feat: M2 zero-copy foundation — EGL→CUDA import + NVENC CUDA-frame path

Scaffolding for dmabuf zero-copy (plan §9), opt-in via LUMEN_ZEROCOPY:

- src/zerocopy/{cuda,egl}.rs: hand-rolled CUDA Driver-API FFI (no Rust crate
  exposes the EGL-interop calls / CUeglFrame) with a shared process-wide
  CUcontext + pitched device buffers; an EGL importer (GBM platform on the
  NVIDIA render node) that turns a dmabuf into an EGLImage, registers it with
  CUDA, and copies it device-to-device into an owned buffer. `zerocopy-probe`
  subcommand validates the FFI/linking/GPU access — confirmed on the box
  (driver 595, EGL_EXT_image_dma_buf_import + modifiers).
- CapturedFrame gains a FramePayload enum (Cpu(Vec<u8>) | Cuda(DeviceBuffer));
  the encoder branches: CPU keeps the expand+upload path, CUDA wraps the device
  buffer in an AV_PIX_FMT_CUDA frame fed straight to hevc_nvenc (sharing our
  CUcontext via a hand-declared AVCUDADeviceContext, since ffmpeg-sys doesn't
  bind hwcontext_cuda.h). open_video/the encoder take a `cuda` flag derived from
  the first frame's payload.

The capture-side dmabuf negotiation (which produces the Cuda frames) is the
next step; the CPU path is unchanged and remains the default + fallback. Builds
clean, clippy clean, tests pass.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

Cargo.lock

@@ -1356,6 +1356,16 @@ dependencies = [
  "wasm-bindgen",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "khronos-egl"
+version = "6.0.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "6aae1df220ece3c0ada96b8153459b67eebe9ae9212258bb0134ae60416fdf76"
+dependencies = [
+ "libc",
+ "libloading",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "latency-probe"
 version = "0.0.1"
@@ -1501,6 +1511,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "ffmpeg-next",
  "futures-util",
  "hex",
+ "khronos-egl",
  "libc",
  "lumen-core",
  "mdns-sd",

crates/lumen-host/Cargo.toml

@@ -58,3 +58,8 @@ opus = "0.3"
 reis = { version = "0.6.1", features = ["tokio"] }
 # `StreamExt::next` on reis's tokio event stream in the libei worker loop.
 futures-util = "0.3"
+# Zero-copy capture (plan §9): EGL imports the PipeWire dmabuf, CUDA maps it, NVENC encodes
+# it with no CPU roundtrip. `khronos-egl` (dynamic = load the NVIDIA libEGL at runtime) gives
+# eglCreateImage + the dma_buf import; the CUDA driver API (EGL interop) and libgbm are linked
+# via hand-rolled FFI in `src/zerocopy/` (no Rust crate exposes the EGL-interop driver calls).
+khronos-egl = { version = "6", features = ["dynamic"] }

crates/lumen-host/src/capture.rs

@@ -33,17 +33,40 @@ impl PixelFormat {
     }
 }
 
-/// A captured frame. For zero-copy the real type would wrap a dmabuf fd + modifier; the
+/// A captured frame. [`format`](Self::format)/dimensions describe the pixels regardless of
-/// CPU buffer is the M0 fallback path (plan §9 risk: per-GPU dmabuf import quirks).
+/// where they live — [`payload`](Self::payload) is either a CPU buffer (the M0/fallback path)
+/// or a GPU buffer already on the device (the zero-copy path, plan §9).
 pub struct CapturedFrame {
     pub width: u32,
     pub height: u32,
     pub pts_ns: u64,
-    /// Pixel layout of `cpu_bytes`.
+    /// Pixel layout of the payload.
     pub format: PixelFormat,
-    /// Tightly-packed pixels in `format`, `width * height * format.bytes_per_pixel()`
+    pub payload: FramePayload,
-    /// bytes (no row padding).
+}
-    pub cpu_bytes: Vec<u8>,
+
+/// Where a captured frame's pixels live.
+pub enum FramePayload {
+    /// Tightly-packed CPU pixels in `format`, `width*height*bytes_per_pixel` (no row padding).
+    Cpu(Vec<u8>),
+    /// A pitched GPU buffer (BGRA-order, on the shared CUDA context) — the zero-copy path. The
+    /// dmabuf has already been imported + copied into this owned device buffer.
+    #[cfg(target_os = "linux")]
+    Cuda(crate::zerocopy::DeviceBuffer),
+}
+
+impl CapturedFrame {
+    /// True if the frame's pixels are a GPU/CUDA buffer (the zero-copy path).
+    pub fn is_cuda(&self) -> bool {
+        #[cfg(target_os = "linux")]
+        {
+            matches!(self.payload, FramePayload::Cuda(_))
+        }
+        #[cfg(not(target_os = "linux"))]
+        {
+            false
+        }
+    }
 }
 
 /// Produces frames from a captured output. Lives on its own thread, feeding the encoder
@@ -130,7 +153,7 @@ impl Capturer for SyntheticCapturer {
             height: self.height,
             pts_ns,
             format: PixelFormat::Bgrx,
-            cpu_bytes: self.buf.clone(),
+            payload: FramePayload::Cpu(self.buf.clone()),
         })
     }
 }
@@ -173,7 +196,7 @@ impl Capturer for FastSyntheticCapturer {
             height: self.height,
             pts_ns: 0,
             format: PixelFormat::Bgrx,
-            cpu_bytes: self.buf.clone(),
+            payload: FramePayload::Cpu(self.buf.clone()),
         })
     }
 }

crates/lumen-host/src/capture/linux.rs

@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
 //! graceful stop (pipewire `channel` quit + Session close) belongs with the M2 session
 //! lifecycle.
 
