Cairo Shell Alternatives for Windows
There are many alternatives to Cairo Shell for Windows if you are looking for a replacement. The best Windows alternative is Files, which is both free and Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 25 alternatives to Cairo Shell and 19 are available for Windows so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Windows alternatives to Cairo Shell are VirtuaWin (Free, Open Source), bug.n (Free, Open Source), BB4Win (Free, Open Source) and bbLean (Free, Open Source).
- Meet Files, an enthusiast take on what Windows File Explorer explorer should be. View 103 alternatives to Files
- Free • Open Source
- Windows
Files vs Cairo Shell
Files UWP merely replaces the file browser, not the full explorer shell like Cairo. - VirtuaWin is a virtual desktop manager for the Windows operating system (Win9x/ME/NT/Win2K/XP/Win2003/Vista/Win7/Win10). View 25 alternatives to VirtuaWin
- bug.n is a tiling window manager add-on for Microsoft Windows. It is written in the scripting language AutoHotkey. View 13 alternatives to bug.n
- BB4Win (Blackbox for Windows) is an alternative shell for Microsoft Windows. The program aims to emulate the look and feel of a Linux based desktop. View 16 alternatives to BB4Win
- bbLean is the lean version of Blackbox for Windows. It tries to keep balance between features and complexity, to give you some efficient means within a compact shell. View 10 alternatives to bbLean
Discontinued
The project is no longer developed. Last version, 1.17.1, released in May 2009, can be still downloaded from the official website.
- Free • Open Source
- Windows
- Emerge Desktop is a replacement Windows "shell" (the desktop environment normally provided by Windows Explorer) for Windows 2000 and above. View 19 alternatives to Emerge Desktop
Discontinued
Emerge Desktop is no longer maintained. Last version, 6.1.3, released in 2012, and the source code are still available on SourceForge
- Free • Open Source
- Windows
- The NERD tree allows you to explore your filesystem and to open files and directories. View 68 alternatives to NERD tree
- Window Maker is a free open-source window manager for the X Window System. View 23 alternatives to Window Maker
- SharpEnviro (or SharpE) is an open source shell replacement system for Microsoft Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7. View 18 alternatives to SharpEnviro
Discontinued
As of december 2011 the SharpEnviro project is no longer under active development. All files provided come without any warranty or support! It is uncertain if or how well the previously released versions of SharpEnviro will work with any new or updated Windows system after Windows 7 Service Pack 1.
- Free • Open Source
- Windows
- GNUstep is a mature Framework, suited both for advanced GUI desktop applications as well as server applications. View 21 alternatives to GNUstep
- Free • Open Source
- Windows
- Linux
- BSD
GNUstep vs Cairo Shell
GNUstep is a development environment.