diff --git a/overlay/tio/single.go b/overlay/tio/single.go
index 61960c70..a24c2242 100644
--- a/overlay/tio/single.go
+++ b/overlay/tio/single.go
@@ -15,13 +15,9 @@ type singleQueue struct {
 
 // NewSingleQueue wraps a one-datagram-per-Read ReadWriteCloser (a legacy tun device) into a Queue.
 // bufSize is the per-queue read scratch size and must be at least the largest datagram the source can return.
-// Close closes rwc. The Queue implements BatchWriter when rwc does.
+// Close closes rwc.
 func NewSingleQueue(rwc io.ReadWriteCloser, bufSize int) Queue {
-	q := &singleQueue{rw: rwc, closer: rwc, buf: make([]byte, bufSize)}
-	if bw, ok := rwc.(BatchWriter); ok {
-		return &batchSingleQueue{singleQueue: q, bw: bw}
-	}
-	return q
+	return &singleQueue{rw: rwc, closer: rwc, buf: make([]byte, bufSize)}
 }
 
 // NewSingleQueueNoClose is NewSingleQueue for a source owned by someone else,
@@ -51,14 +47,3 @@ func (q *singleQueue) Close() error {
 	}
 	return q.closer.Close()
 }
-
-// batchSingleQueue is a singleQueue whose source also implements BatchWriter.
-// It is a separate type so a plain singleQueue never advertises WriteBatch.
-type batchSingleQueue struct {
-	*singleQueue
-	bw BatchWriter
-}
-
-func (q *batchSingleQueue) WriteBatch(pkts [][]byte) error {
-	return q.bw.WriteBatch(pkts)
-}
diff --git a/overlay/tio/tio_utun_darwin.go b/overlay/tio/tio_utun_darwin.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d3fe72dd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/overlay/tio/tio_utun_darwin.go
@@ -0,0 +1,338 @@
+//go:build darwin && !ios
+
+package tio
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"log/slog"
+	"os"
+	"sync"
+	"sync/atomic"
+	"syscall"
+	"unsafe"
+
+	"golang.org/x/sys/unix"
+)
+
+// tunMaxPacket is the largest packet utun can return at any device MTU.
+const tunMaxPacket = 65535
+
+// tunReadBatch is the most packets one Utun.Read returns.
+const tunReadBatch = 64
+
+// tunReadArena is Utun's receive buffer. Draining stops once less than tunMaxPacket of it is left,
+// so every readv has room for the largest packet utun can return.
+const tunReadArena = 4 * tunMaxPacket
+
+// tunWriteBatch is how many packets one sendmsg_x call may carry.
+const tunWriteBatch = 64
+
+// Utun is a darwin utun control socket as a Queue. Every packet crosses the socket behind a 4 byte
+// address family prefix, which Read strips and the writes add.
+//
+// The fd lives in the runtime poller, so Close wakes a Read parked on it; darwin needs no QueueSet
+// shutdown fd.
+type Utun struct {
+	f *os.File
+	l *slog.Logger
+
+	// readBuf and readRet are Read's scratch, owned by the single reader.
+	readBuf []byte
+	readRet [tunReadBatch]Packet
+
+	// noSendmsgX is set once sendmsg_x is refused; WriteBatch then writes one packet at a time.
+	noSendmsgX atomic.Bool
+	batchMu    sync.Mutex
+	batch      tunBatch
+}
+
+// tunBatch is WriteBatch's scratch, guarded by Utun.batchMu. The kernel reads every entry in place.
+type tunBatch struct {
+	heads [tunWriteBatch][4]byte
+	iovs  [tunWriteBatch][2]unix.Iovec
+	hdrs  [tunWriteBatch]msghdrX
+	pkts  [tunWriteBatch][]byte
+}
+
+// msghdrX mirrors xnu's struct msghdr_x (bsd/sys/socket_private.h).
+// Keep in sync with msghdrX in udp/udp_darwin.go.
+type msghdrX struct {
+	Name       *byte
+	Namelen    uint32
+	Iov        *unix.Iovec
+	Iovlen     int32
+	Control    *byte
+	Controllen uint32
+	Flags      int32
+	Datalen    uint64
+}
+
+// NewUtun wraps a utun control socket fd and makes it non-blocking.
+// On failure it does NOT close fd: the caller owns fd until NewUtun succeeds, after which Close closes it.
+func NewUtun(fd int, l *slog.Logger) (*Utun, error) {
+	// Before os.NewFile, which only hands a non-blocking fd to the runtime poller.
+	if err := unix.SetNonblock(fd, true); err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to set the tun fd to non-blocking mode: %w", err)
+	}
+	return &Utun{
+		f:       os.NewFile(uintptr(fd), "utun"),
+		l:       l,
+		readBuf: make([]byte, tunReadArena),
+	}, nil
+}
+
+// tunWritev and tunReadv are linkname'd to x/sys/unix's libc-routed writev/readv stubs so the
