From ab3e926058d8ede1412502aa10001284a2aede41 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Doston Abdullayev <abddoston82@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 11 Oct 2026 10:02:26 +0500
Subject: [PATCH 1/4] feat(relinker): write the output of a Windows executable
 without standard handles to anyps5.log

A --windows-gui build started from Explorer, or any Windows executable
started without a standard output or error handle, lost everything it
printed: the entry stub's messages, the libraries' stdout and stderr,
uncaught exception messages and crash reports.

Before it enters its directory or loads a library, the entry stub now
checks the standard output and error handles, and gives each missing one
anyps5.log beside the executable. The C runtime of the libraries it then
loads adopts the file. Executables started with handles are unchanged,
and one that cannot create the file starts as before.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
---
 .../src/windows/WindowsEntryStubBuilder.cpp   | 47 +++++++++++++++++++
 .../src/windows/WindowsImportBuilder.cpp      |  2 +-
 .../tests/test_windows_import_modules.py      |  9 ++--
 docs/user/USAGE.md                            |  2 +
 4 files changed, 56 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)

diff --git a/core/relinker/elfpatcher/src/windows/WindowsEntryStubBuilder.cpp b/core/relinker/elfpatcher/src/windows/WindowsEntryStubBuilder.cpp
index 83281042f..7512f50c3 100644
--- a/core/relinker/elfpatcher/src/windows/WindowsEntryStubBuilder.cpp
+++ b/core/relinker/elfpatcher/src/windows/WindowsEntryStubBuilder.cpp
@@ -100,6 +100,9 @@ WindowsEntryStub WindowsEntryStubBuilder::Build(const std::uint32_t dataRva, con
     const auto argumentCount = reserve(4);
     const auto wideArguments = reserve(8);
     const auto shellHandle = reserve(8);
+    const auto logHandle = reserve(8);
+    const std::u16string logFileName = u"anyps5.log";
+    const auto logName = addWideString(logFileName);
     const auto shellLibrary = addString("shell32.dll");
     const auto parseArguments = addString("CommandLineToArgvW");
     const auto handles = reserve(libraries.size() * 8);
@@ -325,6 +328,48 @@ WindowsEntryStub WindowsEntryStubBuilder::Build(const std::uint32_t dataRva, con
         code.PatchBranch(converted, code.GetRva());
     };
 
+    const auto logMissingHandle = [&](const std::uint32_t standardHandle) {
+        const auto units = CheckedRva(logFileName.size() + 1);
+        code.Emit({0xb9});
+        code.U32(standardHandle);
+        call("GetStdHandle");
+        code.Emit({0x48, 0x85, 0xc0});
+        const auto missing = code.Branch({0x0f, 0x84});
+        code.Emit({0x48, 0x83, 0xf8, 0xff});
+        const auto present = code.Branch({0x0f, 0x85});
+        code.PatchBranch(missing, code.GetRva());
+        code.Rip({0x48, 0x8b, 0x05}, logHandle);
+        code.Emit({0x48, 0x85, 0xc0});
+        const auto opened = code.Branch({0x0f, 0x85});
+        code.Emit({0x4c, 0x89, 0xe0, 0x48, 0x29, 0xd8, 0x48, 0x05});
+        code.U32(units * 2);
+        code.Emit({0x48, 0x3d});
+        code.U32(PathCapacity * 2);
+        const auto tooLong = code.Branch({0x0f, 0x87});
+        code.Emit({0x4c, 0x89, 0xe7});
+        code.Rip({0x48, 0x8d, 0x35}, logName);
+        code.Emit({0xb9});
+        code.U32(units);
+        code.Emit({0x66, 0xf3, 0xa5});
+        code.Rip({0x48, 0x8d, 0x0d}, modulePath);
+        code.Emit({0xba, 0, 0, 0, 0x40, 0x41, 0xb8, 3, 0, 0, 0, 0x45, 0x31, 0xc9});
+        code.Emit({0x48, 0xc7, 0x44, 0x24, 0x20, 2, 0, 0, 0, 0x48, 0xc7, 0x44, 0x24, 0x28, 0x80, 0, 0, 0, 0x48, 0xc7, 0x44, 0x24, 0x30, 0, 0, 0, 0});
+        call("CreateFileW");
+        code.Emit({0x66, 0x41, 0xc7, 0x04, 0x24, 0x00, 0x00});
+        code.Emit({0x48, 0x83, 0xf8, 0xff});
+        const auto failed = code.Branch({0x0f, 0x84});
+        code.Rip({0x48, 0x89, 0x05}, logHandle);
+        code.PatchBranch(opened, code.GetRva());
+        code.Emit({0xb9});
+        code.U32(standardHandle);
+        code.Emit({0x48, 0x89, 0xc2});
+        call("SetStdHandle");
+        const auto done = code.GetRva();
+        code.PatchBranch(present, done);
+        code.PatchBranch(tooLong, done);
+        code.PatchBranch(failed, done);
+    };
+
     code.Emit({0x53, 0x55, 0x56, 0x57, 0x41, 0x54, 0x48, 0x83, 0xec, 0x60});
     code.Emit({0x31, 0xc9});
     code.Rip({0x48, 0x8d, 0x15}, programPath);
@@ -351,6 +396,8 @@ WindowsEntryStub WindowsEntryStubBuilder::Build(const std::uint32_t dataRva, con
     code.Rip({0x0f, 0x85}, findSeparator);
     code.Emit({0x49, 0x83, 0xc4, 0x02});
     code.Emit({0x66, 0x41, 0xc7, 0x04, 0x24, 0x00, 0x00});
+    logMissingHandle(0xfffffff5u);
+    logMissingHandle(0xfffffff4u);
     code.Rip({0x48, 0x8d, 0x0d}, modulePath);
     call("SetCurrentDirectoryW");
     requireNonzero(directoryError, 0xc000000du);
diff --git a/core/relinker/elfpatcher/src/windows/WindowsImportBuilder.cpp b/core/relinker/elfpatcher/src/windows/WindowsImportBuilder.cpp
index 30cb39ecd..71ce4f2ba 100644
--- a/core/relinker/elfpatcher/src/windows/WindowsImportBuilder.cpp
+++ b/core/relinker/elfpatcher/src/windows/WindowsImportBuilder.cpp
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 namespace Elfpatcher::Windows {
 
