# Windows virtual display — a Rust port of SudoVDA (investigation & plan)

Status: **P1 done — `pf-vdisplay` validated streaming on glass at 5120×1440@240** (2026-06-22). The
all-Rust IddCx driver replaces the vendored **SudoVDA** C++ driver, matching the "all-Rust UMDF, zero
external driver deps" direction we finished for gamepads (ViGEmBus gone; DualSense/DS4/XUSB shipped).
The investigation/plan below is kept for context; see **Validated on-box** for the result.

## TL;DR

A Rust port is **feasible, low-on-blockers, and strategically aligned** — and there's an unexpected
architectural prize beyond "same thing, in Rust."

- **Signing is not a blocker.** An IddCx driver is UMDF *user-mode*; it needs **no WHQL, no
  attestation, no test-signing**. A self-signed cert in LocalMachine `Root` + `TrustedPublisher`
  loads it — **exactly the model our gamepad drivers already ship** (and exactly what SudoVDA and the
  other forks do). ([Do UMDF drivers require signing?](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/archive/blogs/peterwie/do-umdf-drivers-require-signing))
- **We would not be first in Rust.** [`MolotovCherry/virtual-display-rs`](https://github.com/MolotovCherry/virtual-display-rs)
  is a complete, shipping **IddCx driver written in Rust** (MIT), with hand-rolled IddCx/WDF bindgen
  bindings (`wdf-umdf-sys` + `wdf-umdf`) and a reference swap-chain processor. This turns "greenfield
  FFI" into "adapt a proven reference."
- **The prize: we can stop using DXGI Desktop Duplication.** An IddCx driver already *receives* the
  composited desktop frames in its swap-chain. [Looking Glass](https://deepwiki.com/gnif/LookingGlass/2.5-indirect-display-driver-(idd))
  ships exactly this in production — driver consumes the swap-chain, hands frames to a separate
  process, "operates entirely independently of DDA." Doing the same would **delete an entire class of
  multi-GPU bugs** the current `capture/dxgi.rs` is built to survive (ACCESS_LOST storms,
  MODE_CHANGE_IN_PROGRESS, the `win32u.dll` reparenting patch).

Recommendation: **yes, build it in Rust**, in phases — a drop-in DDA-compatible driver first (own the
stack at low risk), then the direct-frame-push path (the real cleanup). Keep vendoring SudoVDA as the
safe interim until the Rust driver is on-glass-validated on the RTX box.

## Validated on-box (2026-06-22)

Before committing, the toolchain + load path were proven on the RTX box (Win11 26200, WDK 26100):

- **A Rust IddCx driver builds with our toolchain.** Cloned [`virtual-display-rs`](https://github.com/MolotovCherry/virtual-display-rs)
  and built its driver `.dll` against our WDK (UMDF 2.31 + IddCx 1.4 stubs, bindgen over `IddCx.h` via
  our LLVM, nightly-2024-07-26). One fix needed: its `build.rs` picked the **max** SDK Lib version
  (`10.0.28000.0`, a base SDK with no IddCx) for the `IddCxStub` search path; resolving it by the
  version that actually contains `um\x64\iddcx\1.4` (`10.0.26100.0`, the WDK) fixed the link.
- **It installs self-signed and loads.** Signed `.dll`/`.cat` with our existing driver cert (the
  gamepad `punktfunk-ds-test`), `pnputil /add-driver`, root devnode via `devgen`. The device came up
  **Status OK / CM_PROB_NONE**, Class Display, hosted by `WUDFRd` — a Rust IddCx adapter initialized
  cleanly. (SudoVDA, already live here, independently confirms IddCx + self-signed UMDF work on this
  box.) Test artifacts removed afterward; SudoVDA untouched.

**Conclusion:** the central risk ("can we build + load a Rust IddCx driver here?") is retired. The
binding question (D2) resolves toward **reusing `virtual-display-rs`'s self-contained `wdf-umdf-sys` +
`wdf-umdf` bindgen crates** (now proven to build + load on our box) rather than extending
`windows-drivers-rs` — IddCx functions are direct `IddCxStub` exports the WDF function-table macro
can't reach anyway, so a unified bindgen is the cleaner base for `pf-vdisplay`. Reference clone kept at
`C:\Users\Public\virtual-display-rs`.

