diff --git a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode.rs b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode.rs
index 311fab2c..2e4806a8 100644
--- a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode.rs
+++ b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode.rs
@@ -1033,6 +1033,11 @@ mod nvenc_cuda;
 #[cfg(all(any(target_os = "linux", target_os = "windows"), feature = "nvenc"))]
 #[path = "encode/nvenc_status.rs"]
 mod nvenc_status;
+// Platform-agnostic direct-SDK NVENC glue (`NvStatusExt`/`nv_ok`, `codec_guid`) shared by both
+// `nvEncodeAPI` backends — the byte-identical Tier-2 leaves (plan §2.2). Sibling of `nvenc_status`.
+#[cfg(all(any(target_os = "linux", target_os = "windows"), feature = "nvenc"))]
+#[path = "encode/nvenc_core.rs"]
+mod nvenc_core;
 // Shared libavcodec glue (`pixel_to_av`, swscale consts) for the three libav backends — Linux
 // NVENC + VAAPI and Windows AMF/QSV — so the byte-identical pieces live once (plan §2.2, Tier 2).
 #[cfg(any(target_os = "linux", all(target_os = "windows", feature = "amf-qsv")))]
diff --git a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/linux/nvenc_cuda.rs b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/linux/nvenc_cuda.rs
index e6ff467a..844f312e 100644
--- a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/linux/nvenc_cuda.rs
+++ b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/linux/nvenc_cuda.rs
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@
 // Every `unsafe` block / impl in this file carries a `// SAFETY:` proof; enforce it.
 #![deny(clippy::undocumented_unsafe_blocks)]
 
+use super::nvenc_core::{codec_guid, NvStatusExt};
 use super::nvenc_status;
 use super::{ChromaFormat, Codec, EncodedFrame, Encoder, EncoderCaps};
 use crate::capture::{CapturedFrame, FramePayload};
@@ -106,20 +107,6 @@ struct EncodeApi {
     invalidate_ref_frames: unsafe extern "C" fn(*mut c_void, u64) -> nv::NVENCSTATUS,
 }
 
-/// Local `NVENCSTATUS` → `Result` (the sdk's own helper lives in the `safe` module this file must
-/// not pull in). The raw status's Debug repr is the error payload.
-trait NvStatusExt {
-    fn nv_ok(self) -> std::result::Result<(), nv::NVENCSTATUS>;
-}
-impl NvStatusExt for nv::NVENCSTATUS {
-    fn nv_ok(self) -> std::result::Result<(), nv::NVENCSTATUS> {
-        match self {
-            nv::NVENCSTATUS::NV_ENC_SUCCESS => Ok(()),
-            err => Err(err),
-        }
-    }
-}
-
 /// Resolve the table once per process. `Err` = NVENC genuinely unavailable (no NVIDIA driver/.so,
 /// or a driver older than our headers) — [`NvencCudaEncoder::open`] gates on it and the VAAPI/
 /// software backends carry on.
@@ -226,16 +213,6 @@ const POOL: usize = 8;
 /// P-frame single-reference for low latency.
 const RFI_DPB: u32 = 5;
 