 WindowsImports WindowsImportBuilder::Build(const std::uint32_t sectionRva) const {
-    const std::vector<std::string> names = {"ExitProcess", "FormatMessageA", "FreeLibrary", "GetCommandLineW", "GetFileAttributesW", "GetLastError", "GetModuleFileNameW", "GetModuleHandleA", "GetModuleHandleW", "GetProcAddress", "GetStdHandle", "GetSystemDirectoryW", "LoadLibraryExA", "LoadLibraryExW", "LocalFree", "MultiByteToWideChar", "RaiseException", "SetCurrentDirectoryW", "VirtualAlloc", "WideCharToMultiByte", "WriteFile", "lstrcatA", "lstrcmpA", "lstrcmpiA", "lstrcpyA", "lstrlenA"};
+    const std::vector<std::string> names = {"CreateFileW", "ExitProcess", "FormatMessageA", "FreeLibrary", "GetCommandLineW", "GetFileAttributesW", "GetLastError", "GetModuleFileNameW", "GetModuleHandleA", "GetModuleHandleW", "GetProcAddress", "GetStdHandle", "GetSystemDirectoryW", "LoadLibraryExA", "LoadLibraryExW", "LocalFree", "MultiByteToWideChar", "RaiseException", "SetCurrentDirectoryW", "SetStdHandle", "VirtualAlloc", "WideCharToMultiByte", "WriteFile", "lstrcatA", "lstrcmpA", "lstrcmpiA", "lstrcpyA", "lstrlenA"};
     WindowsImports result{{".idata", sectionRva, SectionRead | SectionWrite | 0x40u, std::vector<std::uint8_t>(40)}, {sectionRva, 40}, {}, {}};
     auto& bytes = result.Section.Data;
     const auto lookupOffset = bytes.size();
diff --git a/core/relinker/relinker/tests/test_windows_import_modules.py b/core/relinker/relinker/tests/test_windows_import_modules.py
index 5a03c9fa0..8aef4fdec 100644
--- a/core/relinker/relinker/tests/test_windows_import_modules.py
+++ b/core/relinker/relinker/tests/test_windows_import_modules.py
@@ -384,19 +384,22 @@ def main():
         assert not output.exists()
 
         if os.name == 'nt':
-            for name, owner, symbol, expected in [
-                    ('missing-symbol-gui', 'a.prx', 'absent#A#B', 0xc0000139),
-                    ('missing-dependency-gui', 'missing.prx', 'shared#A#B', 0xc0000135)]:
+            for name, owner, symbol, expected, message in [
+                    ('missing-symbol-gui', 'a.prx', 'absent#A#B', 0xc0000139, 'unresolved ELF import absent'),
+                    ('missing-dependency-gui', 'missing.prx', 'shared#A#B', 0xc0000135, 'Failed to load module')]:
                 result, output = convert(name, owner, symbol, windows_gui=True)
                 assert result.returncode == 0, result.stderr
                 run_status = exit_code_without_standard_handles(output)
                 assert run_status == expected, (name, hex(run_status), hex(expected))
+                log = output.parent / 'anyps5.log'
+                assert log.is_file() and message in log.read_text(errors='replace'), (name, log.exists())
 