+// calls go through libSystem's pinned trampoline. A raw syscall.Syscall(SYS_WRITEV/SYS_READV, ...)
+// on darwin/arm64 emits an SVC #0x80 trap (see $GOROOT/src/syscall/asm_darwin_arm64.s), the path
+// Apple keeps warning they will eventually disallow. We pull the low-level stubs instead of calling
+// unix.Writev/unix.Readv because those take [][]byte and rebuild the []Iovec every call, which
+// heap-allocates the header; linkname'ing the stubs lets us hand them our own stack-allocated
+// iovecs. See golang/go#78049.
+
+//go:linkname tunWritev golang.org/x/sys/unix.writev
+//go:noescape
+func tunWritev(fd int, iovecs []unix.Iovec) (n int, err error)
+
+//go:linkname tunReadv golang.org/x/sys/unix.readv
+//go:noescape
+func tunReadv(fd int, iovecs []unix.Iovec) (n int, err error)
+
+// Read waits for the utun to become readable, then reads packets until it would block, up to
+// tunReadBatch, so the caller encrypts and sends them as one batch rather than one per wakeup. Each
+// packet is read with its AF prefix scattered away, so the payload lands directly in readBuf.
+// An error after at least one packet is dropped in favor of returning those packets; a persistent
+// one recurs on the next Read.
+func (u *Utun) Read() ([]Packet, error) {
+	rc, err := u.f.SyscallConn()
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	var head [4]byte
+	n, off := 0, 0
+	var callErr error
+	err = rc.Read(func(fd uintptr) bool {
+		for n < tunReadBatch && len(u.readBuf)-off >= tunMaxPacket {
+			iovecs := [2]unix.Iovec{
+				{Base: &head[0], Len: 4},
+				{Base: &u.readBuf[off], Len: uint64(len(u.readBuf) - off)},
+			}
+			l, e := tunReadv(int(fd), iovecs[:])
+			if e != nil {
+				if errno, ok := e.(syscall.Errno); ok && errno.Temporary() {
+					// Park on the poller only while there is nothing to hand back.
+					return n > 0
+				}
+				callErr = e
+				return true
+			}
+			if l < 4 {
+				// A datagram too short to carry the AF prefix, or end of file; stop rather than spin on it.
+				return true
+			}
+			end := off + l - 4
+			u.readRet[n] = Packet{Bytes: u.readBuf[off:end:end]}
+			n++
+			off = end
+		}
+		return true
+	})
+	if n > 0 {
+		return u.readRet[:n], nil
+	}
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	return nil, callErr
+}
+
+// Write pushes one IP packet onto the utun device. Safe for concurrent use:
+// the AF prefix and iovecs are per-call stack state, and the fd write itself
+// serializes on the runtime's fd mutex (see the Queue contract in tio.go).
+func (u *Utun) Write(from []byte) (int, error) {
+	if len(from) == 0 {
+		return 0, syscall.EIO
+	}
+
+	var head [4]byte
+	af, err := tunAF(from)
+	if err != nil {
+		return 0, err
+	}
+	head[3] = af
+
+	// Grab rc as a local so the compiler can devirtualize the call and keep the closure on the stack.
+	rc, err := u.f.SyscallConn()
+	if err != nil {
+		return 0, err
+	}
+
+	var n int
+	var callErr error
+	err = rc.Write(func(fd uintptr) bool {
+		iovecs := []unix.Iovec{
+			{Base: &head[0], Len: 4},
+			{Base: &from[0], Len: uint64(len(from))},
+		}
+		n, callErr = tunWritev(int(fd), iovecs)
+		// Type-assert to syscall.Errno so the EAGAIN/EWOULDBLOCK/EINTR check doesn't box the errno
+		// constants into error interfaces on every call.
+		if errno, ok := callErr.(syscall.Errno); ok && errno.Temporary() {
+			return false
+		}
+		return true
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		return 0, err
+	}
+	if callErr != nil {
+		return 0, callErr
+	}
+
+	return n - 4, nil
+}
+
+// tunAF returns the utun address-family prefix byte for an IP packet.
+func tunAF(pkt []byte) (byte, error) {
+	switch pkt[0] >> 4 {
+	case 4:
+		return syscall.AF_INET, nil
+	case 6:
+		return syscall.AF_INET6, nil
+	default:
+		return 0, fmt.Errorf("unable to determine IP version from packet")
+	}
+}
+
+// WriteBatch writes pkts to the utun device with sendmsg_x, xnu's private batched sendmsg, up to
+// tunWriteBatch packets per syscall. The kernel still hands each packet to utun on its own, so this
+// saves syscalls, not per-packet kernel work. Safe for concurrent use.
+//
+// An empty packet or one with no IP version is skipped and reported, as Write would. Any other