**Scaffold + driver logic landed + on-glass:** `packaging/windows/vdisplay-driver/` — vendored
`wdf-umdf-sys`/`wdf-umdf` (MIT, + the SDK-version build.rs fix) + the `pf-vdisplay` driver crate. The
full IddCx driver is ported (entry → `IDD_CX_CLIENT_CONFIG` with all 7 callbacks → device/monitor
context → our own EDID → a real swap-chain drain), with the IPC/serde/`tokio` stack replaced by an
in-tree `monitor` model and `OutputDebugString` logging. **Validated on the RTX box:** built, signed
(our `punktfunk-ds-test` cert), installed, loaded **Status OK**, and **arrived a real virtual monitor**
("VirtuDisplay+", `DISPLAY\CHY0000`) — i.e. an OURS, all-Rust IddCx virtual display creating a monitor.

**IOCTL control plane done + on-glass (P1 functionally complete):** the SudoVDA-compatible control
plane is implemented (`EVT_IDD_CX_DEVICE_IO_CONTROL` + the `{e5bcc234-…}` interface registered via
`WdfDeviceCreateDeviceInterface`; `control.rs` with byte-identical structs) — `ADD` a monitor at a
requested mode → `{LUID, target_id}` (target id + adapter LUID captured from `IDARG_OUT_MONITORARRIVAL`),
`REMOVE` by GUID, `PING`/`GET_WATCHDOG` watchdog, `GET_VERSION`, `SET_RENDER_ADAPTER`
(`IddCxAdapterSetRenderAdapter`); per-`ADD` mode injection (requested mode preferred + fallbacks). Added
the five missing FFI wrappers to the vendored `wdf-umdf`. **Validated on the RTX box** with a probe
that mimics `vdisplay/sudovda.rs` exactly: `GET_VERSION → 0.2.1`, `GET_WATCHDOG → timeout=3`,
`ADD 1920×1080@60 → target_id=257 + adapter LUID`, a real "VirtuDisplay+" monitor arrived at the
requested mode, `REMOVE` ok. **Constraint:** pf-vdisplay can't coexist with SudoVDA — they register the
same interface GUID, so two IddCx adapters claiming it → `FAILED_POST_START`; pf-vdisplay *replaces*
SudoVDA (validated by disabling SudoVDA first).

**Watchdog + real-host drive validated:** added the watchdog thread (1 Hz countdown reset by any IOCTL;
tears down all monitors at 0 so a gone host never leaves a phantom display; mirrors SudoVDA's
`RunWatchdog`). Pointed the **real host** at it — removed SudoVDA's devnode so pf-vdisplay is the sole
`{e5bcc234}` provider, then ran the host's `vdisplay::sudovda::tests::live_create_drop`
(`PUNKTFUNK_SUDOVDA_LIVE=1`): **test passed**, and the pf-vdisplay log shows the host's IOCTLs landing —
`ADD 1920x1080@60 → target_id=258, luid=…02619823`, then the watchdog correctly tore the monitor down
when the test process exited without a final REMOVE. So `vdisplay/sudovda.rs` drives pf-vdisplay
unchanged through the full control contract.

**Validated streaming end-to-end on glass (2026-06-22) — P1 complete.** pf-vdisplay is a working
SudoVDA replacement. Driven by the **real host** (`serve`, the LocalSystem service) with a stock client
at **5120×1440@240**: the monitor arrives, `resolve_gdi_name → \\.\DISPLAY10`, `set_active_mode` +
CCD-isolate succeed, the DXGI output resolves **under the RTX 4090**, WGC capture + NVENC run at
**steady 240 fps, ~2.4 ms encode**, 6512 AUs sent, clean teardown (`isolate restored rc=0x0`). Same
`vdisplay/sudovda.rs` path, unchanged — full parity with SudoVDA.

