Windows modding is back, and the open-source tools are better than Microsoft's own

Published Oct 26, 2026, 8:00 PM EDT Ever since he got his first smartphone, the legendary Nokia 6600, back in 2005, Goran became obsessed with technology. This obsession had only gotten worse after he received his first gaming PC a couple of months later. He fell in love with video games in the early '90s, shortly after embarking on his gaming journey with the Sega Master System II and SNES. Since then, he has built dozens of PCs, played thousands of games, and authored hundreds of articles about PC hardware, gaming hardware, and video games. He knows everything there is to know about the PC gaming and PC hardware space, and while his console gaming knowledge isn't as comprehensive, he considers himself a console veteran. Goran has almost a decade of experience writing about tech and video games for numerous web publications including TechSpot, TechPowerUp, and EsportsHeadlines. He has been writing for How-To Geek since December 2022. When he isn't gaming or deciding which component of his PC to upgrade next, you can find him strolling around Novi Sad while listening to music and contemplating what to play next. While PowerToys is a fantastic open-source tool made by Microsoft, its Windows modding capabilities are fairly limited. When it comes to built-in Windows modding options, you can do stuff like bring back the Windows 10-style right-click menu (via Registry Editor), toggle transparency effects, use a limited selection of custom themes, finally move the taskbar again, and a few other things, which isn’t that bad considering they’re all available right from the get-go. But if being able to change the taskbar position again has given you the modding bug, and you want to build the Windows UI of your dreams, built-in options won’t get you far, and neither will PowerToys. This is where third-party open-source Windows modding tools enter the scene, letting you go wild and tweak your desktop in ways Microsoft would never allow, down to virtually every element you please. Windhawk An open-source "marketplace" that contains a plethora of cool mods For most people, Windhawk will be all they need to mod Windows. The app itself doesn’t let you customize anything. Instead, it’s a modding marketplace where you can explore a dizzying collection of community-made mods that touch most elements of the Windows desktop. While at first glance you might think that you’ll only be able to tweak stuff like the Start menu and taskbar, exploring the offering a bit reveals just how deeply you can customize the copy of Windows running on your PC. Aside from the Start menu and taskbar, you can also modify the Settings app, add a macOS-like menu bar or an iPhone-like Dynamic Island, install a mod that lets you scroll through tabs in Chrome with your mouse wheel, remove window borders, control per-app volume by scrolling over taskbar icons, block the F1 key from opening the help page in apps, and so much more. The Windhawk marketplace has so many mods that you’ll need quite a bit of time to explore them all, which I strongly encourage, because there’s a good chance you’ll find a mod that does exactly what you’ve always wanted to change in Windows but couldn’t with the built-in tools. Be aware that while you can combine different modding tools from this list (like Windhawk and Nilesoft Shell), you shouldn’t stack similar mods from the same or different tools (like taskbar mods), since they can break stuff, make elements display incorrectly, and cause similar issues. For instance, I combined two different taskbar mods in Windhawk, one turning it transparent and the other changing it to a macOS-like dock, and my Search button got cut in half, which looked really jarring. ExplorerPatcher If you miss the Windows 10 taskbar and Start menu, ExplorerPatcher is the tool for you ExplorerPatcher focuses on bringing back the classic Windows 10 taskbar, Start menu, and context menu, but the tool includes a number of other tweaks as well. For instance, the taskbar doesn’t just change at the surface level; you’re also getting Windows 10 taskbar features back, such as Toolbars, the option to cascade open windows or show them stacked or side by side, Windows 10 volume control, and more. The tool also includes a robust settings menu where you can fine-tune the experience, which you can access by right-clicking the taskbar and clicking Properties. You can pick between different window switchers and adjust them, customize the system tray, taskbar, Start menu, and File Explorer, and apply various other tweaks, such as bringing back Windows 10-like sharp window corners or disabling Office hotkeys. In a nutshell, ExplorerPatcher is a Windows modding tool for people who don’t just want the Windows 10 UI back, but also want to customize it to their liking. Nilesoft Shell You should check out Nilesoft Shell even if you don't want to mod Windows Nilesoft Shell does just one thing, but it does it with aplomb. It’s a relatively simple modding tool that installs a custom context menu. Its default layout removes Windows 11’s annoying Show more options button and adds a slew of extra buttons that let you do so much more when you right-click a file or folder. For instance, it places some File Explorer options and Windows Settings shortcuts right in the right-click menu, like the ability to show hidden files and open various Settings pages. You can also visit most system folders right from the context menu, open Command Prompt, PowerShell, Windows Terminal, Control Panel, and the Run box, change file and folder attributes, change file extensions, and more. To be honest, the default menu’s options and layout will be fine for most people, but the tool also lets you make your own changes. To customize the right-click menu, you’ll have to go through the lengthy documentation—or watch YouTube tutorials—to learn the syntax rules Nilesoft Shell’s configuration files use. But if you persevere, you’ll be able to add custom themes and buttons and tweak the context menu to your heart’s content. If you ask me, Nilesoft Shell adds so many handy options and buttons to the right-click menu that I recommend installing it even if you don’t want to mod Windows. It’s just that useful. Seelen UI A powerful Windows UI modding tool that brings a macOS desktop experience to Windows PCs Seelen UI is a tool that completely changes the familiar Windows desktop and brings it quite close to the macOS look. As soon as you install the app, it transforms your desktop, adding macOS elements such as the dock and the top menu bar (called the Fancy Toolbar) while retaining certain Windows elements. For example, while the taskbar is replaced with the dock and the Fancy Toolbar, Seelen UI doesn’t fully commit to the macOS layout. You still have the system tray along with a number of custom options that aren’t found in macOS. You can, for instance, open various folders right from the top toolbar, either use Seelen UI’s own Start menu or switch back to the good old Windows one, and add and remove dock modules, which allows you to customize stuff beyond what both Windows and macOS offer. The app’s settings menu includes a deluge of options that let you fine-tune the experience to your liking. You can remove the Fancy Toolbar, change the position of the dock, apply themes and icon packs you can download online, add widgets, customize the task switcher and window manager, customize the flyouts that appear when you change the volume or brightness, and adjust plenty of other options. While Windhawk is better suited to people who want to tweak individual parts of Windows to their liking, Seelen UI is made for Windows users who want a macOS-like UI on Windows but also want a high degree of freedom to adjust it to their preferences. Why settle for vanilla Windows when free, open-source tools let you make it look and work exactly how you want? There’s nothing wrong with rocking vanilla Windows on your PC, but the fact of the matter is that you can make it so much better and easier to use with third-party open-source modding tools. Apps like Windhawk let you go far beyond Microsoft’s vision of Windows 11, ExplorerPatcher brings back the Windows 10 UI you might be missing, and Seelen UI is there if you want to ditch the Windows UI you’re used to and replace it with a macOS-style UI that’s much more customizable than the real macOS. If you don’t fancy a full-on Windows makeover, at least try out Nilesoft Shell, since it supercharges the Windows context menu and makes it infinitely better than the vanilla version.