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Key Features

DisplayLink Direct provides a compact, C-compatible API for driving DisplayLink displays without host-side drivers. Its main capabilities include:

Driver-free, lightweight integration

  • No host graphics drivers or compositor integration required. The SDK communicates with DisplayLink hardware directly over USB.
  • No host GPU required. Frames are encoded on the CPU and decoded by the DisplayLink device, so the SDK runs on headless servers, GPU-less single-board computers, and minimal embedded systems.
  • Embedded mode for resource-constrained systems: when enabled, the SDK does not allocate dynamic memory at runtime, making its footprint predictable and suitable for embedded deployments.

Multi-display output

  • Enumerate connected DisplayLink devices and their displays through a simple system → device → display hierarchy.
  • Drive multiple displays from a single host over one USB connection, with helpers to synchronize output across displays.
  • Stable hardware identifiers for devices and displays (based on the USB serial number), so the correct image is always routed to the correct output — even after the device is unplugged and reconnected or power-cycled.

Flexible frame submission

  • Submit frame buffers directly to a display and present them with a show/wait-on-show model.
  • Support for a range of pixel formats, including 32-bit RGB variants (XRGB, XBGR, ARGB, ABGR), packed 24-bit, and additional YUV and high-bit-depth formats.
  • Built-in frame-delta compression handled by the SDK and DisplayLink hardware.

Display management

  • Power displays on and off and query display size.
  • Read a display's EDID to discover its capabilities.
  • Access the DisplayPort AUX channel for advanced use cases.

Language bindings and integrations

  • Native C/C++ API.
  • Optional Python bindings (Python 3.10 or higher).
  • A Qt platform plugin for rendering Qt applications to DisplayLink displays.
  • Ready-to-run samples, including a video wall and an EDID reader.