         result, output = convert('missing-symbol', 'a.prx', 'absent#A#B')
         assert result.returncode == 0, result.stderr
         if os.name == 'nt':
             run = subprocess.run([str(output)], capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=30)
             assert run.returncode != 0 and 'unresolved ELF import absent' in run.stderr, (run.returncode, run.stderr)
+            assert not (output.parent / 'anyps5.log').exists()
         result, output = convert('wrong-provider', 'c.prx')
         assert result.returncode == 0, result.stderr
         if os.name == 'nt':
diff --git a/docs/user/USAGE.md b/docs/user/USAGE.md
index 12accb979..2f6b5d8d0 100644
--- a/docs/user/USAGE.md
+++ b/docs/user/USAGE.md
@@ -119,6 +119,8 @@ python3 tools/pad_input.py /tmp/anyps5-pad release
 
 Run the helper in a second terminal. Commands are polled at most every 100 ms during controller reads and add to physical controller input. A press lasts 300 ms by default, starting when the application reads it, and releases automatically; `--hold-ms` accepts 1–5000 ms. Wait for the application to observe a release before sending another press. The file holds only the latest command; rapid commands can replace one another. Commands left over when the application first reads the controller are ignored. Without the environment variable, file input is disabled.
 
+A Windows executable started without a standard output or error handle, such as a `--windows-gui` build started from Explorer, writes that output to `anyps5.log` beside it, replacing the previous run's file. Without write access to that directory it runs without the log.
+
 ### System fonts
 
 Games that open the console's system font sets (`sceFontOpenFontSet`) need font files in an `anyps5-fonts/` directory beside the output executable; set `ANYPS5_SYSTEM_FONTS` to use another directory. Files dumped from the console are used under their own names (`SST-Roman.otf`, `SST-Bold.otf`, `SSTJpPro-Regular.otf`, ...). Without them, these openly licensed substitutes are used when present: `NotoSans-{Light,Regular,Medium,Bold}.ttf` and `NotoSans-{LightItalic,Italic,MediumItalic,BoldItalic}.ttf` (Latin and Vietnamese), `NotoSansMono-{Light,Regular,Medium,Bold}.ttf` (typewriter), `NotoSansThai-{Light,Regular,Medium,Bold}.ttf` (Thai) and `NotoSansCJK-{Light,Regular,Medium,Bold}.ttc` (Japanese and Chinese). Without either, opening a system font set fails and the game shows no text in those fonts.

From 6effc5dcec1b168fd5c8223ec02e18b491444d50 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: "ChatGPT (local)" <chatgpt-local@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Sun, 11 Oct 2026 10:31:08 +0300
Subject: [PATCH 2/4] test(relinker): verify GUI startup log replacement and
 unavailable log

Cover successful GUI stdout logging, replacement of stale log, and startup when log path is a directory. AI-assisted: ChatGPT.
---
 .../tests/test_windows_import_modules.py       | 18 ++++++++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 18 insertions(+)

diff --git a/core/relinker/relinker/tests/test_windows_import_modules.py b/core/relinker/relinker/tests/test_windows_import_modules.py
index 8aef4fdec..5001508c8 100644
--- a/core/relinker/relinker/tests/test_windows_import_modules.py
+++ b/core/relinker/relinker/tests/test_windows_import_modules.py
@@ -394,6 +394,24 @@ def main():
                 log = output.parent / 'anyps5.log'
                 assert log.is_file() and message in log.read_text(errors='replace'), (name, log.exists())
 
+            result, output = convert('gui-success-log', 'a.prx', guest_owner='b.prx', windows_gui=True)
+            assert result.returncode == 0, result.stderr
+            log = output.parent / 'anyps5.log'
+            log.write_text('stale previous run', encoding='utf-8')
+            run_status = exit_code_without_standard_handles(output)
+            assert run_status == 11, hex(run_status)
+            content = log.read_text(errors='replace')
+            assert 'Transferring control to ELF entry point' in content, content
+            assert 'stale previous run' not in content, content
+
+            result, output = convert('gui-log-create-denied', 'a.prx', guest_owner='b.prx', windows_gui=True)
+            assert result.returncode == 0, result.stderr
+            log = output.parent / 'anyps5.log'
+            log.mkdir()
+            run_status = exit_code_without_standard_handles(output)
+            assert run_status == 11, hex(run_status)
+            assert log.is_dir()
+
         result, output = convert('missing-symbol', 'a.prx', 'absent#A#B')
         assert result.returncode == 0, result.stderr
         if os.name == 'nt':

