Owner-tuned defaults; Transform-only engine, Auto removed (#508)

CLAUDE.md

@@ -27,9 +27,10 @@ are frozen history cited from code, not kept in step with it.
   header by bare name (`"config.h"`, never a path); `build.bat`'s `WIND_INC` puts every folder on the
   include path, and a new folder goes there (and in `CORE_SRC` if Wind.exe compiles it). `version.h`,
   `resource.h` and `wind.rc` stay in `src/` itself. See 11.
-- Engines behind `IMagnifierModel`, chosen by `model=` (applies live: both engines are always built): `hybrid` (Auto, default)
-  picks `render` or `transform` per session via the pure `src/engine/engine_pick.h`. `model=magnify` is
-  parsed as `hybrid`; the magnify engine is retired, do not revive it. See 03, 04, 05.
+- Engines behind `IMagnifierModel`, chosen by `model=` (applies live: both engines are always built):
+  `transform` (default) or `render`, picked per session by the pure `src/engine/engine_pick.h`. Auto
+  (`hybrid`) was removed as an option (#508) and, like the retired `magnify`, parses as `transform`;
+  do not revive either. See 03, 04, 05.
 - Profiles: `profiles\<Name>.ini` next to the live ini; the live ini is the session, the profile file
   the saved state. See 08.
 - Settings UI: schema-driven Svelte (`ui/src/settings-schema.js`); `HandleWebMessage` in
@@ -76,9 +77,9 @@ Chapter numbers refer to `docs/architecture/NN-*.md`.
   thread at idle) and centres the view itself (`SetFullscreenMagnifierOffsetsDWMUpdated`). While DWM
   centres, never write a same-level transform or warm pulse. Never use a public write to get the
   composed pointer: it blocks 200-260 ms. `MagGetFullscreenTransform` cannot see DWM's centring.
-  In a native session the only window Wind draws is the Inspect crosshair. Mouse tracking = Wind
-  (`txNativeCursor=0`, the DEFAULT) is the pre-#369 sprite session (07): gate native-only paths on
-  `nativeSession_`.
+  In a native session the only window Wind draws is the Inspect crosshair. Native
+  (`txNativeCursor=1`) is the DEFAULT (#508); Mouse tracking = Wind (`txNativeCursor=0`) is the
+  pre-#369 sprite session (07): gate native-only paths on `nativeSession_`.
 - The cursor grows with the zoom in every engine (#253). Do not restore constant size;
   `cursorConstantSize=1` is the render-only opt-in. Test defaults on a wiped `%LOCALAPPDATA%\Wind`:
   the dev ini differs from a clean install.

README.md

@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ a game hides, clips or center-locks the cursor, and clicks pass through to the a
 - Smooth sub-pixel zoom and pan.
 - Clicks, hover and dragging keep working while zoomed.
 - Tracks the mouse in games through raw input, without injecting into the game.
-- Auto picks the best engine for each window and switches when you alt-tab.
+- Zooms inside the compositor (Transform), so it stays smooth over heavy games; Render is there as an alternative.
 - The real cursor shapes, sharp at every zoom level.
 - HDR aware: the zoomed view matches the desktop's brightness.
 - Follows the text caret as you type, and optionally the keyboard focus.
@@ -70,11 +70,11 @@ profile. Preferences > Show advanced settings shows the rest. Every setting is a
 
 ## Limits
 
-- Magnifies the primary monitor unless `multiMonitor=1` is set.
+- Magnifies the monitor the cursor is on at each zoom-in (`multiMonitor=0` keeps the primary).
 - Games must run borderless or windowed. Switch exclusive-fullscreen games to borderless.
 - The Start menu, taskbar and tray flyouts are not magnified by default.
-- Protected video (Netflix and similar) shows normally in Auto, which switches to the transform
-  engine for it. Forcing the Render engine shows it black.
+- Protected video (Netflix and similar) shows normally with the Transform engine (the default).
+  The Render engine shows it black.
 
 ## Development
 

docs/architecture/01-overview.md

@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ These are commitments. Code that breaks one is a bug even if it works.
   hides the cursor ([07](07-cursor.md)).
 - **Tracking never moves the pointer.** Caret, focus and edge-mode views detach from the pointer;
   the next real mouse move places the pointer in the view ([07](07-cursor.md)).
-- **Scope.** Primary monitor by default (`multiMonitor=1` follows the cursor's monitor per
+- **Scope.** The cursor's monitor by default (`multiMonitor=1` follows the cursor's monitor per
   zoom-in); desktop, apps and borderless or windowed games. Exclusive fullscreen is out of scope.
 