-use super::{CapturedFrame, Capturer, PixelFormat};
+use super::{CapturedFrame, Capturer, FramePayload, PixelFormat};
 use anyhow::{anyhow, Context, Result};
 use std::os::fd::OwnedFd;
 use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicBool, Ordering};
@@ -148,7 +148,7 @@ fn portal_thread(setup_tx: std::sync::mpsc::Sender<Result<(OwnedFd, u32), String
                 .select_sources(
                     &session,
                     SelectSourcesOptions::default()
-                        .set_cursor_mode(CursorMode::Hidden)
+                        .set_cursor_mode(CursorMode::Embedded)
                         // Only MONITOR is offered by the wlroots backend
                         // (AvailableSourceTypes=1); requesting unsupported types
                         // invalidates the session.
@@ -251,7 +251,7 @@ fn portal_thread_remote_desktop(setup_tx: std::sync::mpsc::Sender<Result<(OwnedF
                 .select_sources(
                     &session,
                     SelectSourcesOptions::default()
-                        .set_cursor_mode(CursorMode::Hidden)
+                        .set_cursor_mode(CursorMode::Embedded)
                         .set_sources(BitFlags::from_flag(SourceType::Monitor))
                         .set_multiple(false)
                         .set_persist_mode(PersistMode::DoNot),
@@ -297,7 +297,7 @@ fn portal_thread_remote_desktop(setup_tx: std::sync::mpsc::Sender<Result<(OwnedF
 mod pipewire {
     //! The PipeWire consumer, confined to its own thread (the PW types are `!Send`).
 
-    use super::{CapturedFrame, PixelFormat};
+    use super::{CapturedFrame, FramePayload, PixelFormat};
     use anyhow::{Context, Result};
     use pipewire as pw;
     use pw::{properties::properties, spa};
@@ -462,7 +462,7 @@ mod pipewire {
                     height: h as u32,
                     pts_ns,
                     format: fmt,
-                    cpu_bytes: tight,
+                    payload: FramePayload::Cpu(tight),
                 };
                 // Drop if the encoder is behind — never block the pipewire loop.
                 let _ = ud.tx.try_send(frame);

crates/lumen-host/src/encode.rs

@@ -50,9 +50,10 @@ pub trait Encoder: Send {
     fn flush(&mut self) -> Result<()>;
 }
 
-/// Open an NVENC encoder for packed RGB/BGR CPU frames of the given `format` and mode.
+/// Open an NVENC encoder for frames of the given `format` and mode. When `cuda` is true the
-/// `format`, `bitrate_bps`, `codec`, and the mode come from session negotiation; M0 takes
+/// encoder takes GPU frames (`AV_PIX_FMT_CUDA`) from the zero-copy path; otherwise it takes
-/// them from the first captured frame.
+/// packed RGB/BGR CPU frames. `format`/`bitrate_bps`/`codec`/mode come from session
+/// negotiation; the caller derives `cuda` from the first captured frame's payload.
 pub fn open_video(
     codec: Codec,
     format: PixelFormat,
@@ -60,15 +61,16 @@ pub fn open_video(
     height: u32,
     fps: u32,
     bitrate_bps: u64,
+    cuda: bool,
 ) -> Result<Box<dyn Encoder>> {
     #[cfg(target_os = "linux")]
     {
-        let enc = linux::NvencEncoder::open(codec, format, width, height, fps, bitrate_bps)?;
+        let enc = linux::NvencEncoder::open(codec, format, width, height, fps, bitrate_bps, cuda)?;
         Ok(Box::new(enc) as Box<dyn Encoder>)
     }
     #[cfg(not(target_os = "linux"))]
     {
-        let _ = (codec, format, width, height, fps, bitrate_bps);
+        let _ = (codec, format, width, height, fps, bitrate_bps, cuda);
         anyhow::bail!("NVENC encode requires Linux (FFmpeg + NVIDIA driver)")
     }
 }

crates/lumen-host/src/encode/linux.rs

@@ -8,12 +8,88 @@
 //! every IDR — the output is both a playable raw Annex-B stream and self-contained AUs.
 
 use super::{Codec, EncodedFrame, Encoder};
-use crate::capture::{CapturedFrame, PixelFormat};
+use crate::capture::{CapturedFrame, FramePayload, PixelFormat};
-use anyhow::{anyhow, Context, Result};
+use anyhow::{anyhow, bail, Context, Result};
 use ffmpeg::format::Pixel;
 use ffmpeg::util::frame::Video as VideoFrame;
 use ffmpeg::{codec, encoder, Dictionary, Packet, Rational};
 use ffmpeg_next as ffmpeg;
+use std::os::raw::c_int;
+
+use ffmpeg::ffi; // = ffmpeg_sys_next
+
+/// `AVCUDADeviceContext` (libavutil/hwcontext_cuda.h) — not in the ffmpeg-sys bindings (the
+/// crate doesn't allowlist that header), so mirror its stable 3-pointer layout. We set the
+/// first field to *our* `CUcontext` so NVENC shares the context the EGL importer maps into.
+#[repr(C)]
+struct AVCUDADeviceContext {
+    cuda_ctx: *mut std::ffi::c_void, // CUcontext
+    stream: *mut std::ffi::c_void,   // CUstream (null = default)
+    internal: *mut std::ffi::c_void, // filled by ctx_init
+}
+
+/// CUDA hardware-frame contexts that wrap our shared `CUcontext`, so `hevc_nvenc` reads the
+/// imported device buffer directly. Owns two `AVBufferRef`s, unref'd on drop.
+struct CudaHw {
+    device_ref: *mut ffi::AVBufferRef,
+    frames_ref: *mut ffi::AVBufferRef,
+}
+
+impl CudaHw {
+    /// Build a CUDA hwdevice wrapping `cu_ctx` and a frames pool (`sw_format` = `pixel`).
+    unsafe fn new(cu_ctx: *mut std::ffi::c_void, sw_format: Pixel, w: u32, h: u32) -> Result<Self> {
+        let mut device_ref = ffi::av_hwdevice_ctx_alloc(ffi::AVHWDeviceType::AV_HWDEVICE_TYPE_CUDA);
+        if device_ref.is_null() {
+            bail!("av_hwdevice_ctx_alloc(CUDA) failed");
+        }
+        let dev_ctx = (*device_ref).data as *mut ffi::AVHWDeviceContext;
+        let cu = (*dev_ctx).hwctx as *mut AVCUDADeviceContext;
+        (*cu).cuda_ctx = cu_ctx; // share the importer's context
+        let r = ffi::av_hwdevice_ctx_init(device_ref);
+        if r < 0 {
+            ffi::av_buffer_unref(&mut device_ref);
+            bail!("av_hwdevice_ctx_init failed ({r})");
+        }
+
+        let mut frames_ref = ffi::av_hwframe_ctx_alloc(device_ref);
+        if frames_ref.is_null() {
+            ffi::av_buffer_unref(&mut device_ref);
+            bail!("av_hwframe_ctx_alloc failed");
+        }
+        let fc = (*frames_ref).data as *mut ffi::AVHWFramesContext;
+        (*fc).format = ffi::AVPixelFormat::AV_PIX_FMT_CUDA;
+        (*fc).sw_format = pixel_to_av(sw_format);
+        (*fc).width = w as c_int;
+        (*fc).height = h as c_int;
+        (*fc).initial_pool_size = 0; // we supply the device pointers
+        let r = ffi::av_hwframe_ctx_init(frames_ref);
+        if r < 0 {
+            ffi::av_buffer_unref(&mut frames_ref);
+            ffi::av_buffer_unref(&mut device_ref);
+            bail!("av_hwframe_ctx_init failed ({r})");
+        }
+        Ok(CudaHw {
+            device_ref,
+            frames_ref,
+        })
+    }
+}
+
+impl Drop for CudaHw {
+    fn drop(&mut self) {
+        unsafe {
+            ffi::av_buffer_unref(&mut self.frames_ref);
+            ffi::av_buffer_unref(&mut self.device_ref);
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+/// `ffmpeg::format::Pixel` → raw `AVPixelFormat`.
+fn pixel_to_av(p: Pixel) -> ffi::AVPixelFormat {
+    // `Pixel` is `#[repr(i32)]`-compatible with `AVPixelFormat` (the bindgen enum) via this
+    // documented conversion in ffmpeg-next.
+    ffi::AVPixelFormat::from(p)
+}
 