From ae96779914f649b2eeb7dcf24614750abee6e71f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: danzaio <danzaio@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Sun, 11 Oct 2026 19:06:09 -0300
Subject: [PATCH 3/4] test(relinker): verify Windows DLL CRT output handles

---
 core/relinker/CMakeLists.txt                  |  37 ++-
 .../elfpatcher/tests/WindowsMsvcrt.def        |   4 +
 .../tests/WindowsMsvcrtStdioHost.cpp          |  22 ++
 .../elfpatcher/tests/WindowsStdioHost.cpp     |   7 +
 .../tests/test_windows_import_modules.py      | 219 ++++++++++++++++++
 5 files changed, 288 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)
 create mode 100644 core/relinker/elfpatcher/tests/WindowsMsvcrt.def
 create mode 100644 core/relinker/elfpatcher/tests/WindowsMsvcrtStdioHost.cpp
 create mode 100644 core/relinker/elfpatcher/tests/WindowsStdioHost.cpp

diff --git a/core/relinker/CMakeLists.txt b/core/relinker/CMakeLists.txt
index 4e8e1a4ad..f3da18aac 100644
--- a/core/relinker/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/core/relinker/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -428,8 +428,43 @@ if(BUILD_TESTING)
             ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/relinker/tests/test_guest_module_identity.py $<TARGET_FILE:relinker>)
         add_test(NAME guest_needed_nested_modules COMMAND ${Python3_EXECUTABLE}
             ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/relinker/tests/test_guest_needed_nested_modules.py $<TARGET_FILE:relinker>)
+        set(windows_stdio_host_arguments)
+        if(WIN32)
+            if(MINGW)
+                add_library(windows_stdio_host_ucrt SHARED elfpatcher/tests/WindowsStdioHost.cpp)
+                target_compile_options(windows_stdio_host_ucrt PRIVATE -mcrtdll=ucrt)
+                target_link_options(windows_stdio_host_ucrt PRIVATE -mcrtdll=ucrt -static-libgcc -static-libstdc++)
+                set_target_properties(windows_stdio_host_ucrt PROPERTIES PREFIX "" WINDOWS_EXPORT_ALL_SYMBOLS ON)
+                list(APPEND windows_stdio_host_arguments $<TARGET_FILE:windows_stdio_host_ucrt>)
+
+                get_filename_component(testCompilerDirectory "${CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER}" DIRECTORY)
+                set(mingwDlltoolExecutable "${testCompilerDirectory}/dlltool.exe")
+                if(NOT EXISTS "${mingwDlltoolExecutable}")
+                    message(FATAL_ERROR "Cannot locate MinGW DLL tool: ${mingwDlltoolExecutable}")
+                endif()
+                set(msvcrtImportLibrary "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/windows_stdio_msvcrt_import.a")
+                add_custom_command(OUTPUT "${msvcrtImportLibrary}"
+                    COMMAND "${mingwDlltoolExecutable}" -d "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/elfpatcher/tests/WindowsMsvcrt.def"
+                        -l "${msvcrtImportLibrary}" -D msvcrt.dll
+                    DEPENDS elfpatcher/tests/WindowsMsvcrt.def
+                    VERBATIM)
+                add_custom_target(windows_stdio_msvcrt_import DEPENDS "${msvcrtImportLibrary}")
+                add_library(windows_stdio_host_msvcrt SHARED elfpatcher/tests/WindowsMsvcrtStdioHost.cpp)
+                add_dependencies(windows_stdio_host_msvcrt windows_stdio_msvcrt_import)
+                target_link_libraries(windows_stdio_host_msvcrt PRIVATE "${msvcrtImportLibrary}")
+                target_compile_options(windows_stdio_host_msvcrt PRIVATE -fno-builtin)
+                target_link_options(windows_stdio_host_msvcrt PRIVATE -nostdlib -Wl,--no-undefined -Wl,--entry,0)
+                set_target_properties(windows_stdio_host_msvcrt PROPERTIES PREFIX "" WINDOWS_EXPORT_ALL_SYMBOLS ON)
+                list(APPEND windows_stdio_host_arguments $<TARGET_FILE:windows_stdio_host_msvcrt>)
+            else()
+                add_library(windows_stdio_host SHARED elfpatcher/tests/WindowsStdioHost.cpp)
+                set_target_properties(windows_stdio_host PROPERTIES PREFIX "" WINDOWS_EXPORT_ALL_SYMBOLS ON)
+                list(APPEND windows_stdio_host_arguments $<TARGET_FILE:windows_stdio_host>)
+            endif()
+        endif()
         add_test(NAME windows_import_modules COMMAND ${Python3_EXECUTABLE}
-            ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/relinker/tests/test_windows_import_modules.py $<TARGET_FILE:relinker>)
+            ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/relinker/tests/test_windows_import_modules.py
+            $<TARGET_FILE:relinker> ${windows_stdio_host_arguments})
         add_test(NAME elf_header COMMAND ${Python3_EXECUTABLE}
             ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/relinker/tests/test_elf_header.py $<TARGET_FILE:relinker>)
         add_test(NAME input_magic COMMAND ${Python3_EXECUTABLE}
diff --git a/core/relinker/elfpatcher/tests/WindowsMsvcrt.def b/core/relinker/elfpatcher/tests/WindowsMsvcrt.def
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c163db8f4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/relinker/elfpatcher/tests/WindowsMsvcrt.def
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+LIBRARY msvcrt.dll
+EXPORTS
+    __iob_func
+    fputs
diff --git a/core/relinker/elfpatcher/tests/WindowsMsvcrtStdioHost.cpp b/core/relinker/elfpatcher/tests/WindowsMsvcrtStdioHost.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4c370e092
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/relinker/elfpatcher/tests/WindowsMsvcrtStdioHost.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+struct _iobuf {
+    char* ptr;
+    int count;
+    char* base;
+    int flags;
+    int file;
+    int charbuf;
+    int bufferSize;
+    char* tempName;
+};
+
+static_assert(sizeof(_iobuf) == 48);
+
+extern "C" _iobuf* __cdecl __iob_func();
+extern "C" int __cdecl fputs(const char*, _iobuf*);
+
+extern "C" int shared() {
+    auto* streams = __iob_func();
+    fputs("Windows DLL stdout probe\n", streams + 1);
+    fputs("Windows DLL stderr probe\n", streams + 2);
+    return 11;
+}
diff --git a/core/relinker/elfpatcher/tests/WindowsStdioHost.cpp b/core/relinker/elfpatcher/tests/WindowsStdioHost.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..72a29373f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/relinker/elfpatcher/tests/WindowsStdioHost.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+#include <cstdio>
+
+extern "C" int shared() {
+    std::fputs("Windows DLL stdout probe\n", stdout);
+    std::fputs("Windows DLL stderr probe\n", stderr);
+    return 11;
+}
diff --git a/core/relinker/relinker/tests/test_windows_import_modules.py b/core/relinker/relinker/tests/test_windows_import_modules.py
index 5001508c8..f23f2abda 100644
--- a/core/relinker/relinker/tests/test_windows_import_modules.py
+++ b/core/relinker/relinker/tests/test_windows_import_modules.py
@@ -67,6 +67,41 @@ def check_native_load_paths(output, libraries):
         assert code[calls[0] - 11:calls[0]] == b'\x48\x89\xf1\x31\xd2\x41\xb8\x00\x11\x00\x00', library
 
