diff --git a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/inject.rs b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/inject.rs
index dccf62c1..9d8eb6b7 100644
--- a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/inject.rs
+++ b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/inject.rs
@@ -511,6 +511,12 @@ mod gamepad_raii;
 #[cfg(any(target_os = "linux", target_os = "windows"))]
 #[path = "inject/pad_gate.rs"]
 pub mod pad_gate;
+/// Shared virtual-pad slot table + creation lifecycle ([`pad_slots::PadSlots`]) — the
+/// `Vec<Option<Pad>>` table, `active_mask` unplug sweep, and gate-checked create every backend
+/// manager used to copy-paste (G12).
+#[cfg(any(target_os = "linux", target_os = "windows"))]
+#[path = "inject/pad_slots.rs"]
+pub mod pad_slots;
 /// Linux: virtual Steam Deck via UHID — the kernel `hid-steam` driver binds it as a real Deck.
 #[cfg(target_os = "linux")]
 #[path = "inject/linux/steam_controller.rs"]
diff --git a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/inject/pad_slots.rs b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/inject/pad_slots.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..4f2427d8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/inject/pad_slots.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,184 @@
+//! Shared virtual-pad slot table + creation lifecycle, used by every backend manager (Linux
+//! uinput/uhid, Windows XUSB/UMDF). See [`PadSlots`].
+
+use crate::gamestream::gamepad::MAX_PADS;
+use crate::inject::pad_gate::PadGate;
+use anyhow::Result;
+use std::time::Instant;
+
+// The unplug sweep walks a u16 `active_mask` (the wire type); every slot must have a bit.
+const _: () = assert!(MAX_PADS <= 16);
+
+/// The slot table + lifecycle every virtual-pad manager repeats: `Vec<Option<P>>` keyed by wire pad
+/// index, the `active_mask` unplug sweep, and the [`PadGate`]-guarded create. Extracted verbatim
+/// from seven copy-pasted managers (G12) so a lifecycle fix lands once, not seven times.
+///
+/// Division of labor: `PadSlots` owns the pads' *existence* (create / sweep / lookup) and logs the
+/// shared lifecycle lines (unplug, create-failure); the backend keeps everything per-controller —
+/// its state model, feedback pump, and the success log inside `open` (which knows the transport
+/// detail worth printing). Per-index sibling state (`state` / `last_rumble` / dedup / clocks) stays
+/// in the manager, which resets it on the indices [`sweep`](Self::sweep) returns and on a `true`
+/// from [`ensure`](Self::ensure).
+pub struct PadSlots<P> {
+    pads: Vec<Option<P>>,
+    /// Create-retry gate: a transient backend failure backs off and retries instead of permanently
+    /// disabling every pad for the session.
+    gate: PadGate,
+    /// Backend tag in the shared lifecycle log lines, e.g. `"DualSense/Windows"` — keeps every
+    /// existing per-backend line byte-identical (ops greps survive the extraction).
+    label: &'static str,
+    /// Device name in the create-failure line ("virtual `<device>` creation failed …").
+    device: &'static str,
+    /// Suffix for the create-failure line — empty on Linux, the driver-install hint on Windows.
+    hint: &'static str,
+}
+
+impl<P> PadSlots<P> {
+    /// An empty table of [`MAX_PADS`] slots whose lifecycle log lines carry `label` / `device` /
+    /// `hint` (see the field docs).
+    pub fn new(label: &'static str, device: &'static str, hint: &'static str) -> PadSlots<P> {
+        PadSlots {
+            pads: (0..MAX_PADS).map(|_| None).collect(),
+            gate: PadGate::new(),
+            label,
+            device,
+            hint,
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// The backend tag this table logs with (for the manager's own arrival line).
+    pub fn label(&self) -> &'static str {
+        self.label
+    }
+
+    /// Drop every allocated pad whose `active_mask` bit cleared (the unplug sweep run on each state
+    /// frame), logging each. Returns the swept indices as a bitmask so the caller resets its
+    /// per-index sibling state; an index another manager owns is `None` here, so it is never swept.
+    pub fn sweep(&mut self, active_mask: u16) -> u16 {
+        let mut swept = 0u16;
+        for (i, slot) in self.pads.iter_mut().enumerate() {
+            if slot.is_some() && active_mask & (1 << i) == 0 {
+                tracing::info!(index = i, "controller unplugged ({})", self.label);
+                *slot = None;
+                swept |= 1 << i;
+            }
+        }
+        swept
+    }
+
+    /// Create the pad at `idx` via `open` if the slot is empty and the create gate allows it.
