retrobar.dev
v1.22.122

Independent guide · checked against RetroBar 1.22.122

The classic Windows taskbar, back on Windows 11.

RetroBar replaces the Windows 10 and 11 taskbar with the Windows 95, 98, Me, 2000, XP or Vista one. It is free and open source, by Sam Johnson (dremin). This site shows every theme on real Windows, explains every setting, and fixes what goes wrong.

Download RetroBar 1.22.122See all 19 themes
  • 917k downloads
  • 4.4k GitHub stars
  • 19 themes
  • 47 languages
  • Free · Apache-2.0
Windows 95 / 98Windows 95-98.xaml
See this theme on real Windows

What you get

Five parts, all classic

RetroBar draws the whole taskbar itself, in the theme you choose. Hover a card to find that part on the bar; each one links to the settings that change it.

  1. Start button

    Opens the Windows Start menu, or Open-Shell’s classic menu if you install it. RetroBar has no Start menu of its own.

    ShowStartButtonMultiMon Start button on every monitor

  2. Quick Launch

    Small one-click icons. It shows the apps you pinned to the Windows taskbar, because it reads the same folder. Drag icons to reorder them.

    ShowQuickLaunch On or offQuickLaunchPath Which folder it shows

  3. Task buttons

    One button per open window, as in Windows 95 to XP. Drag them into the order you like. Middle-click opens another copy of the app by default.

    RowCount RowsShowTaskThumbnails Window previewsTaskMiddleClickAction Middle-click

  4. Notification area

    Your notification icons. Choose which ones always show and which hide behind an arrow, and whether they are drawn light or dark to suit the theme.

    CollapseNotifyIcons XP-style hide arrowNotifyIconBehaviors Per-icon behaviourInvertIconsMode Light or dark icons

  5. Clock

    Hover for the full date. Clicking it opens the Windows notification centre on Windows 10 and 11, or a calendar if you prefer.

    ShowClockSeconds SecondsClockClickAction What a click does

Start here

From download to your favourite era in five minutes

Step 1Download the right fileMost people want RetroBar.Installer.zip. Our chooser picks the build for your PC and gives you the SHA-256 to check it. Step 2Install and start itThe installer needs no administrator rights and adds .NET if it is missing. Every screen of it, captured on Windows 11. Step 3Pick a themeAll 19 built-in themes, from Windows 95 to Vista, photographed on real Windows, plus community themes we tested. Step 4Make it yoursEvery one of the 41 settings explained: position, rows, Quick Launch, clock, notification icons and more.

Fixes

When something is not right

The problems people ask about most, ranked from RetroBar's own issue tracker, with the fix that works on 1.22.122.

All problems and fixes

How this site works

Tested on Windows, not copied from a README

Every screenshot of RetroBar on this site comes from our own test runs. A script installs the official RetroBar 1.22.122 on clean Windows 11 and Windows Server machines, switches through every theme, edge, size and setting we write about, and saves the screen. The raw logs and settings files are published with the results.

Facts about RetroBar itself (settings, themes, file hashes, release history) are generated from the release's source code and files, and checked again with every new version. Where the source and the tests disagree, the tests win, and we say so.

  • Downloaded from the official GitHub release, hashes checked
  • Installed with the real installer on Windows 11 (Arm64) and Windows Server 2025 and 2022
  • All 19 themes, four screen edges, rows, width and scale captured
  • Custom-theme folders and paths tested to find out what really loads
  • Uninstalled again, and what it leaves behind recorded
Windows XP Blue, as our test machine saw it.
Real screenshot · RetroBar 1.22.122 · Windows Server 2025 build 26100.33650Windows XP Blue, as our test machine saw it.
Windows 95-98 on the left edge, with the day and date under the clock.
Real screenshot · RetroBar 1.22.122 · Windows Server 2025 build 26100.33650Windows 95-98 on the left edge, with the day and date under the clock.

Good to know

What RetroBar does not do

It has no Start menu. Its Start button opens the Windows one. For a classic menu, add Open-Shell; our Start menu guide has presets that match each RetroBar theme.

It does not change windows. Title bars, File Explorer and dialogs keep the Windows 11 look. RetroBar is the taskbar only; see what to combine it with for the rest.

It does not change Windows files. It runs as a normal app for your user account. Exit it, and Windows' own taskbar comes back.

It is Windows only. Windows 7 SP1, 8.1, 10 and 11. There is no Mac or Linux version.

Free tools

Tools that run in your browser

Settings BuilderChange any setting visually, get a settings.json or a script that switches themes. Answers issue #958. Theme CheckerPaste a theme's XAML to find broken image paths, typos and keys that no longer exist. Download chooserWhich file and which build inside it is yours, with its hash and the .NET runtime it needs.

Questions

Is RetroBar free?

Yes. RetroBar is open source under the Apache License 2.0, made by Sam Johnson and its contributors. There is no paid version, no ads and no account.

Does RetroBar work on Windows 11?

Yes. 1.22.122 supports Windows 11 and 10 (x64, Arm64 and, on Windows 10, 32-bit), and Windows 7 SP1 and 8.1 through separate builds. We test it on Windows 11 on every release.

Is RetroBar safe?

The official download from GitHub is the open-source app built by its author. It is not code-signed, so Windows SmartScreen warns about an unknown publisher. Our safety page explains what it does on your PC and what scanners say.

How do I get my normal taskbar back?

Right-click the RetroBar taskbar and choose Exit RetroBar; the Windows taskbar returns. To remove it for good, uninstall it from Settings › Apps. See how to uninstall RetroBar.

Is this the official RetroBar website?

No. RetroBar's official home is its GitHub page, github.com/dremin/RetroBar. retrobar.dev is an independent guide; every download link points to that GitHub page.