MControlTray

A lightweight Windows system-tray controller for MSI laptops - without the heavy, self-updating MSI Center UI (DCv2.exe).

Right now it switches User Scenarios (Extreme Performance / Balanced / ECO-Silent) instantly from the tray. More MSI controls are planned - see the Roadmap.

Inspired by Linux's MControlCenter - this is a Windows take, going through MSI's own service rather than raw EC access.

Why

MSI Center's DCv2.exe is large and tends to update/reinstall itself at the worst moments. But most of the time you only need to flip the User Scenario. This app does exactly that - from the tray, instantly, with a tiny footprint.

How it works

MSI Center's UI is a thin shell: clicking a User Scenario tile sends a small command over a localhost TCP socket to the MSI background service, and the service performs the real power/fan switch. This app replays that exact command.

• No administrator rights required - it's just a localhost message, exactly like MSI's own UI sends.
• It does not poke the Embedded Controller directly, and it does not bundle, modify, or redistribute any MSI code or binaries.
• It only needs the MSI Center background service installed and running (the stable part - you don't need the DCv2.exe UI open).

Requirements

• Windows x64
• An MSI laptop with MSI Center installed (background service running)
• Prebuilt release: nothing else - a single ~1-2 MB native .exe, no .NET runtime needed (NativeAOT). Building from source: .NET 10 SDK + the Visual Studio C++ Desktop workload (the NativeAOT linker).

Install

winget

winget install Flakroup.MControlTray

(pending acceptance into the winget community repository)

Manual

1. Download MControlTray-win-x64.exe from the latest release.
2. Put it anywhere and run it - an icon appears in the system tray.
3. (Optional) Autostart at logon: press Win+R, type shell:startup, and drop a shortcut to the .exe there.

Usage

• Tray icon - a colored circle showing the active mode (E / B / S). Left or right click opens the menu.

• Command line (great for shortcuts / hotkeys / Stream Deck):

  MControlTray.exe --extreme
  MControlTray.exe --balanced
  MControlTray.exe --silent
  

Model compatibility - please read

The switch command was reverse-engineered and verified on:

• Board 15P2, Intel Core i7-14700HX, MSI Center 2.0.70

The TCP port is read from the registry (model-independent), but the scenario Index values and the receiver component id are currently hardcoded:

Scenario	Index
Extreme Performance	1
Balanced	2
ECO / Silent	4

On other models these may differ. Verify yours like this:

1. Set the DWORD IsDebug = 1 under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\MSI\MSI Center\Component\SDK (it is read live, no restart needed).
2. Open MSI Center and switch between your scenarios.
3. Open C:\ProgramData\MSI\MSI Center\Utility\Utility_<date>.txt and look for SendData >> lines. The JSON payload contains "Index":N - note which N maps to which scenario, and the DestID.
4. Delete the IsDebug value afterwards (it did not exist originally).

If your values differ, adjust the constants in Program.cs - issues/PRs with values for more models are very welcome.

Protocol (for the curious / porters)

• Endpoint: TCP 127.0.0.1:<port>, where <port> is the DWORD Server Port under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\MSI\MSI Center\Component\SDK (MSI's hardcoded fallback is 32682).
• Frame: [DestID : int32 little-endian = 104][0x00][0x12][UTF-8 JSON]
• JSON: {"Index":N,"Performance":2,"Fan":0,"KB":-1,"PB":-1,"IsLoad":true}

The Embedded Controller byte 0xD2 mirrors the active scenario (C4=Extreme, C1=Balanced, C2=Silent) but writing it does not switch the mode - it is a status mirror, not a trigger. The real switch is the command above, handled by the service.

Build from source

dotnet publish -c Release -r win-x64

Produces a single self-contained native .exe (~1-2 MB) via NativeAOT - no .NET runtime required to run it. Building it needs the Visual Studio C++ Desktop workload (NativeAOT uses the MSVC linker).

Roadmap

Scope will grow into a broader MSI control tray. Planned / ideas (contributions welcome):

• User Scenario switching (Extreme / Balanced / ECO-Silent)
• Cooler Boost toggle
• Custom fan curves
• Battery charge limit
• Live active-state read-back
• Per-model config (no recompile)

Prior art & credits

Inspired by the Linux MSI community: msi-ec (a kernel EC driver) and MControlCenter (a Qt GUI). This project targets Windows and goes through MSI's official service rather than raw EC access.

Disclaimer

Not affiliated with or endorsed by Micro-Star International Co., Ltd. (MSI). "MSI", "MSI Center", and product names are trademarks of their respective owners. This is an independent interoperability tool built from observed behavior. Provided as-is, use at your own risk.

License

MIT