 
+def imported_symbols_by_dll(path):
+    pe = path.read_bytes()
+    header = struct.unpack_from('<I', pe, 0x3c)[0]
+    assert struct.unpack_from('<H', pe, header + 24)[0] == 0x20b, path
+    optional = header + 24
+    section_table = optional + struct.unpack_from('<H', pe, header + 20)[0]
+
+    def file_offset(rva):
+        for index in range(struct.unpack_from('<H', pe, header + 6)[0]):
+            offset = section_table + index * 40
+            size, start, raw_size, raw = struct.unpack_from('<IIII', pe, offset + 8)
+            if start <= rva < start + min(size, raw_size):
+                return raw + rva - start
+        raise AssertionError(f'RVA {rva:#x} has no file data in {path}')
+
+    import_rva = struct.unpack_from('<I', pe, optional + 112 + 8)[0]
+    assert import_rva, f'{path} has no import directory'
+    descriptor = file_offset(import_rva)
+    imports = {}
+    while any(pe[descriptor:descriptor + 20]):
+        lookup, _, _, name_rva, iat = struct.unpack_from('<IIIII', pe, descriptor)
+        name_offset = file_offset(name_rva)
+        dll = pe[name_offset:pe.index(b'\0', name_offset)].decode('ascii').lower()
+        symbols = set()
+        index = 0
+        while (symbol_rva := struct.unpack_from('<Q', pe, file_offset((lookup or iat) + index * 8))[0]):
+            if not symbol_rva & (1 << 63):
+                symbol_offset = file_offset(symbol_rva) + 2
+                symbols.add(pe[symbol_offset:pe.index(b'\0', symbol_offset)].decode('ascii'))
+            index += 1
+        imports[dll] = symbols
+        descriptor += 20
+    return imports
+
+
 def dynamic(image, offset, phoff, tags):
     for index, tag in enumerate(tags + [(0, 0)]):
         struct.pack_into('<qQ', image, offset + index * 16, *tag)
@@ -247,6 +282,133 @@ def exit_code_without_standard_handles(executable_path):
         kernel32.CloseHandle(process.hProcess)
 
