A new version of the Cairo Desktop Environment for Windows has been released.

Transform your Windows desktop with Cairo

A customizable, intuitive desktop environment for Windows.

Cairo is a desktop environment for Windows. Our goal is to develop a desktop experience that increases productivity and advances current technology standards. With a focus on stability, performance, and productivity, Cairo aims to deliver an interface that exceeds expectations and delivers superior ease of use.

Taskbar

The Cairo taskbar preserves desktop area for your wallpaper and applications. In addition, windows are organized the same way you choose to organize your programs list, making it easy to switch between tasks. The list button shows your open windows in an organized, easy to understand layout.

Programs Menu

Never again waste time hunting for applications in poorly organized menus. Cairo lets you organize your apps into categories that make sense to you, using an easy drag-and-drop interface.

Dynamic Desktop

With Cairo, your desktop is browse-able, meaning that you never need to open a file explorer to find your things. The handy pop-up navigation makes it easy to move forward or backward and completely transforms your desktop into a more friendly, convenient space.

Folder Stacks

Tired of hunting for the same files over and over again, interrupting your work? With Cairo’s menu bar folder stacks, you can create instant access to frequently used folders. Simply drag them onto the menu bar to create easy access.

Cairo requires Windows 7 or later, including Windows 10, and .NET 4.7.1 or later (already included with Windows 10 1709 and newer)

Click "Assets" below to find the installer download. After downloading, Windows Defender will likely require you to choose "more info," then "run anyway."

Changes since 0.4.76

• Fixed an error when right-clicking the task list
• Fixed icons appearing pixelated on high-resolution displays
• Fixed some cases of incorrect categorization in the taskbar

Changes since M3.7174

We've re-written significant portions of Cairo to resolve bugs, improve compatibility, enhance extensibility, and to make it easier for us to add new functionality going forward.

• Extensions built for Milestone 3 builds of Cairo will need to be updated before they will work in newer versions. See cairoshell/CairoExtensionSamples for sample extensions that have been updated.
• Command-line arguments have changed in this version. If you're using these, see the wiki for updated arguments.

Folder browsing improvements:

• Re-implemented folder views to more closely resemble Windows Explorer directory listing results
• Improved performance of loading folders
• File and folder icons now match what is shown by Windows Explorer
• File and folder context menus now appear in dark mode on Windows 10 version 1903 through 20H2 when specified by the selected Cairo theme
• Special shell folders, such as This PC and Control Panel, can now be opened on the dynamic desktop and added as stacks
• ZIP files can now be browsed into on the dynamic desktop or added to stacks (you can even add folders within a ZIP as stacks--neat!)
• Fixed file rename not selecting the last character

Dynamic desktop improvements:

• The desktop now includes items from the common desktop folder, like the Explorer desktop
• The desktop toolbar history menu now shows tool tips with the path of each item
• Improved desktop overlay hiding after selecting an option from the context menu
• Improved desktop toolbar current folder tool tip
• Fixed desktop not getting mouse capture after closing a stack
• Fixed display of folders with an underscore in their name in the desktop toolbar history menu
• Fixed errant drag-drop operations occurring on the desktop

Stacks improvements:

• The shell context menu is now used in stacks ( #496)
• Fixed stacks 'open' button always opening in a new window regardless of desktop settings
• Fixed stacks staying open after choosing an icon

Notification area improvements:

• Fixed some icons not appearing (such as OBS and Spotify)
• Fixed some icons not responding to clicks (such as Origin, #517)
• Fixed some icon updates causing a crash on 32-bit systems
• Fixed some menus flashing or not appearing at all (such as EarTrumpet and Steam, #498)

Taskbar improvements:

• Added ability to hide taskbar labels ( #510, thanks @Cereal-Killa!)
• Setting to enable/disable the taskbar no longer requires a restart

Search improvements:

• Improved responsiveness
• Improved search results

App Grabber improvements:

• Improved performance
• Fixed App Grabber not getting focus when opening from the Programs menu
• Fixed error on Server Core 2012 ( #508)

General improvements:

• Blur behind the menu bar is now enabled by default on supported systems
• Setting to show menu bars or taskbars on all monitors no longer requires a restart
• Updated Russian localization ( #530, thanks @curoviyxru!)
• Themes are now stored in a 'Themes' sub-directory
• Themes can now be stored per user in %localappdata%\Cairo_Development_Team\Themes
• Fixed file extensions showing in the Themes drop down
• Fixed Cairo Settings sometimes not correctly showing whether Cairo is set as the shell or not
• Fixed issue with Cairo covering full-screen apps with multiple monitors

Download Cairo Desktop 0.4.80