Open-source alternatives to Open Shell Menu

Waybar is a modular status bar for Wayland compositors that provides a configuration-driven interface for system monitoring and desktop management. It functions as a shell component that integrates directly with Wayland protocols to track window manager states, manage system tray icons, and display real-time hardware, network, and power metrics. The project distinguishes itself through a highly flexible architecture that allows for independent or synchronized interface bars across multiple monitors, each with unique layout and styling rules. Users can extend the bar's functionality by creatin

Breeze Shell is a custom shell extension and operating system context menu customizer. It provides a replacement interface for native system menus, allowing for the modification of both the behavior and appearance of right-click interactions. The project enables the addition of custom buttons and actions to system menus through an embedded script interface. It allows for the complete replacement of default operating system menus with custom interfaces that feature unique visual themes and animations. The software integrates with the operating system to intercept context menu events and injec

lf is a terminal-based file manager and TUI file explorer that provides keyboard-driven navigation for browsing and organizing files and directories. It operates as a shell-integrated tool that synchronizes the current working directory with the calling shell and supports vi-style keybindings for filesystem operations. The project distinguishes itself through its ability to render images directly in the terminal via the SIXEL graphics protocol and its shell-driven execution model, which allows users to extend functionality using external shell scripts and commands. It also implements a server

Windhawk is a Windows OS modding framework and user-mode code injector designed to customize the behavior of Windows applications and system components. It functions as a process customization tool and API hooking engine that allows for the insertion of custom logic into running programs. The framework enables software behavior modification and user interface tweaking without requiring access to the original source code. This is achieved by intercepting function calls and altering how software interacts with the operating system to implement patches or feature enhancements. The system covers

ContextMenuManager is a desktop utility designed for the Windows operating system that enables users to modify, add, or remove entries within file and folder right-click menus. It functions as a configuration interface that interacts with the Windows Registry to manage shell extensions and define custom command execution paths. The tool provides granular control over the system interface by allowing users to hide unnecessary menu items, update labels and icons, or create new commands to trigger specific file operations. By managing these registry-based shell integrations, the software allows

YASB is a customizable status bar framework and desktop shell component for Windows. It provides a toolkit for building personalized information bars using a modular class-based widget architecture and CSS-based styling. The framework distinguishes itself through deep integration with Windows tiling window managers, allowing users to display active workspaces, tiling layouts, and window focus states. It also features automated visual consistency by generating system color schemes based on the current desktop wallpaper. The project covers a wide range of capabilities, including real-time syst

This project is a keyboard-driven menu framework and application launcher for X11 and Wayland desktop environments. It serves as a customizable system control interface for building themed popup menus and applets. The framework allows for extensive visual style customization and the creation of themed launchers through configuration files and style presets. It enables the construction of personalized Linux desktop interfaces by separating functional applets into a modular script architecture. The system covers broad management capabilities, including hardware control for audio and brightness

This project is a command-line utility and development framework designed to modify, extend, and customize the Spotify desktop client. It functions as a binary patching engine that injects custom scripts, stylesheets, and interface components directly into the host application, enabling users to alter visual themes and add new functionality. The tool distinguishes itself by providing a comprehensive development environment for building modular extensions and custom applications. It includes a hot-reloading pipeline for rapid iteration, a declarative library for constructing interactive UI pan

Eww is a declarative framework for creating custom graphical desktop widgets and status bars on Linux. It functions as a desktop widget toolkit that operates independently of the window manager, allowing users to define interface elements through a dedicated configuration language and style them using a cascading stylesheet system. The project utilizes a client-server daemon architecture to manage the lifecycle of these components, ensuring that state is maintained across the desktop environment. By leveraging a reactive state binding system, the interface updates automatically in response to

Voidrice is a collection of Linux and Unix dotfiles and a shell-scripted provisioning suite designed to establish a standardized, minimalist desktop environment. It provides a set of configuration files for shells, text editors, and system utilities to ensure a consistent workspace across different machines. The project employs a symlink-based configuration manager to map system files to a central repository for easier versioning. It also includes a text-based directory bookmark system that uses flat text files to index and jump to favorite system paths. The suite covers broad capability are

i3 is an X11 tiling window manager for Linux that organizes application windows into a non-overlapping grid to maximize screen space. It functions as a configurable window layout engine and a desktop environment component that interfaces with the X Window System to handle window placement and input events. The manager specifically provides the ability to add configurable visual spacing and gaps between windows and screen edges. It determines window borders and spacing by parsing a text configuration file at startup or during runtime. The system covers workspace layout optimization and interf

boring.notch is a macOS notch interface extension that provides a customizable software overlay for the hardware notch area. It functions as a productivity widget hub and a custom system HUD overlay, allowing users to replace standard system heads-up displays for volume and brightness with custom visual indicators. The project includes an interface gesture controller to map touch and mouse interactions to specific system actions and application controls. It also features a temporary file shelf that serves as a workspace for staging files intended for quick transfer via wireless sharing protoc

ShaderGlass is a GPU-accelerated shader pipeline designed to render real-time visual effects as an overlay on the desktop or specific application windows. It processes visual input through programmable fragment shaders to modify screen output or live video feeds. The project supports the import of custom shader definitions and the hot-loading of external files to test and tune visual effects without restarting. It includes a library management system for browsing presets and adjusting specific parameters to refine the final output. The application routes input from various sources, including

