Process Rules (priority/affinity/EcoQoS per app)

Process Rules lets you set a permanent behavior for any program by name — its CPU priority, which CPU cores it's allowed to run on, and whether Windows should put it into low-power efficiency mode. You write the rule once; BRUTAL's Guardian re-applies it every cycle, so it sticks even after you close and reopen the app or reboot. Think of it as a built-in, anti-cheat-safe "Process Lasso" — all effects are ordinary user-mode settings, with no kernel driver involved.

What a rule can do

• Priority — Idle, Below Normal, Normal, Above Normal, or High. Raise a foreground app you care about, or drop a noisy background app so it gets out of the way.
• Affinity (cores) — pin the app to specific CPU cores. Leave it blank to LEAVE AFFINITY ALONE — blank does not reset a process to all cores.
• Efficiency mode (EcoQoS) — the Windows setting that parks an app on the low-power efficient cores and throttles it gently. Great for background helpers; it saves power and heat without killing them.

Create a rule from a running process

The easiest way is to start from something already running:

1. Open Process Rules from the sidebar. The right side lists your top running processes by memory, each with its current priority.
2. Find the app and click + Rule. The editor opens pre-filled with that app's name.
3. Pick a Priority, optionally type cores (e.g. 0,1,2,3), and tick Efficiency mode if you want it throttled.
4. Leave Enabled ticked and click Save.

You can also click New Rule and type an executable name yourself — enter it without the .exe (for example chrome, not chrome.exe). Click Refresh to re-read the running-process list at any time.

How rules get applied

Rules don't fire the instant you save — they're applied by Guardian on its regular cycle (roughly every few minutes) and re-applied each cycle after that. That repetition is the point: if an app restarts and Windows resets it to Normal priority, your rule quietly puts it back. Matching is by executable name and is case-insensitive, so one rule covers every instance of that program.

Manage your rules

Every saved rule appears in the active list with its settings summarized (priority, cores, and EcoQoS if enabled). For each one you can:

• Disable / Enable — pause a rule without losing it (it shows as (off)).
• Edit — reopen the editor to change priority, cores, or efficiency mode.
• Delete — remove the rule entirely.

Good rules to start with

• Background chat/updater apps → Below Normal priority + Efficiency mode. They stay available but stop competing for the CPU.
• A heavy app you want responsive (a video editor, a specific game's launcher) → Above Normal. Reserve High for the rare case where Above Normal isn't enough.
• Affinity is for advanced tuning — pinning a misbehaving app to a couple of cores so it can't saturate the whole CPU. If you're not sure, leave cores blank.

Common issues / troubleshooting

• My rule isn't applying. Make sure the rule is Enabled, that the executable name matches (no .exe, no path), and that Guardian is running — rules are applied on Guardian's cycle, not instantly.
• The priority keeps resetting. Some apps re-assert their own priority. Guardian fights back on its next cycle, so you may see a brief flicker; the rule wins over time.
• An affinity setting did nothing. Core numbers are zero-based and capped at your CPU's actual core count — out-of-range numbers are ignored. A blank/invalid list means "all cores."
• A protected process won't change. Some system-protected processes refuse priority/affinity changes even with admin rights; BRUTAL skips them silently rather than crashing.