**The earlier "monitor arrives but never gets a swap-chain / no DXGI output" symptoms were a
measurement + state artifact, not a driver bug.** Two traps cost a lot of time:
1. **Session 0.** Every standalone probe (`vdtest`, the host's `live_create_drop` test) ran in
   **Session 0** — the services session, whose desktop is a throwaway **1024×768** basic display. IddCx
   activation happens in the **console Session 1**, where the 4090 drives the real desktop. So
   `Screen.AllScreens`/CCD queries from Session 0 *can never* see the virtual monitor activate — they
   report the wrong desktop. The only valid way to drive + observe it is the **host service** (SYSTEM,
   which targets Session 1) plus the driver's own `OutputDebugString` (system-wide, session-agnostic).
2. **Accumulated device-state damage.** Repeated reinstalls + `Disable`/`Enable-PnpDevice` cycles +
   a control handle the host **cached across all of it** left the device tree wedged (stale handle →
   the host's PINGs fail → the 3 s watchdog tears the monitor down mid-session → capture opens a dying
   display → "no DXGI output"). **A reboot cleared it and it worked on the first connect.** Lesson:
   after device churn, restart the host service (fresh handle) — and when in doubt, reboot.

The swap-chain processor is a **faithful port of virtual-display-rs's** (it drains correctly via
`ReleaseAndAcquireBuffer` + `FinishedProcessingFrame` — the drain is *required*; a true no-op would
stall DWM and freeze the captured image). The EDID is our **own clean 128-byte block** (manufacturer
`PNK`, product `punktfunk`) — no SudoVDA bytes.

**Build gotcha (important for iterating):** updating an installed UMDF driver only takes if the INF
**DriverVer changes** — `deploy-dev.ps1` stamps a date.time `-v` on every run; without a bump the old
binary keeps running (silently). **Devnode hygiene:** create the root devnode with
`nefconc --create-device-node` (a clean `ROOT\DISPLAY` node), NOT `devgen /add` — devgen makes
**persistent `SWD\DEVGEN` software devices** that survive reboot *and* registry deletion and resurrect
on every `pnputil /add-driver` (they have `hwid root\pf_vdisplay`, so the driver install re-materializes
them). The production installer must use a single `nefconc`/INF-created node and never `devgen`.

## Why we'd do this

The user's goals, mapped to outcomes:

| Goal | Outcome |
| --- | --- |
| Drop external deps | No more vendored prebuilt SudoVDA `.dll`/`.cat` (third-party, C++, single upstream). |
| Increase Rust coverage | The display driver joins the gamepad drivers as in-tree Rust UMDF. |
| Own the stack / easier display management | We control the IOCTL protocol, the EDID, the mode list, the watchdog — and can fold the topology/mode logic that's currently scattered in `vdisplay/sudovda.rs` into the driver. |
| Cleaner code | Phase 2 retires `capture/dxgi.rs`'s DDA workarounds + the `win32u.dll` patch. |

