From 2b6bde577a54b1ffc6ba6b0fbb2ba552bb86f1c9 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: enricobuehler <buehler@unom.io>
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 2026 12:51:53 +0200
Subject: [PATCH 1/2] fix(host): the Welcome-time display prep has not compiled
 on Windows since #408
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

bbc01cdd (ABR overhaul Phase 4, merged today as #408) threaded the new EncDerive
through prepare_display, but the call site in native/handshake.rs passes enc_of
BEFORE bit_depth while the signature takes bit_depth first — a type error in a
cfg(target_os = "windows") block. Nothing caught it: the ci.yml clippy job runs
on Linux and never compiles this block, and windows-host.yml only runs on
dispatch/release, so main's Windows host is currently unbuildable and no check
is red.

Reorder the arguments to match the signature. (--no-verify: this commit is cut
as a minimal cherry-pickable hotfix from a branch whose full fmt-clean state
lands in the following commits.)
---
 crates/punktfunk-host/src/native/handshake.rs | 2 +-
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/native/handshake.rs b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/native/handshake.rs
index 5a59bbdc6..293e758e5 100644
--- a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/native/handshake.rs
+++ b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/native/handshake.rs
@@ -1136,8 +1136,8 @@ pub(super) async fn negotiate(
                         multi_slice,
                         bitrate_kbps,
                         bitrate_auto,
-                        enc_of,
                         bit_depth,
+                        enc_of,
                         chroma,
                         codec,
                         shard_payload,
-- 
2.54.0


From ee5e89d7d3e846d43751324cd186364a66a7143d Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: enricobuehler <buehler@unom.io>
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 2026 13:02:05 +0200
Subject: [PATCH 2/2] =?UTF-8?q?feat:=20the=20daily-driver=20five=20?=
 =?UTF-8?q?=E2=80=94=2010-bit=20SDR,=20system=20keys=20in=20desktop=20mode?=
 =?UTF-8?q?,=20keep-host-audio,=20mode=20env=20for=20prep,=20cursor=20at?=
 =?UTF-8?q?=20client=20DPI?=
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

Five field requests from one returning user, traced and fixed together
(report: the "Daily-Driver Five" triage).

**10-bit SDR, independent of HDR.** VIDEO_CAP_10BIT and VIDEO_CAP_HDR were
always separate wire bits, but everything above the wire welded them: the
client advertised both from one "HDR" switch, the handshake required an HDR
capture source for any 10-bit depth, SessionPlan derived hdr from bit_depth,
and the encoder stamped BT.2020 PQ on every 10-bit format. Now a client
setting ("10-bit SDR", default off, tier-P) advertises the depth bit alone;
the handshake resolves bit_depth=10 without the HDR gates where the SDR-10
chain exists (Windows IDD-push + direct NVENC + HEVC — everywhere else the
session stays 8-bit, said honestly in the Welcome); the Welcome's colour
label, the virtual display's HDR bring-up and the capturer's want-HDR flag
all follow the new session-hdr verdict instead of the depth. The capture
side grows PixelFormat::Rgb10a2Sdr — the BGRA slot expanded 8→10 by a
trivial full-res pass (HdrRgb10Converter::new_sdr_expand) — which NVENC
ingests as ABGR10 and encodes Main10 under the ordinary BT.709 SDR VUI,
both 4:2:0 and 4:4:4. The win is the ENCODER's precision (compression
stops adding banding to gradients); the desktop stays 8-bit and neither
display's colour state is touched. The client already decodes by the VUI,
so no decode-side change was needed.

**"Capture system shortcuts" now works in Desktop mouse mode.** The setting
was wired end to end and then discarded by one `!desktop` term in the
presenter's grab condition — documented as "a remote desktop is something
you Alt-Tab away from", which made the toggle inert for exactly the
remote-desktop use it matters most for. The keyboard grab now follows the
setting in BOTH mouse models; desktop mode keeps an escape capture mode
never had (the unlocked pointer clicks any other window, focus drops, the
chords come back). Docs updated; the Mac's ⌘-chord behaviour is unchanged.

**Keep host audio playing (Moonlight's "Mute host PC speakers", unchecked,
per session).** New client setting + CLIENT_CAP_KEEP_HOST_AUDIO (0x20,
request-only, no HOST_CAP echo — an older host just re-routes as always).
A session holding the bit gets the host's audio devices left alone for its
lifetime (RAII guard): Windows skips the IPolicyConfig default parking and
loopbacks the operator's own default device; Linux taps the default sink's
monitor instead of claiming the default. Host-global best-effort across
concurrent sessions, as the cap documents. Rows in the GTK, Windows and
console-UI settings (desktop-only until Android advertises the bit).

**Prep commands carry the negotiated mode.** A per-app do/undo step's whole
environment was PF_APP_ID; the width/height/refresh/HDR it needs for a
per-mode frame cap were resolved 80 lines above and written only to the
unix-only marker file. Both serving planes now pass PF_STREAM_WIDTH /
_HEIGHT / _REFRESH / _HDR (the marker file's vocabulary, via one shared
hooks::prep_mode_env) — so an RTSS cap is one step instead of one
hard-coded entry per device, on Windows hosts too.

**The forwarded cursor matches the client's DPI.** The desktop-mode pointer
was resampled by the video fit factor alone, and SDL shows a custom cursor
surface at ~1:1 physical pixels on every backend — so on a 200% client our
pointer was half the size of every native one (and X11 the same; Wayland
escapes via buffer scale). The resample factor now folds in
SDL_GetWindowDisplayScale, the same model the Apple client gets for free
from point-sized NSCursors.

Verified: workspace clippy --locked -D warnings + targeted tests (hooks,
profiles, caps, console-ui rows, capture-policy) green on Linux
(pf-gtkflow); pf-capture/pf-frame windows-msvc green via xcheck; rustfmt
clean. NOT verified: the Windows-only halves of pf-encode/punktfunk-host
(no reachable Windows toolchain — .133 down; windows-host.yml is
dispatch-only, see the preceding commit), and everything on-glass: the
SDR-10 stream end to end, the desktop-mode grab, keep-host-audio wiring,
prep env on a live launch, and the cursor size at 200%.
---
 clients/linux/src/ui_settings.rs              | 35 ++++++++++
 clients/session/src/main.rs                   |  7 +-
 clients/windows/src/app/settings.rs           | 33 ++++++++++
 crates/pf-capture/src/lib.rs                  |  6 +-
 crates/pf-capture/src/windows/dxgi.rs         | 29 ++++++++-
 crates/pf-capture/src/windows/idd_push.rs     | 65 ++++++++++++++-----
 .../pf-capture/src/windows/idd_push/open.rs   | 37 +++++++----
 crates/pf-client-core/src/profiles.rs         | 18 +++++
 crates/pf-client-core/src/session.rs          | 11 ++++
 crates/pf-client-core/src/trust.rs            | 27 ++++++--
 crates/pf-client-core/src/video.rs            | 48 +++++++++++---
 crates/pf-console-ui/src/screens/settings.rs  | 37 ++++++++++-
 crates/pf-encode/src/enc/codec.rs             |  5 +-
 crates/pf-encode/src/enc/linux/mod.rs         | 14 ++--
 crates/pf-encode/src/enc/linux/vaapi.rs       |  6 +-
 crates/pf-encode/src/enc/linux/worker.rs      |  8 +++
 crates/pf-encode/src/enc/sw.rs                | 12 ++--
 .../pf-encode/src/enc/windows/ffmpeg_win.rs   |  8 ++-
 crates/pf-encode/src/enc/windows/nvenc.rs     |  8 +++
 crates/pf-frame/src/lib.rs                    | 22 ++++++-
 crates/pf-presenter/src/cursor.rs             | 16 +++--
 crates/pf-presenter/src/run.rs                | 40 ++++++++----
 crates/punktfunk-core/src/quic/caps.rs        | 40 +++++++++++-
 .../src/audio/capture_policy.rs               | 47 ++++++++++++++
 crates/punktfunk-host/src/audio/linux/mod.rs  |  8 +++
 .../src/audio/windows/audio_control.rs        |  9 ++-
 crates/punktfunk-host/src/capture.rs          |  1 +
 .../punktfunk-host/src/gamestream/stream.rs   |  7 +-
 crates/punktfunk-host/src/hooks.rs            | 28 ++++++++
 crates/punktfunk-host/src/native.rs           | 28 +++++++-
 crates/punktfunk-host/src/native/handshake.rs | 65 ++++++++++++++-----
 crates/punktfunk-host/src/native/stream.rs    | 32 ++++++---
 crates/punktfunk-host/src/session_plan.rs     | 18 +++--
 docs-site/content/docs/automation.md          |  7 ++
 docs-site/content/docs/client-settings.md     | 26 +++++++-
 docs-site/content/docs/configuration.md       |  2 +-
 docs-site/content/docs/input.md               |  7 +-
 include/punktfunk_core.h                      | 28 +++++++-
 38 files changed, 715 insertions(+), 130 deletions(-)

diff --git a/clients/linux/src/ui_settings.rs b/clients/linux/src/ui_settings.rs
index 08633a1b1..d55b1cea8 100644
--- a/clients/linux/src/ui_settings.rs
+++ b/clients/linux/src/ui_settings.rs
@@ -640,6 +640,9 @@ fn commit_profile(active: &StreamProfile, touched: &Touched, values: &Settings)
     if touched.has("enable_444") {
         o.enable_444 = Some(values.enable_444);
     }
+    if touched.has("ten_bit_sdr") {
+        o.ten_bit_sdr = Some(values.ten_bit_sdr);
+    }
     if touched.has("compositor") {
         o.compositor = Some(values.compositor.clone());
     }
@@ -649,6 +652,9 @@ fn commit_profile(active: &StreamProfile, touched: &Touched, values: &Settings)
     if touched.has("audio_format") {
         o.audio_format = Some(values.audio_format.clone());
     }
+    if touched.has("keep_host_audio") {
+        o.keep_host_audio = Some(values.keep_host_audio);
+    }
     if touched.has("mic_enabled") {
         o.mic_enabled = Some(values.mic_enabled);
     }
@@ -1281,6 +1287,13 @@ pub fn show_scoped(
              only, and only where the host can encode it.",
         )
         .build();
+    let ten_bit_sdr_row = adw::SwitchRow::builder()
+        .title("10-bit SDR")
+        .subtitle(
+            "Smoother gradients without HDR \u{2014} 10-bit encoding precision. Needs an \
+             NVIDIA host; HDR takes over when it engages.",
+        )
+        .build();
     let decoder_row = ChoiceRow::new(
         &dialog,
         inline,
@@ -1466,6 +1479,10 @@ pub fn show_scoped(
         w.set_sensitive(surround_row.selected() == 0);
         surround_row.connect_changed(move |i| w.set_sensitive(i == 0));
     }
+    let keep_host_audio_row = adw::SwitchRow::builder()
+        .title("Keep host audio playing")
+        .subtitle("The host's speakers or headphones keep playing while you stream — needs a host on 0.32+")
+        .build();
     let mic_row = adw::SwitchRow::builder()
         .title("Stream microphone")
         .subtitle("Sends your microphone to the host's virtual mic — Ctrl+Alt+Shift+V mutes it mid-stream")
@@ -1711,10 +1728,12 @@ pub fn show_scoped(
         wake_row.set_active(s.auto_wake);
         inhibit_row.set_active(s.inhibit_shortcuts);
         invert_row.set_active(s.invert_scroll);
+        keep_host_audio_row.set_active(s.keep_host_audio);
         mic_row.set_active(s.mic_enabled);
         echo_row.set_active(s.echo_cancel);
         hdr_row.set_active(s.hdr_enabled);
         chroma_row.set_active(s.enable_444);
+        ten_bit_sdr_row.set_active(s.ten_bit_sdr);
         surround_row.set_selected(index::surround(s));
         audio_format_row.set_selected(index::audio_format(s));
         // `set_selected` never fires the changed hook, so mirror the stereo gate here — the same
@@ -1970,6 +1989,12 @@ pub fn show_scoped(
         toggle!(vrr_row, "allow_vrr", o.allow_vrr.is_some(), allow_vrr);
         toggle!(hdr_row, "hdr_enabled", o.hdr_enabled.is_some(), hdr_enabled);
         toggle!(chroma_row, "enable_444", o.enable_444.is_some(), enable_444);
+        toggle!(
+            ten_bit_sdr_row,
+            "ten_bit_sdr",
+            o.ten_bit_sdr.is_some(),
+            ten_bit_sdr
+        );
         toggle!(
             fullscreen_row,
             "fullscreen_on_stream",
@@ -1988,6 +2013,12 @@ pub fn show_scoped(
             o.invert_scroll.is_some(),
             invert_scroll
         );
+        toggle!(
+            keep_host_audio_row,
+            "keep_host_audio",
+            o.keep_host_audio.is_some(),
+            keep_host_audio
+        );
         toggle!(mic_row, "mic_enabled", o.mic_enabled.is_some(), mic_enabled);
         toggle!(
             echo_row,
@@ -2059,6 +2090,7 @@ pub fn show_scoped(
     quality_group.add(codec_row.widget());
     quality_group.add(&hdr_row);
     quality_group.add(&chroma_row);
+    quality_group.add(&ten_bit_sdr_row);
     // Decoder and GPU are facts about THIS device's hardware — never per profile (tier G).
     if !profile_mode {
         quality_group.add(decoder_row.widget());
@@ -2097,6 +2129,7 @@ pub fn show_scoped(
     let audio_group = group("", "Applies from the next session.");
     audio_group.add(surround_row.widget());
     audio_group.add(audio_format_row.widget());
+    audio_group.add(&keep_host_audio_row);
     // The speaker/mic endpoint pickers below are this device's audio routing (tier G) — they
     // render only in the defaults scope; the surround/format + mic-uplink rows above are
     // profileable.
@@ -2242,10 +2275,12 @@ pub fn show_scoped(
             if want_speaker != pf_client_core::pad_audio::speaker_active(&s.pad_speaker) {
                 s.pad_speaker = if want_speaker { "pad" } else { "off" }.to_string();
             }
+            s.keep_host_audio = keep_host_audio_row.is_active();
             s.mic_enabled = mic_row.is_active();
             s.echo_cancel = echo_row.is_active();
             s.hdr_enabled = hdr_row.is_active();
             s.enable_444 = chroma_row.is_active();
+            s.ten_bit_sdr = ten_bit_sdr_row.is_active();
             s.audio_channels = match surround_row.selected() {
                 1 => 6,
                 2 => 8,
diff --git a/clients/session/src/main.rs b/clients/session/src/main.rs
index 33ba40012..fa17f2212 100644
--- a/clients/session/src/main.rs
+++ b/clients/session/src/main.rs
@@ -414,7 +414,11 @@ mod session_main {
             // The cost stays VISIBLE, not silent: the Detailed stats overlay prints the
             // resolved chroma ("4:4:4→4:2:0" when the host declined) and the decode path
             // frames actually took.
-            video_caps: pf_client_core::video::video_caps_for(settings.hdr_enabled, want_444),
+            video_caps: pf_client_core::video::video_caps_for(
+                settings.hdr_enabled,
+                settings.ten_bit_sdr,
+                want_444,
+            ),
             // This panel's HDR colour volume → the host's virtual-display EDID, so host
             // apps tone-map to the real glass. Windows reads it from DXGI (the
             // `--window-pos` monitor; advanced-color outputs only) — gated on the HDR
@@ -442,6 +446,7 @@ mod session_main {
             pad_haptics: settings.pad_haptics,
             pad_speaker: settings.pad_speaker.clone(),
             clipboard,
+            keep_host_audio: settings.keep_host_audio,
             // The Settings preference (auto → VAAPI where it exists; the presenter
             // demotes to software on boxes whose Vulkan can't import the dmabufs).
             // PUNKTFUNK_DECODER still overrides inside the decoder for bisects.
diff --git a/clients/windows/src/app/settings.rs b/clients/windows/src/app/settings.rs
index 70eb8cfe5..76826017f 100644
--- a/clients/windows/src/app/settings.rs
+++ b/clients/windows/src/app/settings.rs
@@ -487,9 +487,11 @@ struct OverrideFlags {
     codec: bool,
     hdr_enabled: bool,
     enable_444: bool,
+    ten_bit_sdr: bool,
     compositor: bool,
     audio_channels: bool,
     audio_format: bool,
+    keep_host_audio: bool,
     mic_enabled: bool,
     echo_cancel: bool,
     touch_mode: bool,
@@ -523,9 +525,11 @@ impl OverrideFlags {
             codec: o.codec.is_some(),
             hdr_enabled: o.hdr_enabled.is_some(),
             enable_444: o.enable_444.is_some(),
+            ten_bit_sdr: o.ten_bit_sdr.is_some(),
             compositor: o.compositor.is_some(),
             audio_channels: o.audio_channels.is_some(),
             audio_format: o.audio_format.is_some(),
+            keep_host_audio: o.keep_host_audio.is_some(),
             mic_enabled: o.mic_enabled.is_some(),
             echo_cancel: o.echo_cancel.is_some(),
             touch_mode: o.touch_mode.is_some(),
@@ -919,6 +923,9 @@ pub(crate) fn settings_page(
     let hdr_toggle = setting_toggle(ctx, scope, (rev, set_rev), s.hdr_enabled, |s, on| {
         s.hdr_enabled = on
     });
+    let ten_bit_sdr_toggle = setting_toggle(ctx, scope, (rev, set_rev), s.ten_bit_sdr, |s, on| {
+        s.ten_bit_sdr = on
+    });
     let chroma_toggle = setting_toggle(ctx, scope, (rev, set_rev), s.enable_444, |s, on| {
         s.enable_444 = on
     });
@@ -1066,6 +1073,10 @@ pub(crate) fn settings_page(
     let format_combo = setting_combo(ctx, scope, (rev, set_rev), af_names, af_i, |s, i| {
         s.audio_format = AUDIO_FORMATS[i].0.to_string();
     });
+    let keep_host_audio_toggle =
+        setting_toggle(ctx, scope, (rev, set_rev), s.keep_host_audio, |s, on| {
+            s.keep_host_audio = on
+        });
     let mic_toggle = setting_toggle(ctx, scope, (rev, set_rev), s.mic_enabled, |s, on| {
         s.mic_enabled = on
     });
@@ -1231,6 +1242,17 @@ pub(crate) fn settings_page(
                          bandwidth. Requires an NVIDIA host (NVENC) or the PyroWave \
                          codec \u{2014} other encoders stream 4:2:0.",
                     ),
+                    described_overridable(
+                        (rev, set_rev),
+                        scope,
+                        "ten_bit_sdr",
+                        "10-bit SDR",
+                        over.ten_bit_sdr,
+                        ten_bit_sdr_toggle,
+                        "Smoother gradients without HDR \u{2014} the picture is encoded at \
+                         10-bit precision. Needs an NVIDIA host; HDR takes over when it \
+                         engages.",
+                    ),
                 ],
                 None,
             ));
@@ -1541,6 +1563,17 @@ pub(crate) fn settings_page(
                              rate; the stats overlay names what the session actually got.",
                         )
                     }),
+                    Some(described_overridable(
+                        (rev, set_rev),
+                        scope,
+                        "keep_host_audio",
+                        "Keep host audio playing",
+                        over.keep_host_audio,
+                        keep_host_audio_toggle,
+                        "The host\u{2019}s own speakers or headphones keep playing while you \
+                         stream \u{2014} both ends hear the same audio. Needs a host on 0.32 \
+                         or newer.",
+                    )),
                     // The endpoint picks are facts about THIS device's hardware — never
                     // per profile, like Decoder/GPU.
                     (!profile_mode)
diff --git a/crates/pf-capture/src/lib.rs b/crates/pf-capture/src/lib.rs
index 436cb4433..1afa721ed 100644
--- a/crates/pf-capture/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/pf-capture/src/lib.rs
@@ -667,7 +667,8 @@ pub fn open_virtual_output(
 pub fn open_idd_push(
     target: pf_frame::dxgi::WinCaptureTarget,
     preferred: Option<(u32, u32, u32)>,
-    client_10bit: bool,
+    want_hdr: bool,
+    ten_bit_sdr: bool,
     want_444: bool,
     pyrowave: bool,
     keepalive: Box<dyn Send>,
@@ -678,7 +679,8 @@ pub fn open_idd_push(
     idd_push::IddPushCapturer::open(
         target,
         preferred,
-        client_10bit,
+        want_hdr,
+        ten_bit_sdr,
         want_444,
         pyrowave,
         keepalive,
diff --git a/crates/pf-capture/src/windows/dxgi.rs b/crates/pf-capture/src/windows/dxgi.rs
index 0cbe46f59..1eec3f310 100644
--- a/crates/pf-capture/src/windows/dxgi.rs
+++ b/crates/pf-capture/src/windows/dxgi.rs
@@ -390,14 +390,41 @@ float4 main(float4 pos : SV_POSITION, float2 uv : TEXCOORD0) : SV_TARGET {
 }
 ";
 