 
+def run_with_standard_pipes(executable_path, capture_stdout, capture_stderr):
+    startf_usestdhandles = 0x00000100
+    handle_flag_inherit = 0x00000001
+    wait_object_0 = 0
+    wait_timeout = 0x00000102
+    error_broken_pipe = 109
+
+    class StartupInfo(ctypes.Structure):
+        _fields_ = [
+            ('cb', wintypes.DWORD),
+            ('lpReserved', wintypes.LPWSTR),
+            ('lpDesktop', wintypes.LPWSTR),
+            ('lpTitle', wintypes.LPWSTR),
+            ('dwX', wintypes.DWORD),
+            ('dwY', wintypes.DWORD),
+            ('dwXSize', wintypes.DWORD),
+            ('dwYSize', wintypes.DWORD),
+            ('dwXCountChars', wintypes.DWORD),
+            ('dwYCountChars', wintypes.DWORD),
+            ('dwFillAttribute', wintypes.DWORD),
+            ('dwFlags', wintypes.DWORD),
+            ('wShowWindow', wintypes.WORD),
+            ('cbReserved2', wintypes.WORD),
+            ('lpReserved2', wintypes.LPVOID),
+            ('hStdInput', wintypes.HANDLE),
+            ('hStdOutput', wintypes.HANDLE),
+            ('hStdError', wintypes.HANDLE),
+        ]
+
+    class ProcessInformation(ctypes.Structure):
+        _fields_ = [
+            ('hProcess', wintypes.HANDLE),
+            ('hThread', wintypes.HANDLE),
+            ('dwProcessId', wintypes.DWORD),
+            ('dwThreadId', wintypes.DWORD),
+        ]
+
+    kernel32 = ctypes.WinDLL('kernel32', use_last_error=True)
+    kernel32.CreatePipe.argtypes = [ctypes.POINTER(wintypes.HANDLE), ctypes.POINTER(wintypes.HANDLE),
+                                   wintypes.LPVOID, wintypes.DWORD]
+    kernel32.CreatePipe.restype = wintypes.BOOL
+    kernel32.SetHandleInformation.argtypes = [wintypes.HANDLE, wintypes.DWORD, wintypes.DWORD]
+    kernel32.SetHandleInformation.restype = wintypes.BOOL
+    kernel32.CreateProcessW.argtypes = [wintypes.LPCWSTR, wintypes.LPWSTR, wintypes.LPVOID, wintypes.LPVOID,
+                                        wintypes.BOOL, wintypes.DWORD, wintypes.LPVOID, wintypes.LPCWSTR,
+                                        ctypes.POINTER(StartupInfo), ctypes.POINTER(ProcessInformation)]
+    kernel32.CreateProcessW.restype = wintypes.BOOL
+    kernel32.WaitForSingleObject.argtypes = [wintypes.HANDLE, wintypes.DWORD]
+    kernel32.WaitForSingleObject.restype = wintypes.DWORD
+    kernel32.GetExitCodeProcess.argtypes = [wintypes.HANDLE, ctypes.POINTER(wintypes.DWORD)]
+    kernel32.GetExitCodeProcess.restype = wintypes.BOOL
+    kernel32.TerminateProcess.argtypes = [wintypes.HANDLE, wintypes.UINT]
+    kernel32.TerminateProcess.restype = wintypes.BOOL
+    kernel32.ReadFile.argtypes = [wintypes.HANDLE, wintypes.LPVOID, wintypes.DWORD,
+                                  ctypes.POINTER(wintypes.DWORD), wintypes.LPVOID]
+    kernel32.ReadFile.restype = wintypes.BOOL
+    kernel32.CloseHandle.argtypes = [wintypes.HANDLE]
+    kernel32.CloseHandle.restype = wintypes.BOOL
+
+    read_handles = {}
+    write_handles = {}
+    for stream, capture in (('stdout', capture_stdout), ('stderr', capture_stderr)):
+        if not capture:
+            continue
+        read_handle = wintypes.HANDLE()
+        write_handle = wintypes.HANDLE()
+        if not kernel32.CreatePipe(ctypes.byref(read_handle), ctypes.byref(write_handle), None, 0):
+            raise OSError(ctypes.get_last_error(), 'CreatePipe failed')
+        if not kernel32.SetHandleInformation(read_handle, handle_flag_inherit, 0):
+            kernel32.CloseHandle(read_handle)
+            kernel32.CloseHandle(write_handle)
+            raise OSError(ctypes.get_last_error(), 'SetHandleInformation failed')
+        if not kernel32.SetHandleInformation(write_handle, handle_flag_inherit, handle_flag_inherit):
+            kernel32.CloseHandle(read_handle)
+            kernel32.CloseHandle(write_handle)
+            raise OSError(ctypes.get_last_error(), 'SetHandleInformation failed')
+        read_handles[stream] = read_handle
+        write_handles[stream] = write_handle
+
+    info = StartupInfo()
+    info.cb = ctypes.sizeof(info)
+    info.dwFlags = startf_usestdhandles
+    info.hStdOutput = write_handles.get('stdout')
+    info.hStdError = write_handles.get('stderr')
+    process = ProcessInformation()
+    command = ctypes.create_unicode_buffer(f'"{executable_path}"')
+    if not kernel32.CreateProcessW(str(executable_path), command, None, None, bool(write_handles), 0, None, None,
+                                   ctypes.byref(info), ctypes.byref(process)):
+        for handle in [*read_handles.values(), *write_handles.values()]:
+            kernel32.CloseHandle(handle)
+        raise OSError(ctypes.get_last_error(), 'CreateProcessW failed')
+
+    try:
+        for handle in write_handles.values():
+            kernel32.CloseHandle(handle)
+        write_handles.clear()
+        result = kernel32.WaitForSingleObject(process.hProcess, 30_000)
+        if result == wait_timeout:
+            kernel32.TerminateProcess(process.hProcess, 0xffffffff)
+            kernel32.WaitForSingleObject(process.hProcess, 0xffffffff)
+            raise TimeoutError('GUI child did not exit')
+        if result != wait_object_0:
+            raise OSError(f'WaitForSingleObject returned {result}')
+        exit_code = wintypes.DWORD()
+        if not kernel32.GetExitCodeProcess(process.hProcess, ctypes.byref(exit_code)):
+            raise OSError(ctypes.get_last_error(), 'GetExitCodeProcess failed')
+
+        output = {}
+        for stream, handle in read_handles.items():
+            chunks = []
+            while True:
+                buffer = ctypes.create_string_buffer(4096)
+                count = wintypes.DWORD()
+                if not kernel32.ReadFile(handle, buffer, len(buffer), ctypes.byref(count), None):
+                    if ctypes.get_last_error() != error_broken_pipe:
+                        raise OSError(ctypes.get_last_error(), f'ReadFile failed for {stream}')
+                    break
+                if count.value == 0:
+                    break
+                chunks.append(buffer.raw[:count.value])
+            output[stream] = b''.join(chunks).decode(errors='replace')
+        return exit_code.value, output.get('stdout', ''), output.get('stderr', '')
+    finally:
+        for handle in [*read_handles.values(), process.hThread, process.hProcess]:
+            kernel32.CloseHandle(handle)
+
+
 def main():
     relinker = Path(sys.argv[1]).resolve()
     with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory(prefix='anyps5-import-modules-') as directory:
@@ -384,6 +546,63 @@ def main():
         assert not output.exists()
 
