NosCoreIO · erwan-joly · Sep 12, 2026 · Sep 12, 2026
diff --git a/NosCore.DeveloperTools.sln b/NosCore.DeveloperTools.sln
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 
 Microsoft Visual Studio Solution File, Format Version 12.00
 # Visual Studio Version 18
-VisualStudioVersion = 18.5.11709.299 stable
+VisualStudioVersion = 18.5.11709.299
 MinimumVisualStudioVersion = 10.0.40219.1
 Project("{9A19103F-16F7-4668-BE54-9A1E7A4F7556}") = "NosCore.DeveloperTools", "src\NosCore.DeveloperTools\NosCore.DeveloperTools.csproj", "{C6B8F7A1-0001-0001-0001-000000000001}"
 EndProject
@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@ Project("{2150E333-8FDC-42A3-9474-1A3956D46DE8}") = "src", "src", "{827E0CD3-B72
 EndProject
 Project("{FAE04EC0-301F-11D3-BF4B-00C04F79EFBC}") = "NosCore.DeveloperTools.GfStub", "src\NosCore.DeveloperTools.GfStub\NosCore.DeveloperTools.GfStub.csproj", "{D3A3DE1B-5292-4AAB-A335-31D2F4885A3C}"
 EndProject
+Project("{FAE04EC0-301F-11D3-BF4B-00C04F79EFBC}") = "NosCore.ClientTools", "src\NosCore.ClientTools\NosCore.ClientTools.csproj", "{893C8F61-2B59-472C-ADE4-28D76A086764}"
+EndProject
 Global
 	GlobalSection(SolutionConfigurationPlatforms) = preSolution
 		Debug|Any CPU = Debug|Any CPU
@@ -34,29 +36,29 @@ Global
 		{C6B8F7A1-0001-0001-0001-000000000001}.Release|x86.ActiveCfg = Release|Any CPU
 		{C6B8F7A1-0001-0001-0001-000000000001}.Release|x86.Build.0 = Release|Any CPU
 		{C6B8F7A1-0002-0001-0001-000000000001}.Debug|Any CPU.ActiveCfg = Debug|Any CPU
-		{C6B8F7A1-0002-0001-0001-000000000001}.Debug|Any CPU.Build.0 = Debug|Any CPU
 		{C6B8F7A1-0002-0001-0001-000000000001}.Debug|x64.ActiveCfg = Debug|Any CPU
-		{C6B8F7A1-0002-0001-0001-000000000001}.Debug|x64.Build.0 = Debug|Any CPU
 		{C6B8F7A1-0002-0001-0001-000000000001}.Debug|x86.ActiveCfg = Debug|Any CPU
-		{C6B8F7A1-0002-0001-0001-000000000001}.Debug|x86.Build.0 = Debug|Any CPU
 		{C6B8F7A1-0002-0001-0001-000000000001}.Release|Any CPU.ActiveCfg = Release|Any CPU
-		{C6B8F7A1-0002-0001-0001-000000000001}.Release|Any CPU.Build.0 = Release|Any CPU
 		{C6B8F7A1-0002-0001-0001-000000000001}.Release|x64.ActiveCfg = Release|Any CPU
-		{C6B8F7A1-0002-0001-0001-000000000001}.Release|x64.Build.0 = Release|Any CPU
 		{C6B8F7A1-0002-0001-0001-000000000001}.Release|x86.ActiveCfg = Release|Any CPU
-		{C6B8F7A1-0002-0001-0001-000000000001}.Release|x86.Build.0 = Release|Any CPU
 		{D3A3DE1B-5292-4AAB-A335-31D2F4885A3C}.Debug|Any CPU.ActiveCfg = Debug|Any CPU
-		{D3A3DE1B-5292-4AAB-A335-31D2F4885A3C}.Debug|Any CPU.Build.0 = Debug|Any CPU
 		{D3A3DE1B-5292-4AAB-A335-31D2F4885A3C}.Debug|x64.ActiveCfg = Debug|Any CPU
-		{D3A3DE1B-5292-4AAB-A335-31D2F4885A3C}.Debug|x64.Build.0 = Debug|Any CPU
 		{D3A3DE1B-5292-4AAB-A335-31D2F4885A3C}.Debug|x86.ActiveCfg = Debug|Any CPU
-		{D3A3DE1B-5292-4AAB-A335-31D2F4885A3C}.Debug|x86.Build.0 = Debug|Any CPU
 		{D3A3DE1B-5292-4AAB-A335-31D2F4885A3C}.Release|Any CPU.ActiveCfg = Release|Any CPU
-		{D3A3DE1B-5292-4AAB-A335-31D2F4885A3C}.Release|Any CPU.Build.0 = Release|Any CPU
 		{D3A3DE1B-5292-4AAB-A335-31D2F4885A3C}.Release|x64.ActiveCfg = Release|Any CPU
-		{D3A3DE1B-5292-4AAB-A335-31D2F4885A3C}.Release|x64.Build.0 = Release|Any CPU
 		{D3A3DE1B-5292-4AAB-A335-31D2F4885A3C}.Release|x86.ActiveCfg = Release|Any CPU
-		{D3A3DE1B-5292-4AAB-A335-31D2F4885A3C}.Release|x86.Build.0 = Release|Any CPU
+		{893C8F61-2B59-472C-ADE4-28D76A086764}.Debug|Any CPU.ActiveCfg = Debug|Any CPU
+		{893C8F61-2B59-472C-ADE4-28D76A086764}.Debug|Any CPU.Build.0 = Debug|Any CPU
+		{893C8F61-2B59-472C-ADE4-28D76A086764}.Debug|x64.ActiveCfg = Debug|Any CPU
+		{893C8F61-2B59-472C-ADE4-28D76A086764}.Debug|x64.Build.0 = Debug|Any CPU
+		{893C8F61-2B59-472C-ADE4-28D76A086764}.Debug|x86.ActiveCfg = Debug|Any CPU
+		{893C8F61-2B59-472C-ADE4-28D76A086764}.Debug|x86.Build.0 = Debug|Any CPU
+		{893C8F61-2B59-472C-ADE4-28D76A086764}.Release|Any CPU.ActiveCfg = Release|Any CPU
+		{893C8F61-2B59-472C-ADE4-28D76A086764}.Release|Any CPU.Build.0 = Release|Any CPU
+		{893C8F61-2B59-472C-ADE4-28D76A086764}.Release|x64.ActiveCfg = Release|Any CPU
+		{893C8F61-2B59-472C-ADE4-28D76A086764}.Release|x64.Build.0 = Release|Any CPU
+		{893C8F61-2B59-472C-ADE4-28D76A086764}.Release|x86.ActiveCfg = Release|Any CPU
+		{893C8F61-2B59-472C-ADE4-28D76A086764}.Release|x86.Build.0 = Release|Any CPU
 	EndGlobalSection
 	GlobalSection(SolutionProperties) = preSolution
 		HideSolutionNode = FALSE
@@ -65,5 +67,6 @@ Global
 		{C6B8F7A1-0001-0001-0001-000000000001} = {827E0CD3-B72D-47B6-A68D-7590B98EB39B}
 		{C6B8F7A1-0002-0001-0001-000000000001} = {827E0CD3-B72D-47B6-A68D-7590B98EB39B}
 		{D3A3DE1B-5292-4AAB-A335-31D2F4885A3C} = {827E0CD3-B72D-47B6-A68D-7590B98EB39B}
+		{893C8F61-2B59-472C-ADE4-28D76A086764} = {827E0CD3-B72D-47B6-A68D-7590B98EB39B}
 	EndGlobalSection
 EndGlobal
diff --git a/....DeveloperTools/Services/ClientPatcher.cs → src/NosCore.ClientTools/ClientPatcher.cs b/....DeveloperTools/Services/ClientPatcher.cs → src/NosCore.ClientTools/ClientPatcher.cs
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 using System.Text;
 