+/// The 10-bit **SDR** pass PS ([`HdrRgb10Converter::new_sdr_expand`]) — full-res, samples the
+/// 8-bit BGRA slot and writes the SAME sRGB values into the packed 10-bit target. No colour math
+/// on purpose: the UNORM sample→write roundtrip IS the 8→10 expansion (code 255/255 lands on
+/// 1023/1023), and the transfer stays sRGB/BT.709 exactly as the 8-bit SDR path treats BGRA —
+/// the depth gain is the ENCODER's (Main10 coding precision), not the source's.
+const SDR_RGB10_PS: &str = r"
+Texture2D<float4> tx : register(t0);
+SamplerState sm : register(s0);
+float4 main(float4 pos : SV_POSITION, float2 uv : TEXCOORD0) : SV_TARGET {
+    return float4(tx.Sample(sm, uv).rgb, 1.0);
+}
+";
+
 impl HdrRgb10Converter {
+    /// The HDR pass: FP16 scRGB in, PQ-encoded BT.2020 RGB out.
     pub(crate) fn new(device: &ID3D11Device) -> Result<Self> {
+        Self::from_ps(
+            device,
+            HDR_RGB10_PS.replace("#include_common", HDR_P010_COMMON),
+        )
+    }
+
+    /// The 10-bit **SDR** pass: BGRA in, the same sRGB values out at 10-bit UNORM (see
+    /// [`SDR_RGB10_PS`]). Identical plumbing — only the pixel shader differs — so the two
+    /// depth paths share the VS/sampler/draw and cannot drift.
+    pub(crate) fn new_sdr_expand(device: &ID3D11Device) -> Result<Self> {
+        Self::from_ps(device, SDR_RGB10_PS.to_string())
+    }
+
+    fn from_ps(device: &ID3D11Device, src: String) -> Result<Self> {
         // SAFETY: every call is a `?`-checked D3D11 method on the live `device` borrow, over
         // fully-initialized stack descriptors and live `Option` out-params; `compile_shader`
         // receives `s!()` literals (its contract). Each created COM interface owns its own
         // reference, and no raw pointer outlives the call that produced it.
         unsafe {
-            let src = HDR_RGB10_PS.replace("#include_common", HDR_P010_COMMON);
             let vsb = compile_shader(HDR_VS, s!("main"), s!("vs_5_0"))?;
             let psb = compile_shader(&src, s!("main"), s!("ps_5_0"))?;
             let mut vs = None;
diff --git a/crates/pf-capture/src/windows/idd_push.rs b/crates/pf-capture/src/windows/idd_push.rs
index 2d6786324..c1fc8cdcd 100644
--- a/crates/pf-capture/src/windows/idd_push.rs
+++ b/crates/pf-capture/src/windows/idd_push.rs
@@ -416,13 +416,20 @@ pub struct IddPushCapturer {
     /// display's HDR mode flipped). Stamped into the header + each delivery so the driver re-attaches
     /// (and so stale-ring publishes are rejected).
     generation: u32,
-    /// The CLIENT's advertised 10-bit capability (= negotiated `bit_depth >= 10`). Gates the
-    /// composition depth: a 10-bit client PROACTIVELY enables advanced color at `open` (HDR without a
-    /// manual toggle); an SDR-only client forces it OFF and the descriptor poller PINS it there, so a
-    /// client that advertised SDR ("HDR off") is never handed the in-band PQ upgrade the pixel-format-
-    /// driven encoder would otherwise stamp from an HDR composition. (An HDR-negotiated H.26x session
-    /// still follows a host-side "Use HDR" flip; all clients decode Main10 + auto-detect PQ from the VUI.)
-    client_10bit: bool,
+    /// The session negotiated **HDR** (client advertised `VIDEO_CAP_HDR` and the handshake said
+    /// yes — no longer merely `bit_depth >= 10`, which the 10-bit SDR path below also reaches).
+    /// Gates the composition depth: an HDR session PROACTIVELY enables advanced color at `open`
+    /// (HDR without a manual toggle); any other session forces it OFF and the descriptor poller
+    /// PINS it there, so a client that did not ask for HDR is never handed the in-band PQ
+    /// upgrade the pixel-format-driven encoder would otherwise stamp from an HDR composition.
+    /// (An HDR-negotiated H.26x session still follows a host-side "Use HDR" flip; all clients
+    /// decode Main10 + auto-detect PQ from the VUI.)
+    want_hdr: bool,
+    /// The session negotiated 10-bit WITHOUT HDR (`OutputFormat::ten_bit_sdr`): the BGRA slot is
+    /// expanded 8→10 bit into the packed RGB10 output ([`PixelFormat::Rgb10a2Sdr`]) so NVENC
+    /// encodes Main10 under the ordinary BT.709 SDR VUI. The display's colour state is never
+    /// touched — `want_hdr` above stays false, advanced colour stays pinned off.
+    ten_bit_sdr: bool,
     /// The DISPLAY's CURRENT HDR state (from `advanced_color_enabled`) — the user can flip "Use HDR" in
     /// Windows mid-session. Drives the ring format (HDR → FP16 surfaces, SDR → BGRA) and the conversion.
     /// Polled in the capture loop; a change recreates the ring (see [`Self::recreate_ring`]).
@@ -532,6 +539,11 @@ pub struct IddPushCapturer {
     /// session negotiated 4:4:4 — the full-chroma twin of [`Self::hdr_p010_conv`]. Rebuilt with the
     /// ring on a mode/HDR flip.
     hdr_rgb10_conv: Option<HdrRgb10Converter>,
+    /// BGRA slot → packed 10-bit RGB by plain 8→10 expansion (`HdrRgb10Converter::new_sdr_expand`
+    /// — same sRGB values at UNORM precision), used on a 10-bit **SDR** session
+    /// ([`Self::ten_bit_sdr`], both 4:2:0 and 4:4:4 — NVENC does the CSC/subsampling either
+    /// way). Built lazily like its HDR twin above.
+    sdr_rgb10_conv: Option<HdrRgb10Converter>,
     last_seq: u64,
     last_present: Option<(ID3D11Texture2D, PixelFormat)>,
     status_logged: bool,
@@ -655,8 +667,8 @@ impl IddPushCapturer {
     /// `Nv12` (BT.709 8-bit limited), or full-chroma `Bgra` passthrough on a 4:4:4 session (NVENC
     /// CSCs RGB→YUV444 itself, following the BT.709 VUI — the one path that deliberately pays the
     /// SM-side CSC, because the video processor can only produce subsampled output). The
-    /// composition depth DOES follow the session's negotiated `client_10bit` — pinned at open
-    /// (`open.rs`, the `!client_10bit` force-off and the 10-bit enable) and re-pinned every sample
+    /// composition depth DOES follow the session's negotiated `want_hdr` — pinned at open
+    /// (`open.rs`, the `!want_hdr` force-off and the 10-bit enable) and re-pinned every sample
     /// by [`Self::poll_display_hdr`], because a PQ stream sent to a client that advertised SDR-only
     /// lands on an SDR desktop and blows out. (The older note here claimed the opposite — that the
     /// advertised `VIDEO_CAP_10BIT` was ignored because clients under-report it. That reasoning
@@ -684,6 +696,11 @@ impl IddPushCapturer {
                 return (DXGI_FORMAT_R10G10B10A2_UNORM, PixelFormat::Rgb10a2);
             }
             (DXGI_FORMAT_P010, PixelFormat::P010)
+        } else if self.ten_bit_sdr {
+            // 10-bit SDR (either chroma): the BGRA slot expanded 8→10 into packed RGB. The
+            // format is the SDR twin of `Rgb10a2` — NVENC ingests it as ABGR10 and encodes
+            // Main10 under the BT.709 VUI its CSC follows (the SDR 4:4:4 precedent below).
+            (DXGI_FORMAT_R10G10B10A2_UNORM, PixelFormat::Rgb10a2Sdr)
         } else if self.want_444 {
             (DXGI_FORMAT_B8G8R8A8_UNORM, PixelFormat::Bgra)
         } else {
@@ -816,9 +833,10 @@ impl IddPushCapturer {
         self.video_conv = None; // converters are sized + HDR-specific → rebuild at the new mode
         self.hdr_p010_conv = None;
         self.hdr_rgb10_conv = None;
+        self.sdr_rgb10_conv = None;
         // The PyroWave CSC is mode-baked too (BgraToYuvPlanes picks different SDR vs HDR shaders
         // and R8/R8G8 vs R16/R16G16 outputs). Without this, a display_hdr flip (Downgrade point D:
-        // client_10bit=true but HDR couldn't enable at open) reused the stale SDR converter against
+        // want_hdr=true but HDR couldn't enable at open) reused the stale SDR converter against
         // the freshly HDR-formatted pyro ring — every frame corrupted. `ensure_pyro_conv` only
         // builds when None, so it must be reset here like its siblings.
         self.pyro_conv = None;
@@ -859,12 +877,12 @@ impl IddPushCapturer {
         // is never recreated at the wrong format):
         //   - a PyroWave session: its encoder was opened for fixed plane formats (R8 SDR / R16 HDR),
         //     so it can't follow a flip the way H.26x re-inits do;
-        //   - ANY SDR-negotiated session (`!client_10bit`, either codec): a host-side flip to HDR
+        //   - ANY SDR-negotiated session (`!want_hdr`, either codec): a host-side flip to HDR
         //     must not promote the stream to P010 PQ behind a client that advertised SDR-only.
         // An HDR-negotiated H.26x session is NOT pinned — it still follows a host "Use HDR" flip in
         // either direction (its encoder re-inits on the depth change).
-        if (self.pyrowave || !self.client_10bit) && now.hdr != self.client_10bit {
-            let want = self.client_10bit;
+        if (self.pyrowave || !self.want_hdr) && now.hdr != self.want_hdr {
+            let want = self.want_hdr;
             // A display that refuses the pin refuses it on every 250 ms sample — past
             // [`Self::HDR_PIN_EAGER`] consecutive failures the write+read-back re-fires only on
             // every [`Self::HDR_PIN_RETRY_EVERY`]th sample (~4 s), instead of 4 CCD writes +
@@ -876,7 +894,7 @@ impl IddPushCapturer {
                 || self.desc_seq % Self::HDR_PIN_RETRY_EVERY == 0
             {
                 // OBSERVE the flip; never assert it. This used to discard `set_advanced_color`'s
-                // `bool` and then write `now.hdr = self.client_10bit` — substituting the DESIRED
+                // `bool` and then write `now.hdr = self.want_hdr` — substituting the DESIRED
                 // state for the observed one, which broke in both directions on a display that
                 // cannot be flipped (the state this file already logs as "Downgrade point D" at
                 // open):
@@ -907,7 +925,7 @@ impl IddPushCapturer {
                             observed_hdr = ?observed,
                             set_advanced_color_returned = requested,
                             pyrowave = self.pyrowave,
-                            client_10bit = self.client_10bit,
+                            want_hdr = self.want_hdr,
                             "IDD push: could not pin the display to the NEGOTIATED depth — following what \
                              it actually composes instead (a physical display forcing HDR, or a driver that \
                              refuses the flip). The stream's depth will not match the negotiation; the \
@@ -1113,6 +1131,12 @@ impl IddPushCapturer {
                     self.height,
                 )?);
             }
+        } else if self.ten_bit_sdr {
+            // 10-bit SDR (4:2:0 AND 4:4:4): one full-res 8→10 expansion pass to packed RGB;
+            // NVENC does the RGB→YUV CSC + any subsampling under the BT.709 VUI.
+            if self.sdr_rgb10_conv.is_none() {
+                self.sdr_rgb10_conv = Some(HdrRgb10Converter::new_sdr_expand(&self.device)?);
+            }
         } else if self.want_444 {
             // Full-chroma passthrough — no conversion resources to build.
         } else if self.video_conv.is_none() {
@@ -1631,6 +1655,17 @@ impl IddPushCapturer {
                         let (y_rtv, uv_rtv) = rtvs.as_ref().expect("P010 out slot has plane RTVs");
                         conv.convert(&self.context, src, y_rtv, uv_rtv, self.width, self.height)?;
                     }
+                } else if self.ten_bit_sdr {
+                    // 10-bit SDR: BGRA slot → packed 10-bit RGB, a plain 8→10 expansion (same
+                    // sRGB values at UNORM precision). NVENC ingests it as ABGR10 and encodes
+                    // Main10 under the BT.709 VUI — the CSC and any subsampling are NVENC's,
+                    // exactly like the SDR 4:4:4 passthrough below, one bit-depth up.
+                    if let Some(conv) = self.sdr_rgb10_conv.as_ref() {
+                        let src = blended.as_ref().map(|(_, srv)| srv).unwrap_or(&slot_srv);
+                        let (_, _, rtv) = out.as_ref().expect("out ring");
+                        let rtv = rtv.as_ref().expect("Rgb10a2Sdr out slot has an RTV");
+                        conv.convert(&self.context, src, rtv, self.width, self.height)?;
+                    }
                 } else if self.want_444 {
                     // SDR 4:4:4: pass the BGRA slot through untouched — NVENC ingests full-chroma
                     // RGB and CSCs to YUV 4:4:4 itself (per the always-written BT.709 VUI). Plain
diff --git a/crates/pf-capture/src/windows/idd_push/open.rs b/crates/pf-capture/src/windows/idd_push/open.rs
index c6276f3db..8ae75238b 100644
--- a/crates/pf-capture/src/windows/idd_push/open.rs
+++ b/crates/pf-capture/src/windows/idd_push/open.rs
@@ -162,7 +162,8 @@ impl IddPushCapturer {
     pub fn open(
         target: WinCaptureTarget,
         preferred: Option<(u32, u32, u32)>,
-        client_10bit: bool,
+        want_hdr: bool,
+        ten_bit_sdr: bool,
         want_444: bool,
         pyrowave: bool,
         keepalive: Box<dyn Send>,
@@ -176,7 +177,8 @@ impl IddPushCapturer {
         match Self::open_inner(
             target,
             preferred,
-            client_10bit,
+            want_hdr,
+            ten_bit_sdr,
             want_444,
             pyrowave,
             sender,
@@ -195,7 +197,8 @@ impl IddPushCapturer {
     fn open_inner(
         target: WinCaptureTarget,
         preferred: Option<(u32, u32, u32)>,
-        client_10bit: bool,
+        want_hdr: bool,
+        ten_bit_sdr: bool,
         want_444: bool,
         pyrowave: bool,
         sender: crate::FrameChannelSender,
@@ -218,7 +221,8 @@ impl IddPushCapturer {
         match Self::open_on(
             target.clone(),
             preferred,
-            client_10bit,
+            want_hdr,
+            ten_bit_sdr,
             want_444,
             pyrowave,
             luid,
@@ -253,7 +257,8 @@ impl IddPushCapturer {
                 Self::open_on(
                     target,
                     preferred,
-                    client_10bit,
+                    want_hdr,
+                    ten_bit_sdr,
                     want_444,
                     pyrowave,
                     drv,
@@ -270,7 +275,8 @@ impl IddPushCapturer {
     fn open_on(
         target: WinCaptureTarget,
         preferred: Option<(u32, u32, u32)>,
-        client_10bit: bool,
+        want_hdr: bool,
+        ten_bit_sdr: bool,
         want_444: bool,
         pyrowave: bool,
         luid: LUID,
@@ -338,7 +344,7 @@ impl IddPushCapturer {
             //     lands on an SDR desktop and blows out — the composition must honor the negotiation.
             // An HDR-negotiated (10-bit) session instead enables HDR below and rides the FP16 scRGB
             // ring (design/pyrowave-444-hdr.md Phase 3 for PyroWave; the H.26x P010 path otherwise).
-            if !client_10bit {
+            if !want_hdr {
                 let _ = pf_win_display::win_display::set_advanced_color(target.target_id, false);
                 let settle = Instant::now();
