EverQuest multiboxing window manager for Shards of Dalaya
Fan-made educational project. EQSwitch is an independent, open-source utility built for educational and personal-use purposes, and it is free — always. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Daybreak Game Company, Darkpaw Games, or the Shards of Dalaya team. EverQuest is a registered trademark of Daybreak Game Company LLC. This tool does not distribute, modify, or host any game content — it is a client-side window manager only.
A lightweight EverQuest multiboxer — hotkey switching, encrypted auto-login, PiP overlays, CPU affinity, multi-monitor support, and zero-telemetry privacy for Shards of Dalaya.
Download EQSwitch.zip — extract and run. No installer, no runtime needed. (Or browse all releases.)
Tip
Extract the zip to any folder and run EQSwitch.exe — it lands in a consistent EQSwitch folder. Config is stored as eqswitch-config.json next to the exe.
What's in the zip?
| File | Size | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| EQSwitch.exe | ~180 MB | Main app (self-contained, no .NET runtime needed) |
| eqswitch-hook.dll | ~135 KB | Window management hooks (SetWindowPos/MoveWindow) |
| eqswitch-di8.dll | ~248 KB | DirectInput hooks + login state machine for background auto-login |
| uninstall.bat | ~10 KB | GUI-less uninstaller — reverts external changes |
| LICENSE, README.md, CHANGELOG.md | small | License, this readme, version history |
Keep EQSwitch.exe and the two .dll files together in one folder. A separate SHA256SUMS file is published alongside the zip on each release for integrity verification.
Screenshots — click to collapse · 12 images: tray, settings, PiP, window styling · click any thumbnail to open full-size in a new tab
 Tray — main |
 Tray — accounts |
 Tray — teams |
 Settings — General |
 Settings — Hotkeys |
 Settings — Accounts (DPAPI) |
 Settings — Paths |
 PiP overlay (DWM) |
 Auto-login — teams |
 Video / eqclient.ini |
 eqclient.ini editor |
 CPU priority + affinity |
- Window Switching — Cycle EQ clients with hotkeys (keyboard hook for single keys, RegisterHotKey for combos)
- Fullscreen Window — WinEQ2-style borderless mode that hides the titlebar above the screen edge
- DLL Hook Injection — Hooks SetWindowPos/MoveWindow inside eqgame.exe for zero-flicker window positioning
- Multi-Monitor — One client per physical monitor with automatic arrangement
- Process Priority — Both active and background EQ clients default to High (configurable per-character)
- CPU Core Assignment — CPUAffinity0-5 slots written to eqclient.ini for per-client core pinning
- PiP Overlay — Live DWM thumbnail previews (zero CPU, GPU composited). Vertical or horizontal layout, 6 size presets (Small / Medium / Large / XL / XXL / XXXL) + custom dimensions
- Staggered Launch — Multi-client launch with configurable delay and auto-arrange
- Settings GUI — Dark-themed tabbed settings (General, Video, Accounts, PiP, Hotkeys, Paths)
- EQ Client Settings — Sub-forms for editing eqclient.ini (Video, Key Mappings, Chat, Particles, Models)
- Video Settings — Resolution presets, custom presets, windowed mode enforcement
- Configurable Tray Actions — Left/double/middle click actions are fully customizable
- Character Profiles — Per-character priority overrides, export/import
- Custom Tray Icon — Custom .ico support
- Auto-Login — Encrypted account presets with one-click launch, login, server select, and character enter world
- Background Auto-Login — Logs each client in while the window stays in the background — no focus stealing, no game file modifications
- Self-Updater — Built-in update check against GitHub Releases. Downloads the new zip, verifies SHA256, replaces all three binaries in place (no installer to re-run)
- Portable — One zip, extract anywhere, config stored next to the exe — no installer needed
- Privacy First — Zero telemetry, no network calls, no data collection. Saved passwords are encrypted with Windows DPAPI and can only be decrypted by your Windows account on your machine
- Windows 10/11
| Hotkey | Action |
|---|---|
\ |
Switch client — swap-last (default) or cycle-all, depending on Switch Key Mode in Settings → Hotkeys. Only fires when EQ is focused. |
] |
Global switch — same mode as above, but also brings EQ to front when another app is focused |
| Ctrl+Alt+N | Toggle single-screen / multi-monitor mode |
| Action | Default | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Right-click | Context menu | Not user-configurable |
| Single-click | (none) | Configurable |
| Double-click | Launch one EQ client | Configurable |
| Triple-click | (none) | Configurable |
| Middle-click | Toggle PiP overlay | |
| Middle-double-click | Open Settings | Two middle-clicks, not three |
Config is stored as eqswitch-config.json alongside the exe (portable). Auto-backups are created in a backups/ subfolder (last 10 kept).
EQSwitch ships with a built-in tray icon. To use your own instead, open Settings → Paths and point the Custom Icon field at any .ico file — EQSwitch loads it on the next launch (or after you click Apply).
- Active client: High priority
- Background clients: High priority
- Per-character priority overrides in Settings → Accounts (Characters card)
- CPU core assignment via eqclient.ini CPUAffinity0-5 slots (tray menu → Process Manager)
Passwords are encrypted using Windows DPAPI (Data Protection API) via ProtectedData.Protect with DataProtectionScope.CurrentUser, and stored locally in your config file. Here's what that means:
- User-scoped — Only your Windows user account on your machine can decrypt the passwords. Other users on the same PC (even administrators) cannot read them. The decryption key is derived from your Windows account credentials by the OS — EQSwitch never sees it
- Zero network traffic — Encryption and decryption happen entirely on your machine. Passwords are never transmitted anywhere
- No master password — Your Windows login IS the master key. The OS-managed key material lives in
%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Protect\{SID}\ - Stored as base64 — The encrypted blob is base64-encoded in
eqswitch-config.json. Even if someone reads the file, they see gibberish without your Windows credentials
Important
If you reinstall Windows or create a new user account, stored passwords cannot be recovered. You'll need to re-enter them in Settings.
