winget install --id=ZRainbow1275.BentoDesk -e BentoDesk is a next-generation bento-box organizer for the Windows desktop, powered by Rust and built for quiet elegance. Keep files in reach and noise out of sight: organize the desktop into zones and stacks that open, bloom, and go quiet again. The installer is per-user, fully offline and bilingual.
A next-generation bento-box organizer for the Windows desktop—powered by Rust, built for quiet elegance.
Download · Watch the full tour · See how it works · Privacy · Build from source · Contributing
A Zone opens. A Stack blooms. The desktop goes quiet again. · play the 33-second MP4
I work from the desktop. The files are useful; the pile is not.
BentoDesk folds ordinary Windows files into small Zones. A Zone rests as a capsule, opens into a grid where it already sits, then gets out of the way again. Related Zones can become a Stack without losing their own layout or style. Nothing is imported into a proprietary library: the files remain normal Windows files.
<strong>Rest</strong>A compact capsule leaves the desktop readable.
<strong>Open</strong>Search and work with items in place.
<strong>Fold</strong>Leave the Zone and the space returns.
Version 2.0 is the native Rust rewrite of BentoDesk. It carries forward the useful ideas from the Tauri-based 1.x releases, removes the web runtime, and rebuilds motion, typography, file handling, settings, and system integration around Windows itself.
The capsule and the grid are the same native surface. Geometry, hit testing, text, icons, and controls follow one animation state, so a reversal continues from the current frame instead of cutting to a second layer.
Capsule → grid → search → context menu · play the MP4
A Zone can be narrow or wide, use five corner styles, and open on hover, click, or remain expanded. Rapid movement between Zones does not discard an unfinished animation.
Set its name, alias, icon, accent, grid columns, width, and corner style in a native editor. No browser-backed settings window appears over the desktop.
Select, show, hide, move, or delete Zones together. Grid, horizontal, vertical, ring, and natural layouts are clamped to the usable display area.
Choose light or dark themes, accents, expansion behavior, performance controls, startup options, backup, encryption, plugins, and updater settings. On first launch, BentoDesk follows the Windows UI language; English and Simplified Chinese can then be switched at any time.
<strong>2.39 MiB</strong>release executable
<strong>17.34 MiB</strong>Private Bytes at t60
<strong>235 ms</strong>full Zone collapse
<strong>1 process</strong>no browser runtime
Those numbers come from one isolated five-Zone reference run, not a synthetic claim. See Reference measurement for the exact scene and limits.
Save and load layout snapshots, inspect structural changes on the timeline, and restore an earlier arrangement. Settings backups, atomic persistence, update-package validation, and DPAPI or passphrase encryption provide recovery paths without a helper browser process.
Drag and drop follows Windows move/copy semantics. Failed or rejected transfers are not recorded as completed. Snapshot deletion and bulk Zone deletion require confirmation. Irreplaceable files should still have a backup, just as they should with any desktop file tool.
These tools solve different versions of “my desktop is full.” The comparison uses each product's official description and focuses on workflow rather than a synthetic benchmark.
| Start with | When it is the better fit |
|---|---|
| Windows folders and desktop icons | You want no extra software. Windows keeps the familiar icons, shortcuts, and Explorer folders. |
| Stardock Fences 6 | You need extensive automation or managed-PC deployment, including sorting rules, tabs, Peek, Folder Portals, and business controls. |
| Portals | You want persistent folder panels, tabs, and precise per-panel styling or display-aware profiles. |
| Nimi Places | Rich previews, labels, sorting rules, and media-oriented containers matter most. |
| BentoDesk | You want a local-first organizer whose resting state stays small: native capsule-to-grid motion, Stacks, direct desktop-item handling, layouts, snapshots, and timeline recovery. |
BentoDesk is intentionally focused. It is Windows-only, does not replace Explorer, and does not provide cloud-account sync. A permanent folder portal, rich media browser, or managed deployment is better served by a product built around that job.
BentoDesk-2.2.0-windows-x64-setup.exe from
Releases, then
review and accept the User Agreement and Privacy Policy in Setup. The
portable ZIP remains available for a no-install workflow.SHA256SUMS.txt, then install it or extract
the portable ZIP to a writable directory.Neither package needs Node.js, Tauri, WebView2, or a separate browser runtime. BentoDesk is local-first and has no account, project-operated server, telemetry, analytics, advertising, cloud storage, or crash uploads. It does not upload desktop file paths, names, icons, or contents.