-namespace NosCore.DeveloperTools.Services;
+namespace NosCore.ClientTools;
 
 /// <summary>
 /// In-place byte patches against the Gameforge NosTale client
@@ -245,7 +245,7 @@ public static PatchResult PatchAllowNoArg(byte[] bytes)
     public static PatchResult PatchImportName(byte[] bytes)
     {
         var needle = Encoding.ASCII.GetBytes("gf_wrapper.dll\0");
-        var replacement = Encoding.ASCII.GetBytes("noscore_gf.dll\0");
+        var replacement = Encoding.ASCII.GetBytes(GfStub.FileName + "\0");
         if (needle.Length != replacement.Length)
         {
             return new PatchResult(false, "Internal error: replacement DLL name must match original length.");
@@ -259,7 +259,7 @@ public static PatchResult PatchImportName(byte[] bytes)
         for (var i = 0; i < replacement.Length; i++) bytes[offset + i] = replacement[i];
 
         return new PatchResult(true,
-            $"Import rename: 'gf_wrapper.dll' -> 'noscore_gf.dll' at 0x{offset:X}. Drop noscore_gf.dll next to the patched exe.");
+            $"Import rename: 'gf_wrapper.dll' -> '{GfStub.FileName}' at 0x{offset:X}. Drop {GfStub.FileName} next to the patched exe.");
     }
 
