Rainmeter is a free and open-source desktop customization utility for

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for ser ...

released under the GNU GPL v2 license. It allows users to create and display user-generated customizable

desktop widget A software widget is a relatively simple and easy-to-use software application or component made for one or more different software platforms. A desk accessory or applet is an example of a simple, stand-alone user interface, in contrast with a ...

s or

applet In computing, an applet is any small application that performs one specific task that runs within the scope of a dedicated widget engine or a larger program, often as a plug-in. The term is frequently used to refer to a Java applet, a program ...

s called "skins" that display information. Ready to use collections of skins can be downloaded and installed in packages known as "suites". Common functionalities of Rainmeter skins include desktop clocks, RSS readers,

system monitor A system monitor is a hardware or software component used to monitor system resources and performance in a computer system. Among the management issues regarding use of system monitoring tools are resource usage and privacy. Overview Software ...

s, weather widgets,

application launchers Application may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Application software, computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks ** Application layer, an abstraction layer that specifies protocols and interface methods used in a c ...

and audio players.

Development

The Rainmeter project was originally founded by Kimmo 'Rainy' Pekkola, the developer of Rainlendar, in 2001. The project is primarily written in

C++ C++ (pronounced "C plus plus") is a high-level general-purpose programming language created by Danish computer scientist Bjarne Stroustrup as an extension of the C programming language, or "C with Classes". The language has expanded significan ...

, while plugins can be written in either

or C#.

Usage

Rainmeter skins are written in Rainmeter code using a text editor and stored as INI configuration files. System resource values and other information such as weather or time are stored through "measure" values within a skin, which can then be shown through different kinds of customizable visual elements called "meters".

Reception

CNET, in a 4 out of 5 star rating, praised the software's flexibility, wide variety of themes and "enthusiastic community", while noting the program "isn't as intuitive as it could be."

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also gave the software a 4 out of 5 star rating, citing its comprehensive tutorials and low system resource usage, while criticizing its lack of cross-platform support.

References

External links

Official website
* {{GitHub, Rainmeter/Rainmeter
Community
Utilities for Windows Windows-only software Widget engines Free software