Seelen UI — Customizable Desktop Environment for Windows

Introduction

Seelen UI is an open-source desktop environment layer for Windows 10 and 11 that replaces or augments the default shell experience. Built with Rust and Tauri, it offers a tiling window manager, a configurable status bar, an application launcher, and a widget system. It aims to bring the kind of desktop customization typically seen on Linux to the Windows platform.

What Seelen UI Does

• Provides a tiling window manager that automatically arranges application windows in non-overlapping layouts
• Replaces the Windows taskbar with a customizable status bar showing system info, workspaces, and widgets
• Includes a fast application launcher accessible via configurable keyboard shortcuts
• Offers a theming engine with CSS-based customization for all UI components
• Supports a widget system for embedding custom information panels on the desktop

Architecture Overview

Seelen UI is built on the Tauri framework, combining a Rust backend for system-level operations with a web-based frontend for rendering the UI. The tiling window manager hooks into the Windows window management APIs to intercept and reposition windows according to user-defined layouts. The status bar and widgets run as overlay windows rendered via WebView2. Configuration is stored in YAML files, and themes use CSS for styling.

Self-Hosting & Configuration

• Install via winget, the Microsoft Store, or download the installer from GitHub releases
• Configuration files are stored in ~/.config/seelen/ in YAML format
• Customize window layouts by editing tiling rules or using the built-in settings GUI
• Themes are CSS-based and can be created or downloaded from the community
• Requires Windows 10 1903 or later; WebView2 runtime is bundled with the installer

Key Features

• Tiling window manager with multiple layout algorithms including BSP and columns
• CSS-based theming engine enabling deep visual customization
• Multi-monitor support with independent workspace management per display
• Low resource footprint compared to traditional Electron-based alternatives
• Active development with regular releases and a growing community

Comparison with Similar Tools

• PowerToys FancyZones — provides zone-based window snapping but lacks a full desktop environment with status bar and launcher
• Komorebi — a tiling WM for Windows focused purely on window management without UI shell components
• GlazeWM — another Windows tiling WM with a status bar, but uses .NET rather than Rust/Tauri
• Rainmeter — desktop widget platform for Windows but does not include window management
• bug.n — AutoHotkey-based tiling WM that is no longer actively maintained

FAQ

Q: Does Seelen UI replace the Windows shell entirely? A: No. It runs as an overlay on top of the standard Windows shell. You can disable components individually and fall back to default Windows behavior at any time.

Q: Can I use Seelen UI on Windows 10? A: Yes, it supports Windows 10 version 1903 and later, though some visual features work best on Windows 11.

Q: How do I create a custom theme? A: Themes are CSS files placed in the themes directory. You can modify colors, fonts, borders, and layout properties for the status bar, launcher, and widget panels.

Q: Is Seelen UI resource-intensive? A: No. The Rust/Tauri architecture keeps memory and CPU usage low. Typical idle usage is under 50 MB of RAM.

Sources

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