+// error from sendmsg_x means the kernel took an unknown prefix of that call and dropped the rest, so
+// it is reported rather than retried, which could deliver packets twice.
+//
+// Under mbuf exhaustion, sendmsg_x silently drops packets that writev would have delivered: the
+// kernel counts each packet as sent once it is copied in, and when a later allocation fails it
+// frees that prefix unsent and returns its length as a short count, which is indistinguishable
+// from a real one.
+func (u *Utun) WriteBatch(pkts [][]byte) error {
+	if u.noSendmsgX.Load() {
+		return u.writeEach(pkts)
+	}
+
+	u.batchMu.Lock()
+	defer u.batchMu.Unlock()
+	b := &u.batch
+	var firstErr error
+	for len(pkts) > 0 {
+		n := 0
+		for len(pkts) > 0 && n < tunWriteBatch {
+			p := pkts[0]
+			pkts = pkts[1:]
+			var af byte
+			err := error(syscall.EIO)
+			if len(p) > 0 {
+				af, err = tunAF(p)
+			}
+			if err != nil {
+				if firstErr == nil {
+					firstErr = err
+				}
+				continue
+			}
+			b.heads[n] = [4]byte{3: af}
+			b.iovs[n] = [2]unix.Iovec{
+				{Base: &b.heads[n][0], Len: 4},
+				{Base: &p[0], Len: uint64(len(p))},
+			}
+			b.hdrs[n] = msghdrX{Iov: &b.iovs[n][0], Iovlen: 2}
+			b.pkts[n] = p
+			n++
+		}
+		if n == 0 {
+			continue
+		}
+
+		for off := 0; off < n; {
+			sent, err := u.sendmsgX(off, n)
+			switch {
+			case err == nil && sent > 0:
+				// The kernel stops early without an error on a packet larger than the socket's send
+				// buffer, or when sending a later packet fails with ENOBUFS; resend the remainder.
+				off += sent
+			case err == nil:
+				if werr := u.writeEach(b.pkts[off:n]); werr != nil && firstErr == nil {
+					firstErr = werr
+				}
+				off = n
+			case err == unix.EMSGSIZE:
+				// Only the first packet being larger than the socket's send buffer fails the whole call,
+				// before the kernel takes any; Write reports that one and the rest go out in the next call.
+				if werr := u.writeEach(b.pkts[off : off+1]); werr != nil && firstErr == nil {
+					firstErr = werr
+				}
+				off++
+			case err == unix.ENOSYS || err == unix.EPERM || err == unix.EOPNOTSUPP:
+				// sendmsg_x is private API: fall back to writev if a kernel or sandbox refuses it.
+				if u.noSendmsgX.CompareAndSwap(false, true) {
+					u.l.Warn("sendmsg_x unavailable on the tun device, writing one packet per syscall", "error", err)
+				}
+				if werr := u.writeEach(b.pkts[off:n]); werr != nil && firstErr == nil {
+					firstErr = werr
+				}
+				clear(b.iovs[:n])
+				clear(b.pkts[:n])
+				if werr := u.writeEach(pkts); werr != nil && firstErr == nil {
+					firstErr = werr
+				}
+				return firstErr
+			default:
+				if firstErr == nil {
+					firstErr = err
+				}
+				off = n
+			}
+		}
+		clear(b.iovs[:n])
+		clear(b.pkts[:n])
+	}
+	return firstErr
+}
+
+// sendmsgX hands entries off through n-1 of u.batch to sendmsg_x and returns how many the kernel took.
+func (u *Utun) sendmsgX(off, n int) (int, error) {
+	rc, err := u.f.SyscallConn()
+	if err != nil {
+		return 0, err
+	}
+	var sent uintptr
+	var errno syscall.Errno
+	err = rc.Write(func(fd uintptr) bool {
+		sent, _, errno = unix.Syscall6(unix.SYS_SENDMSG_X, fd, uintptr(unsafe.Pointer(&u.batch.hdrs[off])), uintptr(n-off), 0, 0, 0)
+		// sendmsg_x reports EAGAIN only when it took nothing; a partial batch returns its count.
+		return !errno.Temporary()
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		return 0, err
+	}
+	if errno != 0 {
+		return 0, errno
+	}
+	return int(sent), nil
+}
+
+// writeEach writes pkts one at a time with Write.
+func (u *Utun) writeEach(pkts [][]byte) error {
+	var firstErr error
+	for _, p := range pkts {
+		if _, err := u.Write(p); err != nil && firstErr == nil {
+			firstErr = err
+		}
+	}
+	return firstErr
+}
+
+func (u *Utun) Close() error {
+	return u.f.Close()
+}
diff --git a/overlay/tun_darwin_test.go b/overlay/tio/tio_utun_darwin_test.go
similarity index 66%
rename from overlay/tun_darwin_test.go
rename to overlay/tio/tio_utun_darwin_test.go
index ee608576..2ab6a89d 100644
--- a/overlay/tun_darwin_test.go
+++ b/overlay/tio/tio_utun_darwin_test.go
@@ -1,37 +1,42 @@
-//go:build !ios && !e2e_testing
+//go:build darwin && !ios
 
