# cascadium/wsl-windows-toolbar-launcher

Adds linux GUI application menu to a windows toolbar

Repository: https://github.com/cascadium/wsl-windows-toolbar-launcher
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/wsl-windows-toolbar-launcher
Language: Python
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: wsl-environment, windows-toolbar, wsl2, wsl, ubuntu, windows, free, windows-toolbar-launcher, xming, x410, vcxsrv, toolbar
Last push: 2024-01-11T17:27:49+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 23/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2381, "days_push": 965, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1235, forks 52 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:04.910728+00:00)

## What it is
A Python CLI tool that generates a Windows toolbar menu of Linux GUI applications installed inside WSL, by converting freedesktop .desktop entries into Windows shortcuts. It requires an X11 server on the Windows host and is primarily aimed at Windows 10 users.

## Use cases
- launch linux gui apps from windows taskbar
- add wsl application menu to windows toolbar
- run linux gui programs installed in wsl2 from windows
- create windows shortcuts for wsl desktop applications
- integrate wsl apps into windows 10 taskbar

## When to choose
- you run Windows 10 with WSL and want Linux GUI apps in the taskbar
- you use a third-party X11 server like X410, Xming, or VcXsrv
- you want a tree-based menu of all your WSL-installed applications

## When to avoid
- you are on Windows 11, where WSLG and PowerToys Run make this unnecessary
- you have no X11 server set up on the Windows host
- you only need to launch terminal/CLI applications

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: maintenance
- function: gui, developer-tools, cli
- domain: developer-tools, windows, cross-platform
- platform: windows, python, cli
- tags: wsl, wsl2, x11, toolbar-launcher, linux-gui-apps, freedesktop-menus, linux

## Member repositories
- cascadium/wsl-windows-toolbar-launcher (main) score 23

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:04.910728+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T08:22:04.340887+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/cascadium/wsl-windows-toolbar-launcher (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:04.910728+00:00, sha d18c8ef68bd8)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.