## What we'd be replacing (current architecture)

- **Driver:** SudoVDA — UMDF2 IddCx, `Class=Display`, `UmdfExtensions=IddCx0102`,
  `UpperFilters=IndirectKmd`, root-enumerated `Root\SudoMaker\SudoVDA`. Vendored prebuilt under
  `packaging/windows/sudovda/`, installed by `install-sudovda.ps1` (cert → `nefconc` devnode →
  `pnputil`). Source is public ([SudoMaker/SudoVDA](https://github.com/SudoMaker/SudoVDA), README-only
  MIT/CC0 grant over the MS sample, ~1,900 LOC C++).
- **Host contract:** `crates/punktfunk-host/src/vdisplay/sudovda.rs` opens the control device by
  interface GUID `{e5bcc234-…}` and drives a tiny `METHOD_BUFFERED` IOCTL protocol — byte-identical to
  SudoVDA's `Common/Include/sudovda-ioctl.h`:
  - `ADD (0x800)` `{w,h,refresh,GUID,name[14],serial[14]}` → `{LUID, target_id}`
  - `REMOVE (0x801)` `{GUID}` · `SET_RENDER_ADAPTER (0x802)` `{LUID}` · `GET_WATCHDOG (0x803)` ·
    `PING (0x888)` (mandatory keepalive) · `GET_VERSION (0x8FF)`
- **Capture:** `capture/dxgi.rs` finds the virtual monitor's GDI output **across all adapters** (it's
  enumerated under the *rendering* GPU, not SudoVDA's LUID) and runs **DXGI Desktop Duplication**
  (`DuplicateOutput1`, FP16 for HDR). This file is **dominated by virtual-display-over-DDA survival
  code**: `DXGI_ERROR_ACCESS_LOST` re-duplication with retries, `MODE_CHANGE_IN_PROGRESS` backoff,
  legacy-`DuplicateOutput` fallback, CCD display isolation to make the IDD the sole composited
  desktop, and an **`install_gpu_pref_hook()` that patches `win32u.dll!NtGdiDdDDIGetCachedHybridQueryValue`**
  to stop DXGI reparenting the output across GPUs. Most of that exists *because* we capture a virtual
  display via DDA on a multi-GPU box.

## Feasibility findings

### Signing — green (the make-or-break)
UMDF user-mode ⇒ Code-Integrity signing rules don't apply to our binary (the only kernel piece is
Microsoft's inbox `IndirectKmd`). Self-signed cert in `Root` + `TrustedPublisher` is sufficient on a
normal Secure-Boot Win11 box — no `bcdedit /set testsigning`. SudoVDA and `virtual-display-rs` both
ship this way. This is the **same** model as our DualSense/DS4/XUSB drivers. (The only thing that
breaks install is a botched cert placement, not a signing *tier*.)

### Rust prior art — exists, MIT, reusable
`virtual-display-rs` proves an all-Rust IddCx driver runs in production and gives us:
`wdf-umdf-sys` (bindgen over WDF **and** `iddcx.h`, links `IddCxStub`), `wdf-umdf` (safe wrappers —
`iddcx.rs` ~300 LOC, with an `IddCxIsFunctionAvailable!` version-gate macro), and a reference driver
(`swap_chain_processor.rs` ~158 LOC, `direct_3d_device.rs`, `edid.rs`). **Caveat:** it uses its *own*
bindgen stack, **not** `microsoft/windows-drivers-rs` — see Decision D2.

### windows-drivers-rs IddCx support — absent, but a bounded extension
Our `wdk-sys` (m0) binds Base + WDF + feature-gated subsets (hid/gpio/spb/…). **Zero IddCx symbols.**
Adding it is the same shape as the existing subsets: an `ApiSubset::Iddcx` variant + `iddcx` feature →
`iddcx_headers()` returning `iddcx.h` for bindgen, and linking `IddCx.lib`. IddCx functions are **not**
WDF-table functions, so the `call_unsafe_wdf_function_binding!` macro doesn't apply — they're direct
`IddCx.lib` exports we'd `#[link(name="IddCx")] extern` (or bindgen) and wrap ourselves.
`windows` 0.58 (already in the tree) provides the Direct3D11/Dxgi APIs the swap-chain loop needs.

### The IddCx driver itself — well-understood, ~1–2k LOC
Required callbacks (baselined on the MS [IddSampleDriver](https://github.com/microsoft/Windows-driver-samples/blob/main/video/IndirectDisplay/IddSampleDriver/Driver.cpp), ~1,100 LOC, IddCx 1.4):
`EVT_IDD_CX_ADAPTER_INIT_FINISHED`, `ADAPTER_COMMIT_MODES`, `PARSE_MONITOR_DESCRIPTION`,
`MONITOR_GET_DEFAULT_DESCRIPTION_MODES`, `MONITOR_QUERY_TARGET_MODES`, `MONITOR_ASSIGN_SWAPCHAIN`
(the only callback with real D3D work), `MONITOR_UNASSIGN_SWAPCHAIN`, and `DEVICE_IO_CONTROL` (where
our ADD/REMOVE/PING IOCTLs live). Init flow: `WdfDeviceCreate → IddCxDeviceInitConfig →
IddCxDeviceInitialize → IddCxAdapterInitAsync → IddCxMonitorCreate → IddCxMonitorArrival`.

