RC4.6.1 publication evidence, 2026-09-14¶

Historical record. This preserves the source, tests and limitations recorded at the time; it is not current setup guidance. See the documentation index.

Identity and scope¶

• Release tag: VIIPERRC4.6.1.
• Title: Release Candidate 4.6.1 Hotfix — Dial In Your Aim, Safer HidHide.
• Tagged source: 198d62295e3677ea74a333c79fdc1039283adbc0.
• Windows application/MSI/Burn version: 5.0.7.0; package version: 5.0.7.0-rc4.6.1.
• Original reserved startup task names remain RunDS4Windows and RunVIIPER. There are no alternate task names.
• This is an explicitly authorized unsigned named prerelease, not a signed stable release.

Changes are described in the tagged release notes: Axis Config 360-degree flick-stick calibration, removal of legacy trigger-effect UI, the HidHide alias guard, and backed-up original-name startup-task recovery for #98/#103. Audio/haptics, adaptive-trigger transport and Nintendo rumble tuning remain unchanged from RC4.6.

Unchanged compatible dependencies¶

• VIIPER 0.1.5-rc4.6, source c2fc304bc21f829ddb35b9e3e3d6b6ac0a9198a7, published release 388483169.
• VIIPER binary SHA-256: 9A334912E26FAC09C6DF17BA75A272A41D871D9BBE14934D06F983E101F3DF3C.
• VIIPER corresponding-source archive SHA-256: 19C59D787B04F9597B47D40D7F6BA18F8837A8F590397A41F5E456F4A80A5787.
• DS4Updater 2.0.6, source 173c27b4eb31f369280abce173e31264b317231e; tested immutable assembly SHA-256: 04B8E564F25CBEC14C65192D9E10408C01218B95B31EAFD1F0511B799E7873F1.
• USB/IP 0.9.7.7.

No new broker or updater release is required. Broker assets and provenance were independently downloaded from the existing published release and hash-checked before final DS4Windows package verification.

Source and CI gates¶

• Complete local x64 suite: 5,991 passed, zero failed, 11 explicitly gated skips (rc461-full-final.trx).
• New pure installer task-policy coverage: 19 tests. Windows PowerShell 5 task registration/recovery, durable backups, reboot-boundary and alternate-administrator deferral fixtures passed without changing real tasks.
• Additional checks passed: 28 localization-package tests, installer state-machine tests, 22 infrastructure-failure diagnostic cases, 14 MSI metadata cases, renamed executable process guards, both installer-host Release/x64 builds, and whitespace validation.
• First main CI 34876183600 passed tests but stopped at a stale packaging source assertion expecting the removed blind schtasks /Run path. The follow-up changed that assertion to the validated COM-task/direct-process launch contract; no package, hash, signing or readiness gate was removed. It also preserved existing alternate-administrator startup deferral across retries.
• Final exact-source main CI 34877299470 passed, including tests, offline layout, MSI install/repair/uninstall, and the published RC4.5.5 upgrade/profile-preservation fixture.
• Annotated tag creation followed final CI success. Draft release ID: 388604057.
• Exact-tag draft release build: 34878379743.

Independent inspection of CI artifact 10361981691 (DS4Windows_Installer_Lifecycle_Evidence) confirmed seven MSI operations with final server/client exit zero, success status zero, and no Return value 3: current install/repair/uninstall, then published RC4.5.5 (5.0.5.5) install followed by current upgrade/repair/uninstall. The fixture records two preserved synthetic profiles, zero installed registrations after uninstall, and no application/driver launch. It asserts one current MSI registration and expected executable version after install/upgrade/repair, with profile SHA sentinels preserved in installed and AppData profile folders. This validates the main-CI application MSI, not full driver/task runtime acceptance or the final tag-build installer bytes.

Final package and publication verification¶

The exact-tag draft build passed. All 13 workflow-produced assets were downloaded and verified against the successful run, tag, release ID, Actions uploader, receipt, GitHub digest/size and independent broker pins. Both source ZIP comments identify the corresponding commits. Changelog source blobs match the tagged source (only Git's CRLF-to-LF text-export normalization was needed for the pretty JSON).

• Portable verification: 553 files, 297 dependency assets and 23 application satellite assemblies. Both application PE identities are 5.0.7.0 / VIIPERRC4.6.1. Against the prior published RC4.6 ZIP, 503 immutable assets were hash-matched and 14 text assets content-verified against reviewed source. Both broker aliases and the authorized Xbox output identity match their exact pins.
• Passive WiX extraction: 8 Burn payloads, 551 MSI files, 549 identical shared installer/portable payloads, 549 managed entries and 550 hashed package entries. No downloaded application, setup, MSI or extracted helper was executed locally.
• Actual immutable DS4Updater 2.0.6 policy: four checks passed against actual draft metadata/receipt, including that drafts are not offered or resolved as updates.
• Actual updater transaction in a fresh synthetic RC4.6 portable folder: all 553 files applied and verified, eight user-file sentinels preserved, obsolete owned DLL removed, both broker aliases verified, no staged transaction left. This executes the real updater's preparation/application implementation via reflection, not a duplicated transaction algorithm; no production application is launched.

An independent reviewer re-read all draft metadata and hashes, confirmed that the notes match the tagged notes after CRLF-to-LF normalization only, and found no publication blocker. The release was published at 2026-09-14 18:12:31 UTC, retaining prerelease status and without selecting stable/latest or replacing any assets: VIIPERRC4.6.1.

All 13 assets were verified again against public GitHub metadata. The actual updater 2.0.6 passed 16 public-release policy cases: RC4.5.9/RC4.6 update ordering, exact receipt-driven 5.0.7.0 resolution, equal/downgrade rejection, draft rejection and corrupt receipt identity/digest rejection. No hardcoded new RC mapping or updater replacement was needed.

The publication-event workflow 34879398179 passed the final public-byte download audit: identity and existing-asset verification succeeded; the release build job was skipped. It verified the prior successful draft build without rebuilding or overwriting released files.

This publication record is committed after verification; the annotated release tag remains at the tested source commit. Local downloadable assets are retained under Desktop/DS4Windows-RC4.6.1-Release/release-assets; passive extraction proofs are in the adjacent verified-draft folder. CI evidence and updater proofs remain under the ignored isolated_results/rc461-publication directory. Approximately 34.4 GiB remained free after verification.

Evidence boundaries¶

• Local verification does not install software, restart controller apps, change real scheduled tasks or use physical controllers. Actual MSI lifecycle tests run only on a disposable GitHub-hosted Windows runner.
• The #98 log proves verification failed but does not identify its mismatched field. The raw-CIM versus adapted-enum discrepancy is separately reproduced on this machine; it is not claimed as the reporter's proven root cause.
• Windows can still deny task registration. Task-only errors become warnings/direct-launch recovery; backups, ownership checks, driver integrity, reboot/ABI and broker API readiness checks remain required.
• Automated tests do not establish in-game calibration, #81 gameplay acceptance, or an explanation for the earlier unattributed rare movement interruption.