Seelen UI — Fully Customizable Desktop Environment for Windows

Introduction

Seelen UI transforms the Windows desktop experience by replacing the stock taskbar, Alt-Tab switcher, and window management with a modern, customizable alternative. It brings tiling window management to Windows with a polished UI built on web technologies via Tauri.

What Seelen UI Does

• Replaces the Windows taskbar with a customizable top bar and dock
• Provides a tiling window manager with configurable layouts
• Offers a Spotlight-style app launcher for quick access
• Supports themes, widgets, and extensive visual customization
• Runs as a lightweight overlay on top of standard Windows

Architecture Overview

Seelen UI is built with Tauri, combining a Rust backend for system integration with a React/TypeScript frontend for the UI. It hooks into Windows APIs for window management, taskbar replacement, and input handling. The tiling engine arranges windows according to configurable layout rules. Themes and widgets are defined using standard web technologies (CSS, HTML, JavaScript), making customization accessible to web developers.

Self-Hosting & Configuration

• Install via winget, Chocolatey, or download from GitHub releases
• Access settings through the built-in configuration panel
• Customize themes by editing CSS files in the themes directory
• Configure tiling layouts, gaps, and window rules in the settings UI
• Add widgets to the toolbar for system monitoring, weather, and more

Key Features

• Tiling window manager with multiple layout presets for Windows
• Customizable top bar replacing the default Windows taskbar
• Spotlight-style application launcher with fuzzy search
• Theme engine supporting full visual customization via CSS
• Multi-language support with community translations

Comparison with Similar Tools

• PowerToys FancyZones — Zone-based window snapping; Seelen provides full automatic tiling
• GlazeWM — Tiling WM for Windows; Seelen adds taskbar replacement and widgets
• Komorebi — Keyboard-driven tiling WM; Seelen offers a more visual, themed experience
• bug.n — AutoHotkey-based tiling; older, less maintained, no modern UI
• Workspacer — C# tiling WM; Seelen provides richer customization options

FAQ

Q: Does Seelen UI work on Windows 10? A: Yes. Seelen UI supports both Windows 10 and Windows 11, though some visual features are optimized for Windows 11.

Q: Can I use Seelen UI alongside the default taskbar? A: Seelen UI replaces the default taskbar. You can configure which elements to show and customize the layout to match your workflow.

Q: Is Seelen UI resource-heavy? A: No. Built on Tauri (Rust backend), it uses significantly less memory than Electron-based alternatives. Typical usage is under 100MB RAM.

Q: Can I create my own themes? A: Yes. Themes are CSS-based. You can modify existing themes or create new ones using standard web development skills.

Sources

• https://github.com/eythaann/Seelen-UI
• https://seelen-ui.github.io/