 /// Map a captured layout to the NVENC input pixel format, and whether a 3→4 byte expand is
 /// needed (packed RGB/BGR have no padding byte; the NVENC `*0` formats do).
@@ -30,11 +106,13 @@ fn nvenc_input(format: PixelFormat) -> (Pixel, bool) {
 
 pub struct NvencEncoder {
     enc: encoder::video::Encoder,
-    /// Reusable 4-bpp input frame in `nvenc_pixel` (its plane stride may exceed width*4).
+    /// Reusable 4-bpp CPU input frame (CPU path only; `None` for the zero-copy/CUDA path).
     /// Mutating it in place across frames is sound only because the encoder is opened with
     /// `delay=0`/`bf=0`/`max_b_frames=0` and the caller drains `poll()` after each `submit`,
     /// so libavcodec holds no reference to the previous frame's buffer when we overwrite it.
-    frame: VideoFrame,
+    frame: Option<VideoFrame>,
+    /// Zero-copy path: CUDA hwdevice/hwframes contexts (the encoder takes `AV_PIX_FMT_CUDA`).
+    cuda: Option<CudaHw>,
     src_format: PixelFormat,
     expand: bool,
     width: u32,
@@ -46,6 +124,10 @@ pub struct NvencEncoder {
     force_kf: bool,
 }
 
+// `CudaHw` holds raw `AVBufferRef`s; the encoder lives on a single thread. The CPU encoder is
+// already `Send` via ffmpeg-next; assert it for the CUDA fields too.
+unsafe impl Send for NvencEncoder {}
+
 impl NvencEncoder {
     pub fn open(
         codec: Codec,
@@ -54,6 +136,7 @@ impl NvencEncoder {
         height: u32,
         fps: u32,
         bitrate_bps: u64,
+        cuda: bool,
     ) -> Result<Self> {
         ffmpeg::init().context("ffmpeg init")?;
         let name = codec.nvenc_name();
@@ -75,6 +158,23 @@ impl NvencEncoder {
         video.set_gop(fps.saturating_mul(2).max(1)); // ~2s keyframe interval
         video.set_max_b_frames(0);
 
+        // For the zero-copy path, take CUDA surfaces: wrap the shared CUcontext in CUDA
+        // hwdevice/hwframes contexts and set `pix_fmt = CUDA` on the raw encoder context
+        // *before* open (NVENC derives the device from `hw_frames_ctx`).
+        let cuda_hw = if cuda {
+            let cu_ctx = crate::zerocopy::cuda::context().context("shared CUDA context")?;
+            let hw = unsafe { CudaHw::new(cu_ctx, nvenc_pixel, width, height)? };
+            unsafe {
+                let raw = video.as_mut_ptr();
+                (*raw).pix_fmt = ffi::AVPixelFormat::AV_PIX_FMT_CUDA;
+                (*raw).hw_device_ctx = ffi::av_buffer_ref(hw.device_ref);
+                (*raw).hw_frames_ctx = ffi::av_buffer_ref(hw.frames_ref);
+            }
+            Some(hw)
+        } else {
+            None
+        };
+
         // Low-latency NVENC tuning (plan §7 / linux-setup doc).
         let mut opts = Dictionary::new();
         opts.set("preset", "p1"); // fastest
@@ -87,10 +187,15 @@ impl NvencEncoder {
             .open_with(opts)
             .with_context(|| format!("open {name} ({width}x{height}@{fps}, {bitrate_bps} bps)"))?;
 
