fix: improve broker licensing and package install

.github/workflows/ci.yml

@@ -462,13 +462,6 @@ jobs:
       - name: Install
         run: cmake --install cmake-build-ci --config ${{ env.CMAKE_BUILD_CONFIG }} --prefix cmake-build-ci/install
 
-      - name: Upload install artifact
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@043fb46d1a93c77aae656e7c1c64a875d1fc6a0a  # v7.0.1
-        with:
-          name: install-${{ matrix.name }}
-          path: cmake-build-ci/install
-          if-no-files-found: error
-
       - name: Upload report artifact
         if: >-
           always() &&
@@ -483,6 +476,67 @@ jobs:
           path: cmake-build-ci/reports
           if-no-files-found: error
 
+  package_consumer:
+    name: Installed Package Consumer (Linux)
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout
+        uses: actions/checkout@3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1  # v7.0.1
+        with:
+          submodules: recursive
+
+      - name: Install package dependencies
+        run: |
+          sudo apt-get update
+          sudo apt-get install -y \
+            build-essential \
+            cmake \
+            libevdev-dev \
+            libx11-dev \
+            libxtst-dev \
+            ninja-build \
+            pkg-config
+
+      # This intentionally uses a separate BUILD_TESTS=OFF configuration. Test
+      # builds add lizardbyte-common for test support and therefore cannot prove
+      # that a normal installed package is independently consumable. Debug keeps
+      # this packaging regression isolated from the open optimized-GCC P2; switch
+      # this job to Release when that warning is resolved.
+      - name: Configure tests-disabled package
+        run: |
+          cmake \
+            -DBUILD_DOCS=OFF \
+            -DBUILD_EXAMPLES=OFF \
+            -DBUILD_TESTS=OFF \
+            -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE:STRING=Debug \
+            -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX="${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}/cmake-build-package/install" \
+            -DLIBVIRTUALHID_BUILD_TOOLS=OFF \
+            -DLIBVIRTUALHID_ENABLE_PACKAGING=OFF \
+            -B cmake-build-package \
+            -G Ninja \
+            -S .
+
+      - name: Build and install package
+        run: |
+          cmake --build cmake-build-package --parallel 2
+          cmake --install cmake-build-package
+          test ! -d cmake-build-package/install/lib/cmake/lizardbyte-common
+
+      # A separate CMake project and real symbol reference force find_package,
+      # imported-target generation, compilation, and the final static-library link.
+      - name: Configure, compile, and link downstream consumer
+        run: |
+          cmake \
+            -DCMAKE_FIND_USE_PACKAGE_REGISTRY=OFF \
+            -DCMAKE_FIND_USE_SYSTEM_PACKAGE_REGISTRY=OFF \
+            -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH="${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}/cmake-build-package/install" \
+            -B cmake-build-package-consumer \
+            -G Ninja \
+            -S tests/package-consumer
+          cmake --build cmake-build-package-consumer --parallel 2
+
   windows_driver:
     name: Windows Driver Installer
     needs: setup_release
@@ -759,65 +813,27 @@ jobs:
       always() &&
       needs.setup_release.outputs.publish_release == 'true' &&
       needs.build.result == 'success' &&
+      needs.package_consumer.result == 'success' &&
       needs.windows_driver.result == 'success' &&
       startsWith(github.repository, 'LizardByte/')
     needs:
       - build
+      - package_consumer
       - windows_driver
       - setup_release
     permissions:
       contents: read
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
-      - name: Download install artifact (Linux-GCC)
-        uses: actions/download-artifact@3e5f45b2cfb9172054b4087a40e8e0b5a5461e7c  # v8.0.1
-        with:
-          name: install-Linux-GCC
-          path: install-Linux-GCC
-
-      - name: Download install artifact (Linux-Clang)
-        uses: actions/download-artifact@3e5f45b2cfb9172054b4087a40e8e0b5a5461e7c  # v8.0.1
-        with:
-          name: install-Linux-Clang
-          path: install-Linux-Clang
-
-      - name: Download install artifact (macOS)
-        uses: actions/download-artifact@3e5f45b2cfb9172054b4087a40e8e0b5a5461e7c  # v8.0.1
-        with:
-          name: install-macOS
-          path: install-macOS
-
-      - name: Download install artifact (Windows-MinGW-UCRT64)
-        uses: actions/download-artifact@3e5f45b2cfb9172054b4087a40e8e0b5a5461e7c  # v8.0.1
-        with:
-          name: install-Windows-MinGW-UCRT64
-          path: install-Windows-MinGW-UCRT64
-
-      - name: Download install artifact (Windows-MSVC)
-        uses: actions/download-artifact@3e5f45b2cfb9172054b4087a40e8e0b5a5461e7c  # v8.0.1
-        with:
-          name: install-Windows-MSVC
-          path: install-Windows-MSVC
-
       - name: Download Windows driver installer artifact
         uses: actions/download-artifact@3e5f45b2cfb9172054b4087a40e8e0b5a5461e7c  # v8.0.1
         with:
           name: windows-driver-installer
           path: windows-driver-installer
 