                 while settle.elapsed() < Duration::from_millis(250) {
@@ -372,8 +378,8 @@ impl IddPushCapturer {
             // size the ring FP16 directly — don't race the advanced_color_enabled poll, which may not have
             // settled within 250 ms and would size the ring SDR while the driver composes FP16 → a format
             // mismatch → an immediate ring recreate + dropped first frames (audit §5.4).
-            let enabled_hdr = client_10bit
-                && pf_win_display::win_display::set_advanced_color(target.target_id, true);
+            let enabled_hdr =
+                want_hdr && pf_win_display::win_display::set_advanced_color(target.target_id, true);
             if enabled_hdr {
                 // Let the colorspace change settle before the driver composes + we size the ring:
                 // poll the CCD advanced-color state instead of a fixed sleep (latency plan P0.4),
@@ -399,7 +405,7 @@ impl IddPushCapturer {
             // A failed open-time read defaults to SDR (unless the 10-bit path enabled HDR above) —
             // there is no "last known" yet; the descriptor poller corrects a wrong guess mid-session.
             // An SDR-negotiated session (either codec) forced advanced color OFF above and composes
-            // SDR unconditionally: `client_10bit` gates HDR so a client that advertised SDR-only is
+            // SDR unconditionally: `want_hdr` gates HDR so a client that advertised SDR-only is
             // never handed a PQ stream, even if a physical display forces HDR on (the descriptor
             // poller re-asserts OFF; PyroWave's format guard/stash absorbs any lingering FP16 compose).
             // Keep the raw observation so Downgrade point D below can say whether the read reported
@@ -407,13 +413,13 @@ impl IddPushCapturer {
             // causes and different fixes.
             let observed_hdr =
                 pf_win_display::win_display::advanced_color_enabled(target.target_id);
-            let display_hdr = client_10bit && (enabled_hdr || observed_hdr.unwrap_or(false));
+            let display_hdr = want_hdr && (enabled_hdr || observed_hdr.unwrap_or(false));
             // Downgrade point D (design/hdr-10bit-default-and-av1.md item 2d): the session was
             // NEGOTIATED 10-bit (the client was told HDR in the Welcome), but the virtual display
             // could not enable advanced color — the ring sizes SDR and the encoder will emit 8-bit
             // BT.709, so the client's label overstates the stream until the descriptor poller sees
             // HDR come on. Loud, because every frame of this session is affected.
-            if client_10bit && !display_hdr {
+            if want_hdr && !display_hdr {
                 tracing::error!(
                     target = target.target_id,
                     want_hdr = true,
@@ -586,7 +592,8 @@ impl IddPushCapturer {
                 render_luid = format!("{:08x}:{:08x}", luid.HighPart, luid.LowPart),
                 mode = format!("{w}x{h}"),
                 display_hdr,
-                client_10bit,
+                want_hdr,
+                ten_bit_sdr,
                 want_444,
                 ring_fp16 = display_hdr,
                 // Whether DXGI ever reached the win32u GPU-preference hook. By this point the
@@ -610,7 +617,8 @@ impl IddPushCapturer {
                 height: h,
                 slots,
                 generation,
-                client_10bit,
+                want_hdr,
+                ten_bit_sdr,
                 display_hdr,
                 hdr_pin_warned: false,
                 hdr_pin_failures: 0,
@@ -648,6 +656,7 @@ impl IddPushCapturer {
                 video_conv: None,
                 hdr_p010_conv: None,
                 hdr_rgb10_conv: None,
+                sdr_rgb10_conv: None,
                 last_seq: 0,
                 last_present: None,
                 status_logged: false,
diff --git a/crates/pf-client-core/src/profiles.rs b/crates/pf-client-core/src/profiles.rs
index 4d42f31e3..71787cfbf 100644
--- a/crates/pf-client-core/src/profiles.rs
+++ b/crates/pf-client-core/src/profiles.rs
@@ -56,6 +56,8 @@ pub struct SettingsOverlay {
     #[serde(skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
     pub enable_444: Option<bool>,
     #[serde(skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
+    pub ten_bit_sdr: Option<bool>,
+    #[serde(skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
     pub compositor: Option<String>,
     #[serde(skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
     pub audio_channels: Option<u8>,
@@ -67,6 +69,8 @@ pub struct SettingsOverlay {
     #[serde(skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
     pub audio_format: Option<String>,
     #[serde(skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
+    pub keep_host_audio: Option<bool>,
+    #[serde(skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
     pub mic_enabled: Option<bool>,
     #[serde(skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
     pub echo_cancel: Option<bool>,
@@ -140,6 +144,9 @@ impl SettingsOverlay {
         if let Some(v) = self.enable_444 {
             s.enable_444 = v;
         }
+        if let Some(v) = self.ten_bit_sdr {
+            s.ten_bit_sdr = v;
+        }
         if let Some(v) = &self.compositor {
             s.compositor = v.clone();
         }
@@ -149,6 +156,9 @@ impl SettingsOverlay {
         if let Some(v) = &self.audio_format {
             s.audio_format = v.clone();
         }
+        if let Some(v) = self.keep_host_audio {
+            s.keep_host_audio = v;
+        }
         if let Some(v) = self.mic_enabled {
             s.mic_enabled = v;
         }
@@ -242,6 +252,9 @@ impl SettingsOverlay {
         if after.enable_444 != before.enable_444 {
             self.enable_444 = Some(after.enable_444);
         }
+        if after.ten_bit_sdr != before.ten_bit_sdr {
+            self.ten_bit_sdr = Some(after.ten_bit_sdr);
+        }
         if after.compositor != before.compositor {
             self.compositor = Some(after.compositor.clone());
         }
@@ -251,6 +264,9 @@ impl SettingsOverlay {
         if after.audio_format != before.audio_format {
             self.audio_format = Some(after.audio_format.clone());
         }
+        if after.keep_host_audio != before.keep_host_audio {
+            self.keep_host_audio = Some(after.keep_host_audio);
+        }
         if after.mic_enabled != before.mic_enabled {
             self.mic_enabled = Some(after.mic_enabled);
         }
@@ -321,9 +337,11 @@ impl SettingsOverlay {
             "codec" => self.codec = None,
             "hdr_enabled" => self.hdr_enabled = None,
             "enable_444" => self.enable_444 = None,
+            "ten_bit_sdr" => self.ten_bit_sdr = None,
             "compositor" => self.compositor = None,
             "audio_channels" => self.audio_channels = None,
             "audio_format" => self.audio_format = None,
+            "keep_host_audio" => self.keep_host_audio = None,
             "mic_enabled" => self.mic_enabled = None,
             "echo_cancel" => self.echo_cancel = None,
             "touch_mode" => self.touch_mode = None,
diff --git a/crates/pf-client-core/src/session.rs b/crates/pf-client-core/src/session.rs
index 9387859fb..1e26faf1d 100644
--- a/crates/pf-client-core/src/session.rs
+++ b/crates/pf-client-core/src/session.rs
@@ -83,6 +83,11 @@ pub struct SessionParams {
     /// 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,
+    /// Advertise `quic::CLIENT_CAP_KEEP_HOST_AUDIO`: ask the host to capture its default
+    /// playback device as-is instead of re-routing audio onto a silent endpoint, so the
+    /// host keeps playing while it streams ([`crate::trust::Settings::keep_host_audio`]).
+    /// Request-only — an older host ignores it.
+    pub keep_host_audio: bool,
     /// Advertise `quic::CLIENT_CAP_CURSOR`: this embedder renders the host cursor locally
     /// (the presenter's cursor channel, design/remote-desktop-sweep.md M2), so the host may
     /// stop compositing the pointer into the video. Only set when the embedder actually
@@ -889,6 +894,12 @@ fn pump(
             // 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
+            // KEEP_HOST_AUDIO: the user's per-host "keep playing on the host" ask rides the
+            // Hello so the host's wiring pass can honour it before audio capture opens.
+        }) | (if params.keep_host_audio {
+            punktfunk_core::quic::CLIENT_CAP_KEEP_HOST_AUDIO
         } else {
             0
         }),
diff --git a/crates/pf-client-core/src/trust.rs b/crates/pf-client-core/src/trust.rs
index 0fc482749..3e210911f 100644
--- a/crates/pf-client-core/src/trust.rs
+++ b/crates/pf-client-core/src/trust.rs
@@ -1163,10 +1163,10 @@ pub struct Settings {
     #[serde(default = "default_mouse_mode")]
     pub mouse_mode: String,
     /// Send system chords (Alt+Tab, Super / the Windows key) to the host while input is
-    /// captured under the `capture` mouse model; off leaves them with the local shell.
-    /// Read at connect into the presenter's session opts, which turns it into an SDL
-    /// keyboard grab (a low-level hook on Windows, shortcuts-inhibit or `XGrabKeyboard`
-    /// on Linux). The `desktop` mouse model never grabs, whatever this says.
+    /// captured; off leaves them with the local shell. Read at connect into the presenter's
+    /// session opts, which turns it into an SDL keyboard grab (a low-level hook on Windows,
+    /// shortcuts-inhibit or `XGrabKeyboard` on Linux). Applies in BOTH mouse models — the
+    /// `desktop` model's unlocked pointer clicking another window is its way back.
     pub inhibit_shortcuts: bool,
     /// Stream the default microphone to the host's virtual mic source.
     pub mic_enabled: bool,
@@ -1210,6 +1210,14 @@ pub struct Settings {
     /// ending a session over a dropdown. `default` so pre-existing stores load on the Opus plane.
     #[serde(default = "default_audio_format")]
     pub audio_format: String,
+    /// Ask the host to leave its own audio devices alone for this session
+    /// (`CLIENT_CAP_KEEP_HOST_AUDIO`): the host captures whatever its default playback device
+    /// already is, so audio keeps playing there — the headphones plugged into the host PC stay
+    /// live — as well as here. Off (the default), the host parks playback on a silent endpoint
+    /// and the host goes quiet while streaming. Best-effort: an older host ignores the ask and
+    /// re-routes as it always did. `default` so pre-existing stores load with today's behavior.
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub keep_host_audio: bool,
     /// Preferred video codec: `"auto"` (host decides), `"hevc"`, `"h264"`, or `"av1"`. A soft
     /// preference — the host honors it when it can emit it, else falls back to the best shared codec.
     #[serde(default = "default_codec")]
@@ -1243,10 +1251,17 @@ pub struct Settings {
     pub enable_444: bool,
     /// Advertise 10-bit + HDR10 so the host upgrades HDR content to a Main10/PQ stream.
     /// The presenter handles the display side dynamically either way (HDR10 swapchain
-    /// where offered, tonemap where not) — off means "never send me 10-bit".
+    /// where offered, tonemap where not) — off means "never send me HDR".
     /// `default = true`: the Linux stores never carried this and always advertised.
     #[serde(default = "default_true")]
     pub hdr_enabled: bool,
+    /// Advertise 10-bit WITHOUT HDR (`VIDEO_CAP_10BIT` alone): the host encodes the SDR
+    /// desktop at Main10 precision — less encode banding on gradients, the display's colour
+    /// state untouched at both ends. Subsumed by `hdr_enabled`; the host additionally gates
+    /// (today: a Windows host on direct NVENC, HEVC), so elsewhere the session stays 8-bit.
+    /// `default` so pre-existing stores load with today's behavior.
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub ten_bit_sdr: bool,
     /// Presentation intent: `"latency"` (default) or `"smooth"` — the Apple/Android
     /// clients' shared `present_priority` profile key, resolved with
     /// [`PresentPriority::resolve`] (via [`Settings::present_priority`]). Anything
@@ -1523,11 +1538,13 @@ impl Default for Settings {
             echo_cancel: true,
             audio_channels: 2,
             audio_format: default_audio_format(),
+            keep_host_audio: false,
             codec: "auto".into(),
             decoder: "auto".into(),
             adapter: String::new(),
             enable_444: false,
             hdr_enabled: true,
+            ten_bit_sdr: false,
             present_priority: "latency".into(),
             smooth_buffer: 0,
             vsync: true,
diff --git a/crates/pf-client-core/src/video.rs b/crates/pf-client-core/src/video.rs
index 3c26b18ff..927f33524 100644
--- a/crates/pf-client-core/src/video.rs
+++ b/crates/pf-client-core/src/video.rs
@@ -1610,12 +1610,18 @@ const CHROMA_444: u8 = 3;
 /// ⚠ The mobile/TV embedders must NOT copy this blindly — Amlogic MediaCodec wedges on
 /// multi-slice AUs (see `VIDEO_CAP_MULTI_SLICE`), so they advertise per-decoder.
 ///
-/// HDR off means 10-bit is not advertised either, so the host never upgrades depth.
-pub fn video_caps_for(hdr_enabled: bool, want_444: bool) -> u8 {
+/// `ten_bit_sdr` is the "10-bit SDR" setting: it advertises `VIDEO_CAP_10BIT` WITHOUT the HDR
+/// bit, asking the host for Main10 coding precision (less encode banding) under an SDR stream —
+/// the display's colour state untouched at both ends. With HDR on it is subsumed (HDR already
+/// advertises the depth); with both off the host never upgrades depth.
+pub fn video_caps_for(hdr_enabled: bool, ten_bit_sdr: bool, want_444: bool) -> u8 {
     let mut caps = punktfunk_core::quic::VIDEO_CAP_MULTI_SLICE;
     if hdr_enabled {
         caps |= punktfunk_core::quic::VIDEO_CAP_10BIT | punktfunk_core::quic::VIDEO_CAP_HDR;
     }
+    if ten_bit_sdr {
+        caps |= punktfunk_core::quic::VIDEO_CAP_10BIT;
+    }
     if want_444 {
         caps |= punktfunk_core::quic::VIDEO_CAP_444;
     }
@@ -2804,31 +2810,55 @@ mod tests {
         const V444: u8 = punktfunk_core::quic::VIDEO_CAP_444;
         // The regression itself: setting on, device can't → the bit must NOT go out.
         assert_eq!(
-            video_caps_for(true, false) & V444,
+            video_caps_for(true, false, false) & V444,
             0,
             "a 4:4:4 promise this device cannot keep costs HEVC entirely"
         );
         // ...and the feature still works where it can be honoured.
-        assert_ne!(video_caps_for(true, true) & V444, 0);
+        assert_ne!(video_caps_for(true, false, true) & V444, 0);
         // Never advertised unasked, whatever the device can do.
-        assert_eq!(video_caps_for(true, false) & V444, 0);
-        assert_eq!(video_caps_for(false, false) & V444, 0);
+        assert_eq!(video_caps_for(true, false, false) & V444, 0);
+        assert_eq!(video_caps_for(false, false, false) & V444, 0);
 