-        let frame = VideoFrame::new(nvenc_pixel, width, height);
+        let frame = if cuda {
+            None
+        } else {
+            Some(VideoFrame::new(nvenc_pixel, width, height))
+        };
         Ok(NvencEncoder {
             enc,
             frame,
+            cuda: cuda_hw,
             src_format: format,
             expand,
             width,
@@ -112,53 +217,15 @@ impl Encoder for NvencEncoder {
             self.width,
             self.height
         );
-        anyhow::ensure!(
+        let pts = self.frame_idx;
-            captured.format == self.src_format,
-            "captured format {:?} != encoder source {:?}",
-            captured.format,
-            self.src_format
-        );
-        let w = self.width as usize;
-        let h = self.height as usize;
-        let src_bpp = self.src_format.bytes_per_pixel();
-        let src_row = w * src_bpp;
-        anyhow::ensure!(
-            captured.cpu_bytes.len() >= src_row * h,
-            "captured buffer {} bytes < required {}",
-            captured.cpu_bytes.len(),
-            src_row * h
-        );
-
-        let stride = self.frame.stride(0); // dst is 4-bpp, aligned
-        let dst = self.frame.data_mut(0);
-        if self.expand {
-            // packed 3-bpp RGB/BGR → 4-bpp *0 (copy 3 bytes, zero the pad byte)
-            for y in 0..h {
-                let s = &captured.cpu_bytes[y * src_row..y * src_row + src_row];
-                let drow = &mut dst[y * stride..y * stride + w * 4];
-                for x in 0..w {
-                    drow[x * 4..x * 4 + 3].copy_from_slice(&s[x * 3..x * 3 + 3]);
-                    drow[x * 4 + 3] = 0;
-                }
-            }
-        } else {
-            // 4-bpp → 4-bpp, honoring the (possibly larger) dst stride
-            for y in 0..h {
-                dst[y * stride..y * stride + src_row]
-                    .copy_from_slice(&captured.cpu_bytes[y * src_row..y * src_row + src_row]);
-            }
-        }
-        self.frame.set_pts(Some(self.frame_idx));
         self.frame_idx += 1;
         // Force an IDR when requested (client RFI); otherwise let NVENC pick (GOP/P-frame).
-        if self.force_kf {
+        let idr = self.force_kf;
-            self.frame.set_kind(ffmpeg::picture::Type::I);
         self.force_kf = false;
-        } else {
+        match &captured.payload {
-            self.frame.set_kind(ffmpeg::picture::Type::None);
+            FramePayload::Cuda(buf) => self.submit_cuda(buf, pts, idr),
+            FramePayload::Cpu(bytes) => self.submit_cpu(bytes, captured.format, pts, idr),
         }
-        self.enc.send_frame(&self.frame).context("send_frame")?;
-        Ok(())
     }
 
     fn request_keyframe(&mut self) {
@@ -196,3 +263,96 @@ impl Encoder for NvencEncoder {
         Ok(())
     }
 }
+
+impl NvencEncoder {
+    /// CPU path: expand/copy the packed RGB/BGR bytes into the reusable 4-bpp frame, then send.
+    fn submit_cpu(&mut self, bytes: &[u8], format: PixelFormat, pts: i64, idr: bool) -> Result<()> {
+        anyhow::ensure!(
+            format == self.src_format,
+            "captured format {:?} != encoder source {:?}",
+            format,
+            self.src_format
+        );
+        let w = self.width as usize;
+        let h = self.height as usize;
+        let src_bpp = self.src_format.bytes_per_pixel();
+        let src_row = w * src_bpp;
+        anyhow::ensure!(
+            bytes.len() >= src_row * h,
+            "captured buffer {} bytes < required {}",
+            bytes.len(),
+            src_row * h
+        );
+        let frame = self
+            .frame
+            .as_mut()
+            .context("CPU frame missing (encoder opened in CUDA mode)")?;
+        let stride = frame.stride(0); // dst is 4-bpp, aligned
+        let dst = frame.data_mut(0);
+        if self.expand {
+            // packed 3-bpp RGB/BGR → 4-bpp *0 (copy 3 bytes, zero the pad byte)
+            for y in 0..h {
+                let s = &bytes[y * src_row..y * src_row + src_row];
+                let drow = &mut dst[y * stride..y * stride + w * 4];
+                for x in 0..w {
+                    drow[x * 4..x * 4 + 3].copy_from_slice(&s[x * 3..x * 3 + 3]);
+                    drow[x * 4 + 3] = 0;
+                }
+            }
+        } else {
+            // 4-bpp → 4-bpp, honoring the (possibly larger) dst stride
+            for y in 0..h {
+                dst[y * stride..y * stride + src_row]
+                    .copy_from_slice(&bytes[y * src_row..y * src_row + src_row]);
+            }
+        }
+        frame.set_pts(Some(pts));
+        frame.set_kind(if idr {
+            ffmpeg::picture::Type::I
+        } else {
+            ffmpeg::picture::Type::None
+        });
+        self.enc.send_frame(frame).context("send_frame")?;
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    /// Zero-copy path: wrap the imported CUDA device buffer in an `AV_PIX_FMT_CUDA` frame and
+    /// send it straight to NVENC (no CPU touch). `buf.ptr` aliases device memory we own, so
+    /// `buf[0]` is left null (ffmpeg must not free it); the frame shell is freed after send.
+    fn submit_cuda(
+        &mut self,
+        buf: &crate::zerocopy::DeviceBuffer,
+        pts: i64,
+        idr: bool,
+    ) -> Result<()> {
+        let frames_ref = self
+            .cuda
+            .as_ref()
+            .context("CUDA hw context missing (encoder opened in CPU mode)")?
+            .frames_ref;
+        unsafe {
+            let mut f = ffi::av_frame_alloc();
+            if f.is_null() {
+                bail!("av_frame_alloc failed");
+            }
+            (*f).format = ffi::AVPixelFormat::AV_PIX_FMT_CUDA as c_int;
+            (*f).width = self.width as c_int;
+            (*f).height = self.height as c_int;
+            (*f).hw_frames_ctx = ffi::av_buffer_ref(frames_ref);
+            (*f).data[0] = buf.ptr as *mut u8;
+            (*f).linesize[0] = buf.pitch as c_int;
+            (*f).pts = pts;
+            (*f).pict_type = if idr {
+                ffi::AVPictureType::AV_PICTURE_TYPE_I
+            } else {
+                ffi::AVPictureType::AV_PICTURE_TYPE_NONE
+            };
+            let r = ffi::avcodec_send_frame(self.enc.as_mut_ptr(), f);
+            ffi::av_frame_free(&mut f);
+            if r < 0 {
+                bail!("avcodec_send_frame(CUDA) failed ({r})");
+            }
+        }
+        Ok(())
+    }
+}

crates/lumen-host/src/gamestream/stream.rs

@@ -121,6 +121,7 @@ fn stream_body(
         frame.height,
         cfg.fps,
         cfg.bitrate_kbps as u64 * 1000,
+        frame.is_cuda(),
     )
     .context("open NVENC for stream")?;
     // FEC overhead percent (Sunshine default 20). Override with LUMEN_FEC_PCT (0 = data-only).