-      - name: Package install artifacts
+      - name: Prepare release artifact
         run: |
           mkdir -p artifacts
-          for name in Linux-GCC Linux-Clang macOS Windows-MinGW-UCRT64 Windows-MSVC; do
-            release_name="${name}"
-            case "${name}" in
-              Windows-MinGW-UCRT64) release_name="Windows-AMD64-MinGW-UCRT64" ;;
-              Windows-MSVC) release_name="Windows-AMD64-MSVC" ;;
-            esac
-            zip -r \
-              "artifacts/libvirtualhid-${release_name}.zip" \
-              "install-${name}"
-          done
           cp windows-driver-installer/*.msi artifacts/
 
       - name: Validate release metadata
@@ -829,12 +845,7 @@ jobs:
           test -n "${RELEASE_TAG}"
           test -n "${RELEASE_VERSION}"
           test "${RELEASE_COMMIT}" = "${GITHUB_SHA}"
-          test -s "artifacts/libvirtualhid-Linux-GCC.zip"
-          test -s "artifacts/libvirtualhid-Linux-Clang.zip"
-          test -s "artifacts/libvirtualhid-macOS.zip"
           test -s "artifacts/libvirtualhid-Windows-AMD64-driver-installer.msi"
-          test -s "artifacts/libvirtualhid-Windows-AMD64-MinGW-UCRT64.zip"
-          test -s "artifacts/libvirtualhid-Windows-AMD64-MSVC.zip"
 
       - name: Create/Update GitHub Release
         if: needs.setup_release.outputs.publish_release == 'true'

CMakeLists.txt

@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@ set(LIBVIRTUALHID_USES_THREADS OFF)
 if(CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME STREQUAL "Linux")
     set(LIBVIRTUALHID_USES_THREADS ON)
 endif()
+set(LIBVIRTUALHID_USES_XTEST OFF)
 
 #
 # Additional setup for coverage
@@ -71,7 +72,7 @@ if(CMAKE_PROJECT_NAME STREQUAL PROJECT_NAME AND BUILD_TESTS AND NOT CMAKE_CXX_CO
 endif()
 
 set(LIBVIRTUALHID_USES_LIZARDBYTE_COMMON OFF)
-if(WIN32)
+if(WIN32 AND LIBVIRTUALHID_BUILD_WINDOWS_BROKER)
     set(LIBVIRTUALHID_USES_LIZARDBYTE_COMMON ON)
 endif()
 