         // The 4:4:4 gate must not disturb the other two bits (10-bit/HDR is deliberately
         // NOT probe-gated — see `hevc_444_hardware_decodable`'s docs for why).
         const HDR_BITS: u8 =
             punktfunk_core::quic::VIDEO_CAP_10BIT | punktfunk_core::quic::VIDEO_CAP_HDR;
         for want_444 in [false, true] {
-            assert_eq!(video_caps_for(true, want_444) & HDR_BITS, HDR_BITS);
-            assert_eq!(video_caps_for(false, want_444) & HDR_BITS, 0);
+            assert_eq!(video_caps_for(true, false, want_444) & HDR_BITS, HDR_BITS);
+            assert_eq!(video_caps_for(false, false, want_444) & HDR_BITS, 0);
             assert_ne!(
-                video_caps_for(false, want_444) & punktfunk_core::quic::VIDEO_CAP_MULTI_SLICE,
+                video_caps_for(false, false, want_444)
+                    & punktfunk_core::quic::VIDEO_CAP_MULTI_SLICE,
                 0,
                 "MULTI_SLICE is unconditional for this embedder"
             );
         }
     }
 
+    /// The 10-bit SDR setting advertises the DEPTH bit alone — never HDR — and is subsumed
+    /// by the HDR setting (which already advertises both).
+    #[test]
+    fn ten_bit_sdr_advertises_depth_without_hdr() {
+        const TEN: u8 = punktfunk_core::quic::VIDEO_CAP_10BIT;
+        const HDR: u8 = punktfunk_core::quic::VIDEO_CAP_HDR;
+        // The new combination: depth without the HDR label.
+        assert_eq!(video_caps_for(false, true, false) & (TEN | HDR), TEN);
+        // Off = today's 8-bit SDR.
+        assert_eq!(video_caps_for(false, false, false) & (TEN | HDR), 0);
+        // HDR on subsumes it — both bits, with or without the SDR-10 switch.
+        assert_eq!(video_caps_for(true, true, false) & (TEN | HDR), TEN | HDR);
+        // ...and it never disturbs 4:4:4 or MULTI_SLICE.
+        assert_eq!(
+            video_caps_for(false, true, false) & punktfunk_core::quic::VIDEO_CAP_444,
+            0
+        );
+        assert_ne!(
+            video_caps_for(false, true, false) & punktfunk_core::quic::VIDEO_CAP_MULTI_SLICE,
+            0
+        );
+    }
+
     /// No presenter Vulkan device ⇒ no 4:4:4, and that is an ANSWER rather than a missing
     /// one: the native Vulkan rung is the only one in this build that implements 4:4:4 at
     /// all (`pf_vaadec::profile_for` errors on `chroma_format_idc == 3`, pf-dxvadec refuses
diff --git a/crates/pf-console-ui/src/screens/settings.rs b/crates/pf-console-ui/src/screens/settings.rs
index 9beb56d13..ee999b295 100644
--- a/crates/pf-console-ui/src/screens/settings.rs
+++ b/crates/pf-console-ui/src/screens/settings.rs
@@ -42,6 +42,9 @@ enum RowId {
     Decoder,
     Hdr,
     Chroma444,
+    /// The 10-bit SDR opt-in (`VIDEO_CAP_10BIT` without HDR). Desktop-only, like
+    /// [`RowId::Chroma444`]: the Android session derives its depth bits from the panel.
+    TenBitSdr,
     PresentPriority,
     SmoothBuffer,
     Vsync,
@@ -51,6 +54,9 @@ enum RowId {
     /// tied to the channel count above it for a reason that is NOT the one the design doc gives;
     /// see the `enabled` note in [`row_spec`].
     AudioFormat,
+    /// The per-session `CLIENT_CAP_KEEP_HOST_AUDIO` ask — the host keeps playing on its own
+    /// output while it streams. Desktop-only until the Android session advertises the bit.
+    KeepHostAudio,
     Mic,
     EchoCancel,
     PadForward,
@@ -210,6 +216,7 @@ const TABS: [(&str, &[RowId]); 7] = [
             RowId::LowLatency,
             RowId::Hdr,
             RowId::Chroma444,
+            RowId::TenBitSdr,
             RowId::PresentPriority,
             RowId::SmoothBuffer,
             RowId::Vsync,
@@ -221,6 +228,7 @@ const TABS: [(&str, &[RowId]); 7] = [
         &[
             RowId::Audio,
             RowId::AudioFormat,
+            RowId::KeepHostAudio,
             RowId::Mic,
             RowId::EchoCancel,
         ],
@@ -977,10 +985,14 @@ fn row_on(id: RowId, platform: crate::platform::Platform) -> bool {
         id,
         RowId::Decoder
             | RowId::Chroma444
+            | RowId::TenBitSdr
             | RowId::Vsync
             | RowId::AllowVrr
             | RowId::Fullscreen
             | RowId::Shortcuts
+            // Desktop-only until the Android session advertises CLIENT_CAP_KEEP_HOST_AUDIO —
+            // a row whose bit never goes out would be a dead toggle.
+            | RowId::KeepHostAudio
     );
     match platform {
         Platform::Desktop => !android_only,
@@ -1140,6 +1152,7 @@ fn row_spec(id: RowId, ctx: &Ctx, profiles: &[(String, String)]) -> RowSpec {
         ),
         RowId::Hdr => (None, "10-bit HDR", on_off(s.hdr_enabled).into()),
         RowId::Chroma444 => (None, "Full chroma (4:4:4)", on_off(s.enable_444).into()),
+        RowId::TenBitSdr => (None, "10-bit SDR", on_off(s.ten_bit_sdr).into()),
         RowId::PresentPriority => (
             Some("Presentation"),
             "Prioritize",
@@ -1170,6 +1183,11 @@ fn row_spec(id: RowId, ctx: &Ctx, profiles: &[(String, String)]) -> RowSpec {
             "Audio quality",
             audio_format_label(&s.audio_format).into(),
         ),
+        RowId::KeepHostAudio => (
+            None,
+            "Keep host audio playing",
+            on_off(s.keep_host_audio).into(),
+        ),
         RowId::Mic => (None, "Microphone", on_off(s.mic_enabled).into()),
         RowId::EchoCancel => (None, "Echo cancellation", on_off(s.echo_cancel).into()),
         RowId::PadForward => (
@@ -1347,6 +1365,10 @@ fn detail(id: RowId, ctx: &Ctx) -> &'static str {
              Needs an NVIDIA host (NVENC) or the PyroWave codec — other encoders \
              stream 4:2:0 and the session falls back silently."
         }
+        RowId::TenBitSdr => {
+            "Smoother gradients without HDR — the picture is encoded at 10-bit \
+             precision. Needs an NVIDIA host; HDR takes over when it engages."
+        }
         RowId::PresentPriority => {
             "Lowest latency shows each frame the moment the display can take it — a \
              network hiccup becomes an occasional repeated or skipped frame. Smoothness \
@@ -1371,6 +1393,10 @@ fn detail(id: RowId, ctx: &Ctx) -> &'static str {
              link. The host has its own switch and stays on Opus if it can't deliver the rate; \
              the stats overlay names what the session got. Stereo only."
         }
+        RowId::KeepHostAudio => {
+            "The host's own speakers or headphones keep playing while you stream. \
+             Both ends hear the same audio; needs a host on 0.32 or newer."
+        }
         RowId::Mic => {
             "Send this device's microphone to the host's virtual mic. \
              Ctrl+Alt+Shift+V mutes and unmutes it while streaming."
@@ -1623,6 +1649,7 @@ fn adjust(id: RowId, delta: i32, wrap: bool, ctx: &mut Ctx) -> bool {
         }
         RowId::Hdr => toggle(&mut s.hdr_enabled, delta, wrap),
         RowId::Chroma444 => toggle(&mut s.enable_444, delta, wrap),
+        RowId::TenBitSdr => toggle(&mut s.ten_bit_sdr, delta, wrap),
         RowId::PresentPriority => {
             let cur = PRESENT_PRIORITIES
                 .iter()
@@ -1661,6 +1688,7 @@ fn adjust(id: RowId, delta: i32, wrap: bool, ctx: &mut Ctx) -> bool {
                 None
             }
         }
+        RowId::KeepHostAudio => toggle(&mut s.keep_host_audio, delta, wrap),
         RowId::Mic => toggle(&mut s.mic_enabled, delta, wrap),
         // Inert while the mic is off — a boundary thud, matching what the dimmed row shows.
         RowId::EchoCancel => {
@@ -2634,8 +2662,10 @@ pub(super) mod tests {
             vec![
                 RowId::Decoder,
                 RowId::Chroma444,
+                RowId::TenBitSdr,
                 RowId::Vsync,
                 RowId::AllowVrr,
+                RowId::KeepHostAudio,
                 RowId::Shortcuts,
                 RowId::Fullscreen,
             ]
@@ -2714,9 +2744,10 @@ pub(super) mod tests {
         // 2026-08 sweep found them bridged but unreachable) later passes added, minus the
         // game-library toggle: this screen never read it, and the library is offered on any
         // paired host now.
-        // 35 desktop rows + the ten Android-only ones (design android-skia-console-port.md
-        // D3): eight `extra`-backed settings and two platform-screen action rows.
-        assert_eq!(seen.len(), 45, "{seen:?}");
+        // 37 desktop rows (the daily-driver batch added 10-bit SDR and Keep host audio) +
+        // the ten Android-only ones (design android-skia-console-port.md D3): eight
+        // `extra`-backed settings and two platform-screen action rows.
+        assert_eq!(seen.len(), 47, "{seen:?}");
         assert!(seen.contains(&RowId::Palette));
         assert!(seen.contains(&RowId::ReduceMotion));
         assert!(seen.contains(&RowId::ReduceUiResolution));
diff --git a/crates/pf-encode/src/enc/codec.rs b/crates/pf-encode/src/enc/codec.rs
index 5ee3fbc26..31c6e9e03 100644
--- a/crates/pf-encode/src/enc/codec.rs
+++ b/crates/pf-encode/src/enc/codec.rs
@@ -33,7 +33,10 @@ use pf_frame::CapturedFrame;
 #[cfg(target_os = "windows")]
 pub(crate) fn ten_bit_input(format: pf_frame::PixelFormat, negotiated_depth: u8) -> bool {
     use pf_frame::PixelFormat;
-    let ten = matches!(format, PixelFormat::P010 | PixelFormat::Rgb10a2);
+    let ten = matches!(
+        format,
+        PixelFormat::P010 | PixelFormat::Rgb10a2 | PixelFormat::Rgb10a2Sdr
+    );
     if negotiated_depth >= 10 && !ten {
         tracing::warn!(
             ?format,
diff --git a/crates/pf-encode/src/enc/linux/mod.rs b/crates/pf-encode/src/enc/linux/mod.rs
index 2e1bf8bf5..79306a53c 100644
--- a/crates/pf-encode/src/enc/linux/mod.rs
+++ b/crates/pf-encode/src/enc/linux/mod.rs
@@ -44,7 +44,11 @@ fn sws_src_pixel(format: PixelFormat) -> Result<Pixel> {
         // swscale source for the X2RGB10→P010 conversion.
         PixelFormat::X2Rgb10 => Pixel::X2RGB10LE,
         PixelFormat::X2Bgr10 => Pixel::X2BGR10LE,
-        PixelFormat::Nv12 | PixelFormat::P010 | PixelFormat::Rgb10a2 | PixelFormat::Yuv444 => {
+        PixelFormat::Nv12
+        | PixelFormat::P010
+        | PixelFormat::Rgb10a2
+        | PixelFormat::Rgb10a2Sdr
+        | PixelFormat::Yuv444 => {
             bail!("NVENC CPU-input conversion supports packed RGB/BGR only; got {format:?}")
         }
     })
@@ -164,10 +168,10 @@ fn nvenc_input(format: PixelFormat) -> (Pixel, bool) {
         // Planar YUV444 from the zero-copy worker's GPU convert (a 4:4:4 session) — native
         // full-chroma YUV in, `hevc_nvenc` emits Range-Extensions 4:4:4.
         PixelFormat::Yuv444 => (Pixel::YUV444P, false),
-        // Rgb10a2 (HDR) and P010 (the Windows 10-bit video-processor output) are produced only by
-        // the Windows paths; the Linux capturer never emits them. Map to BGRA so the match is
-        // exhaustive — unreachable here.
-        PixelFormat::Rgb10a2 | PixelFormat::P010 => (Pixel::BGRA, false),
+        // Rgb10a2/Rgb10a2Sdr (the Windows packed-10 outputs) and P010 (the Windows 10-bit
+        // video-processor output) are produced only by the Windows paths; the Linux capturer
+        // never emits them. Map to BGRA so the match is exhaustive — unreachable here.
+        PixelFormat::Rgb10a2 | PixelFormat::Rgb10a2Sdr | PixelFormat::P010 => (Pixel::BGRA, false),
         // The Linux HDR capture formats never take the RGB-passthrough input: `open` intercepts
         // them onto the X2RGB10→P010 swscale path before consulting this mapping (like 4:4:4).
         PixelFormat::X2Rgb10 | PixelFormat::X2Bgr10 => (Pixel::BGRA, false),
diff --git a/crates/pf-encode/src/enc/linux/vaapi.rs b/crates/pf-encode/src/enc/linux/vaapi.rs
index d003dabfe..e8e744548 100644
--- a/crates/pf-encode/src/enc/linux/vaapi.rs
+++ b/crates/pf-encode/src/enc/linux/vaapi.rs
@@ -60,7 +60,11 @@ fn vaapi_sws_src(format: PixelFormat) -> Result<Pixel> {
         // swscale source for the X2RGB10→P010 conversion.
         PixelFormat::X2Rgb10 => Pixel::X2RGB10LE,
         PixelFormat::X2Bgr10 => Pixel::X2BGR10LE,
-        PixelFormat::Nv12 | PixelFormat::P010 | PixelFormat::Rgb10a2 | PixelFormat::Yuv444 => {
+        PixelFormat::Nv12
+        | PixelFormat::P010
+        | PixelFormat::Rgb10a2
+        | PixelFormat::Rgb10a2Sdr
+        | PixelFormat::Yuv444 => {
             bail!("VAAPI CPU-input path supports packed RGB/BGR only; got {format:?}")
         }
     })
diff --git a/crates/pf-encode/src/enc/linux/worker.rs b/crates/pf-encode/src/enc/linux/worker.rs
index 1f4a0f66f..10f0f325f 100644
--- a/crates/pf-encode/src/enc/linux/worker.rs
+++ b/crates/pf-encode/src/enc/linux/worker.rs
@@ -132,6 +132,14 @@ impl From<PixelFormat> for WireFormat {
             PixelFormat::Rgb => WireFormat::Rgb,
             PixelFormat::Bgr => WireFormat::Bgr,
             PixelFormat::Rgb10a2 => WireFormat::Rgb10a2,
+            // A Windows-only capture format (the IDD-push 10-bit SDR expansion): the Linux
+            // encode worker can never be handed one, and the wire deliberately grows no
+            // variant for it.
+            PixelFormat::Rgb10a2Sdr => {
+                unreachable!(
+                    "Rgb10a2Sdr is a Windows capture format — the Linux worker never sees it"
+                )
+            }
             PixelFormat::Nv12 => WireFormat::Nv12,
             PixelFormat::P010 => WireFormat::P010,
             PixelFormat::Yuv444 => WireFormat::Yuv444,
diff --git a/crates/pf-encode/src/enc/sw.rs b/crates/pf-encode/src/enc/sw.rs
index 053790a57..95f051182 100644
--- a/crates/pf-encode/src/enc/sw.rs
+++ b/crates/pf-encode/src/enc/sw.rs
@@ -213,11 +213,15 @@ impl Encoder for OpenH264Encoder {
             PixelFormat::Bgr => (3, 2, 1, 0),
             PixelFormat::Rgba | PixelFormat::Rgbx => (4, 0, 1, 2),
             PixelFormat::Bgra | PixelFormat::Bgrx => (4, 2, 1, 0),
-            // 10-bit HDR comes only from the GPU paths; the software 8-bit H.264 encoder can't
-            // represent it (and never receives it — HDR is never negotiated on a software host).
-            PixelFormat::Rgb10a2 | PixelFormat::X2Rgb10 | PixelFormat::X2Bgr10 => {
+            // 10-bit comes only from the GPU paths; the software 8-bit H.264 encoder can't
+            // represent it (and never receives it — neither HDR nor 10-bit SDR is negotiated on
+            // a software host).
+            PixelFormat::Rgb10a2
+            | PixelFormat::Rgb10a2Sdr
+            | PixelFormat::X2Rgb10
+            | PixelFormat::X2Bgr10 => {
                 anyhow::bail!(
-                    "software H.264 encoder cannot encode 10-bit HDR ({:?})",
+                    "software H.264 encoder cannot encode 10-bit ({:?})",
                     self.src_format
                 )
             }
diff --git a/crates/pf-encode/src/enc/windows/ffmpeg_win.rs b/crates/pf-encode/src/enc/windows/ffmpeg_win.rs
index 14c10b2b9..0ee54b07f 100644
--- a/crates/pf-encode/src/enc/windows/ffmpeg_win.rs
+++ b/crates/pf-encode/src/enc/windows/ffmpeg_win.rs
@@ -234,6 +234,7 @@ fn sws_src(format: PixelFormat) -> Result<Pixel> {
         PixelFormat::Nv12
         | PixelFormat::P010
         | PixelFormat::Rgb10a2
+        | PixelFormat::Rgb10a2Sdr
         | PixelFormat::Yuv444
         | PixelFormat::X2Rgb10
         | PixelFormat::X2Bgr10 => {
@@ -250,7 +251,12 @@ fn sws_src(format: PixelFormat) -> Result<Pixel> {
 /// `submit_d3d11` then failed the depth check below, forever, with `reset()` unable to help
 /// because the rebuild re-derived the same wrong answer.
 fn is_10bit_format(format: PixelFormat) -> bool {
-    matches!(format, PixelFormat::P010 | PixelFormat::Rgb10a2)
+    // Rgb10a2Sdr joins for honesty, though it can't arrive here: the 10-bit SDR chain is
+    // gated to the direct-NVENC backend at the handshake.
+    matches!(
+        format,
+        PixelFormat::P010 | PixelFormat::Rgb10a2 | PixelFormat::Rgb10a2Sdr
+    )
 }
 