crates/lumen-host/src/m0.rs

@@ -75,8 +75,15 @@ pub fn run(opts: Options) -> Result<()> {
         bitrate_bps = opts.bitrate_bps,
         "opening NVENC encoder"
     );
-    let mut encoder =
+    let mut encoder = encode::open_video(
-        encode::open_video(opts.codec, first.format, w, h, opts.fps, opts.bitrate_bps)
+        opts.codec,
+        first.format,
+        w,
+        h,
+        opts.fps,
+        opts.bitrate_bps,
+        first.is_cuda(),
+    )
     .context("open encoder")?;
 
     let mut sink = BufWriter::new(

crates/lumen-host/src/main.rs

@@ -23,6 +23,8 @@ mod pipeline;
 mod pwinit;
 mod vdisplay;
 mod web;
+#[cfg(target_os = "linux")]
+mod zerocopy;
 
 use anyhow::{bail, Result};
 use encode::Codec;
@@ -52,6 +54,9 @@ fn real_main() -> Result<()> {
         // Standalone input-injection smoke test (no client needed): open the session's input
         // backend and inject a scripted mouse/keyboard pattern. Watch a focused app / `wev`.
         Some("input-test") => input_test(),
+        // Zero-copy FFI/GPU probe: init the EGL importer + CUDA context (no capture needed).
+        #[cfg(target_os = "linux")]
+        Some("zerocopy-probe") => zerocopy::probe(),
         // M0 pipeline spike.
         Some("m0") => m0::run(parse_m0(&args[1..])?),
         Some("-h") | Some("--help") | Some("help") | None => {