EQSwitch never writes to your eqclient.ini automatically. Whenever you open Settings → Video (or any of the EQ Client Settings sub-forms — Key Mappings, Chat, Particles, Models, VideoMode), EQSwitch reads your current eqclient.ini so the form reflects your real values, not generic defaults that could silently overwrite your manual INI edits.
Changes are not written back until you explicitly click Save in the EQ Client Settings form.
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| Hotkeys not working | Run as Administrator — some games need elevated privileges for global hotkeys |
| EQ path not detected | Use Settings → Paths to set your EQ installation directory |
| PiP not showing | Requires 2+ EQ clients running. Middle-click tray icon to toggle |
| CPU affinity not applying | EQ resets affinity after launch — EQSwitch retries automatically. To force it: tray menu → Process Manager → Apply |
| Config lost after moving exe | Move eqswitch-config.json with the exe. Backups in backups/ subfolder |
| DLL blocked by antivirus | Add your EQSwitch folder to Windows Defender exclusions |
EQSwitch can be fully removed without leaving traces:
From the GUI: Settings → Paths tab → Uninstall button
This reverts all external system changes:
- Restores Dalaya's
dinput8.dllif a legacy proxy was renamed during the chain-load era - Removes legacy EQSwitch DLL artifacts from the EQ folder (size-detected — never touches Dalaya's MQ2 core)
- Removes the startup shortcut
- Removes the desktop shortcut
- Removes the legacy
HKCU\...\Run\EQSwitchregistry entry from pre-shortcut versions
Fallback: if the GUI won't launch, run uninstall.bat from the EQSwitch folder. It mirrors the GUI logic.
Your eqclient.ini settings and EQSwitch config files are not modified — restore from .bak files in your EQ folder if needed.
Tip
After running uninstall, you can delete the entire EQSwitch folder to complete the removal.
This app is free and open source. If it saves you time, consider supporting continued development:
- Buy Me a Coffee — one-time support
You can also build from source for free — see the build instructions below.
↓ Technical details, building from source, and project internals below.
When Background Login is enabled (Settings → Accounts), EQSwitch logs each EQ client in for you — password, server select, and character enter-world — without ever bringing the window to the foreground. One click, every account in.
How it works (the short version)
EQSwitch starts each EQ client paused, slips two small helper DLLs in before the game runs, and hands the password to the login screen directly in memory — so EQ logs in as if you'd typed it, even while the window is in the background. Nothing is written to your EQ folder; the helpers live next to EQSwitch.exe and load only at runtime.
Note
No files are deployed to your EQ directory. The DLLs are injected at runtime and live alongside EQSwitch.exe.
Warning
Windows Defender may flag the injectable DLLs as suspicious (DLL injection is a common game-tool technique). Add your EQSwitch folder to Defender's exclusion list if DLLs are blocked or quarantined.
git clone https://github.com/itsnateai/eqswitch.git
cd eqswitch
# Build the native hook DLL (32-bit x86 target)
# MinGW (Git Bash):
bash Native/build.sh
# OR MSVC (from a Developer Command Prompt for VS):
# Native\build.cmd
# Build the DirectInput injectable DLL (32-bit x86)
bash Native/build-di8-inject.sh
# Self-contained single-file (~180 MB, no runtime needed)
dotnet publish -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained -p:PublishSingleFile=trueOutput: bin/Release/net8.0-windows/win-x64/publish/EQSwitch.exe + eqswitch-hook.dll + eqswitch-di8.dll
| Path | Description |
|---|---|
Program.cs |
Entry point — single-instance mutex, first-run setup |
Core/ |
Win32 interop, process management, hotkeys, DLL injection, shared memory |
Config/ |
JSON config model, load/save, AHK migration |
Models/ |
EQ client data model |
UI/ |
Tray manager, settings GUI, PiP overlay, dark theme, process manager |
Native/ |
C++ DLL sources — eqswitch-hook (MinHook) + eqswitch-di8 (DirectInput + IAT hooks), 32-bit x86 |
GPL-2.0-or-later — GNU General Public License, version 2, or (at your option) any later version.
- Stonemite (
eqlaika/stonemite) — DirectInput proxy architecture studied (GPLv3). No code was taken; the approach was reimplemented independently. - MacroQuest (MQ2) — Character-select integration facts (offsets, struct layouts, IPC patterns) referenced. No MQ2 source is compiled into EQSwitch; the two communicate across a shared-memory boundary only.
- MinHook (by Tsuda Kageyu, 2009–2017) — x86/x64 inline-hook library. Bundled in-tree under
Native/(MinHook.h,buffer.c/.h,hook.c,trampoline.c/.h). Distributed under its original BSD 2-Clause license, which is preserved verbatim in each source file. - HDE32 / HDE64 (by Vyacheslav Patkov, 2006–2009) — Length-disassembler tables used by MinHook's trampoline builder. Vendored by MinHook upstream; original headers retained in-tree without modification. Used in-situ as part of MinHook; EQSwitch does not redistribute it independently.
EQSwitch lives inside the broader EverQuest tool ecosystem, which is uniformly GPLv2-only (MacroQuest and every MQ2 plugin). GPL-2.0-or-later keeps that door open while remaining upward-compatible with GPLv3 for anyone who wants it. This is a free, fan-made educational project — the license choice is about ecosystem interop, not commercialization.