Rofi is a keyboard-driven application launcher and window switcher for X11 desktops. It functions as a scriptable command palette and a compatible emulator for dmenu, capable of reading options from standard input and returning a user selection to standard output. The project is distinguished by a customizable window interface using a CSS-like theming system and a flexible box-model widget hierarchy. It features a recursive theme inheritance system and responsive styling that adapts based on screen dimensions and monitor identifiers. The tool provides advanced text filtering using fuzzy, reg

FileConverter is a batch processing utility designed to automate file format transformations and system-level file management. It functions as a metadata-aware engine that integrates directly into the operating system shell, allowing users to trigger conversion tasks through the file manager context menu. The tool distinguishes itself by combining format conversion with automated post-processing workflows. Users can define reusable conversion presets to ensure consistent quality and settings across batch operations. Furthermore, the system utilizes metadata from source files to dynamically ge

Lively is a desktop wallpaper engine for Windows that renders videos, web pages, and interactive shaders as dynamic, animated backgrounds. It functions by creating a transparent window layer behind desktop icons, utilizing native system handles to integrate content directly into the workspace. The application provides tools for system personalization, including the ability to adjust taskbar transparency and application themes to modify the visual style of the operating system. It also includes a command-line interface that allows for the automation of background playback and system configurat

Seelen-UI is a graphical shell and window management utility for Windows that provides a modular, keyboard-driven desktop environment. It enables users to organize application windows through automated tiling, stacking, and floating layouts, while offering a framework for creating interactive desktop widgets using web technologies. The project distinguishes itself by integrating a web-based rendering engine that bridges system-state data to HTML and CSS interfaces, allowing for highly customizable widgets and dynamic visual themes. It features real-time wallpaper analysis to automatically syn

dolby_beta is an audio content unblocker and music source proxy tool designed to route restricted audio streams through proxy servers. It functions as a music stream redirector that replaces original media URLs with proxy addresses to enable the playback of unavailable tracks. The project is implemented as an Xposed module, allowing it to modify application behavior at the system level during runtime. It uses the Xposed framework to hook into the Android operating system and modify music application behavior without altering the original app binary. The utility handles audio source intercept

Nexmon is a suite of operational tools designed for firmware patching, ROM extraction, frame injection, and enabling monitor mode on wireless hardware. It provides utilities to modify wireless chip firmware to unlock low-level hardware capabilities not supported by official drivers. The project enables the activation of monitor mode for capturing raw network packets with radiotap headers and allows for the transmission of custom-crafted wireless frames. It includes tools for dumping the read-only memory of wireless chips to facilitate reverse engineering and analysis of hardware behavior. Th

LOLBAS is a curated database and knowledge base of signed Windows binaries that can be misused to bypass security restrictions and execute unauthorized code. It serves as a technical registry that maps trusted system files to their functional capabilities and the offensive tactics they enable. The project distinguishes itself by providing a capability-driven indexing system and a tactics registry that relates legitimate binary functionality to known security evasion techniques. It includes an association layer that links specific system binaries to attack patterns and tactical objectives, pro

Clink is a command line enhancer and shell extension for the Windows CMD terminal. It functions as a readline-style input library and completion engine, adding advanced line editing, persistent command history, and command argument prediction to the standard Windows command line environment. The project distinguishes itself through a scriptable architecture that allows for custom completion definitions, Lua keyboard mapping, and dynamic prompt customization. It enables the creation of context-sensitive prompts that can include asynchronous updates, environment-based formatting, and transient

Noctalia Shell is a modular Wayland desktop shell that provides a user interface consisting of status bars, launchers, and notifications for Wayland compositors. It is built as a plugin-based desktop environment that utilizes declarative configuration for managing system defaults, wallpapers, and plugin installations. The project features a dynamic desktop theming engine that extracts color palettes from wallpapers to theme the shell and external applications. This is supported by an inter-process communication bridge that exposes endpoints, allowing external scripts and keybindings to trigge

SuperWeChatPC is a modifier for the WeChat desktop client that unlocks hidden features through memory patching and binary hooks. It functions as a multi-account messaging manager, a messaging data archiver, and a software interface that exposes internal messaging functions to external programs. The project enables the simultaneous operation of multiple independent client instances on a single computer through process isolation. It allows for the transmission of large attachments by bypassing standard file size restrictions and provides a wrapper for programmatic message automation. The tool

Luma3DS is a custom firmware for the Nintendo 3DS that removes factory restrictions to enable the execution of unsigned homebrew and game modifications. It functions as a kernel-level system extension that hooks system calls to bypass hardware limitations and introduce new operating system capabilities. The project serves as a homebrew payload loader, using boot-time mechanisms to launch third-party software and custom firmware versions. It also provides a game modding framework capable of patching executable code and intercepting file requests to load custom assets and modified data. The en

UEVR is a modding toolkit designed to inject virtual reality support into games built with Unreal Engine. It functions as a stereoscopic rendering injector and plugin loader that enables 3D depth and head tracking in titles not natively designed for VR. The project distinguishes itself by providing a framework for six-degree-of-freedom tracking and a world-space UI projector that transforms flat 2D interface elements into 3D objects. It includes a VR input mapping framework to synchronize headset and controller transforms with engine components for physics and camera interaction. The system

This project is a shell extension and enhancement tool for the Windows file manager. It provides a tabbed browsing interface and folder organization utilities to the native explorer. The tool enables visual folder navigation through hover-based previews of directory contents and image snapshots. It also includes a mechanism to integrate supplemental utilities, such as file operation helpers and status bars, directly into the shell interface. The software achieves these enhancements through native system API integration, shell-extension hooking, and dynamic UI overlays that render over existi