-package overlay
+package tio
 
 import (
 	"bytes"
-	"os"
+	"log/slog"
 	"syscall"
 	"testing"
 
-	"github.com/slackhq/nebula/test"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 	"golang.org/x/sys/unix"
 )
 
-// newSocketpairTun returns a tun writing to one end of a connected AF_UNIX datagram socketpair, which
-// takes sendmsg_x the way a utun control socket does, and the other end's fd for reading back.
-// sndbuf is the writer's send buffer, which caps the largest datagram it accepts.
-func newSocketpairTun(t *testing.T, sndbuf int) (*tun, int) {
+// newSocketpairUtun returns a Utun over one end of a connected AF_UNIX datagram socketpair, which
+// takes sendmsg_x the way a utun control socket does, and the other end's fd for the test to use.
+// sndbuf is the Utun's send buffer, which caps the largest datagram it accepts.
+func newSocketpairUtun(t *testing.T, sndbuf int) (*Utun, int) {
 	t.Helper()
 	fds, err := unix.Socketpair(unix.AF_UNIX, unix.SOCK_DGRAM, 0)
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	require.NoError(t, unix.SetsockoptInt(fds[0], unix.SOL_SOCKET, unix.SO_SNDBUF, sndbuf))
+	// An AF_UNIX datagram send is bounded by the receiver's buffer, so size both ends' for the tests.
+	require.NoError(t, unix.SetsockoptInt(fds[0], unix.SOL_SOCKET, unix.SO_RCVBUF, 1<<20))
 	require.NoError(t, unix.SetsockoptInt(fds[1], unix.SOL_SOCKET, unix.SO_RCVBUF, 1<<20))
 	// A dropped datagram fails the read-back instead of hanging it.
 	require.NoError(t, unix.SetsockoptTimeval(fds[1], unix.SOL_SOCKET, unix.SO_RCVTIMEO, &unix.Timeval{Sec: 2}))
-	require.NoError(t, unix.SetNonblock(fds[0], true))
-	f := os.NewFile(uintptr(fds[0]), "socketpair")
+	u, err := NewUtun(fds[0], slog.New(slog.DiscardHandler))
+	if err != nil {
+		_ = unix.Close(fds[0])
+		_ = unix.Close(fds[1])
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
 	t.Cleanup(func() {
-		_ = f.Close()
+		_ = u.Close()
 		_ = unix.Close(fds[1])
 	})
-	return &tun{f: f, l: test.NewLogger()}, fds[1]
+	return u, fds[1]
 }
 
 // testTunPkt returns packet i of size bytes, alternating IPv4 and IPv6, and the datagram the utun
@@ -75,12 +80,12 @@ func forEachTunWritePath(t *testing.T, fn func(t *testing.T, fallback bool)) {
 	}
 }
 
-// TestTunWriteBatch pins that WriteBatch delivers every packet whole, in order and behind the right
+// TestUtunWriteBatch pins that WriteBatch delivers every packet whole, in order and behind the right
 // utun AF prefix, across several sendmsg_x calls, and returns nil.
-func TestTunWriteBatch(t *testing.T) {
+func TestUtunWriteBatch(t *testing.T) {
 	forEachTunWritePath(t, func(t *testing.T, fallback bool) {
-		tn, r := newSocketpairTun(t, 1<<20)
-		tn.noSendmsgX.Store(fallback)
+		u, r := newSocketpairUtun(t, 1<<20)
+		u.noSendmsgX.Store(fallback)
 
 		var pkts, want [][]byte
 		for i := range 3*tunWriteBatch + 5 {
@@ -88,18 +93,18 @@ func TestTunWriteBatch(t *testing.T) {
 			pkts = append(pkts, p)
 			want = append(want, w)
 		}
-		require.NoError(t, tn.WriteBatch(pkts))
-		assert.Equal(t, fallback, tn.noSendmsgX.Load())
+		require.NoError(t, u.WriteBatch(pkts))
+		assert.Equal(t, fallback, u.noSendmsgX.Load())
 		readTunBack(t, r, want)
 	})
 }
 
-// TestTunWriteBatchSkipsInvalid pins that an empty packet or one with no IP version is skipped
+// TestUtunWriteBatchSkipsInvalid pins that an empty packet or one with no IP version is skipped
 // without shifting the packets after it, and that the first such error is the one reported.
-func TestTunWriteBatchSkipsInvalid(t *testing.T) {
+func TestUtunWriteBatchSkipsInvalid(t *testing.T) {
 	forEachTunWritePath(t, func(t *testing.T, fallback bool) {
-		tn, r := newSocketpairTun(t, 1<<20)
-		tn.noSendmsgX.Store(fallback)
+		u, r := newSocketpairUtun(t, 1<<20)
+		u.noSendmsgX.Store(fallback)
 
 		var pkts, want [][]byte
 		for i := range 20 {
@@ -109,16 +114,16 @@ func TestTunWriteBatchSkipsInvalid(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 		pkts = append(pkts[:10], append([][]byte{{0x10, 1, 2}, {}}, pkts[10:]...)...)
 