crates/lumen-host/src/zerocopy/cuda.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,271 @@
+//! Minimal CUDA Driver API FFI for the zero-copy path. No Rust crate exposes the EGL-interop
+//! driver calls (`cuGraphicsEGLRegisterImage` / `cuGraphicsResourceGetMappedEglFrame`) nor
+//! `CUeglFrame`, so we hand-roll exactly what we need and link `libcuda.so.1` (the driver
+//! library — NOT `libcudart`). Symbol names verified against `cust_raw` + `cudaEGL.h`: the
+//! context/mem ops use the `_v2` ABI suffix; the graphics/EGL-interop ops are unsuffixed.
+//!
+//! One process-wide `CUcontext` is created lazily and shared by the EGL importer (capture
+//! thread) and ffmpeg's `hevc_nvenc` (encode thread); each thread makes it current before use.
+
+#![allow(non_camel_case_types, non_snake_case)]
+
+use anyhow::{bail, Result};
+use std::os::raw::{c_int, c_uint, c_void};
+use std::sync::OnceLock;
+
+pub type CUresult = c_uint; // CUDA_SUCCESS == 0
+pub type CUdevice = c_int;
+pub type CUcontext = *mut c_void; // opaque CUctx_st*
+pub type CUstream = *mut c_void; // opaque CUstream_st*
+pub type CUdeviceptr = u64;
+pub type CUgraphicsResource = *mut c_void;
+pub type CUarray = *mut c_void;
+
+/// `CUmemorytype` (cuda.h): HOST=1, DEVICE=2, ARRAY=3, UNIFIED=4.
+pub const CU_MEMORYTYPE_DEVICE: c_uint = 2;
+pub const CU_MEMORYTYPE_ARRAY: c_uint = 3;
+
+/// `CUeglFrameType`: ARRAY=0, PITCH=1.
+pub const CU_EGL_FRAME_TYPE_ARRAY: c_uint = 0;
+pub const CU_EGL_FRAME_TYPE_PITCH: c_uint = 1;
+
+/// `CUeglFrame` — exact layout from `cudaEGL.h`. `frame` is a union of `CUarray pArray[3]` and
+/// `void* pPitch[3]`; both are three pointers, so `[*mut c_void; 3]` models it.
+#[repr(C)]
+pub struct CUeglFrame {
+    pub frame: [*mut c_void; 3],
+    pub width: c_uint,
+    pub height: c_uint,
+    pub depth: c_uint,
+    pub pitch: c_uint,
+    pub planeCount: c_uint,
+    pub numChannels: c_uint,
+    pub frameType: c_uint,
+    pub eglColorFormat: c_uint,
+    pub cuFormat: c_uint,
+}
+
+/// `CUDA_MEMCPY2D` (cuda.h, `_v2` ABI). Field order is load-bearing.
+#[repr(C)]
+#[derive(Default)]
+pub struct CUDA_MEMCPY2D {
+    pub srcXInBytes: usize,
+    pub srcY: usize,
+    pub srcMemoryType: c_uint,
+    pub srcHost: *const c_void,
+    pub srcDevice: CUdeviceptr,
+    pub srcArray: CUarray,
+    pub srcPitch: usize,
+    pub dstXInBytes: usize,
+    pub dstY: usize,
+    pub dstMemoryType: c_uint,
+    pub dstHost: *mut c_void,
+    pub dstDevice: CUdeviceptr,
+    pub dstArray: CUarray,
+    pub dstPitch: usize,
+    pub WidthInBytes: usize,
+    pub Height: usize,
+}
+
+impl Default for CUeglFrame {
+    fn default() -> Self {
+        // SAFETY: all fields are integers or pointers; zero is a valid bit pattern.
+        unsafe { std::mem::zeroed() }
+    }
+}
+
+#[link(name = "cuda")]
+extern "C" {
+    fn cuInit(flags: c_uint) -> CUresult;
+    fn cuDeviceGet(device: *mut CUdevice, ordinal: c_int) -> CUresult;
+    fn cuCtxCreate_v2(pctx: *mut CUcontext, flags: c_uint, dev: CUdevice) -> CUresult;
+    fn cuCtxSetCurrent(ctx: CUcontext) -> CUresult;
+    fn cuMemAllocPitch_v2(
+        dptr: *mut CUdeviceptr,
+        pitch: *mut usize,
+        width_bytes: usize,
+        height: usize,
+        element_size: c_uint,
+    ) -> CUresult;
+    fn cuMemFree_v2(dptr: CUdeviceptr) -> CUresult;
+    fn cuMemcpy2D_v2(copy: *const CUDA_MEMCPY2D) -> CUresult;
+    fn cuCtxSynchronize() -> CUresult;
+
+    fn cuGraphicsEGLRegisterImage(
+        resource: *mut CUgraphicsResource,
+        image: *mut c_void, // EGLImage
+        flags: c_uint,      // CU_GRAPHICS_REGISTER_FLAGS_NONE = 0
+    ) -> CUresult;
+    fn cuGraphicsResourceGetMappedEglFrame(
+        egl_frame: *mut CUeglFrame,
+        resource: CUgraphicsResource,
+        index: c_uint,
+        mip_level: c_uint,
+    ) -> CUresult;
+    fn cuGraphicsUnregisterResource(resource: CUgraphicsResource) -> CUresult;
+}
+
+#[inline]
+fn ck(r: CUresult, what: &str) -> Result<()> {
+    if r == 0 {
+        Ok(())
+    } else {
+        bail!("CUDA driver error {r} in {what}")
+    }
+}
+
+/// The shared process-wide CUDA context (created once). Wrapped so it's `Send`/`Sync` to live
+/// in a `OnceLock`; the raw `CUcontext` is thread-safe to make current from any thread.
+#[derive(Clone, Copy)]
+pub struct Context(pub CUcontext);
+unsafe impl Send for Context {}
+unsafe impl Sync for Context {}
+
+static CONTEXT: OnceLock<Context> = OnceLock::new();
+
+/// Get (lazily creating) the shared CUDA context on device 0.
+pub fn context() -> Result<CUcontext> {
+    if let Some(c) = CONTEXT.get() {
+        return Ok(c.0);
+    }
+    let ctx = unsafe {
+        ck(cuInit(0), "cuInit")?;
+        let mut dev: CUdevice = 0;
+        ck(cuDeviceGet(&mut dev, 0), "cuDeviceGet")?;
+        let mut ctx: CUcontext = std::ptr::null_mut();
+        ck(cuCtxCreate_v2(&mut ctx, 0, dev), "cuCtxCreate_v2")?;
+        ctx
+    };
+    // Racy first-init is fine: the winner's context is used; a loser leaks one context (rare,
+    // process-lifetime). `get_or_init` keeps a single shared value.
+    Ok(CONTEXT.get_or_init(|| Context(ctx)).0)
+}
+
+/// Make the shared context current on the calling thread (required before any CUDA op here).
+pub fn make_current() -> Result<()> {
+    let ctx = context()?;
+    unsafe { ck(cuCtxSetCurrent(ctx), "cuCtxSetCurrent") }
+}
+
+/// A device buffer we own (pitched), freed on drop. Used as the zero-copy frame the encoder
+/// reads — filled by a device-to-device copy from the EGL-mapped dmabuf so the dmabuf can be
+/// returned to the compositor immediately.
+pub struct DeviceBuffer {
+    pub ptr: CUdeviceptr,
+    pub pitch: usize,
+    pub width: u32,
+    pub height: u32,
+}
+
+impl DeviceBuffer {
+    /// Allocate a pitched device buffer for `width`x`height` 4-byte (BGRA) pixels.
+    pub fn alloc(width: u32, height: u32) -> Result<DeviceBuffer> {
+        let mut ptr: CUdeviceptr = 0;
+        let mut pitch: usize = 0;
+        unsafe {
+            ck(
+                cuMemAllocPitch_v2(&mut ptr, &mut pitch, width as usize * 4, height as usize, 16),
+                "cuMemAllocPitch_v2",
+            )?;
+        }
+        Ok(DeviceBuffer {
+            ptr,
+            pitch,
+            width,
+            height,
+        })
+    }
+}
+
+impl Drop for DeviceBuffer {
+    fn drop(&mut self) {
+        if self.ptr != 0 {
+            // The buffer may be freed on the encode thread; cuMemFree needs a current context.
+            unsafe {
+                if let Some(c) = CONTEXT.get() {
+                    let _ = cuCtxSetCurrent(c.0);
+                }
+                let _ = cuMemFree_v2(self.ptr);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+/// A live EGL→CUDA registration. The mapped device memory aliases the dmabuf, so we copy out of
+/// it immediately and then unregister (the EGL image is destroyed by the caller).
+pub struct MappedImage {
+    resource: CUgraphicsResource,
+    /// `frameType` (ARRAY vs PITCH) determines how to copy out.
+    frame: CUeglFrame,
+}
+
+impl MappedImage {
+    /// Register an `EGLImage` with CUDA and map it to a `CUeglFrame`.
+    ///
+    /// # Safety
+    /// `image` must be a valid `EGLImage`; the shared context must be current on this thread.
+    pub unsafe fn register(image: *mut c_void) -> Result<MappedImage> {
+        let mut resource: CUgraphicsResource = std::ptr::null_mut();
+        ck(
+            cuGraphicsEGLRegisterImage(&mut resource, image, 0),
+            "cuGraphicsEGLRegisterImage",
+        )?;
+        let mut frame = CUeglFrame::default();
+        let r = cuGraphicsResourceGetMappedEglFrame(&mut frame, resource, 0, 0);
+        if r != 0 {
+            let _ = cuGraphicsUnregisterResource(resource);
+            bail!("cuGraphicsResourceGetMappedEglFrame error {r}");
+        }
+        Ok(MappedImage { resource, frame })
+    }
+
+    /// Device-to-device copy of this mapped frame into `dst` (de-tiling if the source is a tiled
+    /// CUarray). After this returns the dmabuf is no longer needed.
+    pub fn copy_to(&self, dst: &DeviceBuffer) -> Result<()> {
+        let width_bytes = (self.frame.width as usize).min(dst.width as usize) * 4;
+        let height = (self.frame.height as usize).min(dst.height as usize);
+        let mut copy = CUDA_MEMCPY2D {
+            dstMemoryType: CU_MEMORYTYPE_DEVICE,
+            dstDevice: dst.ptr,
+            dstPitch: dst.pitch,
+            WidthInBytes: width_bytes,
+            Height: height,
+            ..Default::default()
+        };
+        match self.frame.frameType {
+            CU_EGL_FRAME_TYPE_PITCH => {
+                copy.srcMemoryType = CU_MEMORYTYPE_DEVICE;
+                copy.srcDevice = self.frame.frame[0] as CUdeviceptr;
+                copy.srcPitch = self.frame.pitch as usize;
+            }
+            CU_EGL_FRAME_TYPE_ARRAY => {
+                copy.srcMemoryType = CU_MEMORYTYPE_ARRAY;
+                copy.srcArray = self.frame.frame[0] as CUarray;
+            }
+            other => bail!("unexpected CUeglFrame frameType {other}"),
+        }
+        unsafe {
+            ck(cuMemcpy2D_v2(&copy), "cuMemcpy2D_v2")?;
+            // The copy must complete before the dmabuf is requeued / reused.
+            ck(cuCtxSynchronize(), "cuCtxSynchronize")?;
+        }
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    pub fn color_format(&self) -> c_uint {
+        self.frame.eglColorFormat
+    }
+    pub fn frame_kind(&self) -> c_uint {
+        self.frame.frameType
+    }
+}
+
+impl Drop for MappedImage {
+    fn drop(&mut self) {
+        if !self.resource.is_null() {
+            unsafe {
+                let _ = cuGraphicsUnregisterResource(self.resource);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}

