# ACPI I2C / I2C-HID Implementation Plan ## Goal Implement a real laptop-class ACPI I2C stack for Red Bear OS, with `I2C-HID via ACPI` as the first user-visible deliverable. This is required for modern touchpads, keyboards, and other embedded input devices that are no longer exposed via PS/2. The shortest correct path is: `ACPI _CRS decode` -> `I2C controller ownership` -> `I2C bus API/scheme` -> `i2c-hidd` -> `inputd integration` This work must be treated as bare-metal boot-critical substrate, not as optional polish. ## Current State (updated 2026-04-22) ### What exists - **`acpid`** has AML evaluation and a scheme surface for tables, AML symbols, DMI, power, reboot, and PCI registration. `acpid/src/resources.rs` has a complete `_CRS` resource decoder (922 lines) supporting IRQ, ExtendedIrq, GpioInt/GpioIo, I2cSerialBus, Memory32Range, FixedMemory32, Address32, Address64. - **`/scheme/acpi/resources/`** endpoint (IN PROGRESS) — acpid's `decode_resource_template()` exists but is not yet wired into the scheme surface. This is the #1 remaining gap. - **`i2cd`** scheme daemon — full `/scheme/i2c` API with adapter registration, transfer handling, provider FD passing. Located at `drivers/i2c/i2cd/`. - **`i2c-interface`** shared types — `I2cAdapterInfo`, `I2cTransferRequest/Response`, `I2cControlRequest/Response`. Located at `drivers/i2c/i2c-interface/`. - **Intel LPSS I2C controller** (`intel-lpss-i2cd`) — ACPI-based enumeration, DesignWare IP, MMIO access. Registers as adapter with i2cd. - **DesignWare ACPI I2C** (`dw-acpi-i2cd`) — Generic DW IP adapter, ACPI companion binding. - **AMD MP2 I2C** (`amd-mp2-i2cd`) — AMD Picasso/Renoir platform I2C via MP2. - **`i2c-hidd`** (2311 lines) — Full I2C HID client daemon: - ACPI PNP0C50/ACPI0C50 device scanning - `_CRS` resource decoding (I2cSerialBus, GpioInt, GpioIo, IRQ) - `_DSM` HID descriptor address evaluation - HID descriptor and report descriptor fetching - Input report streaming to `inputd` (mouse, keyboard, buttons) - `_STA` gating, `_PS0`/`_PS3`/`_INI` power management - GPIO I/O probe-failure quirk recovery (DMI-matched) - THC companion `ICRS` slave-address override - Marker emission (RB_I2C_HIDD_SCHEMA/SNAPSHOT/BLOCKER) - **`intel-thc-hidd`** (1400 lines) — Intel THC QuickI2C transport: - PCI device driver via pcid - ACPI companion resolution (`_ADR` matching) - `ICRS`/`ISUB` method consumption - PNP0C50 scan and THC-bound candidate diagnostics - BAR mapping, DW subIP I2C access - Registers `intel-thc-quicki2c` adapter into i2cd - Marker emission (RB_THC_HIDD_SCHEMA/HIDD/FATAL) - **`i2c-gpio-expanderd`** — Bridges GPIO controller operations to I2C-attached expanders - **`ucsid`** — UCSI daemon with PNP0CA0/AMDI0042 discovery, I2C transport, policy-driven `input_critical` classification, bounded `_DSM` read probe, `/scheme/ucsi/summary` - **`hwd`** ACPI backend — Detects PNP0C50, Intel LPSS, DesignWare, AMD, THC, UCSI IDs. Emits RB_THC_QUICKI2C, RB_UCSI_* markers. Consumes `/scheme/ucsi/summary`. - **`amlserde`** — AML serialization/deserialization, including `AmlSerdeValue::Buffer` (needed for `_CRS`), `RegionSpace::GenericSerialBus` for I2C/SMBus opregions. - **Init services** — `redbear-live-mini.toml` wires `i2cd`, `i2c-hidd`, `i2c-dw-acpi`, `i2c-gpio-expanderd`, `intel-gpiod`, `ucsid` with non-blocking startup ordering. ### What is missing (active gaps) 1. **`/scheme/acpi/resources/` scheme endpoint** — `acpid` has the decoder (`decode_resource_template()`) but does not expose it through the scheme. Five consumers (i2c-hidd, dw-acpi-i2cd, intel-thc-hidd, i2c-gpio-expanderd, ucsid) all read from `/scheme/acpi/resources/{path}` but would get ENOENT at runtime. This is the #1 blocker. 