-		err := tn.WriteBatch(pkts)
+		err := u.WriteBatch(pkts)
 		assert.ErrorContains(t, err, "IP version")
 		readTunBack(t, r, want)
 	})
 }
 
-// TestTunWriteBatchOversize pins that a packet larger than the socket's send buffer drops only
+// TestUtunWriteBatchOversize pins that a packet larger than the socket's send buffer drops only
 // itself and is reported, whether sendmsg_x reaches it mid-call (a short count) or first (EMSGSIZE
 // for the whole call). The send buffer is 1024 bytes and the oversize packet 2000.
-func TestTunWriteBatchOversize(t *testing.T) {
+func TestUtunWriteBatchOversize(t *testing.T) {
 	for _, tc := range []struct {
 		name string
 		at   int
@@ -128,8 +133,8 @@ func TestTunWriteBatchOversize(t *testing.T) {
 	} {
 		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
 			forEachTunWritePath(t, func(t *testing.T, fallback bool) {
-				tn, r := newSocketpairTun(t, 1024)
-				tn.noSendmsgX.Store(fallback)
+				u, r := newSocketpairUtun(t, 1024)
+				u.noSendmsgX.Store(fallback)
 
 				var pkts, want [][]byte
 				for i := range 2*tunWriteBatch + 10 {
@@ -143,26 +148,19 @@ func TestTunWriteBatchOversize(t *testing.T) {
 						want = append(want, w)
 					}
 				}
-				err := tn.WriteBatch(pkts)
+				err := u.WriteBatch(pkts)
 				assert.ErrorIs(t, err, unix.EMSGSIZE)
-				assert.Equal(t, fallback, tn.noSendmsgX.Load())
+				assert.Equal(t, fallback, u.noSendmsgX.Load())
 				readTunBack(t, r, want)
 			})
 		})
 	}
 }
 
-// TestTunQueueReadDrains pins that Read hands back every queued packet, AF prefix stripped and in
+// TestUtunReadDrains pins that Read hands back every queued packet, AF prefix stripped and in
 // order, capped at tunReadBatch per call, and doesn't wait for more once the queue is empty.
-func TestTunQueueReadDrains(t *testing.T) {
-	tn, w := newSocketpairTun(t, 1<<20)
-	// An AF_UNIX datagram send is bounded by the receiver's buffer, here the tun's end.
-	rc, err := tn.f.SyscallConn()
-	require.NoError(t, err)
-	require.NoError(t, rc.Control(func(fd uintptr) {
-		require.NoError(t, unix.SetsockoptInt(int(fd), unix.SOL_SOCKET, unix.SO_RCVBUF, 1<<20))
-	}))
-	q := &tunQueue{t: tn, buf: make([]byte, tunReadArena)}
+func TestUtunReadDrains(t *testing.T) {
+	u, w := newSocketpairUtun(t, 1<<20)
 	total := tunReadBatch + 3
 	var want [][]byte
 	for i := range total {
@@ -174,7 +172,7 @@ func TestTunQueueReadDrains(t *testing.T) {
 
 	var got [][]byte
 	for _, size := range []int{tunReadBatch, 3} {
-		pkts, err := q.Read()
+		pkts, err := u.Read()
 		require.NoError(t, err)
 		require.Len(t, pkts, size)
 		for _, p := range pkts {
@@ -184,17 +182,16 @@ func TestTunQueueReadDrains(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Equal(t, want, got)
 }
 
-// TestTunQueueReadClipsPackets pins that each returned packet's capacity ends at its own bytes, so
+// TestUtunReadClipsPackets pins that each returned packet's capacity ends at its own bytes, so
 // appending to one can't overwrite the next.
-func TestTunQueueReadClipsPackets(t *testing.T) {
-	tn, w := newSocketpairTun(t, 1<<20)
-	q := &tunQueue{t: tn, buf: make([]byte, tunReadArena)}
+func TestUtunReadClipsPackets(t *testing.T) {
+	u, w := newSocketpairUtun(t, 1<<20)
 	for i := range 2 {
 		_, wire := testTunPkt(i, 100)
 		_, err := unix.Write(w, wire)
 		require.NoError(t, err)
 	}
-	pkts, err := q.Read()
+	pkts, err := u.Read()
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	require.Len(t, pkts, 2)
 	assert.Equal(t, len(pkts[0].Bytes), cap(pkts[0].Bytes))
diff --git a/overlay/tun_darwin.go b/overlay/tun_darwin.go
index d2c48b35..8a6adbc3 100644
--- a/overlay/tun_darwin.go
+++ b/overlay/tun_darwin.go
@@ -7,10 +7,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"log/slog"
 	"net/netip"
-	"os"
-	"sync"
 	"sync/atomic"
-	"syscall"
 	"unsafe"
 
 	"github.com/gaissmai/bart"
@@ -23,7 +20,7 @@ import (
 )
 
 type tun struct {
-	f           *os.File
+	queue       *tio.Utun
 	Device      string
 	vpnNetworks []netip.Prefix
 	DefaultMTU  int
@@ -34,35 +31,6 @@ type tun struct {
 	// and routes for it. NEPacketTunnelProvider on darwin does this.
 	hostOwned bool
 	l         *slog.Logger
-
-	// noSendmsgX is set once sendmsg_x is refused; WriteBatch then writes one packet at a time.
-	noSendmsgX atomic.Bool
-	batchMu    sync.Mutex
-	batch      tunBatch
-}
-
-// tunWriteBatch is how many packets one sendmsg_x call may carry.
-const tunWriteBatch = 64
-
-// tunBatch is WriteBatch's scratch, guarded by tun.batchMu. The kernel reads every entry in place.
-type tunBatch struct {
-	heads [tunWriteBatch][4]byte
-	iovs  [tunWriteBatch][2]unix.Iovec
-	hdrs  [tunWriteBatch]msghdrX
-	pkts  [tunWriteBatch][]byte
-}
-
-// msghdrX mirrors xnu's struct msghdr_x (bsd/sys/socket_private.h).
-// Keep in sync with msghdrX in udp/udp_darwin.go.
-type msghdrX struct {
-	Name       *byte
-	Namelen    uint32
-	Iov        *unix.Iovec
-	Iovlen     int32
-	Control    *byte
-	Controllen uint32
-	Flags      int32
-	Datalen    uint64
 }
 