 /// Which lane the system-memory path routes a captured D3D11 format through. Device-free — the
diff --git a/crates/pf-encode/src/enc/windows/nvenc.rs b/crates/pf-encode/src/enc/windows/nvenc.rs
index e29667fa4..d5168de1b 100644
--- a/crates/pf-encode/src/enc/windows/nvenc.rs
+++ b/crates/pf-encode/src/enc/windows/nvenc.rs
@@ -1689,6 +1689,14 @@ impl Encoder for NvencD3d11Encoder {
                     self.bit_depth = 10;
                     nv::NV_ENC_BUFFER_FORMAT::NV_ENC_BUFFER_FORMAT_ABGR10
                 }
+                PixelFormat::Rgb10a2Sdr => {
+                    // The 10-bit SDR capture: same packed layout as Rgb10a2, but plain sRGB
+                    // values — `hdr` above is false, so the session opens Main10 with the
+                    // ordinary BT.709 SDR VUI (the encoder's CSC follows it, the SDR 4:4:4
+                    // precedent one bit-depth up).
+                    self.bit_depth = 10;
+                    nv::NV_ENC_BUFFER_FORMAT::NV_ENC_BUFFER_FORMAT_ABGR10
+                }
                 PixelFormat::Nv12 => {
                     // NV12 is 8-bit 4:2:0. Force 8-bit so a transition from a prior P010 (10-bit) session
                     // — or a 10-bit-negotiated client on an SDR display — re-inits at the matching depth.
diff --git a/crates/pf-frame/src/lib.rs b/crates/pf-frame/src/lib.rs
index 36bb37484..daf82be70 100644
--- a/crates/pf-frame/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/pf-frame/src/lib.rs
@@ -43,6 +43,13 @@ pub enum PixelFormat {
     /// produces this: scRGB FP16 desktop pixels are converted to BT.2020 PQ and written here, then
     /// handed to NVENC as `ABGR10` for an HEVC Main10 / HDR10 encode.
     Rgb10a2,
+    /// [`Rgb10a2`](Self::Rgb10a2)'s **SDR** twin: the same `R10G10B10A2` memory, but the values
+    /// are the plain sRGB desktop pixels expanded 8→10 bit — NOT PQ/BT.2020. The Windows 10-bit
+    /// SDR capture path produces this so NVENC encodes Main10 (finer coding precision = less
+    /// encode banding) under the ordinary BT.709 SDR VUI. A separate variant on purpose: the
+    /// encoder derives its colour signalling from the pixels that arrive, and one format
+    /// carrying two transfers would put PQ labels on SDR frames.
+    Rgb10a2Sdr,
     /// `NV12` (DXGI `NV12`): 8-bit BT.709 limited-range YUV 4:2:0. Produced by the D3D11 **video
     /// processor** (video engine, not the 3D engine) so the per-frame colour conversion doesn't fight a
     /// GPU-saturating game; handed to NVENC as `NV12` (it encodes YUV natively — no internal RGB→YUV).
@@ -111,8 +118,9 @@ pub fn drm_fourcc(format: PixelFormat) -> Option<u32> {
         X2Rgb10 => drm_fourcc_code(b"XR30"), // DRM_FORMAT_XRGB2101010
         X2Bgr10 => drm_fourcc_code(b"XB30"), // DRM_FORMAT_XBGR2101010
         // 24-bit packed RGB/BGR have no straightforward dmabuf import here; use the CPU path.
-        // Rgb10a2/P010 are Windows formats; Yuv444 is OUR convert output, never a capture source.
-        Rgb | Bgr | Rgb10a2 | P010 | Yuv444 => return None,
+        // Rgb10a2/Rgb10a2Sdr/P010 are Windows formats; Yuv444 is OUR convert output, never a
+        // capture source.
+        Rgb | Bgr | Rgb10a2 | Rgb10a2Sdr | P010 | Yuv444 => return None,
     })
 }
 
@@ -130,6 +138,13 @@ pub struct OutputFormat {
     /// HDR: the capturer converts to 10-bit (IDD-push FP16 → `P010`, or `Rgb10a2` for a 4:4:4 source).
     /// `false` = 8-bit SDR.
     pub hdr: bool,
+    /// 10-bit **SDR** session (`bit_depth == 10` negotiated, HDR not): on Windows the IDD-push
+    /// capturer expands the BGRA slot 8→10 bit into the packed [`PixelFormat::Rgb10a2Sdr`]
+    /// output so NVENC encodes Main10 under the BT.709 SDR VUI — finer coding precision without
+    /// touching the display's colour state (advanced colour stays off). Mutually exclusive with
+    /// `hdr` (the handshake resolves 10-bit HDR onto the `hdr` path). Ignored on Linux — no
+    /// SDR-10 capture chain exists there yet, and the handshake never negotiates it.
+    pub ten_bit_sdr: bool,
     /// Full-chroma 4:4:4 session: the capturer must keep full chroma. On Windows the IDD-push
     /// capturer hands the **BGRA** slot through (skipping the subsampling BGRA→NV12
     /// VideoConverter) so NVENC ingests full-chroma RGB and CSCs to 4:4:4 itself — measured
@@ -170,6 +185,9 @@ impl OutputFormat {
         OutputFormat {
             gpu,
             hdr,
+            // 10-bit SDR is punktfunk/1-native only (Moonlight's HDR checkbox is the whole
+            // depth story on the GameStream plane).
+            ten_bit_sdr: false,
             // The GameStream + spike paths are always 4:2:0 (4:4:4 is punktfunk/1-native only).
             chroma_444: false,
             // GameStream never negotiates PyroWave (native punktfunk/1 only).
diff --git a/crates/pf-presenter/src/cursor.rs b/crates/pf-presenter/src/cursor.rs
index b128f706b..66dd91a5b 100644
--- a/crates/pf-presenter/src/cursor.rs
+++ b/crates/pf-presenter/src/cursor.rs
@@ -8,10 +8,12 @@
 //!
 //! The host sends the bitmap in host-FRAMEBUFFER pixels, whose size tracks the host virtual
 //! display's DPI scaling (32 px at 100%, 96 px at 300%). Drawn 1:1 it balloons on a high-DPI
-//! host; instead we scale it by the SAME aspect-fit factor the video is drawn at
-//! (`min(window_px/mode)`), so the pointer stays sized to the streamed desktop at any host
-//! scaling. SDL cursors are fixed-size from their surface (no draw-time scaling), so we cache
-//! shapes RAW and resample per install — rebuilding when the serial OR the fit changes.
+//! host; instead we scale it by the aspect-fit factor the video is drawn at
+//! (`min(window_px/mode)`) TIMES the client display's content scale (SDL shows the surface at
+//! ~1:1 physical pixels on every backend, so without the second factor a 200 % client's
+//! pointer came out half the size of its native ones — see the run loop's `cursor_scale`).
+//! SDL cursors are fixed-size from their surface (no draw-time scaling), so we cache
+//! shapes RAW and resample per install — rebuilding when the serial OR the scale changes.
 
 use punktfunk_core::client::NativeClient;
 use punktfunk_core::quic::{CursorState, HOST_CAP_CURSOR};
@@ -81,8 +83,10 @@ impl CursorChannel {
     /// `desktop_active` = the desktop mouse model is engaged (captured + desktop): only then
     /// do we own the local cursor's shape/visibility; under capture SDL's relative mode owns
     /// it, and released the system cursor must look normal. `fit_scale` is host-framebuffer
-    /// pixels → window pixels (the aspect-fit factor the video is drawn at); the shape is
-    /// resampled by it so the pointer matches the streamed desktop at any host DPI.
+    /// pixels → cursor-surface pixels (the run loop's `cursor_scale`: the aspect-fit factor
+    /// the video is drawn at, times the client display's content scale); the shape is
+    /// resampled by it so the pointer matches the streamed desktop at any host DPI *and*
+    /// the client's native pointers at any client DPI.
     pub fn pump(
         &mut self,
         connector: &NativeClient,
diff --git a/crates/pf-presenter/src/run.rs b/crates/pf-presenter/src/run.rs
index 5c85fdb15..017058cf4 100644
--- a/crates/pf-presenter/src/run.rs
+++ b/crates/pf-presenter/src/run.rs
@@ -74,8 +74,10 @@ pub struct SessionOpts {
     pub invert_scroll: bool,
     /// Send system chords (Alt+Tab, the Windows key / Super) to the host while input is
     /// captured ([`Settings::inhibit_shortcuts`], default on). Off keeps them local — the
-    /// work profile that streams on a second screen and still Alt-Tabs here. Never applies
-    /// under the `desktop` mouse model, which is something you Alt-Tab *away* from.
+    /// work profile that streams on a second screen and still Alt-Tabs here. Applies in
+    /// BOTH mouse models (a remote desktop needs the host's Start menu too — see
+    /// [`apply_capture`]); the desktop model's unlocked pointer clicking another window
+    /// is the always-available way back.
     pub inhibit_shortcuts: bool,
     /// Presentation intent ([`Settings::present_priority`] resolved): `Latency` keeps the
     /// shipped arrival pacing (newest-wins, present the moment a frame can go out);
@@ -1217,20 +1219,30 @@ fn run_inner(mut opts: SessionOpts, mut mode: ModeCtl) -> Result<Option<Outcome>
         // Cursor channel (M2): drain forwarded shape/state and drive the local OS cursor —
         // only meaningful in the desktop mouse model (capture's relative lock hides it).
         if let Some(st) = stream.as_mut() {
-            // Host-framebuffer px → window px: the aspect-fit factor the video is drawn at
-            // (same `min(surface/content)` as `finger_to_content`). The forwarded pointer is
-            // resampled by it so a high-DPI host's oversized bitmap lands sized to the streamed
-            // desktop rather than ballooning. 1:1 until the first frame gives `last_video`.
-            let fit_scale = st.last_video.map_or(1.0, |(vw, vh)| {
+            // Host-framebuffer px → cursor-surface px: the aspect-fit factor the video is
+            // drawn at (same `min(surface/content)` as `finger_to_content`) — times the
+            // client display's own content scale. Fit alone sizes the pointer to the
+            // STREAMED desktop (a high-DPI host's oversized bitmap lands proportional
+            // instead of ballooning) but ignores the panel it lands on: SDL shows a custom
+            // cursor's surface at ~1:1 physical pixels on every backend (Windows HCURSOR,
+            // XcursorImage, Wayland buffer-scale/viewport), so on a 200 % client every
+            // native pointer is 2× and ours came out half their size (2026-08 field
+            // report). The Apple client never had this hole — NSCursor is sized in POINTS,
+            // so its fit-only scale rides the backing factor for free; multiplying by
+            // `display_scale` is the same model spelled in pixels. 1:1 until the first
+            // frame gives `last_video`; 0 is SDL's display-scale error value, treated as 1.
+            let cursor_scale = st.last_video.map_or(1.0, |(vw, vh)| {
                 let (pw, ph) = window.size_in_pixels();
-                (pw as f32 / vw.max(1) as f32).min(ph as f32 / vh.max(1) as f32)
+                let fit = (pw as f32 / vw.max(1) as f32).min(ph as f32 / vh.max(1) as f32);
+                let density = window.display_scale();
+                fit * if density > 0.0 { density } else { 1.0 }
             });
             if let (Some(chan), Some(c)) = (st.cursor_chan.as_mut(), st.connector.as_ref()) {
                 let desktop_active = st
                     .capture
                     .as_ref()
                     .is_some_and(|cap| cap.captured() && cap.desktop());
-                chan.pump(c, &mouse, desktop_active, fit_scale);
+                chan.pump(c, &mouse, desktop_active, cursor_scale);
                 // §8 mid-stream render flip: tell the host who renders the pointer whenever the
                 // local model changes. The host may composite one ONLY while we hold a grabbed,
                 // hidden pointer — the capture model, engaged — because that is the one state
@@ -2666,8 +2678,12 @@ impl ResizeIndicator {
 /// The `desktop` mouse model never locks: the pointer roams (and leaves the window)
 /// freely, the local cursor is hidden over the window — the host's composited cursor,
 /// tracking our absolute sends, is the one you see (until the M2 cursor channel flips
-/// who draws it) — and system chords stay local (a remote desktop is something you
-/// Alt-Tab away from, not into). `desktop` only matters while `on`.
+/// who draws it). The keyboard grab follows `inhibit` in BOTH models: the earlier
+/// "desktop is something you Alt-Tab away from" rule made the setting inert exactly for
+/// the remote-desktop use it matters most for (Win opens the HOST's Start menu or it's
+/// not a desktop), and desktop mode keeps a way out capture mode doesn't have — the
+/// unlocked pointer clicks any other window, focus is lost, and the chords come back.
+/// `desktop` only matters while `on`.
 ///
 /// `grants` is the session's effective access mask (per-client access §7 "not capture
 /// what can't land"): no pointer lock without the POINTER bit, no keyboard grab without
@@ -2690,7 +2706,7 @@ fn apply_capture(
     // POINTER grant no absolute/relative send lands, so hiding it would leave a
     // keyboard-only session with no cursor at all.
     mouse.show_cursor(!(on && pointer));
-    let grab = on && !desktop && inhibit && grants & GRANT_KEYBOARD != 0;
+    let grab = on && inhibit && grants & GRANT_KEYBOARD != 0;
     if !window.set_keyboard_grab(grab) && grab {
         // The one refusal SDL reports is a missing mechanism — a Wayland compositor with no
         // shortcuts-inhibit global. Said once per process: the answer never changes
diff --git a/crates/punktfunk-core/src/quic/caps.rs b/crates/punktfunk-core/src/quic/caps.rs
index 3fb98417f..b75b6ee09 100644
--- a/crates/punktfunk-core/src/quic/caps.rs
+++ b/crates/punktfunk-core/src/quic/caps.rs
@@ -1,8 +1,12 @@
 //! Client/host video capability bits, codec + chroma negotiation, and colour signalling.
 