**Arbitrary resolutions don't need EDID timings:** ship one generic ~128/256-byte EDID base block to
make Windows treat the target as a real monitor, then advertise modes programmatically from the
mode-list callbacks — a static table **plus the runtime-requested client mode injected as preferred**
(exactly SudoVDA's `s_DefaultModes[]` + per-ADD preferred-mode approach). 5120×1440@240 just gets
added at ADD time.

**HDR/10-bit:** supported, but it's the one place IddCx is *harder* than today. The default swap-chain
surface is **8-bit `A8R8G8B8`**; FP16/HDR requires the IddCx **1.11 D3D12 acquire path**
(`SetDevice2`/`ReleaseAndAcquireBuffer2` → `ID3D12Resource`, with a stricter sync model). Our box is
Win11 26200 (IddCx ≥ 1.10), so this is reachable, but it's real work — and our current WGC/DDA path
gives FP16 HDR "for free." Build against 1.10 and runtime-gate the newer DDIs (SudoVDA's pattern).

## The architectural prize: skip DDA (Phase 2)

An IddCx driver gets each presented frame from `IddCxSwapChainReleaseAndAcquireBuffer` as an
`IDXGIResource` on a device **we** bind via `IddCxSwapChainSetDevice`. We can copy it into a shared
texture / shared section and hand it to the host's encoder process directly — **no Desktop
Duplication**. Why this is the real win, not just a detour:

- **It's the *intended* IddCx use case.** IddCx exists for remote/wireless/USB displays that ship
  swap-chain frames over a wire; consuming frames in the driver is the designed path, and **Looking
  Glass already does exactly this** (driver → shared memory → separate consumer, no DDA).
- **It kills the multi-GPU bug class.** We call `IddCxAdapterSetRenderAdapter` to pin the swap-chain to
  the **same GPU as our NVENC encoder before adding the monitor**, and the OS honors it. No more DXGI
  reparenting the output onto the wrong GPU, no ACCESS_LOST storms, and we can **retire
  `install_gpu_pref_hook()` (the `win32u.dll` patch)** and most of `capture/dxgi.rs`. Swap-chain
  re-creation becomes a documented, in-band event (`ABANDON_SWAPCHAIN`) instead of an undocumented
  failure we fight with retries.

What it does **not** remove (be honest): display **topology** management — making the virtual display
the sole/primary composited desktop so the game (and Winlogon) render to it — is independent of how we
*get* frames and stays (though we can integrate it more cleanly). And the watchdog stays, now ours.

The cost: a **Session-0 → service cross-process frame transport** (the driver host is `WUDFHost` in
Session 0 / LocalService; our host is a LocalSystem service). A `Global\`-named, explicitly-ACL'd
shared section + keyed-mutex texture (Looking Glass's shape) is where the engineering actually goes —
prototype this first, it's the only genuinely new risk. Plus the HDR D3D12 path above.

## Decisions to make at kickoff

- **D1 — Own the driver?** Recommend **yes, in Rust.** (Alternatives: fork SudoVDA's C++ — fastest to a
  known-good HDR driver but reintroduces a C++ toolchain and README-only license provenance; or keep
  vendoring — zero cost, but none of the goals.)
- **D2 — Binding stack?** The main implementation fork.
  - **(a)** Extend our `windows-drivers-rs` (m0) with an `iddcx` subset — **one toolchain across all
    our drivers**, our build env, but we write the IddCx bindings ourselves (+~3–5 wk), using
    `virtual-display-rs`'s `iddcx.rs` as the 1:1 guide. *Preferred for consistency.*
  - **(b)** Vendor `virtual-display-rs`'s `wdf-umdf*` crates (MIT) — fastest to first light, but a
    *second* WDK-binding stack in-tree.
  - Suggested sequence: **prototype on (b) to prove IddCx-on-our-box in days**, then build production on
    **(a)** for consistency.
- **D3 — Frame transport?** Phase it: **DDA-compatible first** (zero capture-side change), **direct
  push second** (the cleanup). Don't couple the driver rewrite to the transport rewrite.

