punktfunk/packaging/windows

Windows host packaging — signed Inno Setup installer

A one-file, signed setup.exe for the punktfunk streaming host on Windows, published to Gitea's generic package registry (punktfunk-host-windows) by .gitea/workflows/windows-host.yml.

x64 only (no ARM64)

Unlike the client (which ships x64 + ARM64 MSIX), the host is x64-only by design. It is coupled to an NVIDIA GPU (NVENC, via nvEncodeAPI64.dll from the driver) and the pf-vdisplay virtual-display driver — neither exists on Windows ARM64 (no ARM64 NVIDIA driver; the driver builds x64-only). An ARM64 host would install but couldn't encode or create a virtual display, so we don't build one. Revisit if NVIDIA-ARM Windows PCs ever ship.

Why not MSIX (like the client)

The host installs a LocalSystem SCM service that CreateProcessAsUserW's from Session 0 into the interactive session for secure-desktop (UAC / lock screen) capture, adds firewall rules, and depends on the pf-vdisplay UMDF/IDD virtual-display driver. MSIX's sandbox can install neither a SYSTEM service of this kind nor a driver. So the host ships as a classic elevated installer.

The installer is deliberately thin: the real install logic — SCM registration, firewall rules, the default host.env, and the SYSTEM→interactive-session supervisor — already lives in punktfunk-host service install (crates/punktfunk-host/src/service.rs). The installer just lays the exe into C:\Program Files\punktfunk\ and calls that subcommand, elevated.

What the installer does

• Installs punktfunk-host.exe (+ host.env.example, this README) to {app} (C:\Program Files\punktfunk).
• Optional task Install the pf-vdisplay virtual display driver — imports the driver's self-signed cert (machine Root + TrustedPublisher), creates the root\pf_vdisplay device node (only if absent, via nefconc — never devgen — install-pf-vdisplay.ps1), and stages the driver with pnputil /add-driver /install. Best-effort: a driver failure warns but never aborts the install (the host degrades to a physical display without it).
• Runs punktfunk-host service install (idempotent; writes a default host.env only if absent, so user config survives upgrades) and, by the Start service now task, service start.
• Web management console (bundled when packed with -WebDir/-BunExe, which the CI always is): lays down the built self-contained .output server (Nitro noExternals — deps bundled + tree-shaken, ~75 files, no node_modules) + a portable bun, prompts for a console login password (pre-filled with a secure random default, shown again on the final page; kept on upgrade), then web-setup.ps1 writes the ACL'd %ProgramData%\punktfunk\web-password, registers the PunktfunkWeb scheduled task (boot, SYSTEM, restart-on-failure → web-run.cmd → bun on :3000), opens TCP 3000, and starts it. It proxies the host's loopback mgmt API with the host's own %ProgramData%\punktfunk\mgmt-token.
• Upgrade: stops a running PunktfunkHost service and waits for STOPPED before replacing files (otherwise the locked exe / respawning supervisor would block the copy), then re-points the service; the existing console password is kept (the wizard page is skipped).
• Uninstall (Add/Remove Programs): runs service uninstall (stop + delete service + remove firewall rules) and removes the PunktfunkWeb task + its firewall rule. The pf-vdisplay driver and the %ProgramData%\punktfunk config (incl. web-password) are intentionally left in place.

Silent install: punktfunk-host-setup-<ver>.exe /VERYSILENT (omit the driver with /MERGETASKS="!installdriver"). A silent fresh install uses the generated random console password — read it from %ProgramData%\punktfunk\web-password.

Prerequisites on the target box

• A GPU for hardware encode: an NVIDIA GPU + driver (NVENC), or an AMD/Intel GPU (AMF/QSV) — the exe is built --features nvenc,amf-qsv. Software H.264 is the GPU-less fallback.
• Virtual gamepads need no prerequisite. The DualSense / DualShock 4 / Xbox 360 (XUSB) UMDF drivers are bundled in the installer (the Install the virtual gamepad drivers task) and pnputil-installed. ViGEmBus is no longer used.

Files here

File	Role
punktfunk-host.iss	Inno Setup script (the installer definition).
pack-host-installer.ps1	Orchestrator: cert + sign, stage the driver + FFmpeg + web console (.output + bun) bundles, run ISCC, sign setup.exe, emit registry paths.
stage-pf-vdisplay.ps1	Stage the vendored pf-vdisplay driver + fetch/verify the pinned nefcon release into the bundle.
install-pf-vdisplay.ps1	Runs at install time (elevated): trust cert → gated device-node create (nefconc) → pnputil install.
../../scripts/windows/web-run.cmd	The PunktfunkWeb task action: loads the mgmt token + login password env, runs the bundled bun on the Nitro server (:3000).
../../scripts/windows/web-setup.ps1	Install-time (elevated): write the ACL'd console password, register the PunktfunkWeb task + firewall rule, start it.
pf-vdisplay/	Vendored signed pf-vdisplay driver: pf_vdisplay.inf / pf_vdisplay.cat / pf_vdisplay.dll / punktfunk-driver.cer. Built from vdisplay-driver/.
vdisplay-driver/	The all-Rust IddCx driver source (pf-vdisplay crate + vendored wdf-umdf* bindings) + deploy-dev.ps1 (build/sign/install for dev).
nvenc/nvenc.def, nvenc/gen-nvenc-importlib.ps1	Synthesise nvencodeapi.lib for the --features nvenc link (llvm-dlltool / lib.exe).

Vendored driver: pf-vdisplay is our all-Rust IddCx virtual display (UMDF2), built from packaging/windows/vdisplay-driver/. It replaced the vendored SudoVDA C++ driver — full story in docs/windows-virtual-display-rust-port.md. The signed output (pf_vdisplay.dll/.inf/.cat + punktfunk-driver.cer; signer punktfunk-ds-test — the same cert the gamepad drivers ship, Class=Display, HWID root\pf_vdisplay) is checked in under pf-vdisplay/. To refresh it after a driver-source change, rebuild + re-sign with vdisplay-driver/deploy-dev.ps1 and copy the staged pf_vdisplay.{dll,inf,cat} over the vendored copies. nefcon (the device-node tool — the install creates the node with it, never devgen, which leaves persistent phantom devices) is fetched + SHA-256-verified from its pinned release in stage-pf-vdisplay.ps1.

Build locally (Windows, MSVC + Windows SDK + Inno Setup)

# 1. import lib for the nvenc link
pwsh -File packaging\windows\nvenc\gen-nvenc-importlib.ps1 -OutDir C:\t\nvenc
$env:PUNKTFUNK_NVENC_LIB_DIR = 'C:\t\nvenc'

# 2. build the host
cargo build --release -p punktfunk-host --features nvenc

# 3. pack (self-signed unless MSIX_CERT_PFX_B64/MSIX_CERT_PASSWORD are set; -NoDriver to skip pf-vdisplay)
pwsh -File packaging\windows\pack-host-installer.ps1 -Version 0.0.0-dev -TargetDir C:\t\release -OutDir C:\t\out

Release

Push a vX.Y.Z tag — one tag releases every platform (see Release Channels). The workflow builds, signs, and publishes punktfunk-host-setup-X.Y.Z.exe + the public .cer, refreshes the stable latest/ alias, and attaches the installer to the unified Gitea Release. Main pushes publish rolling 0.3.<run> canary builds to the canary/ alias.