crates/lumen-host/src/zerocopy/egl.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,173 @@
+//! EGL side of the zero-copy path: open a headless EGLDisplay on the NVIDIA GPU (via the GBM
+//! platform on the render node) and import a PipeWire dmabuf as an `EGLImage` with
+//! `EGL_LINUX_DMA_BUF_EXT`. The DRM format **modifier** is mandatory on NVIDIA (its buffers are
+//! tiled; importing without the modifier yields a corrupt image or `EGL_BAD_MATCH`). The image
+//! is then handed to CUDA (`cuGraphicsEGLRegisterImage`) and copied device-to-device into an
+//! owned buffer so the dmabuf can be returned to the compositor immediately.
+
+#![allow(non_upper_case_globals)]
+
+use super::cuda::{self, DeviceBuffer, MappedImage};
+use anyhow::{ensure, Context as _, Result};
+use khronos_egl as egl;
+use std::os::raw::{c_int, c_void};
+
+// EGL_EXT_image_dma_buf_import / _modifiers + platform enums (not defined by khronos-egl).
+const EGL_LINUX_DMA_BUF_EXT: egl::Enum = 0x3270;
+const EGL_PLATFORM_GBM_KHR: egl::Enum = 0x31D7;
+const EGL_LINUX_DRM_FOURCC_EXT: egl::Attrib = 0x3271;
+const EGL_DMA_BUF_PLANE0_FD_EXT: egl::Attrib = 0x3272;
+const EGL_DMA_BUF_PLANE0_OFFSET_EXT: egl::Attrib = 0x3273;
+const EGL_DMA_BUF_PLANE0_PITCH_EXT: egl::Attrib = 0x3274;
+const EGL_DMA_BUF_PLANE0_MODIFIER_LO_EXT: egl::Attrib = 0x3443;
+const EGL_DMA_BUF_PLANE0_MODIFIER_HI_EXT: egl::Attrib = 0x3444;
+
+#[link(name = "gbm")]
+extern "C" {
+    fn gbm_create_device(fd: c_int) -> *mut c_void;
+    fn gbm_device_destroy(device: *mut c_void);
+}
+
+/// One dmabuf plane as delivered by PipeWire (single-plane for BGRx).
+#[derive(Clone, Copy, Debug)]
+pub struct DmabufPlane {
+    pub fd: i32,
+    pub offset: u32,
+    pub stride: u32,
+}
+
+type Egl = egl::DynamicInstance<egl::EGL1_5>;
+
+/// Headless EGL display + GBM device used to import dmabufs. Lives on the capture thread.
+pub struct EglImporter {
+    egl: Egl,
+    display: egl::Display,
+    no_ctx: egl::Context,
+    gbm: *mut c_void,
+    render_fd: c_int,
+}
+
+// The EGL/GBM handles are confined to the capture thread; the struct is moved there once.
+unsafe impl Send for EglImporter {}
+
+impl EglImporter {
+    /// Open the render node, create a GBM device, and a headless EGLDisplay on it. Also forces
+    /// the shared CUDA context to exist (so a later `import` only touches the hot path).
+    pub fn new() -> Result<EglImporter> {
+        let path = std::ffi::CString::new("/dev/dri/renderD128").unwrap();
+        let render_fd = unsafe { libc::open(path.as_ptr(), libc::O_RDWR | libc::O_CLOEXEC) };
+        ensure!(render_fd >= 0, "open /dev/dri/renderD128 for GBM");
+        let gbm = unsafe { gbm_create_device(render_fd) };
+        if gbm.is_null() {
+            unsafe { libc::close(render_fd) };
+            anyhow::bail!("gbm_create_device failed");
+        }
+
+        let egl: Egl =
+            unsafe { Egl::load_required() }.context("load libEGL (EGL 1.5 dynamic instance)")?;
+        let display = unsafe {
+            egl.get_platform_display(
+                EGL_PLATFORM_GBM_KHR,
+                gbm as egl::NativeDisplayType,
+                &[egl::ATTRIB_NONE],
+            )
+        }
+        .context("eglGetPlatformDisplay(GBM) on the NVIDIA render node")?;
+        egl.initialize(display).context("eglInitialize")?;
+
+        let exts = egl
+            .query_string(Some(display), egl::EXTENSIONS)
+            .context("query EGL extensions")?
+            .to_string_lossy()
+            .into_owned();
+        ensure!(
+            exts.contains("EGL_EXT_image_dma_buf_import"),
+            "EGL lacks EGL_EXT_image_dma_buf_import"
+        );
+        ensure!(
+            exts.contains("EGL_EXT_image_dma_buf_import_modifiers"),
+            "EGL lacks EGL_EXT_image_dma_buf_import_modifiers (needed for NVIDIA tiled dmabufs)"
+        );
+
+        // Create the shared CUDA context up front so import() is pure hot path.
+        cuda::context().context("create CUDA context")?;
+
+        let no_ctx = unsafe { egl::Context::from_ptr(egl::NO_CONTEXT) };
+        tracing::info!("zero-copy EGL importer ready (GBM platform, dma_buf_import + modifiers)");
+        Ok(EglImporter {
+            egl,
+            display,
+            no_ctx,
+            gbm,
+            render_fd,
+        })
+    }
+
+    /// Import one dmabuf and copy it device-to-device into a fresh owned CUDA buffer.
+    /// `fourcc` is the DRM FourCC, `modifier` the 64-bit DRM format modifier from PipeWire.
+    pub fn import(
+        &self,
+        plane: &DmabufPlane,
+        width: u32,
+        height: u32,
+        fourcc: u32,
+        modifier: u64,
+    ) -> Result<DeviceBuffer> {
+        let attrs: [egl::Attrib; 19] = [
+            egl::WIDTH as egl::Attrib,
+            width as egl::Attrib,
+            egl::HEIGHT as egl::Attrib,
+            height as egl::Attrib,
+            EGL_LINUX_DRM_FOURCC_EXT,
+            fourcc as egl::Attrib,
+            EGL_DMA_BUF_PLANE0_FD_EXT,
+            plane.fd as egl::Attrib,
+            EGL_DMA_BUF_PLANE0_OFFSET_EXT,
+            plane.offset as egl::Attrib,
+            EGL_DMA_BUF_PLANE0_PITCH_EXT,
+            plane.stride as egl::Attrib,
+            EGL_DMA_BUF_PLANE0_MODIFIER_LO_EXT,
+            (modifier & 0xFFFF_FFFF) as egl::Attrib,
+            EGL_DMA_BUF_PLANE0_MODIFIER_HI_EXT,
+            (modifier >> 32) as egl::Attrib,
+            egl::ATTRIB_NONE,
+            0,
+            0,
+        ];
+        let client = unsafe { egl::ClientBuffer::from_ptr(std::ptr::null_mut()) };
+        let image = self
+            .egl
+            .create_image(
+                self.display,
+                self.no_ctx,
+                EGL_LINUX_DMA_BUF_EXT,
+                client,
+                &attrs[..17], // up to and including ATTRIB_NONE
+            )
+            .context("eglCreateImage(EGL_LINUX_DMA_BUF_EXT) — modifier mismatch?")?;
+
+        // CUDA: register + map + copy out, then drop the registration and the EGL image.
+        let result = (|| -> Result<DeviceBuffer> {
+            cuda::make_current()?;
+            // SAFETY: `image` is a valid EGLImage we just created; context is current.
+            let mapped = unsafe { MappedImage::register(image.as_ptr()) }?;
+            let dst = DeviceBuffer::alloc(width, height)?;
+            mapped.copy_to(&dst)?;
+            Ok(dst)
+        })();
+
+        let _ = self.egl.destroy_image(self.display, image);
+        result
+    }
+}
+
+impl Drop for EglImporter {
+    fn drop(&mut self) {
+        if !self.gbm.is_null() {
+            unsafe { gbm_device_destroy(self.gbm) };
+        }
+        if self.render_fd >= 0 {
+            unsafe { libc::close(self.render_fd) };
+        }
+    }
+}