 type ifReq struct {
@@ -147,13 +115,13 @@ func newTun(c *config.C, l *slog.Logger, vpnNetworks []netip.Prefix, _ bool) (*t
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to retrieve tun name: %w", err)
 	}
 
-	err = unix.SetNonblock(fd, true)
+	queue, err := tio.NewUtun(fd, l)
 	if err != nil {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("SetNonblock: %v", err)
+		return nil, err
 	}
 
 	t := &tun{
-		f:           os.NewFile(uintptr(fd), ""),
+		queue:       queue,
 		Device:      name,
 		vpnNetworks: vpnNetworks,
 		DefaultMTU:  c.GetInt("tun.mtu", DefaultMTU),
@@ -186,15 +154,15 @@ func (t *tun) deviceBytes() (o [16]byte) {
 // network extension is handed its device. Everything about moving packets is shared with newTun,
 // only the setup differs: the host owns addressing and routing here.
 func newTunFromFd(c *config.C, l *slog.Logger, deviceFd int, vpnNetworks []netip.Prefix) (*tun, error) {
-	if err := unix.SetNonblock(deviceFd, true); err != nil {
+	queue, err := tio.NewUtun(deviceFd, l)
+	if err != nil {
 		// We own the fd from the moment it is handed to us
 		_ = unix.Close(deviceFd)
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to set the tun fd to non-blocking mode: %w", err)
+		return nil, err
 	}
 
-	file := os.NewFile(uintptr(deviceFd), "/dev/tun")
 	t := &tun{
-		f:           file,
+		queue:       queue,
 		Device:      utunNameFromFd(deviceFd),
 		vpnNetworks: vpnNetworks,
 		DefaultMTU:  c.GetInt("tun.mtu", DefaultMTU),
@@ -203,7 +171,7 @@ func newTunFromFd(c *config.C, l *slog.Logger, deviceFd int, vpnNetworks []netip
 	}
 
 	if err := t.reload(c, true); err != nil {
-		_ = file.Close()
+		_ = queue.Close()
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
@@ -227,8 +195,8 @@ func utunNameFromFd(fd int) string {
 }
 