     private static int FindBytes(byte[] haystack, byte[] needle, int startOffset)

diff --git a/src/NosCore.ClientTools/GfStub.cs b/src/NosCore.ClientTools/GfStub.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+using System.Reflection;
+
+namespace NosCore.ClientTools;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// Access to the embedded <c>noscore_gf.dll</c> payload — the NativeAOT x86
+/// replacement for the client's <c>gf_wrapper.dll</c>. A patched client
+/// resolves its Gameforge imports against this file by name, so it has to sit
+/// next to the patched exe under exactly <see cref="FileName"/>.
+/// </summary>
+public static class GfStub
+{
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Import-table name the patched client loads the stub by. Must stay the
+    /// same length as <c>gf_wrapper.dll</c> so
+    /// <see cref="ClientPatcher.PatchImportName"/> can overwrite that literal
+    /// in place without relocating the PE import directory.
+    /// </summary>
+    public const string FileName = "noscore_gf.dll";
+
+    public static Stream OpenStream() =>
+        typeof(GfStub).Assembly.GetManifestResourceStream(FileName)
+        ?? throw new FileNotFoundException(
+            $"{FileName} is not embedded in {Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().GetName().Name}. " +
+            "Build NosCore.ClientTools so its GfStub publish target runs.");
+
+    /// <summary>Write the stub into <paramref name="directory"/> and return its full path.</summary>
+    public static string DeployTo(string directory)
+    {
+        var path = Path.Combine(directory, FileName);
+        using var source = OpenStream();
+        using var destination = File.Create(path);
+        source.CopyTo(destination);
+        return path;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/NosCore.ClientTools/NosCore.ClientTools.csproj b/src/NosCore.ClientTools/NosCore.ClientTools.csproj
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
+
+  <PropertyGroup>
+    <TargetFramework>net10.0</TargetFramework>
+    <RootNamespace>NosCore.ClientTools</RootNamespace>
+    <AssemblyName>NosCore.ClientTools</AssemblyName>
+    <!-- No injection here, so no bitness constraint: consumers of this
+         library only spawn the client, they don't share its address space.
+         The x86 stub DLL travels as a prebuilt resource, not as code. -->
+    <PlatformTarget>AnyCPU</PlatformTarget>
+  </PropertyGroup>
+
+  <PropertyGroup Label="Packaging">
+    <IsPackable>true</IsPackable>
+    <PackageId>NosCore.ClientTools</PackageId>
+    <Description>Authenticate against a NosCore server and prepare a NosTale client to connect to it: auth-code retrieval, PE patches for server address and launch arguments, and the gf_wrapper replacement stub.</Description>
+    <PackageTags>noscore;nostale</PackageTags>
+    <PackageLicenseExpression>MIT</PackageLicenseExpression>
+    <PackageProjectUrl>https://github.com/NosCoreIO/NosCore.DeveloperTools</PackageProjectUrl>
+    <RepositoryUrl>https://github.com/NosCoreIO/NosCore.DeveloperTools</RepositoryUrl>
+    <RepositoryType>git</RepositoryType>
+    <GenerateDocumentationFile>true</GenerateDocumentationFile>
+  </PropertyGroup>
+
+  <PropertyGroup>
+    <GfStubProjectPath>$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)..\NosCore.DeveloperTools.GfStub\NosCore.DeveloperTools.GfStub.csproj</GfStubProjectPath>
+    <GfStubPublishDir>$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)..\NosCore.DeveloperTools.GfStub\bin\$(Configuration)\net10.0\win-x86\publish\</GfStubPublishDir>
+    <GfStubDllPath>$(GfStubPublishDir)noscore_gf.dll</GfStubDllPath>
+  </PropertyGroup>
+
+  <!-- The stub is a NativeAOT x86 DLL, so it cannot be a ProjectReference from
+       an AnyCPU library — it is published separately and embedded as bytes. -->
+  <Target Name="BuildGfStubPayload" BeforeTargets="BeforeBuild">
+    <Message Importance="high" Text="Publishing NosCore.DeveloperTools.GfStub (NativeAOT x86)..." />
+    <!-- ILC shells out to vswhere.exe; prepend the VS Installer dir so the
+         shell finds it even when PATH isn't pre-configured. -->
+    <Exec Command="set &quot;PATH=$(MSBuildProgramFiles32)\Microsoft Visual Studio\Installer;%PATH%&quot; &amp;&amp; dotnet publish &quot;$(GfStubProjectPath)&quot; -c $(Configuration) -r win-x86 --nologo -v quiet" />
+    <ItemGroup>
+      <EmbeddedResource Include="$(GfStubDllPath)" LogicalName="noscore_gf.dll" Visible="false" />
+    </ItemGroup>
+  </Target>
+
+</Project>
diff --git a/...eloperTools/Services/NosCoreAuthClient.cs → src/NosCore.ClientTools/NosCoreAuthClient.cs b/...eloperTools/Services/NosCoreAuthClient.cs → src/NosCore.ClientTools/NosCoreAuthClient.cs
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 using System.Text;
 using System.Text.Json.Serialization;
 