+    /// Returns `true` only on a fresh create (the caller resets its per-index sibling state);
+    /// `open` logs its own success line (it knows the transport detail), failure is logged here.
+    pub fn ensure(&mut self, idx: usize, open: impl FnOnce(u8) -> Result<P>) -> bool {
+        if idx >= MAX_PADS || self.pads[idx].is_some() || !self.gate.allow(Instant::now()) {
+            return false;
+        }
+        match open(idx as u8) {
+            Ok(p) => {
+                self.pads[idx] = Some(p);
+                self.gate.on_success();
+                true
+            }
+            Err(e) => {
+                tracing::error!(
+                    error = %format!("{e:#}"),
+                    "virtual {} creation failed — retrying with backoff{}",
+                    self.device,
+                    self.hint
+                );
+                self.gate.on_failure(Instant::now());
+                false
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// The live pad at `idx`, if any (out-of-range → `None`).
+    pub fn get(&self, idx: usize) -> Option<&P> {
+        self.pads.get(idx).and_then(|s| s.as_ref())
+    }
+
+    /// The live pad at `idx`, mutably, if any (out-of-range → `None`).
+    pub fn get_mut(&mut self, idx: usize) -> Option<&mut P> {
+        self.pads.get_mut(idx).and_then(|s| s.as_mut())
+    }
+
+    /// Iterate the live pads as `(index, &mut pad)` (the feedback-pump shape).
+    pub fn iter_mut(&mut self) -> impl Iterator<Item = (usize, &mut P)> {
+        self.pads
+            .iter_mut()
+            .enumerate()
+            .filter_map(|(i, s)| s.as_mut().map(|p| (i, p)))
+    }
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+    use anyhow::bail;
+
+    fn slots() -> PadSlots<u32> {
+        PadSlots::new("Test", "test pad", "")
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn ensure_creates_once_and_reports_freshness() {
+        let mut s = slots();
+        // Fresh create → true; the pad is live.
+        assert!(s.ensure(3, |i| Ok(i as u32 * 10)));
+        assert_eq!(s.get(3), Some(&30));
+        // Occupied slot → no re-open (the closure must not run), no reset signal.
+        assert!(!s.ensure(3, |_| panic!("re-opened an occupied slot")));
+        // Out of range → never opens.
+        assert!(!s.ensure(MAX_PADS, |_| panic!("opened out of range")));
+        assert_eq!(s.get(MAX_PADS), None);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn sweep_drops_only_cleared_bits_and_returns_them_once() {
+        let mut s = slots();
+        assert!(s.ensure(0, |_| Ok(0)));
+        assert!(s.ensure(2, |_| Ok(2)));
+        assert!(s.ensure(5, |_| Ok(5)));
+        // Mask keeps 2, clears 0 and 5; empty slots (1, 3, …) are untouched non-events.
+        let swept = s.sweep(0b0000_0100);
+        assert_eq!(swept, 0b0010_0001);
+        assert_eq!(s.get(0), None);
+        assert_eq!(s.get(2), Some(&2));
+        assert_eq!(s.get(5), None);
+        // A second identical sweep is a no-op: the indices were returned exactly once.
+        assert_eq!(s.sweep(0b0000_0100), 0);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn create_failure_arms_the_gate_and_success_heals_it() {
+        let mut s = slots();
+        assert!(!s.ensure(1, |_| bail!("transient")));
+        // Backoff in effect: the next attempt is blocked without even calling `open`.
+        assert!(!s.ensure(1, |_| panic!("open during backoff")));
+        // The gate is manager-wide (create failures are systemic), so other indices block too.
+        assert!(!s.ensure(2, |_| panic!("open during backoff")));
+        // …and a sweep-then-recreate of a *different* live pad is equally gated, but the table
+        // itself is intact: nothing was allocated.
+        assert_eq!(s.get(1), None);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn recreate_after_sweep_resets_freshness() {
+        let mut s = slots();
+        assert!(s.ensure(4, |_| Ok(1)));
+        s.sweep(0);
+        assert_eq!(s.get(4), None);
+        // The slot is free again → a fresh create (true) with a new value.
+        assert!(s.ensure(4, |_| Ok(2)));
+        assert_eq!(s.get(4), Some(&2));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn iter_mut_yields_live_pads_with_indices() {
+        let mut s = slots();
+        assert!(s.ensure(1, |_| Ok(10)));
+        assert!(s.ensure(6, |_| Ok(60)));
+        let seen: Vec<(usize, u32)> = s.iter_mut().map(|(i, p)| (i, *p)).collect();
+        assert_eq!(seen, vec![(1, 10), (6, 60)]);
+    }
+}