 ## Three binaries

docs/architecture/03-engines.md

@@ -1,9 +1,12 @@
 # 03. Engines and the hybrid pick
 
-Wind has three engines: Auto (`hybrid`, the default), Render and Transform. Auto holds the other
-two alive and picks one per zoom session with a pure, unit-tested predicate. This chapter covers
-the model interface, what each engine is for, how the pick decides and how a mid-zoom handover
-avoids a bare frame.
+Wind has two engines: Transform (the default) and Render. Both stay alive, and a pure,
+unit-tested predicate picks one per zoom session. Auto (`hybrid`), which picked per window type,
+was removed as an option in #508: `model=hybrid` now reads as Transform, and the Auto rule below
+(`ShouldPickTransform`, the per-window-type keys, `transformExclude`) is dormant code, unreachable
+from Settings and the ini, kept until a follow-up deletes it. This chapter covers the model
+interface, what each engine is for, how the pick decides and how a mid-zoom handover avoids a
+bare frame.
 
 ## Where pixels can be scaled
 
@@ -33,8 +36,8 @@ whatever `TickState::model` points at:
 | `idleTick()` | Every idle tick. The transform builds its Magnification context and cursor lens here and keeps them warm, see [05](05-transform-engine.md). |
 | `retarget(MonitorTarget)` | Both engines, at activation (`multiMonitor` picks the monitor; a changed resolution is followed either way). Render returns false across adapters. |
 
-`model` in `magnifier.ini` takes `hybrid`, `render` or `transform`. Anything else, including an old
-`model=magnify`, reads as `hybrid`. Both engines are built at startup whatever it says (`mRender`,
+`model` in `magnifier.ini` takes `transform` (the default) or `render`. Anything else, including an
+old `model=hybrid` or `model=magnify`, reads as `transform`. Both engines are built at startup whatever it says (`mRender`,
 `mTransform`), and `model` only decides the pick (`PickTransformFor`, `src/engine/engine_pick.h`): a change
 applies on the config reload, at the next zoom-in or, while zoomed, through the instant switch. A
 pinned Render still falls back to transform when the render device is lost or its overlay could not
@@ -43,9 +46,9 @@ and only then does an engine change relaunch Wind (Settings' Restart Wind button
 
 | Model | What it is | For |
 |---|---|---|
-| `hybrid` ("Auto") | `TickState` holds a `RenderModel` (`mRender`) and a `TransformModel` (`mTransform`) and points `model` at one per session | The default |
+| `hybrid` ("Auto", removed in #508) | `TickState` holds a `RenderModel` (`mRender`) and a `TransformModel` (`mTransform`) and points `model` at one per session | No longer reachable: reads as `transform` |
 | `render` | DXGI Desktop Duplication + D3D11 onto a click-through, capture-excluded overlay (`src/render/render_engine.*`) | Sub-pixel pan, cursor in the same frame, shell coverage. [04](04-render-engine.md) |
-| `transform` | The DWM fullscreen transform, no presents of its own (`src/transform/transform_model.cpp`) | Games, protected video and rotated outputs, plus the desktop when `desktopTransform=1` and the input transform is verified. [05](05-transform-engine.md) |
+| `transform` | The DWM fullscreen transform, no presents of its own (`src/transform/transform_model.cpp`) | The default. Every session on the primary monitor; other monitors fall back to render. [05](05-transform-engine.md) |
 
 If the transform half fails to initialize, Auto logs a warning and runs render only; every pick
 site checks `t.mTransform`.

docs/architecture/04-render-engine.md

@@ -207,16 +207,17 @@ Measurements and rejected filters: [../COLOUR-FILTER-FINDINGS.md](../COLOUR-FILT
 The magnified desktop is one full-screen triangle (no clear when a copy exists), then the outline,
 then the cursor.
 