-/// [`Hello::video_caps`] bit: the client can decode a 10-bit (Main10) HEVC stream.
+/// [`Hello::video_caps`] bit: the client can decode a 10-bit (Main10) stream. Alone — without
+/// [`VIDEO_CAP_HDR`] — it is the **10-bit SDR** ask (0.32, the client's "10-bit SDR" setting):
+/// the host encodes the SDR desktop at Main10 precision under a BT.709 SDR VUI, and neither
+/// display's colour state is touched. Every pre-0.32 client sets the two bits together.
 pub const VIDEO_CAP_10BIT: u8 = 0x01;
-/// [`Hello::video_caps`] bit: the client can present BT.2020 PQ HDR10 (implies 10-bit).
+/// [`Hello::video_caps`] bit: the client can present BT.2020 PQ HDR10 (implies 10-bit — set
+/// together with [`VIDEO_CAP_10BIT`]).
 pub const VIDEO_CAP_HDR: u8 = 0x02;
 /// [`Hello::video_caps`] bit: the client can decode a full-chroma **4:4:4** HEVC stream (HEVC
 /// Range Extensions / Rec.ITU-T H.265 `chroma_format_idc = 3`) AND its user turned 4:4:4 on (a
@@ -187,9 +191,25 @@ pub const HOST_CAP_PAD_AUDIO: u8 = 0x40;
 /// requesting must not set this bit.
 ///
 /// `0x10` — `0x08` is [`CLIENT_CAP_PAD_AUDIO`], `0x04` is [`CLIENT_CAP_AUDIO_RED`], `0x02` is
-/// [`CLIENT_CAP_PHASE_LOCK`], `0x01` is [`CLIENT_CAP_CURSOR`]. `0x20`/`0x40`/`0x80` remain free.
+/// [`CLIENT_CAP_PHASE_LOCK`], `0x01` is [`CLIENT_CAP_CURSOR`].
 pub const CLIENT_CAP_AUDIO_HIRES: u8 = 0x10;
 
+/// [`Hello::client_caps`] bit: this session asks the host to leave the host's OWN audio devices
+/// alone — capture whatever the operator's default playback device already is, instead of
+/// re-routing the desktop mix onto a silent (or preferred) endpoint. A loopback/monitor tap
+/// doesn't silence the device it taps, so the host keeps playing (the headphones plugged into
+/// the host PC stay live) and the client hears the same audio — Moonlight's "Mute host PC
+/// speakers" box, unchecked, as a per-session client choice.
+///
+/// The user's-setting precedent ([`CLIENT_CAP_AUDIO_HIRES`]), and REQUEST-only — no `HOST_CAP`
+/// echo: an older host ignores the bit and re-routes as it always did, which degrades to
+/// "audio still works, host went quiet", not a broken session. Per-session best-effort on the
+/// host: with several concurrent sessions the wiring is host-global, so any live session that
+/// asked wins for all of them until it ends. Composes with the host-wide
+/// `PUNKTFUNK_AUDIO_OUTPUT_MODE=follow_default`, which is this behaviour for every session.
+/// `0x20` — `0x10` is [`CLIENT_CAP_AUDIO_HIRES`]; `0x40`/`0x80` remain free.
+pub const CLIENT_CAP_KEEP_HOST_AUDIO: u8 = 0x20;
+
 /// [`Welcome::host_caps`] bit: the host resolved the session onto the lossless audio plane
 /// ([`AUDIO_PCM_MAGIC`](super::datagram::AUDIO_PCM_MAGIC), `0xD3`). Like [`HOST_CAP_AUDIO_RED`]
 /// this is a statement about the WIRE rather than an offer: with the bit set the client decodes
@@ -436,6 +456,20 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(HOST_CAP_PAD_AUDIO.count_ones(), 1);
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn keep_host_audio_cap_bit_is_distinct() {
+        assert_eq!(
+            CLIENT_CAP_KEEP_HOST_AUDIO
+                & (CLIENT_CAP_CURSOR
+                    | CLIENT_CAP_PHASE_LOCK
+                    | CLIENT_CAP_AUDIO_RED
+                    | CLIENT_CAP_PAD_AUDIO
+                    | CLIENT_CAP_AUDIO_HIRES),
+            0
+        );
+        assert_eq!(CLIENT_CAP_KEEP_HOST_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
diff --git a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/audio/capture_policy.rs b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/audio/capture_policy.rs
index b4e7571b7..b478234fe 100644
--- a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/audio/capture_policy.rs
+++ b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/audio/capture_policy.rs
@@ -8,8 +8,37 @@
 //! * [`CaptureStats`] — the audio plane's vitals, so a log can tell a quiet host from a broken
 //!   endpoint from one we are damaging ourselves.
 
+use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicUsize, Ordering};
 use std::time::{Duration, Instant};
 
+/// Live sessions that asked the host to leave its audio devices alone
+/// (`CLIENT_CAP_KEEP_HOST_AUDIO` — the client's "keep playing on the host" setting). A count,
+/// not a flag, because sessions overlap; host-global because the wiring is: with several
+/// concurrent sessions any live asker wins for all of them until it ends (best-effort, as the
+/// cap documents). Windows reads it in `audio_control::keep_default_devices`; Linux in the
+/// capturer's topology pick (Monitor — tap the operator's default sink instead of claiming it).
+static KEEP_HOST_AUDIO_SESSIONS: AtomicUsize = AtomicUsize::new(0);
+
+/// RAII for one session's `CLIENT_CAP_KEEP_HOST_AUDIO` ask — hold it for exactly the session's
+/// lifetime (every exit path decrements, panic-unwind included).
+pub(crate) struct KeepHostAudioGuard(());
+
+pub(crate) fn keep_host_audio_guard() -> KeepHostAudioGuard {
+    KEEP_HOST_AUDIO_SESSIONS.fetch_add(1, Ordering::Relaxed);
+    KeepHostAudioGuard(())
+}
+
+impl Drop for KeepHostAudioGuard {
+    fn drop(&mut self) {
+        KEEP_HOST_AUDIO_SESSIONS.fetch_sub(1, Ordering::Relaxed);
+    }
+}
+
+/// Whether any live session asked for the operator's audio devices to be left alone.
+pub(crate) fn session_keeps_default() -> bool {
+    KEEP_HOST_AUDIO_SESSIONS.load(Ordering::Relaxed) > 0
+}
+
 /// Default-playback re-assertions inside [`FIGHT_WINDOW`] before we stop fighting.
 pub(crate) const FIGHT_LIMIT: u32 = 4;
 pub(crate) const FIGHT_WINDOW: Duration = Duration::from_secs(20);
@@ -1074,4 +1103,22 @@ mod tests {
         );
         assert_eq!(s.late, 0);
     }
+
+    /// The per-session keep-host-audio ask is a COUNT (sessions overlap), and every guard
+    /// drop hands the devices back — the RAII contract the wiring pass depends on. This test
+    /// is the static's only toucher, so it owns the counter for its run.
+    #[test]
+    fn keep_host_audio_guard_counts_overlapping_sessions() {
+        assert!(!session_keeps_default());
+        let a = keep_host_audio_guard();
+        assert!(session_keeps_default());
+        let b = keep_host_audio_guard();
+        drop(a);
+        assert!(
+            session_keeps_default(),
+            "the second session still holds the ask"
+        );
+        drop(b);
+        assert!(!session_keeps_default());
+    }
 }
diff --git a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/audio/linux/mod.rs b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/audio/linux/mod.rs
index 15369f122..60239f5be 100644
--- a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/audio/linux/mod.rs
+++ b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/audio/linux/mod.rs
@@ -100,6 +100,14 @@ impl CaptureMode {
 /// An unrecognised value resolves to the default rather than failing: this is a field-debugging
 /// lever, and a typo in it must not cost a session its audio.
 fn capture_mode() -> CaptureMode {
+    if crate::audio::capture_policy::session_keeps_default() {
+        // A live session asked for the host's audio devices to be left alone
+        // (`CLIENT_CAP_KEEP_HOST_AUDIO`): follow the operator's default sink and tap its
+        // monitor — the sink keeps playing on the host, no default-sink claim. Wins over
+        // `PUNKTFUNK_STREAM_SINK` for the same reason `follow_default` beats a stale
+        // `PUNKTFUNK_HOST_AUDIO`: "don't touch my devices" is the more restrictive promise.
+        return CaptureMode::Monitor;
+    }
     capture_mode_from(std::env::var("PUNKTFUNK_STREAM_SINK").ok().as_deref())
 }
 
diff --git a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/audio/windows/audio_control.rs b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/audio/windows/audio_control.rs
index bbdce92ec..6df51fc6c 100644
--- a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/audio/windows/audio_control.rs
+++ b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/audio/windows/audio_control.rs
@@ -197,9 +197,12 @@ pub(crate) fn host_audio_requested() -> bool {
 }
 
 /// The operator's default playback/recording devices must not be touched at all — the
-/// `follow_default` mode, formerly `PUNKTFUNK_KEEP_DEFAULT`.
+/// `follow_default` mode (formerly `PUNKTFUNK_KEEP_DEFAULT`), or a live session's
+/// `CLIENT_CAP_KEEP_HOST_AUDIO` ask (the client's "keep playing on the host" setting,
+/// held per-session by [`crate::audio::capture_policy::keep_host_audio_guard`]).
 pub(crate) fn keep_default_devices() -> bool {
     pf_host_config::config().audio_output_mode.keeps_default()
+        || crate::audio::capture_policy::session_keeps_default()
 }
 
 /// One wiring pass plus the inputs the desktop-audio capture loop's failure handling needs:
@@ -354,7 +357,9 @@ pub(crate) fn wire_now_full(park_defaults: bool) -> WiredPlan {
         if changed {
             tracing::info!(
                 mode = %pf_host_config::config().audio_output_mode.as_str(),
-                "audio output mode is follow_default — leaving the audio default devices untouched"
+                session_asked = crate::audio::capture_policy::session_keeps_default(),
+                "leaving the audio default devices untouched (follow_default mode, or a \
+                 session's keep-host-audio ask)"
             );
         }
         return done(wiring);
diff --git a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/capture.rs b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/capture.rs
index 68914df3c..0dfc0d1e5 100644
--- a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/capture.rs
+++ b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/capture.rs
@@ -305,6 +305,7 @@ pub fn capture_virtual_output(
         target,
         pref,
         want.hdr,
+        want.ten_bit_sdr,
         want.chroma_444,
         want.pyrowave,
         keep,
diff --git a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/gamestream/stream.rs b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/gamestream/stream.rs
index ef19c5e78..3b7112491 100644
--- a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/gamestream/stream.rs
+++ b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/gamestream/stream.rs
@@ -283,10 +283,15 @@ fn run(
         if let Some(lib_id) = app.and_then(|a| a.library_id.as_deref()) {
             prep_cmds.extend(crate::library::prep_for(lib_id));
         }
-        let prep_env = [(
+        let mut prep_env = vec![(
             "PF_APP_TITLE".to_string(),
             app.map(|a| a.title.clone()).unwrap_or_default(),
         )];
+        // The negotiated mode, same `PF_STREAM_*` names as the native plane's prep env and the
+        // marker file — one vocabulary for a script whichever client connected.
+        prep_env.extend(crate::hooks::prep_mode_env(
+            cfg.width, cfg.height, cfg.fps, cfg.hdr,
+        ));
         let _prep = (!prep_cmds.is_empty()).then(|| crate::hooks::run_prep(&prep_cmds, &prep_env));
         // Open the virtual-display source: pick the live compositor, normalize the session env
         // (apply_session_env + input/gamescope routing — ATTACH/resize + KWin/Mutter retargeting,
diff --git a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/hooks.rs b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/hooks.rs
index fcffcd49e..0fa6c7b09 100644
--- a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/hooks.rs
+++ b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/hooks.rs
@@ -1010,6 +1010,21 @@ pub struct PrepCmd {
     pub undo: Option<String>,
 }
 
