WDDM development road map

The Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) requires that a graphics hardware vendor supply a paired user-mode display driver (UMD) and kernel-mode display miniport driver (KMD).

To create these display drivers, perform the following steps:

• Step 1: Learn about Windows architecture and drivers.

  You must understand the fundamentals of how drivers work in Windows operating systems. Knowing the fundamentals helps you make appropriate design decisions and allows you to streamline your development process. See Concepts for all driver developers.

• Step 2: Learn the fundamentals of WDDM display drivers by reading this design guide.

  For a description of the major new features in more recent Windows releases, start with What's new for Windows 11 display and graphics drivers

• Step 3: Learn about UMDs and issues with KMDs from the User-Mode Display Drivers and Multiple Monitors and Video Present Networks sections.

• Step 4: Learn about the Windows driver build, test, and debug processes and tools.

  Building a driver isn't the same as building a user-mode application. See Developing, Testing, and Deploying Drivers for information about Windows driver build, debug, and test processes, driver signing, and driver verification. See Driver Development Tools for information about building, testing, verifying, and debugging tools.

• Step 5: Make graphics display driver design decisions.

  For information about making design decisions, see Implementation Tips and Requirements for WDDM and Tasks in WDDM.

• Step 6: Access and review the display driver samples.

• Step 7: Develop, build, test, and debug your display drivers.

  For information about how to develop display drivers for your graphics adapter, see Initializing Display Miniport and User-Mode Display Drivers and WDDM Operation Flow. See Developing, Testing, and Deploying Drivers for information about iterative building, testing, and debugging. For debugging tips that are specific to display drivers, see Debugging tips for WDDM drivers. This process helps ensure that you build a driver that works.

• Step 8: Create a driver package for your display drivers.

  For more information, see Distributing a driver package. For information about how to install display drivers for a graphics adapter, see Installation Requirements for Display Miniport and User-Mode Display Drivers.

• Step 9: Sign and distribute your display drivers.

  The final step is to sign (optional) and distribute the driver. If your driver meets the quality standards defined in the Windows Hardware Lab Kit (WHLK; formerly was Windows Logo Kit or WLK), you can distribute it through the Windows Update program. For more information, see Distributing a driver package.

These steps are a starting point. Other steps are likely necessary based on the needs of your individual driver.