-- **Scaling filter** (`renderScaling`, Settings: Render scaling, issue #456): Nearest uses the
-  plain pass with point sampling; xBR (the default) and NVIDIA Image Scaling are their own pixel
+- **Scaling filter** (`renderScaling`, Settings: Render scaling, issue #456): Nearest (the default,
+  #508) uses the plain pass with point sampling; xBR and NVIDIA Image Scaling are their own pixel
   shaders (`src/render/upscale_shaders.h`, `src/render/upscale_nis.h`, drawn by `UpscalePass`). They read texels
   through `Tap()`, which tonemaps first, so they work in display space on SDR and HDR alike, and the
   capture crop keeps a 4-texel margin for their taps. A shader that fails to build falls back to the
   plain bilinear pass (logged once). Chosen in an A/B of eleven filters on 2026-10-12 (xBR 0.24 ms,
   NIS 0.32 ms GPU per frame at 4K; RTX VSR and an ONNX model were choppy); the rest live on the
   `proto/upscalers` branch, results in research/wind/2026-10-12-upscaler-findings.md.
   `upscaleTiming=1` logs the magnify pass's GPU time every 2 s while zoomed.
-  `bilinear` is retired: an ini without `renderScaling` migrates (`bilinear=0` keeps Nearest).
+  `bilinear` is retired: an ini without `renderScaling` migrates (`bilinear=0` keeps Nearest, any
+  other `bilinear` gets xBR, neither key gets the Nearest default).
 
 - The outline is **one** full-screen pass that colours the border band and discards the interior;
   four separate quads dropped edges on some GPUs. It is inset 6 px because at non-integer DPI DWM

docs/architecture/05-transform-engine.md

@@ -226,7 +226,7 @@ Defences (wall arming in `RunTick`'s `ReadForegroundAndArmWall`, write clamp in
 
 DWM magnifies with nearest neighbour unless something calls
 `MagSetFullscreenUseBitmapSmoothing` (Magnification.dll, undocumented, resolved BY NAME).
-`txSamplingMode`: 0 nearest (default), 1 smooth.
+`txSamplingMode`: 0 nearest, 1 smooth (default since #508).
 
 - Until 0.24.0 it was resolved by ordinal 1, which does not exist (the export ordinals start at
   100), so Wind never set the filter: the image showed whatever state another process had left.

docs/architecture/07-cursor.md

@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ render-only opt-in for the old constant size. `cursorScaleWithZoom` is retired a
 ## Native cursor
 
 Transform sessions use the pointer Windows Magnifier uses: the real pointer, drawn by DWM into the
-magnified frame (Mouse tracking = Native; the default is Wind, below). It works at either sampling mode, because DWM
+magnified frame (Mouse tracking = Native, the default since #508; Wind is below). It works at either sampling mode, because DWM
 samples it like the content: Smooth transform scaling makes it sharp but it shimmers
 slightly during zoom ramps, nearest keeps it pixelated and steady. Pure rules:
 `src/transform/native_cursor.h` (tested).
@@ -179,7 +179,7 @@ slightly during zoom ramps, nearest keeps it pixelated and steady. Pure rules:
   crosshair window. Games pay nothing extra for the native cursor: a zoomed full-screen window is
   composed anyway, and at 1x the lens style is off.
 
-### Wind mouse tracking (`txNativeCursor=0`, the default)
+### Wind mouse tracking (`txNativeCursor=0`)
 
 Settings > View > Mouse tracking picks Native (above) or Wind (#463), the transform session as it
 was before the native cursor (#369), and the default since the owner chose it on 2026-10-14:

docs/architecture/08-config-profiles.md

@@ -70,7 +70,8 @@ flowchart LR
 as an initializer, so a missing or malformed key keeps the default; parsing never fails.
 
 - Numeric values are clamped to tested ranges.
-- `model` must be `render`, `transform` or `hybrid`; anything else becomes `hybrid`.
+- `model` must be `render` or `transform`; anything else (the retired `hybrid` and `magnify` too)
+  becomes `transform`.
 - Unsafe binds read as unbound (`src/input/keybind_rules.h`, [06](06-input.md)).
 - `LoadConfig` is the I/O wrapper, excluded from the test build by `WIND_TESTS`.
 - Structure: per line `SplitIniLine` (key and value), `ApplyEmptyableKey` (the exe lists and
@@ -157,7 +158,7 @@ single-instance mutex held, sets `Local\Wind_QuitRequest` and waits for the old
 clean exit restores the OS cursor and releases `ClipCursor`.
 