crates/lumen-host/src/zerocopy/mod.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+//! Zero-copy capture→encode (plan §9): the PipeWire dmabuf is imported into CUDA via EGL and
+//! handed straight to NVENC, eliminating the per-frame CPU copies (at 5K the CPU-copy path
+//! moves ~3.5 GB/s). Opt in with `LUMEN_ZEROCOPY=1`; the CPU-copy path stays the default and
+//! the runtime fallback (foreign-allocator / no-dmabuf / import failure).
+//!
+//! Pieces: [`cuda`] (driver-API FFI + the shared `CUcontext` + device buffers), [`egl`] (the
+//! headless EGLDisplay + dmabuf→`EGLImage`→CUDA import). The encoder's CUDA-frame path lives in
+//! `encode/linux.rs`; the dmabuf negotiation lives in `capture/linux.rs`.
+
+pub mod cuda;
+pub mod egl;
+
+pub use cuda::DeviceBuffer;
+pub use egl::EglImporter;
+
+/// Whether the zero-copy path is opted in (`LUMEN_ZEROCOPY` truthy).
+pub fn enabled() -> bool {
+    std::env::var("LUMEN_ZEROCOPY")
+        .map(|v| matches!(v.trim(), "1" | "true" | "yes" | "on"))
+        .unwrap_or(false)
+}
+
+/// DRM FourCC for a packed 32-bit format name (little-endian, e.g. `b"XR24"`).
+const fn fourcc(c: &[u8; 4]) -> u32 {
+    (c[0] as u32) | ((c[1] as u32) << 8) | ((c[2] as u32) << 16) | ((c[3] as u32) << 24)
+}
+
+/// Map a SPA/our [`crate::capture::PixelFormat`] to the DRM FourCC EGL expects for import.
+/// SPA byte order `BGRx` ⇒ DRM `XRGB8888` (memory B,G,R,X), etc.
+pub fn drm_fourcc(format: crate::capture::PixelFormat) -> Option<u32> {
+    use crate::capture::PixelFormat::*;
+    Some(match format {
+        Bgrx => fourcc(b"XR24"), // DRM_FORMAT_XRGB8888
+        Bgra => fourcc(b"AR24"), // DRM_FORMAT_ARGB8888
+        Rgbx => fourcc(b"XB24"), // DRM_FORMAT_XBGR8888
+        Rgba => fourcc(b"AB24"), // DRM_FORMAT_ABGR8888
+        // 24-bit packed RGB/BGR have no straightforward dmabuf import here; use the CPU path.
+        Rgb | Bgr => return None,
+    })
+}
+
+/// Standalone probe (the `zerocopy-probe` subcommand): initialize the EGL importer + CUDA
+/// context and report. De-risks the FFI/linking/GPU-access without needing a capture session.
+pub fn probe() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+    let _importer = EglImporter::new()?;
+    let ctx = cuda::context()?;
+    tracing::info!(cuda_ctx = ?ctx, "zero-copy probe OK — EGL display + CUDA context initialized");
+    Ok(())
+}