         if os.name == 'nt':
+            for host_library in sys.argv[2:]:
+                library = Path(host_library).resolve()
+                runtime = library.stem.removeprefix('windows_stdio_host_')
+                if runtime == library.stem:
+                    runtime = 'default'
+                if runtime == 'msvcrt':
+                    imports = imported_symbols_by_dll(library)
+                    assert {'__iob_func', 'fputs'} <= imports.get('msvcrt.dll', set()), (library, imports)
+                    assert not any(name.startswith('api-ms-win-crt-') for name in imports), (library, imports)
+
+                def convert_stdio_case(case_name):
+                    case = work / case_name
+                    (case / 'prx').mkdir(parents=True)
+                    libs = case / 'libs'
+                    libs.mkdir()
+                    source = case / 'input.elf'
+                    source.write_bytes(executable('a.prx', 'shared'))
+                    executable_path = case / 'output.exe'
+                    result = subprocess.run([str(relinker), '--windows', '--windows-gui', str(source), str(executable_path)],
+                                            capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=30)
+                    assert result.returncode == 0, result.stderr
+                    (libs / 'a.prx').write_bytes(library.read_bytes())
+                    return executable_path, executable_path.parent / 'anyps5.log'
+
+                executable_path, log = convert_stdio_case(f'gui-dll-{runtime}-both-missing')
+                run_status = exit_code_without_standard_handles(executable_path)
+                assert run_status == 11, (runtime, hex(run_status))
+                assert log.is_file(), (runtime, log)
+                content = log.read_text(errors='replace')
+                assert 'Windows DLL stdout probe' in content, (runtime, content)
+                assert 'Windows DLL stderr probe' in content, (runtime, content)
+
+                executable_path, log = convert_stdio_case(f'gui-dll-{runtime}-stdout-missing')
+                run_status, stdout, stderr = run_with_standard_pipes(executable_path, False, True)
+                assert run_status == 11, (runtime, hex(run_status))
+                assert log.is_file(), (runtime, log)
+                content = log.read_text(errors='replace')
+                assert 'Windows DLL stdout probe' in content, (runtime, content)
+                assert 'Windows DLL stderr probe' in stderr, (runtime, stderr)
+                assert not stdout
+
+                executable_path, log = convert_stdio_case(f'gui-dll-{runtime}-stderr-missing')
+                run_status, stdout, stderr = run_with_standard_pipes(executable_path, True, False)
+                assert run_status == 11, (runtime, hex(run_status))
+                assert log.is_file(), (runtime, log)
+                content = log.read_text(errors='replace')
+                assert 'Windows DLL stdout probe' in stdout, (runtime, stdout)
+                assert 'Windows DLL stderr probe' in content, (runtime, content)
+                assert not stderr
+
+                executable_path, log = convert_stdio_case(f'gui-dll-{runtime}-both-redirected')
+                run_status, stdout, stderr = run_with_standard_pipes(executable_path, True, True)
+                assert run_status == 11, (runtime, hex(run_status))
+                assert 'Windows DLL stdout probe' in stdout, (runtime, stdout)
+                assert 'Windows DLL stderr probe' in stderr, (runtime, stderr)
+                assert not log.exists(), (runtime, log)
+
             for name, owner, symbol, expected, message in [
                     ('missing-symbol-gui', 'a.prx', 'absent#A#B', 0xc0000139, 'unresolved ELF import absent'),
                     ('missing-dependency-gui', 'missing.prx', 'shared#A#B', 0xc0000135, 'Failed to load module')]:

