eBPF for Windows is an eBPF implementation that runs on top of Windows, enabling developers to use existing eBPF toolchains and APIs familiar from the Linux ecosystem on Windows systems.
The project addresses the challenge of bringing eBPF's programmability and kernel extensibility to Windows, where eBPF is not natively supported. It works by taking existing eBPF projects as submodules and adding an intermediate layer that allows them to function on Windows. Developers can use standard eBPF toolchains like clang to generate eBPF bytecode in ELF format, which the project then processes through one of three approaches: native code generation via the bpf2c tool and PREVAIL verifier, JIT compilation through a user-mode service, or interpretation in kernel mode. The native approach is preferred and most secure, converting eBPF bytecode to equivalent C code that builds into Windows driver modules. Programs can be loaded and managed through libbpf APIs, bptool, or Netsh, and attach to various kernel hooks while calling helper APIs that wrap Windows kernel functionality.
Adoption suits teams needing kernel-level observability, DoS protection, or other extensibility on Windows systems where eBPF knowledge and tooling already exist. The native code generation path is recommended for production deployments due to its security properties with hypervisor-enforced code integrity. The project exposes libbpf APIs, making it familiar to developers experienced with eBPF on Linux, though Windows-specific hooks and helpers determine what use cases are practical on any given Windows version.
Development activity shows ongoing expansion of capabilities, with new hooks and helper APIs being added incrementally. The project maintains documentation including tutorials for eBPF basics and debugging verification failures, supporting developers new to the technology. The codebase is written primarily in C and integrates established external verifiers and JIT compilers rather than building these components from scratch.