The updater uses the default official GitHub endpoint
https://api.github.com/repos/ZRainbow1275/bentodesk/releases/latest over
HTTPS. A controlled BENTODESK_UPDATE_MANIFEST_URL may select an HTTPS, file, or
local override. With scheduled checks enabled, it checks immediately at startup
and then at the selected cadence (Weekly by default; Manual disables scheduled
checks).
Auto-download is enabled by default. On the default channel, it stages the exact
official Setup only after its GitHub SHA-256 digest is verified. A controlled
override stages its declared artifact only after the manifest SHA-256 or
embedded-key minisign signature is verified. Installation always requires an
explicit user action. GitHub, or the host selected by a controlled HTTPS
override, can receive ordinary HTTPS request metadata such as the source IP
address and BentoDesk User-Agent under its own policies.
Setup preserves local settings on uninstall by default; its separate, unchecked removal option only deletes BentoDesk state. See the User Agreement and Privacy Policy.
One isolated run of the public BentoDesk 2.0.2 Windows x64 release at 2560×1368 / 144 DPI, with five Zones, 50 items, and one BentoDesk process:
| Metric | Result |
|---|---|
| Release EXE | 2,506,752 bytes (2.39 MiB) |
| Private Bytes at t10 / t30 / t60 | 17.80 / 17.38 / 17.34 MiB |
| Full Zone expand / collapse | 234 ms / 235 ms |
| Animation tick median / p95 | 16 ms / 16 ms |
| Layer | Implementation |
|---|---|
| Language and runtime | Rust 2024, single process |
| Windows and input | Win32 / USER32 / DWM |
| Graphics | Direct2D, DirectWrite, DirectComposition, D3D11 |
| Icons and images | Windows Imaging Component, Windows Shell |
| File interaction | Shell/OLE, ReadDirectoryChangesW |
| Privacy and system security | Local-first, no telemetry, official GitHub HTTPS updater, DPAPI |
| Data | Atomic local persistence, encrypted settings vault |
| Build | MSVC x64, static CRT, size optimization, Fat LTO |
> [!NOTE]
> BentoDesk 2.0 does not ship Tauri, WebView2, Chromium, Node.js, or a
> third-party GUI framework in its runtime. The Tauri 1.x code remains at
> v1.3.0 and
> archive/tauri-1.x.
Primary crates:
bentodesk-shell Process entry, Win32 message routing, system integration
bentodesk-app Application state, interaction, render projection
bentodesk-backend Settings, plugins, rules, recovery, updater
bentodesk-platform D2D/DWrite/DComp/WIC/Shell/OLE boundaries
bentodesk-zone Zone domain model
bentodesk-style Themes, typography, and visual tokens
You need Windows 10/11 x64, Rust 1.89 or newer, and Visual Studio 2022 Build Tools with MSVC and the Windows SDK.
git clone https://github.com/ZRainbow1275/bentodesk.git
cd bentodesk
$env:CARGO_BUILD_JOBS = "1"
$env:CARGO_INCREMENTAL = "0"
cargo build --locked --release --target x86_64-pc-windows-msvc -p bentodesk-shell --bin BentoDesk
Output:
target\x86_64-pc-windows-msvc\release\BentoDesk.exe
Full local checks:
cargo fmt --all -- --check
cargo test --locked --workspace --all-targets
cargo clippy --locked --workspace --all-targets -- -D warnings
cargo doc --locked --workspace --no-deps
cargo deny check
cargo audit
Code, tests, translations, themes, plugins, documentation, and focused bug reports are welcome. Issues and pull requests may be written in English or Chinese. Start with CONTRIBUTING.md.
Report security issues through GitHub's private channel described in SECURITY.md, not in a public issue.
Thanks to GPT 5.6 SOL for the help, to Tibo for the frequent resets that sped up BentoDesk's release and polish.
Thanks to Linux Do, NodeSeek, and other communities for their support.
BentoDesk is maintained by 方寒 (@ZRainbow1275).
BentoDesk is released under the GNU AGPL-3.0-or-later.