Window layouts that stay put.
Remember and restore app window positions across displays, resolutions, and DPI scales.
WindowAnchor is an open-source desktop layout manager. It captures the windows you care about, stores their geometry per display configuration, and puts them back when your monitors change. The interface is a Fluent layout editor: displays are drawn to scale, windows are selectable, and every restore explains what matched, what was skipped, and why.
Status: early preview. The repository ships the Tauri + React shell, the Windows window inventory, capture, restore, a persistent local store, and automatic restore after display changes and wake. The tray, launch at login, and macOS support are the next milestones. See the roadmap below.
Most tools solve one of three problems:
- Snapping and zones: FancyZones, AquaSnap, Rectangle.
- Automatic layout restore after monitor changes: PersistentWindows.
- Named layout snapshots: PowerToys Workspaces, DisplayFusion.
WindowAnchor aims to combine all three in one local-first product with a visual editor: per-app rules, monitor-configuration-aware profiles, automatic restore, and a clear restore report. It is built for people who dock and undock, switch between home and office desks, and use mixed resolutions or scales.
- Fluent layout editor with per-display focus, zoom, and a live window inventory.
- Per-layout actions: use the
…menu on a layout card to delete it or to make it the layout for the current display setup. - Capture dialog with window selection, display summary, and layout naming.
- Windows window enumeration through Win32 (
EnumWindows,GetWindowPlacement, DWM frame bounds, monitor identity). - Display identity from
EnumDisplayMonitorsandEnumDisplayDevices: monitor device ID, resolution, scale, primary flag, and position form a display configuration ID. - Best-effort restore with process path, window class, and title matching.
- Persistent store in
%APPDATA%\WindowAnchor\store.json: profiles, rules, settings, display configurations, and activity. Versioned JSON, atomic writes, and a backup copy. - Automatic restore after a display change, work-area change, resume, or display power-on. Events are debounced (500 ms–3 s), restore waits while you drag a window, and "Confirm before restore" asks first.
- Restore report: every restore records its trigger, duration, and each skipped window with a reason in the Activity view.
- Fluent UI React v9 controls, light/dark/system themes, and a FancyZones-style layout editor.
- Four interface languages: English, 한국어, 简体中文, 日本語, with system-language detection and a per-user preference.
- Keyboard-first:
Ctrl Kcommand palette,Ctrl Shift Ccapture.
- App rules that move matched windows (rules are stored; the rule engine is not implemented yet).
- macOS support through the Accessibility API (
AXUIElement). - Tray menu, launch at login, import, and an elevated helper for admin windows.
- Signed Windows installer and notarized macOS DMG.
| Platform | Status | Window API | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windows 10/11 | Early preview | Win32 + DWM | Primary development target. Mixed-DPI behavior is tested manually. |
| macOS 13+ | Planned | Accessibility API (AXUIElement) |
Requires the user to grant Accessibility permission. Direct distribution only. |
| Linux | Not planned | — | Out of scope for the first product. |
- Node.js 22 or newer
- Rust stable with the MSVC toolchain
- Microsoft C++ Build Tools with the "Desktop development with C++" workload
- Microsoft Edge WebView2 (preinstalled on Windows 10 1803+ and Windows 11)
Tauri's official prerequisites are at https://tauri.app/start/prerequisites/.
npm install
npm run tauri devThe frontend alone runs in a browser with realistic mock data:
npm run devThis is useful for UI work. The browser build never calls Win32; the live desktop inventory appears only in the Tauri shell.
npm run check # TypeScript
npm run build # Production frontend build
npm run qa:i18n # Language route and missing-key QA (dev server running)
npm run qa:ui # UI screenshots (dev server running)
cargo fmt --manifest-path src-tauri/Cargo.toml --check
cargo clippy --manifest-path src-tauri/Cargo.toml -- -D warnings
cargo test --manifest-path src-tauri/Cargo.tomlsrc/ React UI
Root.tsx FluentProvider, light/dark/system theme
components/ Shell, canvas, inspector, dialogs, views
i18n/ English, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Japanese
lib/ Types, mock data, Tauri bridge
hooks/ Resize observer
src-tauri/ Rust backend
src/model.rs Display, window, profile, store, restore DTOs
src/display.rs Display configuration ID
src/store.rs Versioned JSON store in the app data directory
src/automation.rs Display/wake watcher loop, debounce, restore report
src/platform/ Platform implementations
windows.rs Win32 displays, windows, restore, display watcher
src/lib.rs Tauri commands and startup
docs/ Architecture and screenshots
scripts/ UI QA and screenshot helpers
- Enumerate visible top-level windows and read their window rect, DWM visual rect, state, process path, class, and monitor.
- Store the target geometry with the display's stable identity and scale.
- On restore, prefer the original window handle when its process and class still match. Fall back to process path, class, and title only when the window was recreated. If several windows match equally, skip the target rather than move the wrong window.
- Move the matched window with
SetWindowPos, restore minimized windows first, and reapply maximized state last. Restore the captured relative stacking order. - Report
restoredandskippedcounts, each skipped window with a reason, the trigger, and the duration. A missing window never blocks the rest of the layout.
Only windows stored in the active layout are moved. Other visible windows stay where they are; the Inspector shows how many windows are currently open versus how many are part of the layout.
Automatic restore picks the layout assigned to the current display configuration, or else the newest layout captured on it. If no layout matches, the Activity view records a skip instead of guessing. Automation runs while the WindowAnchor window is open; closing it stops automation until the tray arrives in M5.
WindowAnchor uses Fluent UI React v9, Microsoft's Windows 11 design system, so it feels at home next to PowerToys and Windows Settings rather than like a web dashboard.
- Segoe UI Variable typography, Fluent color tokens, rounded cards, and standard Windows controls.
- Light theme by default, with dark theme and system-theme following.
- A FancyZones-style layout editor: neutral monitor frames, a subtle grid, and window cards with app accents.
- Fluent dialogs, menus, switches, badges, and command surfaces. The canvas is the only large custom surface.
- The UI is keyboard-operable and reduced-motion aware. Accessibility and contrast checks are part of the QA pass.
The PowerToys FancyZones editor is the main visual reference. The product does not copy PowerToys code or assets.
The interface ships with English, Korean, Simplified Chinese, and Japanese.
Translations live in src/i18n/index.ts; the app detects the system language on
first launch and stores the user's choice in windowanchor.language. The language
menu is in the top bar and in Settings.
- UI copy must go through
t(); do not add hardcoded visible strings. - Sample profiles, sample activity, and sample rule targets use translation keys so they change language immediately.
- Window titles, process paths, and app names stay in their original language.
- Add a language by extending the
resourcesobject and theLANGUAGESlist insrc/components/LanguageMenu.tsx.
| Milestone | Scope | Status |
|---|---|---|
| M0 · Scaffold | Tauri + React shell, design system, CI, docs | Done |
| M1 · Windows inventory | Displays, windows, capture dialog, manual restore | Done |
| M2 · Persistence | Profiles, rules, monitor configurations in app data | Done |
| M3 · Automation | Display-change and wake triggers, debounce, restore report | Done |
| M4 · macOS | Accessibility bridge, permissions onboarding, DMG packaging | Planned |
| M5 · Product polish | Tray, login item, updater, signed installers, import/export | Planned |
Contributions are welcome. Read CONTRIBUTING.md before opening a pull request. UI changes should include a screenshot or a short recording, and platform changes should state which display configuration was tested.
WindowAnchor is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later
(GPL-3.0-or-later). See LICENSE.
Copyright (C) 2026 m16khb
This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program. If not, see https://www.gnu.org/licenses/.