Windows device driver installation and management tool.
This little self-contained, no-dependency tool can be built either as a console application or a Windows application which has no visible window (ideal to use in combination with setup makers). It offers a command-line-based driver (un-)installer and allows for simple manipulation of class filter entries. Run nefconc.exe --help to see all the options offered.
Windows Device Driver management is and always has been hard. The APIs involved are old, moody and come with pitfalls. Historically the devcon tool or nowadays pnputil have been used to offload these tedious tasks, but unintuitive and sparsely documented command line arguments and error propagation make them poor candidates for automation in e.g. setup engines. Having grown tired of these limitations I made this "devcon clone" available under a permissive license which offers the following highlighted features and more:
- Allows for true window-less execution
- Actively suppresses and works around user interaction inconsistencies ("reboot required" dialogs and OS-included bugs)
- Offers optional logging to
stdoutor file - Sane command line arguments 😁
- Manipulation of class filter entries
- Supports installation of primitive drivers
- Visual Studio 2022 (Community Edition is free)
- Windows SDK
Dependencies must be installed before the first build from Visual Studio:
- Clone the repository and initialize submodules:
git submodule update --init --recursive(ensures the vcpkg submodule is populated) - Open Developer Command Prompt for VS 2022 (or x64 Native Tools for x64/ARM64, x86 Native Tools for Win32)
- Run
prepare-deps.batfrom the repo root (installs all platforms) orprepare-deps.bat x64for x64 only - Build the solution in Visual Studio
Dependencies (argh, detours, easyloggingpp, neflib, etc.) are declared in vcpkg.json and installed via vcpkg (included as a submodule). The build will use existing vcpkg_installed if present.
Binaries are available to download in the releases page, just download and extract. However, if you are using a package manager, you can use one of the following options:
This is a community-maintained source and might lag behind GitHub releases.
nefcon is available in the Extras bucket:
scoop bucket add extras
scoop install nefcon
This is a community-maintained source and might lag behind GitHub releases.
nefcon is available in the winget-pkgs repository:
winget install nefcon
All commands require Administrator privileges unless noted. Paths may be absolute or relative to the current working directory. GUID format: xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx (brackets optional). Check exit code ERROR_SUCCESS_REBOOT_REQUIRED (3010) when a reboot is needed.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
--install-driver |
Primitive driver install (Win10 1903+); uses DiInstallDriverW |
--uninstall-driver |
Primitive driver uninstall |
--inf-default-install |
Legacy INF with [DefaultInstall] (e.g. Btrfs, volume controllers) |
--inf-default-uninstall |
Legacy INF with [DefaultUninstall] section |
--create-device-node |
Create ROOT-enumerated virtual device |
--remove-device-node |
Remove all matching devices and driver; cleans driver store when unused |
--add-class-filter |
Add upper/lower filter to device class |
--remove-class-filter |
Remove upper/lower filter |
--create-driver-service |
Create kernel driver service |
--remove-driver-service |
Delete kernel driver service |
--delete-file-on-reboot |
Schedule file deletion on next reboot |
--find-hwid |
Search devices by partial hardware ID (no admin) |
--enable-bluetooth-service |
Enable local Bluetooth service |
--disable-bluetooth-service |
Disable local Bluetooth service |
remove [HardwareID] |
devcon-compatible device removal (device only, driver stays in store) |
-v, --version |
Display version |
--install-driver — Installs a primitive driver via DiInstallDriverW. Use for INF-based software packages targeting Windows 10 1903+ that are not tied to hardware.
- Required:
--inf-path(path to INF, absolute or relative to CWD) - Pitfalls: INF must exist; reboot may be required (check exit code)
- When to use: Primitive drivers, DCH-compliant packages
--uninstall-driver — Uninstalls a primitive driver via DiUninstallDriverW.
- Required:
--inf-path - Pitfalls: Same as
--install-driver
--inf-default-install — Installs an INF with [DefaultInstall] via InstallHInfSection. Use for legacy INFs (e.g. file system drivers like Btrfs).
- Required:
--inf-path - When to use: Legacy INFs with
[DefaultInstall]; not for primitive drivers
--inf-default-uninstall — Uninstalls an INF with [DefaultUninstall] section.
- Required:
--inf-path
--create-device-node — Creates a ROOT-enumerated virtual device.
- Required:
--hardware-id,--class-name,--class-guid - Optional:
--no-duplicates— skips creation if a device with the same hardware ID already exists (returns success). Recommended for upgrade paths to avoid duplicate device instances. - When to use: Software-enumerated devices (e.g. HidHide, virtual HID)
--remove-device-node — Removes all devices matching hardware ID and class GUID, plus the driver from the driver store when no device uses it anymore. Also removes matching devices that currently have no driver loaded.
- Required:
--hardware-id,--class-guid - Behavior: One run removes all matching devices (not just a single occurrence); removes the driver copy from the driver store if no remaining device uses it
- Pitfalls: Reboot may be required
--add-class-filter — Adds a service to a device class upper or lower filter list.
- Required:
--position(upperorlower),--service-name,--class-guid - Pitfalls: Reconnect affected devices or reboot to apply
- When to use: Filter drivers (e.g. HidHide on HIDClass)
--remove-class-filter — Removes a service from the filter list.
- Required: Same as
--add-class-filter
--create-driver-service — Creates a kernel driver service.