 **An empty profile file means factory defaults**: every profile key falls back to its `ParseConfig`
-default. "New profile" writes a near-empty file (a comment plus `model=hybrid`) and switches to it.
+default. "New profile" writes a near-empty file (a comment plus `model=transform`) and switches to it.
 "Duplicate current" (`createProfile` with `fromCurrent=1`) instead writes `MakeProfileText(live)`: the
 session as it stands, unsaved changes included, so `model` is unchanged (no restart) and the
 outgoing profile is not mirrored into (`DoSwitchProfile(name, mirrorOutgoing=false)`).
@@ -197,21 +198,21 @@ Every key works in the ini whether or not Settings shows it. Keys hot-reload unl
 
 | Keys | Meaning |
 |---|---|
-| `maxLevel` (12), `zoomInSpeed`, `zoomOutSpeed`, `zoomEaseOutMs`, `smoothZoom*` | Range and feel of the zoom |
+| `maxLevel` (30), `zoomInSpeed` and `zoomOutSpeed` (1.5), `zoomEaseOutMs` (115), `smoothZoom*` | Range and feel of the zoom |
 | `cursorSensitivity` (1.0), `panSpeed` (1.0), `panGlideMaxPx` (0) | Mouse and arrow-key pan speed; the pan glide's distance, which also sets its ease (#430, #434) |
 | `gameCursorLagMs` (-1) | How late the view follows the pointer while a full-screen game hides it and draws its own cursor; -1 = one display frame, 0 = off (#443). Ini only |
 | `mouseAlign` (0 centred, 1 within the edges), `mouseMarginPct` | Where the pointer sits while the view moves |
 | `trackCaret` (1), `trackFocus` (0), `trackAlign`, `trackGlideMs` (200), `trackMarginPct` (15) | Follow the text caret and keyboard focus; `trackMarginPct` is the within-edges margin, % of the view on each side |
 | `lockApps`, `warpLock` (0) | Games whose sessions pan from raw mouse motion; heuristics for unlisted games |
-| `multiMonitor` (0) | 1 follows the cursor's monitor at each zoom-in |
+| `multiMonitor` (1) | 1 follows the cursor's monitor at each zoom-in; 0 keeps the primary |
 
 **Image and cursor.**
 
 | Keys | Meaning |
 |---|---|
-| `txSamplingMode` (0) | Transform sampling: 0 nearest, 1 smooth (Settings: Transform scaling, formerly "High resolution cursor", [05](05-transform-engine.md)) |
+| `txSamplingMode` (1) | Transform sampling: 0 nearest, 1 smooth (Settings: Transform scaling, formerly "High resolution cursor", [05](05-transform-engine.md)) |
 | `edgeClip` (1, hot) | While a transform session is zoomed, clips the pointer 1 px inside the monitor's left and top edges so it cannot rest on the contested outermost pixel (cursor-shape flicker there). The right and bottom stay open so the cursor can slide off the screen, as at 1x. A tighter existing clip (game confine, Inspect) always wins; 0 turns it off. Rationale: `Config::edgeClip` in `src/config/config.h`, mechanics in `TransformModel::edgeClipManage` |
-| `renderScaling` (1), `upscaleTiming` (0) | Render engine scaling: 0 nearest, 1 xBR, 2 NVIDIA Image Scaling (Settings: Render scaling, [04](04-render-engine.md)); `bilinear` is retired and only migrates (0 keeps nearest). `upscaleTiming=1` logs the filter's GPU time |
+| `renderScaling` (0), `upscaleTiming` (0) | Render engine scaling: 0 nearest, 1 xBR, 2 NVIDIA Image Scaling (Settings: Render scaling, [04](04-render-engine.md)); `bilinear` is retired and only migrates (0 keeps nearest). `upscaleTiming=1` logs the filter's GPU time |
 | `sharpness`, `brightness`, `hdrTonemap` (1) | Render engine image |
 | `cursorConstantSize` (0), `cursorVisibility` (`auto`) | Render cursor size and when it is drawn |
 | `colorWarmPct` (0), `colorDimPct` (100) | Warmth and brightness filter |
@@ -222,10 +223,10 @@ failed to init.
 
