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shanselman/PeekDesktop

A Windows 10/11 tray app that reveals your desktop when you click empty wallpaper or taskbar space, like macOS Sonoma.

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25 days ago

What is it?

PeekDesktop brings the macOS Sonoma behavior of clicking the wallpaper to reveal the desktop to Windows 10 and 11. By default it uses Explorer's native Show Desktop behavior. An optional experimental Fly Away style animates windows offscreen instead.

Clicking or dragging desktop icons does not trigger peek, so you can work with icons while windows stay hidden. Clicking an app, the taskbar, or the wallpaper again restores every window to its previous position and state, including maximized windows. The tray menu offers toggles for requiring a double-click, peeking on desktop click, peeking on taskbar click, and pausing during full-screen or gaming.

The app is written in C# using Native AOT and direct Win32 P/Invoke calls, and the release build is a self-contained single-file exe for x64 and ARM64. It needs no admin rights and includes an in-place auto-updater that verifies the Authenticode signature before restarting.

Key features

  • 01Reveals the desktop when you click empty wallpaper or empty taskbar space.
  • 02Restores all windows to their exact previous positions and states.
  • 03Icon clicks and drags do not trigger peek.
  • 04Optional Fly Away animation style in addition to Explorer's Show Desktop.
  • 05Tray toggles for double-click requirement, taskbar activation, and pausing during full-screen or gaming.
  • 06Self-contained single-file builds for x64 and ARM64 with in-place auto-updates.

Use cases

  • Quickly clearing windows to reach files or icons on the desktop.
  • Replacing the Win+D workflow with a single click on the wallpaper.
  • Keeping the desktop accessible on a multi-window Windows setup without changing shortcuts.

Quick start

  1. 1

    Install with Winget (after community manifest is accepted)

    winget install Hanselman.PeekDesktop
  2. 2

    Or download the latest release zip and run PeekDesktop.exe

Things to know

  • Windows 10 and 11 only.
  • Fly Away peek style is experimental and can get confused by external window changes.
  • Building from source requires the .NET 10 SDK.

Topics

#windows#desktop#system-tray#win32#native-aot#productivity#csharp

FAQ

What is PeekDesktop?
A Windows 10/11 tray app that reveals your desktop when you click empty wallpaper or taskbar space, like macOS Sonoma. PeekDesktop brings the macOS Sonoma behavior of clicking the wallpaper to reveal the desktop to Windows 10 and 11. By default it uses Explorer's native Show Desktop behavior. An optional experimental Fly Away style animates windows offscreen instead.
Is PeekDesktop free to use? What license does it have?
PeekDesktop is open source under the MIT license. Check the license terms before using it in commercial products.
Is PeekDesktop still maintained?
Actively maintained. The last commit to PeekDesktop was on Sep 25, 2026.
What can I use PeekDesktop for?
Quickly clearing windows to reach files or icons on the desktop. Replacing the Win+D workflow with a single click on the wallpaper. Keeping the desktop accessible on a multi-window Windows setup without changing shortcuts.
How do I install PeekDesktop?
Install with Winget (after community manifest is accepted): winget install Hanselman.PeekDesktop Or download the latest release zip and run PeekDesktop.exe
Where can I get PeekDesktop?
The source code and installation instructions are on GitHub: https://github.com/shanselman/PeekDesktop

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