- Required:
--bin-path(path to .sys),--service-name,--display-name - Pitfalls: Binary must exist; does not start the service
--remove-driver-service — Deletes a kernel driver service.
- Required:
--service-name
--delete-file-on-reboot — Marks a file for deletion on next reboot. May take ownership if access denied.
- Required:
--file-path - When to use: Cleaning up driver files, locked files
--find-hwid — Searches for devices by partial hardware ID. Does not require admin.
- Required:
--hardware-id(partial match) - Exit codes:
ERROR_NOT_FOUNDif no match - When to use: Discovering device hardware IDs before install/remove
--enable-bluetooth-service / --disable-bluetooth-service — Toggle a local Bluetooth service.
- Required:
--service-name,--service-guid
--default-log-file=.\log.txt— Write execution details to file--verbose— Enable diagnostic logging
install [INFFile] [HardwareID] — Drop-in for devcon install. Creates ROOT-enumerated device and installs driver. The /r flag is not supported; check exit code for reboot requirement.
- Optional:
--no-duplicates— skips device node creation if a device with the same hardware ID already exists; still updates the driver. Ideal for upgrade/reinstall scenarios. - Optional:
--remove-duplicates— when used together with--no-duplicates, removes all but one matching device node before the driver update. Solves the common problem of multiple device nodes with the same hardware ID accumulating due to past setup failures or script reruns. Has no effect without--no-duplicates(a warning is logged).
remove [HardwareID] — Drop-in for devcon remove. Removes all present devices whose hardware ID matches (case-insensitive). The behavior of devcon remove has been intentionally replicated 1:1 so that existing scripts and setup tools relying on this semantic continue to work without modification.
- No class GUID required — enumerates across all device classes automatically.
- Important: Unlike
--remove-device-node, this command only removes the device node viaDIF_REMOVE. The driver package remains in the driver store. Use--remove-device-nodewhen you also want to clean the driver from the store.
Use nefconc for console output, nefconw for windowless execution (e.g. in setup makers). Run nefconc.exe --help for all options.
nefconw --install-driver --inf-path "Path\To\Inf.inf"
nefconw --uninstall-driver --inf-path "Path\To\Inf.inf"
Use --inf-default-install for INFs with [DefaultInstall] (e.g. file system drivers). Use --install-driver for primitive drivers (Win10 1903+).
nefconw --inf-default-install --inf-path "F:\Downloads\btrfs-1.8\btrfs.inf"
nefconw --inf-default-uninstall --inf-path "F:\Downloads\btrfs-1.8\btrfs.inf"
nefconw --create-device-node --hardware-id root\HidHide --class-name System --class-guid 4D36E97D-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318
nefconw --remove-device-node --hardware-id root\HidHide --class-guid 4D36E97D-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318
# Upgrade-safe: only creates the node if it doesn't already exist
nefconw --create-device-node --hardware-id root\HidHide --class-name System --class-guid 4D36E97D-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318 --no-duplicates
nefconw --add-class-filter --position upper --service-name HidHide --class-guid 745a17a0-74d3-11d0-b6fe-00a0c90f57da
nefconw --remove-class-filter --position upper --service-name HidHide --class-guid 745a17a0-74d3-11d0-b6fe-00a0c90f57da
nefconw --create-driver-service --bin-path "C:\Drivers\MyDriver.sys" --service-name MyDriver --display-name "My Driver"
nefconw --remove-driver-service --service-name MyDriver
nefconw --delete-file-on-reboot --file-path "C:\Windows\System32\drivers\olddriver.sys"
nefconc --find-hwid --hardware-id "USB\VID_1234"
nefconw --enable-bluetooth-service --service-name "My BLE Service" --service-guid 0000180a-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb
nefconw --disable-bluetooth-service --service-name "My BLE Service" --service-guid 0000180a-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb
nefconw install "Path\To\Inf.inf" "root\MyDevice"
# Upgrade-safe: skips node creation if device exists, still updates the driver
nefconw install "Path\To\Inf.inf" "root\MyDevice" --no-duplicates
# Upgrade-safe with cleanup: removes duplicate device nodes, keeps one, then updates the driver
nefconw install "Path\To\Inf.inf" "root\MyDevice" --no-duplicates --remove-duplicates
# Remove all present devices matching the hardware ID (driver stays in store)
nefconw remove "root\MyDevice"
The devcon install and devcon remove commands are implemented as drop-in replacements. See Command Reference for details. The /r flag is not supported; check the exit code to determine if a reboot is required.
removevs--remove-device-node: Theremovecommand intentionally mirrors originaldevcon removebehavior — it invokesDIF_REMOVEto delete the device node but does not touch the driver package in the driver store. If you need full cleanup (device and driver), use--remove-device-nodewith--class-guidinstead.
The driver and device management logic is implemented in neflib. Key modules include Devcon.hpp (InstallDriver, UninstallDriver, InfDefaultInstall, Create, etc.) and ClassFilter.hpp. For implementation details, API behavior, or to contribute fixes, see the neflib repository.
This project uses the following 3rd party resources:
- Argh! A minimalist argument handler
- Scoped coloring of Windows console output
- Convenient high-level C++ wrappers around Windows Registry Win32 APIs
- Single header C++ logging library
- Microsoft Detours
- A modern C++ scope guard that is easy to use but hard to misuse
- Windows Implementation Libraries (WIL)
- My opinionated collection of C++ utilities
- Replacing Device Console (DevCon.exe)
- PnPUtil
- DevCon Install