Breeze Shell is an alternative context menu for Windows that replaces the default right-click menu in Windows 10 and Windows 11.
The tool addresses the limitations of Windows's built-in context menu by providing a modern, animated interface designed around fluent interactions. It achieves this through a lightweight C++ implementation using a custom UI library called breeze_ui, which supports both NanoVG and ThorVG rendering. The menu is fully configurable, allowing users to adjust animations, item heights, background styling, and other visual properties. Extensibility is built in through an embedded JavaScript API, enabling users to add custom functionality with minimal code.
Breeze Shell suits developers and power users who spend significant time in Windows Explorer and want a more polished, responsive context menu experience. It is fully compatible with Microsoft Explorer and mostly compatible with OneCommander. The tool's small footprint of approximately 2 megabytes makes it practical for users concerned about system resources. Those considering adoption should be aware that the project remains in active development, so stability may vary and bug reports are actively encouraged.
Development activity shows ongoing work with regular updates and community engagement through a Discord channel. The project accepts both English and Chinese issue reports, indicating international development participation. The codebase is built with xmake and supports compilation with both clang-cl and MSVC 2019 or later, with VSCode recommended for development work.
