Wiki: Windows 11 Start Menu Styler

Comprehensive development and styling guide for the Windows 11 Start Menu Styler mod (windows-11-start-menu-styler), covering architecture, visual tree hierarchy, token systems, and companion integrations.

1. Mod Overview & Process Host Architecture

flowchart LR
    Explorer["explorer.exe\n(Shell Controller)"] -->|Invokes via Win+S / Win Key| StartHost["StartMenuExperienceHost.exe\n(Target Process)"]
    StartHost --> WinUI["Windows.UI.Xaml Engine\n(UWP App Model)"]
    StartHost --> Search["SearchHost.exe\n(WebView2 Content)"]
    WindhawkMod["windows-11-start-menu-styler\n(Windhawk Engine)"] -->|Injects & Hooks| StartHost

2. Detailed Wiki Subsections

For in-depth reference documentation, consult the dedicated subcategories:

• 🎯 Visual Tree Element Targets: Exhaustive catalog of every verified root frame, search header, pinned grid, recommendations, bottom navigation pane, and Phone Link companion target.
• ⚙️ Configuration Schema & Token Directives: Complete specification of YAML top-level keys (styleConstants, themeResourceVariables, controlStyles, webContentStyles), property operators, and XAML material definitions.

3. High-Level Hierarchy & Key Control Anchors

Understanding the structural hierarchy of StartMenuExperienceHost.exe is essential for crafting stable themes:

1. Root Dismiss & Framing:
   • Border#DropShadowDismissTarget: The outermost window host. It is collapsed (Visibility=1) to remove the system dark silhouette; a glass panel is instead rendered on Grid#Root > Border by styling its Background, BorderBrush, BorderThickness, and CornerRadius properties.
   • Border#AcrylicBorder: The default system acrylic plate. The main-menu acrylic (Grid#MainMenu > Border#AcrylicBorder) is collapsed (Visibility=1), while the companion-pane acrylic (Grid#CompanionRoot > Border#AcrylicBorder) is styled through its Background and CornerRadius properties.
2. Two-Tone Acrylic Splitting:
   • Windows 11 features a split background where the lower section (Border#AcrylicOverlay) has a darker tint. For a seamless single-panel aesthetic, this overlay can be collapsed (Visibility=Collapsed).
3. Embedded Search Pill:
   • Handled by StartMenu.SearchBoxToggleButton. Can be styled as a floating glass pill (set its CornerRadius) with rim lighting and subtle hover illumination.
4. Phone Link Companion Expansion:
   • StartDocked.StartMenuCompanion#RightCompanion > Grid#CompanionRoot: Expanding cards docked to the right of the Start Menu. Asymmetric corner radii allow it to join seamlessly with the main panel.

4. Key Recipes: Applying Frosted Glass Styling

Here is an architectural example demonstrating how to configure frosted glass foundations:

[!NOTE] Names and values below are placeholders — define your own tokens.

styleConstants:
  - MyBlur=<WindhawkBlur BlurAmount="20" TintColor="{ThemeResource SystemChromeMediumColor}" TintOpacity="0.7" />
  - MySurfaceFill=$MyBlur
  - MyRimBrush=<LinearGradientBrush StartPoint="0,0" EndPoint="0,1"><GradientStop Color="#60808080" Offset="0.0" /><GradientStop Color="#40808080" Offset="1" /></LinearGradientBrush>
  - MyRimThickness=0,1,0,1
  - MyRadius=8            # illustrative — choose your own scale
  - MyRadiusLarge=16

controlStyles:
  # Glass main panel
  - target: Grid#Root > Border
    styles:
      - Background:=$MySurfaceFill
      - BorderBrush:=$MyRimBrush
      - BorderThickness=$MyRimThickness
      - CornerRadius=$MyRadius

  # Collapse native drop shadow and dismiss host
  - target: Border#DropShadowDismissTarget
    styles:
      - Visibility=1

  # Collapse secondary system shadow layers
  - target: Border#StartDropShadow, Border#RightCompanionDropShadow, Border#RootGridDropShadow
    styles:
      - Visibility=Collapsed

  # Collapse main-menu acrylic plate (companion acrylic is styled separately)
  - target: Grid#MainMenu > Border#AcrylicBorder
    styles:
      - Visibility=1

  # Eliminate two-tone split overlay
  - target: Border#AcrylicOverlay
    styles:
      - Visibility=Collapsed

5. Companion Mod Integration

• Shell Flyout Positions (shell-flyout-positions): Regulates the vertical offset (offsetY: 12) and alignment of the Start Menu window above the taskbar.
• Start Button Colorizer (start-button-colorizer): Synchronizes the taskbar Start icon glyph with the Windows system accent color.