RedBear-OS/local/docs/ACPI-I2C-HID-IMPLEMENTATION-PLAN.md

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/<device> 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/<device> 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/<device>
• 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/<device> 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=<n> 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.