2. **Resource type duplication** — All five consumers above have their own duplicate `ResourceDescriptor` type definitions instead of using a shared crate. This violates the design rule "decode ACPI resources once in acpid; do not duplicate _CRS parsing in every consumer." A shared `acpi-resource` crate needs to be extracted from `acpid/src/resources.rs` and adopted by all consumers. 3. **`_S0W` / wake-capable handling** — `i2c-hidd`'s `GpioDescriptor` has a `wake_capable` field but no explicit wake wiring. `_S0W` evaluation is not implemented. These are sleep/resume features, not boot-critical. 4. **GenericSerialBus / SMBus opregion support** — Not yet implemented. Only needed where firmware actually requires it for I2C device operation. 5. **Native THC DMA/report transport** — `intel-thc-hidd` uses the DW I2C subIP path but native DMA transport is still missing. 6. **Runtime hardware validation** — All code compiles but no laptop-class hardware has been validated with a working I2C-HID input path end-to-end. ### Design rule violation being fixed The "decode once" principle is currently violated: five consumers each have their own `ResourceDescriptor` types and `read_device_resources()` functions. The ongoing work extracts a shared `acpi-resource` crate from `acpid/src/resources.rs` and refactors all consumers to use it. ## Reference Carriers In Local Tree These Linux sources are reference carriers only. They should guide design and descriptor semantics, but should not be transliterated blindly. - `build/linux-kernel-cache/linux-7.0/drivers/hid/i2c-hid/i2c-hid-acpi.c` - `build/linux-kernel-cache/linux-7.0/drivers/hid/i2c-hid/i2c-hid-core.c` - `build/linux-kernel-cache/linux-7.0/drivers/i2c/i2c-core-acpi.c` - `build/linux-kernel-cache/linux-7.0/drivers/acpi/resource.c` - `build/linux-kernel-cache/linux-7.0/drivers/mfd/intel-lpss-pci.c` - `build/linux-kernel-cache/linux-7.0/drivers/mfd/intel-lpss-acpi.c` - `build/linux-kernel-cache/linux-7.0/drivers/i2c/busses/i2c-designware-amdpsp.c` - `build/linux-kernel-cache/linux-7.0/drivers/i2c/busses/i2c-amd-mp2-pci.c` ## Execution Order ### Phase A: ACPI `_CRS` substrate — IN PROGRESS Deliverables: - add decoded ACPI resource support in `acpid` - expose decoded device resources through `/scheme/acpi/resources/` - support at minimum: - IRQ - Extended IRQ - GPIO interrupt - GPIO I/O - `I2cSerialBus` Current status: - ✅ `acpid/src/resources.rs` — complete `_CRS` decoder (922 lines) - ✅ `decode_resource_template()` function with all descriptor types - 🚧 `/scheme/acpi/resources/` endpoint — decoder exists but not wired into scheme - 🚧 `acpi-resource` shared crate — extracting from acpid to eliminate duplication in 5 consumers Acceptance: - a consumer can query decoded resources for a device path without reimplementing AML resource decoding - known laptop devices show valid controller link, slave address, and interrupt metadata ### Phase B: Native I2C substrate — COMPLETE Deliverables: - add a small `i2cd` scheme / API - support controller registration, transfers, and per-device addressing - keep scope tight; do not clone Linux I2C core complexity Current status: - ✅ `i2cd` — full `/scheme/i2c` scheme with adapter registry, transfers, provider FD passing - ✅ `i2c-interface` — shared types (I2cAdapterInfo, I2cTransferRequest, I2cControlRequest) - ✅ Controller registration and transfer API working Acceptance: - ✅ a userspace daemon can open an adapter and issue I2C transfers using a stable Red Bear API ### Phase C: Intel laptop controller path — COMPLETE Deliverables: - add Intel LPSS / Serial IO I2C controller ownership first Current status: - ✅ `intel-lpss-i2cd` — Intel LPSS/SerialIO I2C controller with DesignWare IP - ✅ `dw-acpi-i2cd` — DesignWare ACPI-bound I2C adapter - ✅ Both register with i2cd and provide transfer capability Acceptance: - compile-visible: ✅ at least one Intel controller driver registers a usable I2C adapter - runtime: ❌ no bare-metal validation yet ### Phase D: `i2c-hidd` — COMPLETE (compile-visible) Deliverables: - bind ACPI `PNP0C50` / `ACPI0C50` - evaluate `_DSM` using the HID-over-I2C GUID to retrieve the HID descriptor address - fetch HID descriptor and report descriptor via I2C - stream input reports into `inputd` Current status: - ✅ `i2c-hidd` — 2311-line daemon with full ACPI scanning, _DSM, HID protocol, input streaming - ✅ `intel-thc-hidd` — 1400-line THC QuickI2C transport daemon - ✅ Both have marker emission for boot-log diagnostics Acceptance: - compile-visible: ✅ all code builds - runtime: ❌ no laptop touchpad or keyboard has produced usable events yet (blocked by Phase A) ### Phase E: AMD controller path — COMPLETE (compile-visible) Deliverables: - add AMD laptop-class I2C controller support - likely DesignWare / MP2 mediated paths depending on platform Current status: - ✅ `amd-mp2-i2cd` — AMD MP2 I2C controller driver - ✅ `dw-acpi-i2cd` also handles AMD DesignWare IDs (AMDI0010, AMDI0019, AMDI0510) Acceptance: - compile-visible: ✅ AMD controller driver exists and registers with i2cd - runtime: ❌ no AMD laptop validated ### Phase F: Remaining ACPI I2C functions — PARTIALLY COMPLETE Deliverables and status: | Feature | Status | Detail | |---------|--------|--------| | `_STA` gating before bind | ✅ | `i2c-hidd:prepare_acpi_device()` checks presence bit | | `_INI` where required | ✅ | Evaluated after `_PS0` in `prepare_acpi_device()` | | `_PS0` / `_PS3` power transitions | ✅ | `prepare_acpi_device()` and `recover_acpi_device()` | | `GpioInt`/`GpioIo` reset | ✅ | DMI-matched GPIO I/O probe-failure quirk recovery | | `_S0W` / wake-capable | ❌ | `wake_capable` field exists but not wired; `_S0W` not evaluated | | GpioInt wake wiring | ❌ | Wake interrupt path not implemented | | GenericSerialBus opregion | ❌ | Not needed for boot; only where firmware requires it | Acceptance: - boot-critical items (STA, PS0, PS3, GPIO reset): ✅ - sleep/resume items (S0W, wake, opregion): ❌ deferred until sleep/resume is in scope ## Design Rules - prefer a small, explicit Red Bear userspace API over Linux-core emulation - decode ACPI resources once in `acpid`; do not duplicate `_CRS` parsing in every consumer - make controller ownership data-driven through decoded ACPI resources where possible - keep laptop input as a boot-resilience feature, not a desktop-only feature - treat Intel and AMD laptops as equal-priority hardware targets ## Other Boot-Relevant I2C Device Classes `I2C-HID` is the first and most important I2C deliverable, but it is not the only I2C-related surface that can matter during boot on modern bare metal. ### Highest priority after `I2C-HID` - GPIO expanders used to expose reset, enable, interrupt, or wake lines for input devices - platform-specific I2C controller companions that gate access to the actual `I2C-HID` device Concrete implementation carriers in local Linux reference tree: - `drivers/hid/intel-thc-hid/intel-quicki2c/*` for Intel THC QuickI2C-backed HID paths (Lunar/Panther/Nova/Wildcat generations) - `drivers/gpio/*` families used as ACPI `GpioInt`/`GpioIo` providers for input reset/wake rails - `drivers/i2c/i2c-core-acpi.c` resource binding behavior for controller/device matching semantics These are not always directly user-visible as "devices", but they are boot-relevant whenever the keyboard/touchpad path depends on them. ### Sometimes boot-relevant - USB-C / UCSI / PD related I2C-attached endpoints on platforms where a USB-C attached keyboard or dock path is firmware-mediated and not available without those services - embedded controller-adjacent I2C peripherals that gate keyboard/touchpad power or wake routing These should be treated as platform-dependent bring-up work, not as universal phase-1 targets. ### Not first-order blockers for reaching login - sensors (accelerometer, gyro, ambient light) - battery / charger / fuel-gauge devices - camera-side I2C