your applications. Each project can have multiple builds, configurations, and deployments.

How to Create a Project

1. Navigate to the Projects page from the sidebar
2. Click the "Create Project" button
3. Enter a project name (3-50 characters, alphanumeric with spaces, hyphens, or underscores)
4. Click "Create"

Project Naming Tips

✅ Good names: "My Game", "Productivity-App", "Creative_Tool" ❌ Avoid: Special characters, very long names, duplicates

What's Next?

After creating a project, you can:

• Upload your application build
• Configure streaming settings
• Set up server types and regions
• Monitor analytics and performance

Preparing Your Build

SimplyStream supports various application types including:

• Windows Applications (.exe, .zip)
• macOS Applications (.app, .dmg)
• Linux Applications (.deb, .rpm, .AppImage)
• Web Applications (HTML5, JavaScript)
• Unity Games (Windows, WebGL builds)
• Unreal Engine (Packaged builds)

Build Requirements

• Maximum Size: 10GB per build
• Supported Formats: ZIP or directory structure
• Entry Point: Must have a clear executable or index.html

Upload Process

1. Go to your project's detail page
2. Click "Upload Build" then drag and drop files or select from the file explorer
3. Wait for upload to complete
4. Verify build integrity

# For command-line uploads
simplystream upload ./my-app.zip --project "My Project"

Build Optimization Tips

• Compress assets to reduce upload time
• Remove unnecessary files (source code, debug symbols)
• Use version naming for easier tracking

Server Profiles

Server profiles define how your pixel streaming or multiplayer servers are configured, including machine types, regions, quality settings, and cost limits.

Default Profiles

SimplyStream provides pre-configured system profiles for both Linux and Windows. Clone any profile to customize it for your needs:

Profile	OS	Resolution	Bitrate	Best For
Standard Linux	Linux	1920x1080	2-8 Mbps	Most applications, balanced cost/quality
Standard Windows	Windows	1920x1080	2-8 Mbps	Most applications, balanced cost/quality
High Performance Linux	Linux	2560x1440	5-20 Mbps	Demanding 3D apps and games
High Performance Windows	Windows	2560x1440	5-20 Mbps	Demanding 3D apps and games
Budget Linux	Linux	1280x720	1-5 Mbps	Development, testing, spot instances
Budget Windows	Windows	1280x720	1-5 Mbps	Development, testing, spot instances
4K Premium Linux	Linux	3840x2160	10-50 Mbps	Enterprise, maximum visual fidelity
4K Premium Windows	Windows	3840x2160	10-50 Mbps	Enterprise, maximum visual fidelity

Creating a Custom Profile

1. Navigate to Dashboard > Server Configurations
2. Click Create New or Clone an existing profile
3. Configure the settings below

Machine Configuration

Select GPU-enabled machine types and deploy them across regions:

• Machine Types: g4dn.xlarge, g5.xlarge, g5.2xlarge, etc.
• Regions: us-east-1, us-west-2, eu-west-1, ap-northeast-1, and more
• Warmed Instances: Pre-started servers for instant availability
• Max Sessions: Concurrent sessions per machine (1-2 typical)

Streaming Quality

Configure video encoding settings:

Setting	Description	Typical Values
Maximum Resolution	Max output resolution	1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160
Minimum Bitrate	Floor for adaptive bitrate	1000-5000 kbps
Maximum Bitrate	Ceiling for adaptive bitrate	5000-50000 kbps
Min QP	Minimum quantization (lower = higher quality)	5-22
Max QP	Maximum quantization (higher = more compression)	30-51

Codec Settings

Supported codecs with configurable quality parameters:

• H.264: Widest compatibility, good quality
• AV1: Better compression, requires modern browsers

Server Selection Priority

Control how servers are selected for new sessions:

Priority	Behavior
First to Start	Use the first available server
Lowest Latency	Select server closest to user
Lowest Cost	Prefer spot/preemptible instances

Scaling Options

Setting	Description
Max Instances	Maximum servers to scale up to
Predictive Scaling	off, conservative, or max
Spot Instances	Use preemptible instances for cost savings
Max Selection Time	Timeout for finding an available server

Cost Controls

Set spending limits to prevent unexpected charges:

Daily Limit:   $50-300
Weekly Limit:  $200-1200
Monthly Limit: $500-3000

Instance Types

Type	Description
Shared	Cost-effective, multiple sessions may share resources
Dedicated	Exclusive resources, consistent performance

Platform Support

Each profile targets a specific operating system:

• Linux - Lower licensing costs, ideal for containerized apps
• Windows - Required for Windows-only applications and games
• MacOS - Coming soon
• SteamOS - Coming soon

Advanced Settings

• Display Stats: Show performance overlay to users
• Adaptive Bitrate: Automatically adjust quality based on network conditions
• Latency Target: Target latency in milliseconds (e.g., 50-150ms)
• Session Timeout: Auto-terminate idle sessions

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Project Settings

Beyond server profiles, you can configure project-level settings that apply to all endpoints.

DNS Nameserver

For whitelabel deployments, you can configure a custom nameserver for your project:

1. Navigate to your Project page
2. Scroll to Project Settings
3. Select a nameserver from the DNS Nameserver dropdown

This sets the default DNS route for all streaming sessions in this project. If not set, the system default (ps.simplystream.dev) is used.

See Connect a Domain for details on creating and managing nameservers.