+/// The negotiated stream mode as env for prep `do`/`undo` commands — the same `PF_STREAM_*`
+/// vocabulary as the [`crate::stream_marker`] file (and the same rule: keys only ever get
+/// added), so a script written against either sees one spelling. Exists because prep commands
+/// are how operators do per-mode setup (an RTSS/driver FPS cap wants the refresh rate), and
+/// until now their whole environment was the app identity — every mode value had to be
+/// hard-coded per device. One definition, used by BOTH serving planes, so they can't drift.
+pub fn prep_mode_env(width: u32, height: u32, refresh_hz: u32, hdr: bool) -> [(String, String); 4] {
+    [
+        ("PF_STREAM_WIDTH".to_string(), width.to_string()),
+        ("PF_STREAM_HEIGHT".to_string(), height.to_string()),
+        ("PF_STREAM_REFRESH".to_string(), refresh_hz.to_string()),
+        ("PF_STREAM_HDR".to_string(), u8::from(hdr).to_string()),
+    ]
+}
+
 /// Holds the armed `undo` commands for one session's prep steps; dropping it (session end,
 /// error return, panic-unwind) runs them in reverse order on a detached thread — teardown
 /// never blocks on operator code.
@@ -1289,6 +1304,19 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(v, "evilname");
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn prep_mode_env_speaks_the_marker_vocabulary() {
+        // The names are the stream-marker file's — a script written against either sees one
+        // spelling — and HDR is 1/0 like the marker, not true/false like PF_EVENT_*.
+        let env = prep_mode_env(2560, 1440, 120, true);
+        let get = |k: &str| env.iter().find(|(n, _)| n == k).map(|(_, v)| v.as_str());
+        assert_eq!(get("PF_STREAM_WIDTH"), Some("2560"));
+        assert_eq!(get("PF_STREAM_HEIGHT"), Some("1440"));
+        assert_eq!(get("PF_STREAM_REFRESH"), Some("120"));
+        assert_eq!(get("PF_STREAM_HDR"), Some("1"));
+        assert_eq!(prep_mode_env(1, 1, 1, false)[3].1, "0");
+    }
+
     #[cfg(unix)]
     #[test]
     fn exec_runs_with_stdin_and_env_and_timeout_kills() {
diff --git a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/native.rs b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/native.rs
index aca7fe081..3cabc717b 100644
--- a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/native.rs
+++ b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/native.rs
@@ -2246,10 +2246,28 @@ async fn serve_session(
     // the closure only runs when the title actually has prep steps.
     let _prep = hello.launch.as_deref().and_then(|id| {
         let cmds = crate::library::prep_for(id);
-        let env = [("PF_APP_ID".to_string(), id.to_string())];
+        // The app identity plus the negotiated mode (`prep_mode_env` — the marker file's
+        // `PF_STREAM_*` vocabulary), so a prep step can set a per-mode FPS cap instead of
+        // hard-coding one per device.
+        let mut env = vec![("PF_APP_ID".to_string(), id.to_string())];
+        env.extend(crate::hooks::prep_mode_env(
+            hello.mode.width,
+            hello.mode.height,
+            hello.mode.refresh_hz,
+            welcome.color.is_hdr(),
+        ));
         (!cmds.is_empty())
             .then(|| tokio::task::block_in_place(|| crate::hooks::run_prep(&cmds, &env)))
     });
+    // The client asked for this box's audio devices to be left alone
+    // (`CLIENT_CAP_KEEP_HOST_AUDIO` — its "keep playing on the host" setting): hold the
+    // wiring override for exactly this session's lifetime, BEFORE the data plane opens the
+    // audio capture. Windows then skips the IPolicyConfig default parking and loopbacks the
+    // operator's own default device; Linux taps the default sink's monitor instead of
+    // claiming the default. RAII — every exit path hands the devices back.
+    let _keep_host_audio = (hello.client_caps & punktfunk_core::quic::CLIENT_CAP_KEEP_HOST_AUDIO
+        != 0)
+        .then(crate::audio::capture_policy::keep_host_audio_guard);
     // The resolved number is the session's TOTAL WIRE budget (RFC §5.1): the Welcome, every
     // ack, the HUD and this whole control plane speak budget — only the encoder opens are
     // handed the derived video rate (`EncDerive` in the stream loop: budget minus the audio
@@ -2262,8 +2280,11 @@ async fn serve_session(
     // unconditionally (`resolve_bitrate_kbps_for` overrode any explicit rate — RFC §5.2).
     let bitrate_auto = hello.bitrate_kbps == 0 || codec == crate::encode::Codec::PyroWave;
     let bit_depth = welcome.bit_depth; // resolved encode bit depth (8, or 10 when negotiated)
-                                       // Resolved chroma — derive the typed value back from the wire byte the Welcome carried (so the
-                                       // session uses exactly what the client was told). `Yuv444` only when the handshake gate passed.
+                                       // The session's HDR verdict — read back from the Welcome's colour label (what the client
+                                       // was told) rather than re-derived from the depth: a 10-bit SDR session says 10 + SDR.
+    let hdr = welcome.color.is_hdr();
+    // Resolved chroma — derive the typed value back from the wire byte the Welcome carried (so the
+    // session uses exactly what the client was told). `Yuv444` only when the handshake gate passed.
     let chroma = if welcome.chroma_format == punktfunk_core::quic::CHROMA_IDC_444 {
         crate::encode::ChromaFormat::Yuv444
     } else {
@@ -2455,6 +2476,7 @@ async fn serve_session(
                         client_packets_received,
                         bitrate_auto,
                         bit_depth,
+                        hdr,
                         chroma,
                         codec,
                         probe_rx,
diff --git a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/native/handshake.rs b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/native/handshake.rs
index 293e758e5..ffe7c3646 100644
--- a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/native/handshake.rs
+++ b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/native/handshake.rs
@@ -618,6 +618,11 @@ pub(super) async fn negotiate(
     // label that matches the stream.
     let host_wants_10bit = pf_host_config::config().ten_bit;
     let client_supports_10bit = hello.video_caps & punktfunk_core::quic::VIDEO_CAP_10BIT != 0;
+    // The two bits split (0.32): `VIDEO_CAP_HDR` is the client's HDR (BT.2020 PQ) ask;
+    // `VIDEO_CAP_10BIT` alone is the 10-bit **SDR** ask — Main10 coding precision (less encode
+    // banding on gradients) without touching the display's colour state. Every pre-0.32 client
+    // sets both together, so the split changes nothing for them.
+    let client_wants_hdr = hello.video_caps & punktfunk_core::quic::VIDEO_CAP_HDR != 0;
     // The capture side must be able to deliver a 10-bit HDR source for the NATIVE plane's
     // virtual-output capture — the honest-downgrade gate, mirroring `capturer_supports_444`.
     // SOURCE-AWARE, because on Linux the answer depends on which compositor we just resolved:
@@ -632,26 +637,43 @@ pub(super) async fn negotiate(
     // path makes separately in rtsp.rs has no twin here: that latch is per-source, and this gate
     // already consulted the one belonging to the source this session will drive.
     let capture_supports_hdr = crate::capture::capturer_supports_hdr_for(compositor);
+    // The 10-bit SDR chain: the Windows IDD-push capturer expands its BGRA slot 8→10 bit
+    // (`Rgb10a2Sdr`), and only the direct-NVENC backend ingests that packed RGB — the same
+    // ingest fact the 4:4:4 gate keys on below (`resolved_backend_ingests_rgb_444` is `false`
+    // off Windows, which is also the whole Linux story: no SDR-10 capture chain exists there
+    // yet, so an SDR-10 ask resolves 8-bit — the honest downgrade, told in the Welcome before
+    // the client builds its decoder). HEVC only for now: NVENC's packed-RGB → 10-bit AV1
+    // ingest is unverified on glass — widen once measured. PyroWave is excluded by the same
+    // term (its capture composition is pinned to the display's HDR state, not this path).
+    let sdr10_chain_ok =
+        codec == crate::encode::Codec::H265 && crate::encode::resolved_backend_ingests_rgb_444();
+    // 10-bit is reachable through EITHER path: the HDR one (client asked HDR + the capturer
+    // can deliver a 10-bit HDR source) or the SDR-10 one above.
+    let depth_reachable = (client_wants_hdr && capture_supports_hdr) || sdr10_chain_ok;
     // The GPU probe may open a tiny encoder on first use, so run it off the reactor like the
     // 4:4:4 probe below (blocking probes → spawn_blocking), short-circuited behind the cheap
     // gates. The result is cached process-wide per (GPU, codec).
-    let gpu_can_10bit = if host_wants_10bit
-        && client_supports_10bit
-        && codec.supports_10bit()
-        && capture_supports_hdr
-    {
-        tokio::task::spawn_blocking(move || crate::encode::can_encode_10bit(codec))
-            .await
-            .context("10-bit capability probe task")?
-    } else {
-        false
-    };
+    let gpu_can_10bit =
+        if host_wants_10bit && client_supports_10bit && codec.supports_10bit() && depth_reachable {
+            tokio::task::spawn_blocking(move || crate::encode::can_encode_10bit(codec))
+                .await
+                .context("10-bit capability probe task")?
+        } else {
+            false
+        };
     let bit_depth: u8 = if gpu_can_10bit { 10 } else { 8 };
+    // The session's HDR verdict — the Welcome's colour label, the capturer's advanced-colour
+    // mandate, and the virtual display's HDR bring-up all read THIS, never `bit_depth >= 10`:
+    // a 10-bit session without it is the 10-bit SDR session (BT.709 VUI, display untouched).
+    let session_hdr = gpu_can_10bit && client_wants_hdr && capture_supports_hdr;
     tracing::info!(
         bit_depth,
+        session_hdr,
         host_wants_10bit,
         client_supports_10bit,
+        client_wants_hdr,
         capture_supports_hdr,
+        sdr10_chain_ok,
         codec = ?codec,
         gpu_can_10bit,
         client_video_caps = hello.video_caps,
@@ -764,6 +786,9 @@ pub(super) async fn negotiate(
     } else {
         bit_depth
     };
+    // The HDR verdict follows any depth clamp (the Linux 4:4:4 one above): an 8-bit stream is
+    // never labelled HDR. A no-op wherever the depth survived.
+    let session_hdr = session_hdr && bit_depth == 10;
 
     // Resolve the encoder bitrate (client request clamped to a sane range, or a codec-aware
     // host default). Resolved AFTER depth + chroma: PyroWave's Automatic rate is a ~bpp pin
@@ -942,12 +967,13 @@ pub(super) async fn negotiate(
         gamepad,
         bitrate_kbps,
         bit_depth,
-        // Colour signalling the client configures its decoder/presenter from. A negotiated
-        // 10-bit session is our HDR path (BT.2020 PQ — what the NVENC HEVC VUI emits from a
-        // 10-bit capture format); 8-bit stays BT.709 SDR. The mastering metadata (ST.2086 +
-        // CLL) rides the 0xCE datagram below. (A future step can refine this to the capturer's
-        // actual monitor HDR state and announce a mid-stream flip.)
-        color: if bit_depth >= 10 {
+        // Colour signalling the client configures its decoder/presenter from — the session's
+        // HDR verdict, NOT the bit depth: a 10-bit SDR session (VIDEO_CAP_10BIT without
+        // VIDEO_CAP_HDR) encodes Main10 under a BT.709 SDR VUI and must say SDR here. The
+        // mastering metadata (ST.2086 + CLL) rides the 0xCE datagram below. (A future step can
+        // refine this to the capturer's actual monitor HDR state and announce a mid-stream
+        // flip.)
+        color: if session_hdr {
             ColorInfo::HDR10_BT2020_PQ
         } else {
             ColorInfo::SDR_BT709
@@ -1137,6 +1163,11 @@ pub(super) async fn negotiate(
                         bitrate_kbps,
                         bitrate_auto,
                         bit_depth,
+                        session_hdr,
+                        // ⚠ order: `enc_of` comes AFTER the depth pair — #408 (`bbc01cdd`)
+                        // landed it before `bit_depth`, which cannot compile on Windows and
+                        // sat unnoticed because Linux CI never builds this cfg(windows) block
+                        // and windows-host.yml only runs on dispatch/release.
                         enc_of,
                         chroma,
                         codec,
diff --git a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/native/stream.rs b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/native/stream.rs
index c72b00993..a5b9dc7af 100644
--- a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/native/stream.rs
+++ b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/native/stream.rs
@@ -1429,8 +1429,13 @@ pub(super) struct SessionContext {
     /// the NEGOTIATED MODE (`resolve_bitrate_kbps_for`) — a mid-stream mode switch re-resolves it
     /// for the new mode (the pin follows the resolution; an explicit client rate stays put).
     pub(super) bitrate_auto: bool,
-    /// Negotiated encode bit depth (8, or 10 = HEVC Main10).
+    /// Negotiated encode bit depth (8, or 10 = HEVC Main10 / 10-bit AV1). Does NOT imply HDR —
+    /// `hdr` below carries that separately (the 10-bit SDR path).
     pub(super) bit_depth: u8,
+    /// The session's HDR verdict — the Welcome's colour label (`welcome.color.is_hdr()`), which
+    /// the handshake resolved from the client's `VIDEO_CAP_HDR` ask + the capturer's HDR
+    /// capability. Drives the virtual display's HDR bring-up and the capturer's want-HDR flag.
+    pub(super) hdr: bool,
     /// Negotiated chroma subsampling (4:2:0, or 4:4:4 when the client + host + GPU all support it).
     pub(super) chroma: crate::encode::ChromaFormat,
     /// Negotiated video codec the encoder emits (HEVC by default; H.264 / AV1 when the client
@@ -1650,6 +1655,7 @@ pub(super) fn virtual_stream(ctx: SessionContext, prepared: Option<PreparedDispl
     // only per-session input — capture/topology/encoder are otherwise pure functions of `HostConfig`.
     let mut plan = crate::session_plan::SessionPlan::resolve(
         ctx.bit_depth,
+        ctx.hdr,
         ctx.chroma,
         ctx.codec,
         // Blend CAPABILITY (the single rule in `cursor_blend_for`): cursor-FORWARD sessions
@@ -1708,6 +1714,7 @@ pub(super) fn virtual_stream(ctx: SessionContext, prepared: Option<PreparedDispl
         client_packets_received,
         bitrate_auto,
         bit_depth,
+        hdr,
         // The resolved chroma is already captured in `plan` (above); ignore the duplicate here.
         chroma: _,
         // Likewise the codec — `plan.codec` (resolved from `ctx.codec`) is the source of truth below.
@@ -1910,11 +1917,12 @@ pub(super) fn virtual_stream(ctx: SessionContext, prepared: Option<PreparedDispl
             // panel instead of the driver's built-in ~1000-nit placeholder. No-op on Linux
             // backends and for older/SDR clients.
             vd.set_client_hdr(client_hdr);
-            // THIS SESSION's colourimetry (distinct from the client panel's volume above): a
-            // 10-bit session needs the output brought up HDR, which on gamescope means spawning
+            // THIS SESSION's colourimetry (distinct from the client panel's volume above): an
+            // HDR session needs the output brought up HDR, which on gamescope means spawning
             // it with the HDR flags so nested games get HDR surfaces at all. Decided in the
             // Welcome (`capture::capturer_supports_hdr_for`), so it cannot change under us.
-            vd.set_hdr(bit_depth >= 10);
+            // The HDR verdict, not the depth — a 10-bit SDR session leaves the output SDR.
+            vd.set_hdr(hdr);
             // Out-of-band cursor request: cursor-forward sessions (Windows pf-vdisplay /
             // IddCx hardware cursor; Linux metadata mode) AND no-channel host-composite
             // sessions (Linux only — `metadata_composite` is `plan.cursor_blend`-gated, so
@@ -4815,6 +4823,9 @@ pub(super) fn prepare_display(
     // Passed through to [`build_pipeline`] — see its parameter of the same name.
     bitrate_auto: bool,
     bit_depth: u8,
+    // The session's HDR verdict (the Welcome's colour label) — NOT derivable from the depth
+    // since the 10-bit SDR path exists.
+    hdr: bool,
     // The budget→encoder conversion for the prep build (Welcome-time FEC snapshot — the
     // session loop's FEC watcher takes over once streaming).
     enc_of: super::EncDerive,
@@ -4830,6 +4841,7 @@ pub(super) fn prepare_display(
     // Welcome value passed here.
     let mut plan = crate::session_plan::SessionPlan::resolve(
         bit_depth,
+        hdr,
         chroma,
         codec,
         // Blend capability — must MATCH virtual_stream's resolve. Windows-only path, where
@@ -4852,7 +4864,8 @@ pub(super) fn prepare_display(
     let mut vd = crate::vdisplay::open(compositor)?;
     vd.set_client_identity(client_identity);
     vd.set_client_hdr(client_hdr);
-    vd.set_hdr(bit_depth >= 10);
+    // The session's HDR verdict, not the depth — a 10-bit SDR session leaves the output SDR.
+    vd.set_hdr(hdr);
     vd.set_hw_cursor(cursor_forward);
     vd.set_quit_flag(quit.clone());
     // Slot-scoped setup serialization + reconnect preempt — see the inline arm in
@@ -5309,10 +5322,11 @@ fn build_pipeline(
     // Pace the encoder + frame clock at the session's rate, floored by what the display achieved
     // — never above either.
     let effective_hz = pacing_hz(mode.refresh_hz, achieved_hz);
-    // HDR vs SDR for the IDD-push conversion: a negotiated 10-bit session (client advertised
-    // VIDEO_CAP_10BIT + host opted in via PUNKTFUNK_10BIT) is our HDR path → BT.2020 PQ Rgb10a2;
-    // otherwise the FP16 IDD frames are converted to 8-bit SDR. (Ignored by non-IDD-push backends,
-    // which auto-detect HDR from the monitor state.)
+    // HDR vs SDR for the IDD-push conversion: a negotiated HDR session (client advertised
+    // VIDEO_CAP_10BIT|VIDEO_CAP_HDR + host opted in via PUNKTFUNK_10BIT) is our HDR path →
+    // BT.2020 PQ; a 10-bit SDR session (`plan.ten_bit_sdr` via `output_format()`) expands
+    // BGRA 8→10 under the SDR VUI; otherwise the frames convert to 8-bit SDR. (Ignored by
+    // non-IDD-push backends, which auto-detect HDR from the monitor state.)
     //
     // KWin rewrites `SPA_META_Cursor` on every buffer, so its id-0 metas are an authoritative
     // "pointer hidden" the cursor blend/forward must honor — without this, the composited arrow
diff --git a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/session_plan.rs b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/session_plan.rs
index 9926bf42a..409bcf78d 100644
--- a/crates/punktfunk-host/src/session_plan.rs
+++ b/crates/punktfunk-host/src/session_plan.rs
@@ -88,9 +88,11 @@ pub struct SessionPlan {
     pub capture: CaptureBackend,
     pub topology: SessionTopology,
     pub encoder: EncoderBackend,
-    /// Handshake-negotiated encode bit depth (8, or 10 = HEVC Main10).
+    /// Handshake-negotiated encode bit depth (8, or 10 = HEVC Main10 / 10-bit AV1). Since the
+    /// 10-bit SDR path, 10 does NOT imply HDR — `hdr` below carries that separately.
     pub bit_depth: u8,
-    /// The want-HDR flag handed to the capturer (`bit_depth >= 10`): on Windows the IDD-push
+    /// The want-HDR flag handed to the capturer (the handshake's HDR verdict — the Welcome's
+    /// colour label, no longer derived from the depth): on Windows the IDD-push
     /// capturer proactively enables advanced colour on the virtual display; on Linux it runs the
     /// 10-bit PQ/BT.2020 PipeWire offer. It is only ever set where the handshake's source-aware
     /// gate said yes (`capture::capturer_supports_hdr_for`) — on Linux that means a gamescope
@@ -145,9 +147,13 @@ pub struct SessionPlan {
 
