Desktop utility for viewing, organizing, and activating your open windows through live thumbnails on Windows 10/11.

Panopticon discovers real top-level windows, renders their live previews, and lets you manage them in a single control room.

Project site · Latest release · Source and issues

• 👁️ See many windows at once without constantly Alt+Tabbing.
• 👁️ Switch among several layout strategies depending on the task.
• 👁️ Keep a persistent visual workspace with filters, grouping, and tags.
• 👁️ Hide the app in the tray and bring it back instantly when needed.
• 👁️ Local-first, with no accounts or telemetry. Direct builds use a bounded GitHub release update check; Store builds rely on Microsoft Store updates.
• 👁️ 7 layout modes: Grid, Mosaic, Bento, Fibonacci, Columns, Row, and Column.
• 👁️ Per-app rules for hiding, aspect ratio, color, tags, and thumbnail refresh mode.
• 👁️ Grouping and filters by app, monitor, title, class, and tag.
• 👁️ Tray utility + appbar/dock mode for always-available workflows.
• 👁️ Campbell-first themes, core color overrides, backdrop opacity, background images with fit modes + opacity, animations, customizable shortcuts, workspaces, and persistence through local TOML files.
• 👁️ English-only UI across the dashboard, settings, tray, dialogs, and command palette.

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For the full guide, open docs/README.md.

Product tour

The dashboard captures use four controlled Windows Terminal fixtures in an isolated workspace. No personal window title or content is included.

Grid control room	Bento layout
English Settings	Command Palette

See capture provenance for the isolation and privacy boundary.

Download

• Latest release: github.com/gvastethecreator/panopticon/releases/latest
• Build from source: see Quick start

Quick start

cargo run --locked

For an optimized build, use cargo run --release --locked. VS Code users can run ♻️ CI from .vscode/tasks.json for the full check sequence.

Microsoft Store preparation

The Store channel has a separate MSIX identity, package builder, update policy, listing copy, privacy policy, and qualification workflow. See docs/store/README.md.

The Store package is blocked until Panopticon is reserved in Partner Center and the exact identity is applied. The direct ZIP/Inno release remains a separate channel and requires publisher-owned Authenticode signing for trusted public distribution.

See PRIVACY.md for the bilingual policy covering window metadata, DWM previews, local storage, logs, and channel-specific network behavior.

First minute with Panopticon

1. Launch the app with a few normal desktop windows already open.
2. Press Tab or 1 to 7 to explore the available layouts.
3. Left-click a thumbnail to activate that window.
4. Right-click a thumbnail to open per-window actions.
5. Press O to open settings and review theme, filters, and workspaces.
6. Use the tray icon to hide or show the dashboard without closing it.

Handy shortcuts

Input	Action
Tab	Next layout
1 ... 7	Select layout directly
0	Reset custom ratios for the current layout
R	Refresh windows
A	Toggle animations
H	Show/hide status bar
I	Show/hide window metadata
P	Toggle always-on-top
T	Next theme
Shift + T	Previous theme
O	Open settings
F1	Open About window
M	Open application menu
Ctrl + Alt + P	Activate and focus Panopticon globally
Alt	Toggle status bar
Esc	Exit

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• For usage and configuration, see the docs folder.
• For Microsoft Store packaging, use the Store runbook.
• For feature requests and suggestions, create an issue or submit a PR.
• If you like this project, consider giving it a star or becoming a sponsor.

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