devices - most audio codecs and amplifier control devices - thermal and fan-adjacent I2C sensors These matter for full laptop support, but they do not outrank keyboard/touchpad bring-up for live boot and recovery. ## Boot Priority Order For boot-to-login on modern laptops, the correct priority is: 1. `I2C-HID` keyboards and touchpads 2. any GPIO-expander or companion I2C devices required to make those devices usable 3. platform-specific USB-C / UCSI I2C surfaces only on machines that actually depend on them for input availability 4. all other I2C-attached peripherals ## Immediate Next Steps 1. ~~land `_CRS` decoding in `acpid`~~ ✅ (decoder exists) 2. expose decoded resources under `/scheme/acpi/resources/` ← **ACTIVE WORK** 3. extract `acpi-resource` shared crate and eliminate duplicate types ← **ACTIVE WORK** 4. validate decoded `I2cSerialBus` and GPIO/IRQ data on real hardware logs 5. end-to-end I2C-HID input validation on bare metal ## Boot-Critical I2C Addendum (post-Phase D) The remaining boot-critical order after initial `i2c-hidd` is: 1. Intel THC QuickI2C transport path for ACPI-described HID devices on new Intel laptops 2. GPIO companion completeness for `GpioInt` and `GpioIo` reset/wake wiring 3. platform-specific I2C controller companions only where they gate input availability Anything outside this list should not preempt keyboard/touchpad path completion for boot-to-login. ### Concrete device classes to implement next (boot-first order) | Priority | Device class | Linux carrier in tree | Red Bear status | |---|---|---|---| | P0 | Intel THC QuickI2C transport (`HID over THC`) | `drivers/hid/intel-thc-hid/intel-quicki2c/*` | ✅ detection, BAR mapping, DW subIP adapter registration landed; native DMA transport still missing | | P1 | GPIO companions for `GpioInt`/`GpioIo` (reset/wake rails) | `drivers/gpio/*`, ACPI resource flow | ✅ GPIO I/O probe-failure quirk recovery landed; wake wiring still missing | | P2 | Controller-companion ACPI methods (`_DSM/_DSD`) that gate input | `i2c-core-acpi.c`, QuickI2C ACPI helpers | ✅ ICRS/ISUB companion methods consumed; platform-specific gaps remain | | P3 | USB-C/UCSI I2C only on machines where input depends on it | `drivers/usb/typec/ucsi/*` and ACPI glue | ✅ ACPI UCSI discovery + bounded I2C probe + `/scheme/ucsi/summary` landed; runtime UCSI transport/partner path still missing | This order is strict for boot-to-login resilience on modern laptops. ## Marker Emission Summary The I2C stack uses structured marker lines for CI/log scraping: | Producer | Marker | Purpose | |----------|--------|---------| | `hwd` | `RB_THC_QUICKI2K_SCHEMA` / `RB_THC_QUICKI2K` | THC companion readiness | | `hwd` | `RB_UCSI_SCHEMA` / `RB_UCSI_SNAPSHOT` / `RB_UCSI_SUMMARY` / `RB_UCSI_HEALTH` / `RB_UCSI_DEVICE` | UCSI topology readiness | | `i2c-hidd` | `RB_I2C_HIDD_SCHEMA` / `RB_I2C_HIDD_BLOCKER` / `RB_I2C_HIDD_SNAPSHOT` | HID bind progress and blockers | | `intel-thc-hidd` | `RB_THC_HIDD_SCHEMA` / `RB_THC_HIDD` / `RB_THC_HIDD_FATAL` | THC transport bring-up status | | `ucsid` | `RB_UCSID_SCHEMA` / `RB_UCSID_SUMMARY` / `RB_UCSID_DEVICE` / `RB_UCSID_HEALTH` | UCSI daemon diagnostics | All markers carry `generation=` for cycle-level correlation across producers. ## Service Boot Ordering ``` 00_base.target → 40_pcid.service (PCI enumeration) → 41_acpid.service (ACPI tables + AML evaluation) → 40_hwd.service (hardware discovery + markers) → 00_i2cd.service (I2C adapter registry) → 00_i2c-dw-acpi.service (DesignWare I2C controllers) → 00_intel-gpiod.service (Intel GPIO controller) → 00_i2c-gpio-expanderd.service (GPIO expander companion) → 00_i2c-hidd.service (I2C HID devices — touchpads, keyboards) → 00_ucsid.service (UCSI USB-C topology) ``` All I2C services use non-blocking (`oneshot_async`) startup so the boot path is not blocked by any single service's probe latency.