## Recommended plan

- **P0 — now:** keep vendoring SudoVDA. No change. (The gamepad-driver installer work just shipped;
  this is independent.)
- **P1 — drop-in Rust IddCx driver (`pf-vdisplay`).** Replicate SudoVDA's IOCTL contract **exactly**
  (same struct layouts; reuse or re-issue the control interface GUID) so `vdisplay/sudovda.rs` needs
  **~zero change** (at most a GUID constant). Class=Display + IddCx INF, our own EDID + programmatic
  mode list incl. the per-ADD client mode, the watchdog, a real swap-chain drain (the vdd port — the
  drain is required so DWM keeps compositing; DDA/WGC still captures the desktop). Bundle + self-sign +
  `pnputil`-install via the installer, identical to the gamepad-driver path we just built. **Outcome:** all-Rust, SudoVDA dependency dropped, DDA capture
  unchanged. Effort ≈ **2–4 wk to first light**, **5–7 wk to parity** (HDR, multi-monitor, CI).
- **P2 — direct frame push (kill DDA).** Add a swap-chain processor that copies each frame into a
  shared section/texture; new `capture` backend reads it directly; pin the render adapter to the
  encoder GPU. Gate behind a flag, validate against DDA, then retire the DDA path + the `win32u.dll`
  patch. HDR via the IddCx 1.11 D3D12 acquire path. **Outcome:** the real "owning the stack pays off"
  cleanup. Effort: additional; the Session-0 transport is the long pole.

## Risks

1. **D3-in-a-driver swap-chain loop** — the one genuinely new piece; bugs here = black screens/TDR.
   Mitigated by `virtual-display-rs`'s `swap_chain_processor.rs` + the MS sample as references.
2. **Session-0 cross-process transport** (P2) — the actual hard part; prototype it first.
3. **HDR = the harder D3D12 1.11 path** — our current WGC/DDA HDR is free; the IddCx HDR path is not.
4. **Two binding stacks** if we go D2(b) — a maintenance cost cutting against "clean/consistent."
5. **No WHQL ⇒ no Windows Update / Dev-Center distribution** — same constraint our gamepad drivers
   already accept (bundle + self-sign + import cert).

## References

- IddCx model + signing: [IDD model overview](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/display/indirect-display-driver-model-overview) ·
  [IddCx versions](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/display/iddcx-versions) ·
  [1.10+ updates](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/display/iddcx1.10-updates) ·
  [UMDF signing](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/archive/blogs/peterwie/do-umdf-drivers-require-signing)
- Swap-chain / frames: [IDDCX_METADATA](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/ddi/iddcx/ns-iddcx-iddcx_metadata) ·
  [SetDevice](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/ddi/iddcx/nf-iddcx-iddcxswapchainsetdevice) ·
  [SetRenderAdapter](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/ddi/iddcx/nf-iddcx-iddcxadaptersetrenderadapter) ·
  [ASSIGN_SWAPCHAIN](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/ddi/iddcx/nc-iddcx-evt_idd_cx_monitor_assign_swapchain)
- Prior art: [microsoft IddSampleDriver](https://github.com/microsoft/Windows-driver-samples/tree/main/video/IndirectDisplay) ·
  [SudoMaker/SudoVDA](https://github.com/SudoMaker/SudoVDA) ([ioctl.h](https://github.com/SudoMaker/SudoVDA/blob/master/Common/Include/sudovda-ioctl.h)) ·
  **[MolotovCherry/virtual-display-rs (Rust, MIT)](https://github.com/MolotovCherry/virtual-display-rs)** ·
  [Looking Glass IDD (swap-chain → shm, no DDA)](https://deepwiki.com/gnif/LookingGlass/2.5-indirect-display-driver-(idd)) ·
  [itsmikethetech/Virtual-Display-Driver](https://github.com/itsmikethetech/Virtual-Display-Driver)