@@ -80,7 +81,7 @@ if(LIBVIRTUALHID_USES_LIZARDBYTE_COMMON OR BUILD_TESTS)
         ${BUILD_TESTS}
         CACHE BOOL "Build lizardbyte-common GoogleTest support helpers" FORCE)
     set(LIZARDBYTE_COMMON_INSTALL
-        ${LIBVIRTUALHID_INSTALL}
+        OFF
         CACHE BOOL "Install lizardbyte-common targets and package configuration" FORCE)
     if(NOT TARGET lizardbyte::common)
         add_subdirectory(third-party/lizardbyte-common)
@@ -157,6 +158,18 @@ endif()
 # Package config
 #
 if(LIBVIRTUALHID_INSTALL)
+    set(LIBVIRTUALHID_CONFIG_DEPENDENCIES "")
+    if(LIBVIRTUALHID_USES_THREADS)
+        string(APPEND LIBVIRTUALHID_CONFIG_DEPENDENCIES
+          "find_dependency(Threads)\n"
+          "find_dependency(PkgConfig)\n"
+          "pkg_check_modules(LIBEVDEV REQUIRED IMPORTED_TARGET libevdev)\n")
+    endif()
+    if(LIBVIRTUALHID_USES_XTEST)
+        string(APPEND LIBVIRTUALHID_CONFIG_DEPENDENCIES
+          "find_dependency(X11 COMPONENTS Xtst)\n")
+    endif()
+
     install(FILES "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/LICENSE"
       DESTINATION "${CMAKE_INSTALL_DATADIR}/licenses/libvirtualhid"
       COMPONENT library)

cmake/libvirtualhid-config.cmake.in

@@ -2,13 +2,7 @@
 
 include(CMakeFindDependencyMacro)
 
-if(@LIBVIRTUALHID_USES_THREADS@)
-    find_dependency(Threads)
-    find_dependency(PkgConfig)
-    pkg_check_modules(LIBEVDEV REQUIRED IMPORTED_TARGET libevdev)
-endif()
-
-find_dependency(lizardbyte-common)
+@LIBVIRTUALHID_CONFIG_DEPENDENCIES@
 
 include("${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_DIR}/libvirtualhid-targets.cmake")
 

docs/usage.md

@@ -106,10 +106,23 @@ normalized gamepad output such as rumble, RGB LED, adaptive trigger, trigger
 rumble, and raw report events delivered through the normal callback path. Button
 controls are momentary by default, so they behave like physical gamepad buttons;
 on Windows, the UI also displays broker license status and can activate,
-refresh, or deactivate a machine license without elevation. Every Windows UMDF
-gamepad creation requires a current successful license validation response and
-there is no offline grace period. Purchase and account-management buttons use
-the compiled URLs in
+refresh, or deactivate a machine license without elevation. Windows UMDF
+gamepad creation requires a current machine authorization, but does not perform
+an online request per controller. The broker validates in the background at
+startup and once per day. If Polar cannot be reached, it retries every 60
+seconds. Existing gamepads are retained for one hour, but a new gamepad can be
+created only when no licensed gamepad is active. When the outage reaches one
+hour, the broker removes excess licensed gamepads and retains at most one.
+If the broker service restarts, it removes gamepads left by the previous broker
+instance before accepting new creation requests. Failed removals are retried.
+Yearly licenses stop at their exact `expires_at`; this outage behavior never
+extends expiration. Lifetime licenses have no expiration. Polar server time,
+Windows uptime, and a per-boot marker track time without relying on the
+user-adjustable Windows date. After Windows restarts, a yearly license must
+reconnect to Polar before gamepad creation; lifetime licenses can use the
+one-gamepad outage fallback. A confirmed missing, revoked, disabled, expired, or
+mismatched entitlement invalidates the license and removes all licensed gamepads. Purchase and
+account-management buttons use the compiled URLs in
 `src/platform/windows/shared/lvh_windows_broker_config.hpp`.
 Enable `Lock buttons` to click-to-toggle behavior for held inputs.
 The resizable window supports a compact width. Its device and control panels

docs/windows-driver.md

@@ -68,14 +68,15 @@ submit/destroy requests include that token so stale or unrelated clients cannot
 control devices they did not create. Input reports are submitted through VHF,
 and HID output writes are normalized back to the C++ output callback path.
 