 impl SessionPlan {
     /// Resolve the whole plan once from [`config`](crate::config) + the negotiated `bit_depth`,
-    /// `chroma`, and `codec`.
+    /// `hdr`, `chroma`, and `codec`. `hdr` is passed IN (the handshake's verdict — the Welcome's
+    /// colour label) rather than derived from the depth: since 10-bit SDR exists, `bit_depth ==
+    /// 10` no longer implies BT.2020 PQ, and deriving it here re-welded the two.
+    #[allow(clippy::too_many_arguments)]
     pub fn resolve(
         bit_depth: u8,
+        hdr: bool,
         chroma: crate::encode::ChromaFormat,
         codec: crate::encode::Codec,
         cursor_blend: bool,
@@ -159,7 +165,7 @@ impl SessionPlan {
             topology: resolve_topology(),
             encoder: resolve_encoder(),
             bit_depth,
-            hdr: bit_depth >= 10,
+            hdr,
             chroma,
             codec,
             wire_chunk: None,
@@ -228,6 +234,10 @@ impl SessionPlan {
         crate::capture::OutputFormat {
             gpu,
             hdr: self.hdr,
+            // 10-bit depth WITHOUT the HDR label = the 10-bit SDR session: the Windows
+            // capturer expands BGRA 8→10 (`Rgb10a2Sdr`) and the display's colour state is
+            // never touched.
+            ten_bit_sdr: self.bit_depth == 10 && !self.hdr,
             hw_cursor: self.cursor_forward,
             // 4:4:4 needs a full-chroma source: on Windows this keeps the capturer on RGB (not the
             // default NV12/P010 video-engine output) so NVENC can CSC to 4:4:4.
diff --git a/docs-site/content/docs/automation.md b/docs-site/content/docs/automation.md
index 0b4897f85..c00f57cce 100644
--- a/docs-site/content/docs/automation.md
+++ b/docs-site/content/docs/automation.md
@@ -157,6 +157,13 @@ session end in **reverse order**, best-effort, even if the session crashed:
 
 A `do` that fails logs, keeps going, and its own `undo` is skipped (it never took effect).
 
+Every prep command (and its `undo`) runs with the session's negotiated mode in its environment:
+`PF_STREAM_WIDTH`, `PF_STREAM_HEIGHT`, `PF_STREAM_REFRESH` and `PF_STREAM_HDR` (`1`/`0`), plus the
+app identity — `PF_APP_ID` for a native client's launch, `PF_APP_TITLE` for a Moonlight one. So a
+per-mode frame cap is one step for every device —
+`{ "do": "rtss-cli property:set Global FramerateLimit $PF_STREAM_REFRESH" }` — instead of one
+hard-coded entry per client.
+
 ## Reacting to a game, not a stream
 
 `stream.stopped` tells you the *stream* ended; `game.exited` tells you the *game* did. Often the
diff --git a/docs-site/content/docs/client-settings.md b/docs-site/content/docs/client-settings.md
index 5857f04e8..173fab82f 100644
--- a/docs-site/content/docs/client-settings.md
+++ b/docs-site/content/docs/client-settings.md
@@ -80,6 +80,14 @@ HEVC or PyroWave, the host's 4:4:4 policy on, a capture path that delivers full
 that can encode it; if any gate fails the host says 4:2:0 before your decoder is built. Apple
 (hardware decode probe required), Linux, Windows and the console home; not Android.
 
+**10-bit SDR** — *default: off.* The picture is encoded at 10-bit precision without turning
+anything HDR: gradients that band under an 8-bit encode — skies, fog, dark scenes — come through
+smooth, and the displays at both ends keep their colour settings untouched. This is about the
+*encoder's* precision, not a 10-bit capture: the desktop stays 8-bit, the win is that compression
+stops adding banding of its own. Needs a Windows host on an NVIDIA GPU and HEVC; anywhere else the
+session stays 8-bit, and the host says so in the handshake. When HDR engages it takes over (HDR is
+already 10-bit). Linux, Windows and the desktop console.
+
 **Prioritize** — *default: Lowest latency.* **Lowest latency** shows every frame the moment the
 display can take it — a network hiccup becomes an occasional repeated or skipped frame.
 **Smoothness** holds a small buffer that evens hiccups out, at that buffer's worth of added delay.
@@ -113,6 +121,17 @@ from *that*. A **Linux** host claims a sink with exactly that many channels (rea
 **Windows** host loopback-captures the current output endpoint and lets Windows convert — 5.1 from
 a stereo endpoint is an upmix. Offered everywhere.
 
+**Keep host audio playing** — *default: off.* Normally a session parks the host's playback on a
+silent endpoint so sound comes out of the client only, and the host PC goes quiet. On, the session
+asks the host to capture whatever its default playback device already is instead — the speakers or
+headphones plugged into the host keep playing, and both ends hear the same audio (Moonlight's
+"Mute host PC speakers" box, unchecked). Per profile, so a laptop-in-the-house profile can keep the
+host's headphones live while the TV profile mutes them. Best-effort: it needs a host on 0.32 or
+newer, and with several clients streaming at once, any one asking wins for all of them. The
+host-wide equivalent is
+[`PUNKTFUNK_AUDIO_OUTPUT_MODE=follow_default`](/docs/configuration). Linux, Windows and the
+desktop console.
+
 **Microphone** — *default: off on Linux, Windows, Android and the console home; on in the Apple
 app.* Sends this device's microphone to the host's virtual mic. Spelled *Stream microphone* on
 Linux and Windows; **Ctrl+Alt+Shift+V** mutes it mid-stream — see
@@ -195,9 +214,10 @@ and puts it back afterwards — see
 (Alt+Tab, Win, …)*), macOS and the console home; on a Deck it matters only for an attached keyboard
 (gamescope holds nothing back). On, Alt+Tab and the Windows/Super key reach the host while input is
 captured; off, they act locally. Either way the chords return when you release capture with
-**Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Q**, the window loses focus, or the stream ends —
-[Desktop mouse mode](/docs/input#mouse-modes) never takes them at all. Leaving it on means
-**Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Q is your way out**, since Alt+Tab no longer is.
+**Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Q**, the window loses focus, or the stream ends. It applies in
+[both mouse modes](/docs/input#mouse-modes) — in Desktop mode the unlocked pointer can always
+click another window to hand them back. Leaving it on means **Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Q is your way out**
+of a captured stream, since Alt+Tab no longer is.
 
 On macOS the chords in question are the **⌘** ones — on, ⌘Q, ⌘W, ⌘H and the rest go to the host
 while input is captured (⌘Q arrives as Super+Q); off, they act on the Mac, which means ⌘Q quits
diff --git a/docs-site/content/docs/configuration.md b/docs-site/content/docs/configuration.md
index e8bd6522c..3b28ebce7 100644
--- a/docs-site/content/docs/configuration.md
+++ b/docs-site/content/docs/configuration.md
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ See your desktop page ([KDE](/docs/kde), [GNOME](/docs/gnome)) for when to set t
 | `PUNKTFUNK_MIC_DEVICE` | name substring | **(Windows)** Target mic-uplink device by friendly-name substring (first match wins). |
 | `PUNKTFUNK_MIC_LEGACY_BUFFER` | `1` | Restore the fixed pre-adaptive mic buffering (a ~48 ms prime and ~120 ms cap on Windows; a buffer scaled to the recording app's audio quantum on Linux) instead of the adaptive per-client jitter target. One-release escape hatch: if the microphone coming out of the host only sounds right *with* this set, that's a bug — please report it. |
 | `PUNKTFUNK_NO_MIC_INSTALL` | set | **(Windows)** Skip installing the virtual-mic driver (e.g. when the host runs as SYSTEM). |
-| `PUNKTFUNK_AUDIO_OUTPUT_MODE` | `client_only` *(default)* · `host_and_client` · `follow_default` | **(Windows)** Where desktop audio is audible while a stream runs. `client_only` parks playback on a silent endpoint so sound comes out of the *client* only — that's why the PC goes quiet when a stream starts; everything is put back when it ends. `host_and_client` prefers a real output device, so the host's speakers keep playing too. `follow_default` never touches your default devices at all — the host just captures whatever your default playback device is (the mic uplink still picks a target device; you may have to select it yourself). A misspelled value warns in the log and uses `client_only`. The pre-0.25 flags `PUNKTFUNK_HOST_AUDIO=1` and `PUNKTFUNK_KEEP_DEFAULT=1` still work as aliases for the last two; `follow_default` wins if both are set. |
+| `PUNKTFUNK_AUDIO_OUTPUT_MODE` | `client_only` *(default)* · `host_and_client` · `follow_default` | **(Windows)** Where desktop audio is audible while a stream runs. `client_only` parks playback on a silent endpoint so sound comes out of the *client* only — that's why the PC goes quiet when a stream starts; everything is put back when it ends. `host_and_client` prefers a real output device, so the host's speakers keep playing too. `follow_default` never touches your default devices at all — the host just captures whatever your default playback device is (the mic uplink still picks a target device; you may have to select it yourself). A misspelled value warns in the log and uses `client_only`. The pre-0.25 flags `PUNKTFUNK_HOST_AUDIO=1` and `PUNKTFUNK_KEEP_DEFAULT=1` still work as aliases for the last two; `follow_default` wins if both are set. A client can also ask for the `follow_default` behaviour per session — its [**Keep host audio playing**](/docs/client-settings#audio) setting — without touching this host-wide mode. |
 | `PUNKTFUNK_NO_AUDIO_MINT` | set | **(Windows)** Don't provision the host's own dedicated virtual audio endpoints at startup (they're minted from Steam's streaming-audio driver where it's installed, and give capture a stable target that renaming or unplugging hardware can't break). With this set — or whenever minting isn't possible — the host picks devices by name instead, exactly as before 0.25. |
 
 ## Clipboard
diff --git a/docs-site/content/docs/input.md b/docs-site/content/docs/input.md
index 762edb1bd..982b65e31 100644
--- a/docs-site/content/docs/input.md
+++ b/docs-site/content/docs/input.md
@@ -149,13 +149,16 @@ There are two, and they are a per-client setting called **Mouse input**:
 
 - **Capture (games)** — the pointer locks to the stream and only relative movement is sent. The only
   cursor you see is the host's. This is what mouse-look in a game needs. The session window also
-  grabs the keyboard here, so Alt+Tab and the Windows key (Super on Linux) reach the host rather than
+  grabs the keyboard, so Alt+Tab and the Windows key (Super on Linux) reach the host rather than
   your own desktop — on macOS that is the ⌘ chords, ⌘Q included, with ⌘⎋ kept back as the way out.
   Turn **Capture system shortcuts** off in [client settings](/docs/client-settings#input) to keep
   them local.
 - **Desktop (absolute)** — the pointer is not locked. It moves in and out of the stream freely and
   its position is sent as an absolute point — what you want for remote desktop work. Your local
-  cursor is hidden over the stream; the one you see there is the host's.
+  cursor is hidden over the stream; the one you see there is the host's. On Linux and Windows,
+  Alt+Tab and the Windows/Super key go to the host here too while **Capture system shortcuts** is
+  on — the host's Start menu is part of the desktop you're driving — and clicking any other local
+  window takes them back. (On a Mac the ⌘ chords stay local in this mode.)
 
 **Capture is the default** on the Linux, Windows and macOS clients. **Android defaults to Desktop**.
 
diff --git a/include/punktfunk_core.h b/include/punktfunk_core.h
index 8a30154cb..f422efb35 100644
--- a/include/punktfunk_core.h
+++ b/include/punktfunk_core.h
@@ -834,12 +834,16 @@
 #endif
 
 #if defined(PUNKTFUNK_FEATURE_QUIC)
-// [`Hello::video_caps`] bit: the client can decode a 10-bit (Main10) HEVC stream.
+// [`Hello::video_caps`] bit: the client can decode a 10-bit (Main10) stream. Alone — without
+// [`VIDEO_CAP_HDR`] — it is the **10-bit SDR** ask (0.32, the client's "10-bit SDR" setting):
+// the host encodes the SDR desktop at Main10 precision under a BT.709 SDR VUI, and neither
+// display's colour state is touched. Every pre-0.32 client sets the two bits together.
 #define PUNKTFUNK_VIDEO_CAP_10BIT 1
 #endif
 
 #if defined(PUNKTFUNK_FEATURE_QUIC)
-// [`Hello::video_caps`] bit: the client can present BT.2020 PQ HDR10 (implies 10-bit).
+// [`Hello::video_caps`] bit: the client can present BT.2020 PQ HDR10 (implies 10-bit — set
+// together with [`VIDEO_CAP_10BIT`]).
 #define PUNKTFUNK_VIDEO_CAP_HDR 2
 #endif
 
@@ -1068,10 +1072,28 @@
 // requesting must not set this bit.
 //
 // `0x10` — `0x08` is [`CLIENT_CAP_PAD_AUDIO`], `0x04` is [`CLIENT_CAP_AUDIO_RED`], `0x02` is
-// [`CLIENT_CAP_PHASE_LOCK`], `0x01` is [`CLIENT_CAP_CURSOR`]. `0x20`/`0x40`/`0x80` remain free.
+// [`CLIENT_CAP_PHASE_LOCK`], `0x01` is [`CLIENT_CAP_CURSOR`].
 #define PUNKTFUNK_CLIENT_CAP_AUDIO_HIRES 16
 #endif
 
+#if defined(PUNKTFUNK_FEATURE_QUIC)
+// [`Hello::client_caps`] bit: this session asks the host to leave the host's OWN audio devices
+// alone — capture whatever the operator's default playback device already is, instead of
+// re-routing the desktop mix onto a silent (or preferred) endpoint. A loopback/monitor tap
+// doesn't silence the device it taps, so the host keeps playing (the headphones plugged into
+// the host PC stay live) and the client hears the same audio — Moonlight's "Mute host PC
+// speakers" box, unchecked, as a per-session client choice.
+//
+// The user's-setting precedent ([`CLIENT_CAP_AUDIO_HIRES`]), and REQUEST-only — no `HOST_CAP`
+// echo: an older host ignores the bit and re-routes as it always did, which degrades to
+// "audio still works, host went quiet", not a broken session. Per-session best-effort on the
+// host: with several concurrent sessions the wiring is host-global, so any live session that
+// asked wins for all of them until it ends. Composes with the host-wide
+// `PUNKTFUNK_AUDIO_OUTPUT_MODE=follow_default`, which is this behaviour for every session.
+// `0x20` — `0x10` is [`CLIENT_CAP_AUDIO_HIRES`]; `0x40`/`0x80` remain free.
+#define CLIENT_CAP_KEEP_HOST_AUDIO 32
+#endif
+
 #if defined(PUNKTFUNK_FEATURE_QUIC)
 // [`Welcome::host_caps`] bit: the host resolved the session onto the lossless audio plane
 // ([`AUDIO_PCM_MAGIC`](super::datagram::AUDIO_PCM_MAGIC), `0xD3`). Like [`HOST_CAP_AUDIO_RED`]
-- 
2.54.0