Universal Windows 11 Theme Engineering Framework & Wiki
Windhawk Themes
The universal framework for building custom Windhawk theme suites. A complete developer framework with strict engineering standards, a hybrid C++/Python inspection toolchain, and automated validation gates designed for engineering, validating, and maintaining your own cohesive theme suites across Windows 11 shell surfaces.
Framework & Ecosystem. Built for developers and AI vibe coders creating custom theme suites. Provides full coverage for the 5 base Windhawk styler mods, companion mods, empirical visual tree inspection, and static syntax gates.
Framework Architecture
Why Windhawk Themes?
Building custom Windows 11 theme suites across multiple Windhawk mods often leads to fragile selectors, clashing styles, and broken layouts following Windows updates. The Windhawk Themes repository solves this by providing the tools, standards, and automation needed to build your own theme suites:
Engineering Standards
Canonical design-token conventions, proportional radius scales, and an evidence protocol requiring selectors sourced from official reference material.
Hybrid Inspection Toolchain
Native C++ TAP engine and Python CLI utilizing UI automation to wake shell surfaces and dump live visual trees into JSON for AI vibe coding.
Empirical Selector Evidence
Strict target evidence protocol requiring verified element types and names from official source code and live visual tree dumps.
Automated Quality Gates
Built-in static validation gate verifying YAML syntax, constant ordering, and token references across all theme suite projects.
Shell Architecture
Supported Styler Surfaces
The framework targets five base official Windhawk styler mods covering primary Windows 11 shell experiences:
| Surface | Windhawk Mod | Target Process | Framework | Documentation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start Menu | Start Menu Styler | StartMenuExperienceHost.exe |
UWP / WinUI 2 | Start Menu Guide → |
| Taskbar | Taskbar Styler | explorer.exe |
WinUI 3 / XAML | Taskbar Guide → |
| Notification Center | Notification Center Styler | ShellExperienceHost.exeShellHost.exe |
UWP Windows.UI.Xaml |
Notification Center Guide → |
| Settings | Settings Styler | SystemSettings.exe |
UWP / WinUI Windows.UI.Xaml |
Settings Guide → |
| File Explorer | File Explorer Styler | explorer.exe |
WinUI 3 Microsoft.UI.Xaml |
File Explorer Guide → |
Diagnostics & Automation
Hybrid C++/Python Toolchain
Reliable theming requires empirical visual tree inspection without manual burden. Our high-speed native inspection suite combines direct C++ TAP hooks with a flexible Python CLI:
- Automated Surface Activation: Programmatically opens and closes shell surfaces (Start, Action Center, Notification Center, Search, Settings) via UI automation to ensure UWP visual trees are fully populated.
- Heartbeat Resiliency: Built-in 30-second heartbeat loops accommodate OS elevation and UAC security prompts without premature timeouts.
- ShareX Screenshot Integration: Auto-detects user keybindings to capture desktop verification evidence automatically.
- Automated Static Gate:
tools/Test-WindhawkStyles.ps1verifies YAML syntax, constant ordering, token definitions, and safety rules before any style is published.