-fn codec_guid(codec: Codec) -> nv::GUID {
-    match codec {
-        Codec::H264 => nv::NV_ENC_CODEC_H264_GUID,
-        Codec::H265 => nv::NV_ENC_CODEC_HEVC_GUID,
-        Codec::Av1 => nv::NV_ENC_CODEC_AV1_GUID,
-        // Guarded by the open_video dispatch: a PyroWave session never reaches NVENC.
-        Codec::PyroWave => unreachable!("PyroWave never opens the direct-NVENC backend"),
-    }
-}
-
 /// The NVENC input buffer format for a captured `DeviceBuffer`'s layout. NV12/YUV444 are the zero-
 /// copy worker's convert outputs; packed RGB (`ABGR`) is the fallback where NVENC does the internal
 /// CSC. 10-bit is never produced on Linux today (Phase 5.1), so everything is 8-bit.
diff --git a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/nvenc_core.rs b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/nvenc_core.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..0917a655
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/nvenc_core.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+//! Shared direct-SDK NVENC core — the platform-agnostic pieces of the two `nvEncodeAPI` backends,
+//! Windows D3D11 (`encode/windows/nvenc.rs`) and Linux CUDA (`encode/linux/nvenc_cuda.rs`), so the
+//! byte-identical glue lives once (plan §2.2, the direct-NVENC Tier-2). The per-platform parts —
+//! the entry-table load (`nvEncodeAPI64.dll` via `LoadLibrary` vs `libnvidia-encode.so` via
+//! `libloading`), the device binding (D3D11 vs CUDA), input-surface registration, and the
+//! Windows-only async retrieve — stay in their backends. Sibling of [`super::nvenc_status`].
+
+use super::Codec;
+use nvidia_video_codec_sdk::sys::nvEncodeAPI as nv;
+
+/// Local `NVENCSTATUS` → `Result` (replaces the sdk's `result_without_string`, which lives in the
+/// crate's `safe` module — code these backends must not pull in). The raw status's Debug repr
+/// (`NV_ENC_ERR_INVALID_PARAM`, …) is the error payload; callers fold it through
+/// [`super::nvenc_status`] for an operator-actionable cause.
+pub(super) trait NvStatusExt {
+    fn nv_ok(self) -> std::result::Result<(), nv::NVENCSTATUS>;
+}
+impl NvStatusExt for nv::NVENCSTATUS {
+    fn nv_ok(self) -> std::result::Result<(), nv::NVENCSTATUS> {
+        match self {
+            nv::NVENCSTATUS::NV_ENC_SUCCESS => Ok(()),
+            err => Err(err),
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+/// The NVENC codec GUID for a session [`Codec`]. PyroWave never opens the direct-NVENC backend
+/// (guarded by the `open_video` dispatch), so it is unreachable here.
+pub(super) fn codec_guid(codec: Codec) -> nv::GUID {
+    match codec {
+        Codec::H264 => nv::NV_ENC_CODEC_H264_GUID,
+        Codec::H265 => nv::NV_ENC_CODEC_HEVC_GUID,
+        Codec::Av1 => nv::NV_ENC_CODEC_AV1_GUID,
+        Codec::PyroWave => unreachable!("PyroWave never opens the direct-NVENC backend"),
+    }
+}
diff --git a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/windows/nvenc.rs b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/windows/nvenc.rs
index 6c46cb80..dbb72288 100644
--- a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/windows/nvenc.rs
+++ b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/encode/windows/nvenc.rs
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@
 // Every `unsafe` block / impl in this file carries a `// SAFETY:` proof; enforce it.
 #![deny(clippy::undocumented_unsafe_blocks)]
 
+use super::nvenc_core::{codec_guid, NvStatusExt};
 use super::nvenc_status;
 use super::{ChromaFormat, Codec, EncodedFrame, Encoder, EncoderCaps};
 use crate::capture::{CapturedFrame, FramePayload, PixelFormat};
@@ -117,21 +118,6 @@ struct EncodeApi {
     invalidate_ref_frames: unsafe extern "C" fn(*mut c_void, u64) -> nv::NVENCSTATUS,
 }
 
-/// Local `NVENCSTATUS` → `Result` (replaces the sdk's `result_without_string`, which lives in the
-/// crate's `safe` module — code this file must not pull in, see [`EncodeApi`]). The raw status's
-/// Debug repr (`NV_ENC_ERR_INVALID_PARAM`, …) is the error payload.
-trait NvStatusExt {
-    fn nv_ok(self) -> std::result::Result<(), nv::NVENCSTATUS>;
-}
-impl NvStatusExt for nv::NVENCSTATUS {
-    fn nv_ok(self) -> std::result::Result<(), nv::NVENCSTATUS> {
-        match self {
-            nv::NVENCSTATUS::NV_ENC_SUCCESS => Ok(()),
-            err => Err(err),
-        }
-    }
-}
-
 /// Resolve the table once per process. `Err` = NVENC genuinely unavailable on this machine (no
 /// NVIDIA driver/DLL, or a driver older than our headers) — the entry points
 /// ([`NvencD3d11Encoder::open`], [`probe_can_encode_444`]) gate on it and the AMF/QSV/software
@@ -240,15 +226,6 @@ const POOL: usize = 8;
 /// `numRefL0 = 1` keeps each P-frame single-reference for low latency.
 const RFI_DPB: u32 = 5;
 
-fn codec_guid(codec: Codec) -> nv::GUID {
-    match codec {
-        Codec::H264 => nv::NV_ENC_CODEC_H264_GUID,
-        Codec::H265 => nv::NV_ENC_CODEC_HEVC_GUID,
-        Codec::Av1 => nv::NV_ENC_CODEC_AV1_GUID,
-        Codec::PyroWave => unreachable!("PyroWave never opens the direct-NVENC backend"),
-    }
-}
-
 /// Live NVENC hardware-session units held by THIS host process (a plain session = 1; a forced
 /// split-encode session occupies one session per engine = 2–3) — the Stage-W3 encoder budget
 /// (`design/windows-parallel-virtual-displays.md` §4.5). Kept in ONE place so admitting a parallel