 func (t *tun) Close() error {
-	if t.f != nil {
-		return t.f.Close()
+	if t.queue != nil {
+		return t.queue.Close()
 	}
 	return nil
 }
@@ -586,312 +554,6 @@ func delRoute(prefix netip.Prefix, gateway netroute.Addr) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-// tunWritev and tunReadv are linkname'd to x/sys/unix's libc-routed writev/readv stubs so the
-// calls go through libSystem's pinned trampoline. A raw syscall.Syscall(SYS_WRITEV/SYS_READV, ...)
-// on darwin/arm64 emits an SVC #0x80 trap (see $GOROOT/src/syscall/asm_darwin_arm64.s), the path
-// Apple keeps warning they will eventually disallow. We pull the low-level stubs instead of calling
-// unix.Writev/unix.Readv because those take [][]byte and rebuild the []Iovec every call, which
-// heap-allocates the header; linkname'ing the stubs lets us hand them our own stack-allocated
-// iovecs. See golang/go#78049.
-
-//go:linkname tunWritev golang.org/x/sys/unix.writev
-//go:noescape
-func tunWritev(fd int, iovecs []unix.Iovec) (n int, err error)
-
-//go:linkname tunReadv golang.org/x/sys/unix.readv
-//go:noescape
-func tunReadv(fd int, iovecs []unix.Iovec) (n int, err error)
-
-// Read pulls one IP packet off the utun device, scattering the 4 byte protocol header away from
-// the packet so the payload lands directly in to.
-func (t *tun) Read(to []byte) (int, error) {
-	var head [4]byte
-
-	rc, err := t.f.SyscallConn()
-	if err != nil {
-		return 0, err
-	}
-
-	var n int
-	var callErr error
-	err = rc.Read(func(fd uintptr) bool {
-		iovecs := []unix.Iovec{
-			{Base: &head[0], Len: 4},
-			{Base: &to[0], Len: uint64(len(to))},
-		}
-		n, callErr = tunReadv(int(fd), iovecs)
-		if errno, ok := callErr.(syscall.Errno); ok && errno.Temporary() {
-			return false
-		}
-		return true
-	})
-	if err != nil {
-		return 0, err
-	}
-	if callErr != nil {
-		return 0, callErr
-	}
-	if n < 4 {
-		return 0, nil
-	}
-	return n - 4, nil
-}
-
-// tunReadBatch is the most packets one tunQueue.Read returns.
-const tunReadBatch = 64
-
-// tunReadArena is tunQueue's receive buffer. Draining stops once less than defaultBatchBufSize of it
-// is left, so every readv has room for the largest packet utun can return at any device MTU.
-const tunReadArena = 4 * defaultBatchBufSize
-
-// tunQueue is the darwin tun's Queue. Read drains every packet already queued on the utun, up to
-// tunReadBatch, so the caller encrypts and sends them as one batch rather than one per wakeup.
-type tunQueue struct {
-	t    *tun
-	buf  []byte
-	pkts [tunReadBatch]tio.Packet
-}
-
-// Read waits for the utun to become readable, then reads packets until it would block. An error after
-// at least one packet is dropped in favor of returning those packets; a persistent one recurs on the
-// next Read.
-func (q *tunQueue) Read() ([]tio.Packet, error) {
-	rc, err := q.t.f.SyscallConn()
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, err
-	}
-
-	var head [4]byte
-	n, off := 0, 0
-	var callErr error
-	err = rc.Read(func(fd uintptr) bool {
-		for n < tunReadBatch && len(q.buf)-off >= defaultBatchBufSize {
-			iovecs := [2]unix.Iovec{
-				{Base: &head[0], Len: 4},
-				{Base: &q.buf[off], Len: uint64(len(q.buf) - off)},
-			}
-			l, e := tunReadv(int(fd), iovecs[:])
-			if e != nil {
-				if errno, ok := e.(syscall.Errno); ok && errno.Temporary() {
-					// Park on the poller only while there is nothing to hand back.
-					return n > 0
-				}
-				callErr = e
-				return true
-			}
-			if l < 4 {
-				// A datagram too short to carry the AF prefix, or end of file; stop rather than spin on it.
-				return true
-			}
-			end := off + l - 4
-			q.pkts[n] = tio.Packet{Bytes: q.buf[off:end:end]}
-			n++
-			off = end
-		}
-		return true
-	})
-	if n > 0 {
-		return q.pkts[:n], nil
-	}
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, err
-	}
-	return nil, callErr
-}
-
-func (q *tunQueue) Write(p []byte) (int, error) { return q.t.Write(p) }
-
-func (q *tunQueue) WriteBatch(pkts [][]byte) error { return q.t.WriteBatch(pkts) }
-
-func (q *tunQueue) Close() error { return q.t.Close() }
-
-// Write pushes one IP packet onto the utun device. Safe for concurrent use:
-// the AF prefix and iovecs are per-call stack state, and the fd write itself
-// serializes on the runtime's fd mutex (see the Queue contract in tio.go).
-func (t *tun) Write(from []byte) (int, error) {
-	if len(from) == 0 {
-		return 0, syscall.EIO
-	}
-
-	var head [4]byte
-	af, err := tunAF(from)
-	if err != nil {
-		return 0, err
-	}
-	head[3] = af
-
-	// Grab rc as a local so the compiler can devirtualize the call and keep the closure on the stack.
-	rc, err := t.f.SyscallConn()
-	if err != nil {
-		return 0, err
-	}
-
-	var n int
-	var callErr error
-	err = rc.Write(func(fd uintptr) bool {
-		iovecs := []unix.Iovec{
-			{Base: &head[0], Len: 4},
-			{Base: &from[0], Len: uint64(len(from))},
-		}
-		n, callErr = tunWritev(int(fd), iovecs)
-		// Type-assert to syscall.Errno so the EAGAIN/EWOULDBLOCK/EINTR check doesn't box the errno
-		// constants into error interfaces on every call.
-		if errno, ok := callErr.(syscall.Errno); ok && errno.Temporary() {
-			return false
-		}
-		return true
-	})
-	if err != nil {
-		return 0, err
-	}
-	if callErr != nil {
-		return 0, callErr
-	}