-The driver rejects gamepad create and destroy IOCTLs unless the requestor token
-contains the `NT SERVICE\libvirtualhid_broker` service SID. On the first boot
-after installation, before Windows applies a newly configured service SID to
-the process token, the driver instead requires the requestor PID to match the
-SCM-registered, currently running broker service. Administrators still control
-installation, repair, replacement, and service diagnostics through the normal
-Windows service and driver-management tools, but they are not a separate runtime
-bypass for creating or destroying virtual devices.
+The driver rejects gamepad create, destroy, and broker-instance reset IOCTLs
+unless the requestor token contains the `NT SERVICE\libvirtualhid_broker`
+service SID. On the first boot after installation, before Windows applies a
+newly configured service SID to the process token, the driver instead requires
+the requestor PID to match the SCM-registered, currently running broker service.
+Administrators still control installation, repair, replacement, and service
+diagnostics through the normal Windows service and driver-management tools, but
+they are not a separate runtime bypass for creating or destroying virtual
+devices.
 
 The library and installed driver must use the same control-protocol version.
 Protocol version 2 expands the report-descriptor capacity to 2048 bytes for the
@@ -94,7 +95,10 @@ parents that target to the control-file handle that created it. If the creating
 process exits or crashes, Windows cleans up gamepads that were not explicitly
 destroyed. In brokered driver packages, the broker owns that control-file handle.
 The broker tracks the requesting client process for each created device and
-destroys broker-owned devices when that client process exits unexpectedly.
+destroys broker-owned devices when that client process exits unexpectedly. A new
+broker process first asks the driver to remove every gamepad left by the previous
+broker instance and refuses new creation until that reset succeeds. Clients must
+recreate their gamepads after the broker service restarts.
 
 The backend reports `requires_installed_driver = true` and only advertises
 gamepad/output-report support when the broker is reachable and the control
@@ -276,8 +280,29 @@ opens the shared persistent Polar Checkout Link. Account management opens the
 [LizardByte LLC Polar customer portal](https://polar.sh/lizardbyte-llc/portal),
 where customers can manage their five allowed machine activations.
 
-Normal Windows UMDF gamepad creation requires a current successful license
-validation response before the broker calls the driver. The sole exception is
+Normal Windows UMDF gamepad creation requires a current machine authorization,
+but controller creation itself does not contact Polar. The broker validates the
+saved activation immediately after service startup and then once per day in the
+background. If validation cannot complete because of a temporary network or
+provider failure, the broker retries every 60 seconds. Controllers that already
+exist are retained for one hour unless the broker service restarts, but no
+additional controller can be created while at least one licensed controller
+remains active. When the outage reaches one hour, the broker removes excess
+licensed controllers and retains at most one until online validation succeeds.
+Failed driver destruction requests remain tracked and are retried instead of
+being treated as successful revocations.
+
+Polar's HTTPS `Date` response header supplies trusted time when a new
+authorization is issued. A yearly license ends exactly at its reported
+`expires_at`; the one-hour outage retention does not extend that expiration. A
+lifetime license has no calendar expiration. The broker advances Polar's trusted
+timestamp using Windows uptime and stores a random marker in a volatile registry
+key for the current boot session. This works across broker service restarts and
+includes sleep or hibernation, but never consults the user-adjustable Windows
+date. After Windows restarts, the marker changes, so a yearly license must
+reconnect to Polar before gamepad creation; lifetime licenses can use the
+one-gamepad outage fallback. Explicit validation requests always contact the
+provider. The sole exception to normal licensing is
 for CI runners where the broker service itself has the `GITHUB_ACTIONS`
 environment marker. That environment receives one machine-scoped five-minute
 evaluation window beginning with its first unlicensed creation attempt. The
@@ -290,7 +315,13 @@ Polar's `limit_activations` value is the machine limit and is configured as `5`
 on both license-key benefits. The broker gives yearly and lifetime licenses the
 same full local access when the provider reports the key status as `granted`. Polar
 revokes a subscription benefit when its entitlement ends. Licensed access has
-no local active-device cap, and there is no production offline grace period.
+no local active-device cap after successful validation. A definitive missing
+activation, revoked or disabled key, activation mismatch, disallowed benefit,
+explicit deactivation, or exact yearly expiration prevents new gamepads and
+causes the broker to destroy existing licensed gamepads. A timeout or other
+transient provider failure starts the one-hour retention period and one-gamepad
+creation limit instead of immediately revoking existing controllers. WinHTTP resolve, connect, send, and receive
+operations have explicit timeouts of 5, 5, 5, and 10 seconds respectively.
 