From b390831a5808666b39f2899cc5b19575a0ee38d5 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: danzaio <danzaio@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Mon, 12 Oct 2026 00:18:47 -0300
Subject: [PATCH 4/4] docs(user): relocate Windows standard handles logging
 note to Windows runtime layout section

---
 docs/user/USAGE.md | 4 ++--
 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/docs/user/USAGE.md b/docs/user/USAGE.md
index 2f6b5d8d0..d7ded955a 100644
--- a/docs/user/USAGE.md
+++ b/docs/user/USAGE.md
@@ -106,6 +106,8 @@ Windows PowerShell:
 .\app.exe
 ```
 
+A Windows executable started without a standard output or error handle, such as a `--windows-gui` build started from Explorer, writes that output to `anyps5.log` beside it, replacing the previous run's file. Without write access to that directory it runs without the log.
+
 ### Controller input for test runs
 
 Set `APS5_PAD_INPUT_FILE` to an absolute path before launching the application to enable controller pulses from a local command file. Once the application is reading controller input, send a button with the helper from the repository root:
@@ -119,8 +121,6 @@ python3 tools/pad_input.py /tmp/anyps5-pad release
 
 Run the helper in a second terminal. Commands are polled at most every 100 ms during controller reads and add to physical controller input. A press lasts 300 ms by default, starting when the application reads it, and releases automatically; `--hold-ms` accepts 1–5000 ms. Wait for the application to observe a release before sending another press. The file holds only the latest command; rapid commands can replace one another. Commands left over when the application first reads the controller are ignored. Without the environment variable, file input is disabled.
 
-A Windows executable started without a standard output or error handle, such as a `--windows-gui` build started from Explorer, writes that output to `anyps5.log` beside it, replacing the previous run's file. Without write access to that directory it runs without the log.
-
 ### System fonts
 
 Games that open the console's system font sets (`sceFontOpenFontSet`) need font files in an `anyps5-fonts/` directory beside the output executable; set `ANYPS5_SYSTEM_FONTS` to use another directory. Files dumped from the console are used under their own names (`SST-Roman.otf`, `SST-Bold.otf`, `SSTJpPro-Regular.otf`, ...). Without them, these openly licensed substitutes are used when present: `NotoSans-{Light,Regular,Medium,Bold}.ttf` and `NotoSans-{LightItalic,Italic,MediumItalic,BoldItalic}.ttf` (Latin and Vietnamese), `NotoSansMono-{Light,Regular,Medium,Bold}.ttf` (typewriter), `NotoSansThai-{Light,Regular,Medium,Bold}.ttf` (Thai) and `NotoSansCJK-{Light,Regular,Medium,Bold}.ttc` (Japanese and Chinese). Without either, opening a system font set fails and the game shows no text in those fonts.