-namespace NosCore.DeveloperTools.Services;
+namespace NosCore.ClientTools;
 
 /// <summary>
 /// Thin HTTP client for the NosCore auth endpoints. Two-step flow:

diff --git a/src/NosCore.DeveloperTools/Forms/MainForm.cs b/src/NosCore.DeveloperTools/Forms/MainForm.cs
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 using System.Collections.Concurrent;
 using System.Diagnostics;
+using NosCore.ClientTools;
 using NosCore.DeveloperTools.Models;
 using NosCore.DeveloperTools.Remote;
 using NosCore.DeveloperTools.Services;
@@ -617,14 +618,9 @@ private static void RunPatch(string newAddress, string exePath, string outputNam
         // clobber the original.
         if (stubResult.Success)
         {
-            var stubPath = Path.Combine(outDir, "noscore_gf.dll");
             try
             {
-                using var stubStream = typeof(MainForm).Assembly.GetManifestResourceStream("noscore_gf.dll")
-                    ?? throw new FileNotFoundException("Stub DLL not embedded in this build.");
-                using var outStream = File.Create(stubPath);
-                stubStream.CopyTo(outStream);
-                Log($"Wrote {stubPath}");
+                Log($"Wrote {GfStub.DeployTo(outDir)}");
             }
             catch (Exception ex)
             {

diff --git a/src/NosCore.DeveloperTools/Models/AppSettings.cs b/src/NosCore.DeveloperTools/Models/AppSettings.cs
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-using NosCore.DeveloperTools.Services;
+using NosCore.ClientTools;
 
 namespace NosCore.DeveloperTools.Models;
 

diff --git a/src/NosCore.DeveloperTools/NosCore.DeveloperTools.csproj b/src/NosCore.DeveloperTools/NosCore.DeveloperTools.csproj
@@ -40,14 +40,14 @@
     <EmbeddedResource Include="Resources\logger.ico" LogicalName="NosCore.DeveloperTools.logger.ico" />
   </ItemGroup>
 
+  <ItemGroup>
+    <ProjectReference Include="..\NosCore.ClientTools\NosCore.ClientTools.csproj" />
+  </ItemGroup>
+
   <PropertyGroup>
     <HookProjectPath>$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)..\NosCore.DeveloperTools.Hook\NosCore.DeveloperTools.Hook.csproj</HookProjectPath>
     <HookPublishDir>$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)..\NosCore.DeveloperTools.Hook\bin\$(Configuration)\net10.0\win-x86\publish\</HookPublishDir>
     <HookDllPath>$(HookPublishDir)NosCore.DeveloperTools.Hook.dll</HookDllPath>
-
-    <GfStubProjectPath>$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)..\NosCore.DeveloperTools.GfStub\NosCore.DeveloperTools.GfStub.csproj</GfStubProjectPath>
-    <GfStubPublishDir>$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)..\NosCore.DeveloperTools.GfStub\bin\$(Configuration)\net10.0\win-x86\publish\</GfStubPublishDir>
-    <GfStubDllPath>$(GfStubPublishDir)noscore_gf.dll</GfStubDllPath>
   </PropertyGroup>
 
   <Target Name="BuildHookPayload" BeforeTargets="BeforeBuild">
@@ -59,12 +59,4 @@
     </ItemGroup>
   </Target>
 
-  <Target Name="BuildGfStubPayload" BeforeTargets="BeforeBuild">
-    <Message Importance="high" Text="Publishing NosCore.DeveloperTools.GfStub (NativeAOT x86)..." />
-    <Exec Command="set &quot;PATH=$(MSBuildProgramFiles32)\Microsoft Visual Studio\Installer;%PATH%&quot; &amp;&amp; dotnet publish &quot;$(GfStubProjectPath)&quot; -c $(Configuration) -r win-x86 --nologo -v quiet" />
-    <ItemGroup>
-      <EmbeddedResource Include="$(GfStubDllPath)" LogicalName="noscore_gf.dll" Visible="false" />
-    </ItemGroup>
-  </Target>
-
 </Project>