 ## Profile Compatibility
 
@@ -338,8 +369,10 @@ label because VHF does not provide a product/manufacturer string callback.
 - The published Windows driver installer is AMD64-only. Windows ARM64 release
   packages require a Microsoft dashboard signing path that is not part of the
   current Azure Trusted Signing workflow.
-- Every production gamepad creation requires a successful online license
-  validation response. There is no offline grace period.
+- A temporary Polar outage limits a previously activated machine to one active
+  licensed gamepad until validation succeeds. Yearly licenses receive no
+  post-expiration grace. Definitive invalidation or exact expiration prevents
+  new gamepads and removes active licensed gamepads.
 
 ## Signing
 

src/CMakeLists.txt

@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ if(LIBVIRTUALHID_USES_THREADS)
         pkg_check_modules(LIBEVDEV REQUIRED IMPORTED_TARGET libevdev)
     endif()
     if(LIBVIRTUALHID_ENABLE_XTEST)
-        find_package(X11 QUIET)
+        find_package(X11 QUIET COMPONENTS Xtst)
     endif()
 
     target_sources(${PROJECT_NAME}
@@ -34,26 +34,25 @@ if(LIBVIRTUALHID_USES_THREADS)
       PRIVATE
       PkgConfig::LIBEVDEV)
     if(LIBVIRTUALHID_ENABLE_XTEST AND X11_FOUND AND X11_XTest_FOUND)
+        set(LIBVIRTUALHID_USES_XTEST ON PARENT_SCOPE)
         target_compile_definitions(${PROJECT_NAME}
           PRIVATE
           LIBVIRTUALHID_HAVE_XTEST=1)
-        target_include_directories(${PROJECT_NAME}
-          PRIVATE
-          ${X11_INCLUDE_DIR}
-          ${X11_XTest_INCLUDE_PATH})
         target_link_libraries(${PROJECT_NAME}
           PRIVATE
-          ${X11_LIBRARIES}
-          ${X11_XTest_LIB})
+          X11::X11
+          X11::Xtst)
     endif()
 elseif(WIN32)
     target_sources(${PROJECT_NAME}
       PRIVATE
+      "${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/third-party/lizardbyte-common/src/common/env.cpp"
       "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/platform/windows/windows_backend.cpp"
       "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/platform/windows/windows_broker_client.cpp"
       "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/platform/windows/windows_license.cpp")
     target_include_directories(${PROJECT_NAME}
       PRIVATE
+      "${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/third-party/lizardbyte-common/src/include"
       "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/platform/windows/shared")
     target_compile_definitions(${PROJECT_NAME}
       PRIVATE
@@ -63,8 +62,7 @@ elseif(WIN32)
     target_link_libraries(${PROJECT_NAME}
       PRIVATE
       advapi32
-      setupapi
-      lizardbyte::common)
+      setupapi)
 elseif(APPLE)
     target_sources(${PROJECT_NAME}
       PRIVATE