-
-	return n - 4, nil
-}
-
-// tunAF returns the utun address-family prefix byte for an IP packet.
-func tunAF(pkt []byte) (byte, error) {
-	switch pkt[0] >> 4 {
-	case 4:
-		return syscall.AF_INET, nil
-	case 6:
-		return syscall.AF_INET6, nil
-	default:
-		return 0, fmt.Errorf("unable to determine IP version from packet")
-	}
-}
-
-// WriteBatch writes pkts to the utun device with sendmsg_x, xnu's private batched sendmsg, up to
-// tunWriteBatch packets per syscall. The kernel still hands each packet to utun on its own, so this
-// saves syscalls, not per-packet kernel work. Safe for concurrent use.
-//
-// An empty packet or one with no IP version is skipped and reported, as Write would. Any other
-// error from sendmsg_x means the kernel took an unknown prefix of that call and dropped the rest, so
-// it is reported rather than retried, which could deliver packets twice.
-//
-// Under mbuf exhaustion, sendmsg_x silently drops packets that writev would have delivered: the
-// kernel counts each packet as sent once it is copied in, and when a later allocation fails it
-// frees that prefix unsent and returns its length as a short count, which is indistinguishable
-// from a real one.
-func (t *tun) WriteBatch(pkts [][]byte) error {
-	if t.noSendmsgX.Load() {
-		return t.writeEach(pkts)
-	}
-
-	t.batchMu.Lock()
-	defer t.batchMu.Unlock()
-	b := &t.batch
-	var firstErr error
-	for len(pkts) > 0 {
-		n := 0
-		for len(pkts) > 0 && n < tunWriteBatch {
-			p := pkts[0]
-			pkts = pkts[1:]
-			var af byte
-			err := error(syscall.EIO)
-			if len(p) > 0 {
-				af, err = tunAF(p)
-			}
-			if err != nil {
-				if firstErr == nil {
-					firstErr = err
-				}
-				continue
-			}
-			b.heads[n] = [4]byte{3: af}
-			b.iovs[n] = [2]unix.Iovec{
-				{Base: &b.heads[n][0], Len: 4},
-				{Base: &p[0], Len: uint64(len(p))},
-			}
-			b.hdrs[n] = msghdrX{Iov: &b.iovs[n][0], Iovlen: 2}
-			b.pkts[n] = p
-			n++
-		}
-		if n == 0 {
-			continue
-		}
-
-		for off := 0; off < n; {
-			sent, err := t.sendmsgX(off, n)
-			switch {
-			case err == nil && sent > 0:
-				// The kernel stops early without an error on a packet larger than the socket's send
-				// buffer, or when sending a later packet fails with ENOBUFS; resend the remainder.
-				off += sent
-			case err == nil:
-				if werr := t.writeEach(b.pkts[off:n]); werr != nil && firstErr == nil {
-					firstErr = werr
-				}
-				off = n
-			case err == unix.EMSGSIZE:
-				// Only the first packet being larger than the socket's send buffer fails the whole call,
-				// before the kernel takes any; Write reports that one and the rest go out in the next call.
-				if werr := t.writeEach(b.pkts[off : off+1]); werr != nil && firstErr == nil {
-					firstErr = werr
-				}
-				off++
-			case err == unix.ENOSYS || err == unix.EPERM || err == unix.EOPNOTSUPP:
-				// sendmsg_x is private API: fall back to writev if a kernel or sandbox refuses it.
-				if t.noSendmsgX.CompareAndSwap(false, true) {
-					t.l.Warn("sendmsg_x unavailable on the tun device, writing one packet per syscall", "error", err)
-				}
-				if werr := t.writeEach(b.pkts[off:n]); werr != nil && firstErr == nil {
-					firstErr = werr
-				}
-				clear(b.iovs[:n])
-				clear(b.pkts[:n])
-				if werr := t.writeEach(pkts); werr != nil && firstErr == nil {
-					firstErr = werr
-				}
-				return firstErr
-			default:
-				if firstErr == nil {
-					firstErr = err
-				}
-				off = n
-			}
-		}
-		clear(b.iovs[:n])
-		clear(b.pkts[:n])
-	}
-	return firstErr
-}
-
-// sendmsgX hands entries off through n-1 of t.batch to sendmsg_x and returns how many the kernel took.
-func (t *tun) sendmsgX(off, n int) (int, error) {
-	rc, err := t.f.SyscallConn()
-	if err != nil {
-		return 0, err
-	}
-	var sent uintptr
-	var errno syscall.Errno
-	err = rc.Write(func(fd uintptr) bool {
-		sent, _, errno = unix.Syscall6(unix.SYS_SENDMSG_X, fd, uintptr(unsafe.Pointer(&t.batch.hdrs[off])), uintptr(n-off), 0, 0, 0)
-		// sendmsg_x reports EAGAIN only when it took nothing; a partial batch returns its count.
-		return !errno.Temporary()
-	})
-	if err != nil {
-		return 0, err
-	}
-	if errno != 0 {
-		return 0, errno
-	}
-	return int(sent), nil
-}
-
-// writeEach writes pkts one at a time with Write.
-func (t *tun) writeEach(pkts [][]byte) error {
-	var firstErr error
-	for _, p := range pkts {
-		if _, err := t.Write(p); err != nil && firstErr == nil {
-			firstErr = err
-		}
-	}
-	return firstErr
-}
-
 func (t *tun) Networks() []netip.Prefix {
 	return t.vpnNetworks
 }
@@ -901,5 +563,5 @@ func (t *tun) Name() string {
 }
 
 func (t *tun) Queues(int) ([]tio.Queue, error) {
-	return []tio.Queue{&tunQueue{t: t, buf: make([]byte, tunReadArena)}}, nil
+	return []tio.Queue{t.queue}, nil
 }
diff --git a/udp/udp_darwin.go b/udp/udp_darwin.go
index e4e17856..d40f18c4 100644
--- a/udp/udp_darwin.go
+++ b/udp/udp_darwin.go
@@ -332,7 +332,7 @@ const recvBatch = 64
 
 // msghdrX mirrors xnu's struct msghdr_x (bsd/sys/socket_private.h). recvmsg_x reports each
 // datagram's length in Datalen rather than in its return value.
-// Keep in sync with msghdrX in overlay/tun_darwin.go.
+// Keep in sync with msghdrX in overlay/tio/tio_utun_darwin.go.
 type msghdrX struct {
 	Name       *byte
 	Namelen    uint32