Session Limits

Configure limits on a per-project basis:

• Maximum Concurrent Sessions: Limit simultaneous users
• Session Duration Limit: Auto-terminate after a set time
• Idle Timeout: Terminate inactive sessions

Custom Domain Setup

While SimplyStream provides a default domain (your-project.simplystream.dev), you can use your own custom domain for a branded experience.

Domain Configuration

1. Navigate to the Domains page
2. Click "Add Domain"
3. Enter your domain name (e.g., app.yourdomain.com)
4. Add the DNS records provided

DNS Records Required

TXT Record (for verification):

Name: _simplystream
Value: verification-code-here

CNAME Record (for routing):

Name: app (or your subdomain)
Value: routing.simplystream.com

Verification Process

1. Add DNS records to your domain registrar
2. Wait for DNS propagation (5-60 minutes)
3. Click "Verify Domain" in SimplyStream
4. Once verified, the domain will show as "Active"

SSL/TLS Certificates

SimplyStream automatically provisions and renews SSL certificates for your custom domains using Let's Encrypt. Your users will always have a secure HTTPS connection.

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Nameservers (Whitelabel DNS)

For enterprise and whitelabel deployments, you can configure custom nameservers that handle the DNS routing for your streaming sessions. This is an advanced feature that allows complete branding control.

How Nameservers Work

When a user starts a streaming session, the system needs to route them to the correct GPU server. Nameservers define the DNS route used for this connection.

Hierarchy (highest to lowest priority):

1. Endpoint nameserver - Set per-endpoint for granular control
2. Project nameserver - Default for all endpoints in a project
3. System default - ps.simplystream.dev (used when no custom nameserver is set)

Creating a Nameserver

1. Navigate to the Domains page
2. Click the "Nameservers" tab
3. Click "Add Nameserver"
4. Enter the route (e.g., streaming.yourcompany.com)
5. Optionally add a friendly name for reference

Setting Project Nameserver

To set a default nameserver for all endpoints in a project:

1. Navigate to your Project page
2. Scroll to Project Settings
3. Find the DNS Nameserver dropdown
4. Select your nameserver from the list
5. The setting is saved automatically

All new streaming sessions for this project will use your custom nameserver unless an endpoint-specific override is set.

Endpoint-Level Override

For advanced use cases, you can override the project nameserver on individual endpoints:

1. Navigate to your Project page
2. Click Edit on an endpoint
3. Expand the "Advanced" section at the bottom
4. Select a nameserver from the DNS Nameserver Override dropdown
5. Save the endpoint

A globe icon will appear next to endpoints with custom nameserver overrides.

Nameserver Usage Tracking

The Domains page shows usage counts for each nameserver:

• Endpoints - Number of endpoints using this nameserver directly
• Projects - Number of projects using this as their default

Deleting Nameservers

You cannot delete a nameserver that is in use. If you attempt to delete one, you'll see a list of:

• Endpoints that need to be updated
• Projects that need to be switched to a different nameserver

Update these first, then delete the nameserver.

When to Use Custom Nameservers

Use Case	Recommended Setup
Single product	Use system default or one project nameserver
Multiple brands	Create one nameserver per brand
Enterprise whitelabel	Use nameservers to completely hide SimplyStream branding
Development/Production	Use different nameservers for each environment

API Access

Nameservers can be managed via the API:

# List nameservers
curl https://api.simplystream.com/api/v1/nameservers \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

# Create nameserver
curl -X POST https://api.simplystream.com/api/v1/nameservers \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"route": "streaming.yourcompany.com", "name": "Production"}'

# Set project nameserver
curl -X PUT https://api.simplystream.com/api/v1/projects/{project_id}/nameserver \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"nameserverId": "your-nameserver-id"}'

See the API Reference for full documentation.

Deploying Your Application

Deployment in SimplyStream works through revisions - versioned snapshots of your application that can be activated on endpoints.

How Revisions Work

A revision is a specific version of your application build. You can have multiple revisions and switch between them on your endpoints at any time.

Creating Revisions

Unreal Engine WASM Projects

For Unreal Engine WASM projects, revisions are created automatically when you package and upload from Unreal Engine. No manual steps required - your build is deployed as a new revision as part of the packaging process.

Other Project Types

For all other project types:

1. Go to your project page
2. Click the "Upload Revision" button
3. Select your build files
4. Wait for the upload to complete

Activating a Revision

Once you have a revision uploaded:

1. Navigate to your endpoint settings
2. Select the revision you want to make active
3. Save your changes

The selected revision will become live on your endpoint immediately.

Testing Your Deployment

After activating a revision:

1. Visit your endpoint URL or click "Launch"
2. Test the streaming connection
3. Verify all features work as expected

Monitoring

Track your application's performance:

• Active Users: Current concurrent sessions
• Startup Time: Time from launch to ready
• FPS: Frames per second average
• Bandwidth: Data transfer rates
• Costs: Credit usage per minute

Next Steps

You've deployed your first streaming application.

What's Next?

• Invite Team Members: Share project access
• Monitor Analytics: Understand user behavior
• Optimize Performance: Reduce latency and costs

Need Help?

• Browse our Documentation
• Join the Community Discord
• Contact Support

Troubleshooting

Common issues and solutions:

Build won't upload

• Check file size limits
• Verify file format
• Check internet connection

Revision not appearing

• Refresh the page
• Check that the upload completed successfully

Streaming issues

• Test network connection
• Try different browser
• Check firewall settings