 | Keys | Meaning |
 |---|---|
-| `model` | `hybrid` (Auto, default), `render` or `transform`; anything else reads as `hybrid` |
-| `engineGame`, `engineAcrylic`, `engineDesktop`, `engineOther` | `auto`, `transform` or `render` per window category, Auto only |
+| `model` | `transform` (default) or `render`; anything else, the retired `hybrid` (Auto) included, reads as `transform` |
+| `engineGame`, `engineAcrylic`, `engineDesktop`, `engineOther` | Dormant since #508: read only by the removed Auto pick |
 | `desktopTransform` (1) | Let Auto use the transform on the desktop when UIAccess is available |
-| `transformExclude`, `renderExclude` | Exes that never get Transform, or never get Render |
+| `transformExclude`, `renderExclude` | Dormant since #508: read only by the removed Auto pick |
 | `vsync` (1), `dwmFlush` (0), `gameFpsCap`, `gpuPriority` (restart) | Render pacing and game coexistence |
 | `zorderBand` (0, restart) | 16 covers the shell in the UIAccess build, at the cost of the Snipping Tool ([04](04-render-engine.md)) |
 
@@ -247,7 +248,7 @@ failed to init.
 | `mpoGuard` (1), `mpoGuardLiftWall` (1), `mpoGuardTest` (0) | The MPO guard effect, whether it lifts the pan walls while plane-free, and a diagnostic that applies it on an MPO-off boot |
 | `mpoNearestGuard` (1) | Allow nearest sampling on an MPO-on boot, relying on the guard; 0 turns nearest into smooth on such boots ([05](05-transform-engine.md)) |
 | `txRestLevel` (1.0) | Level the transform rests at when idle; above 1.0 parks a hair off identity (costs a composed desktop) |
-| `txNativeCursor` (0) | Mouse tracking (Settings > View, transform engine): 0 = Wind, Wind moves the view and draws its own pointer; 1 = Native, Windows' magnifier logic ([07](07-cursor.md#wind-mouse-tracking-txnativecursor0-the-default)); read at zoom-in |
+| `txNativeCursor` (1) | Mouse tracking (Settings > View, transform engine): 0 = Wind, Wind moves the view and draws its own pointer; 1 = Native, Windows' magnifier logic ([07](07-cursor.md#wind-mouse-tracking-txnativecursor0-the-default)); read at zoom-in |
 | `txTrace` (0) | 1 records a per-tick trace and writes `txtrace-<ms>.csv` to the log folder at each session end |
 | `zoomTrace` (0) | 1 logs a zoom-in/zoom-out timeline per zoom (#310) |
 

docs/architecture/09-settings-ui.md

@@ -82,7 +82,8 @@ unless another setting has a value), `offIf` (kept in place but dimmed and inert
 setting has a value: Release glide while Smooth transform scaling is on) and `tag` (a small label
 after the name: Transform scaling is tagged Experimental). The Engine card's two Scaling rows
 follow the engine: Transform scaling (`txSamplingMode`) unless it is Render, Render scaling
-(`renderScaling`: Nearest, xBR, NVIDIA Image Scaling) unless it is Transform, so Auto shows both. Six groups: Hotkeys, Zoom,
+(`renderScaling`: Nearest, xBR, NVIDIA Image Scaling) unless it is Transform. The Engine row offers
+Transform and Render (Auto was removed in #508) and is a plain row, not an advanced one. Six groups: Hotkeys, Zoom,
 View, then below a divider Preferences (with the Screen light card), Tray menu and About. Each group has a label, an
 icon, a banner description and cards of rows; each row names its ini key, type, label, description
 and default. `Settings.svelte` is the shell (title bar, sidebar, banner, save capsule, search), and
@@ -102,8 +103,8 @@ and default. `Settings.svelte` is the shell (title bar, sidebar, banner, save ca
 
 - **Advanced rows** (`adv: true`) show inline while the global `showAdvanced` key is on
   (Preferences > Show advanced settings). Search always finds them.
-- **`showIf: {key, eq}`** hides a row unless another key has that value; the per-category engine
-  rows show only while `model` is `hybrid`.
+- **`showIf: {key, eq}`** (or `ne`) hides a row unless another key has that value; each engine's
+  scaling row shows only for its engine.
 - **Removed from the UI is not removed from the product.** Many keys have no row (quick zoom
   setup, outline, `sharpness`, `multiMonitor`, the `tx*` knobs). The core still parses
   them, and Open settings file is the way to edit them.