Cairo Shell
Cairo Shell is a desktop graphical shell for Linux that aims to be simple, beautiful and fast. It provides an intuitive user interface with features like smooth scrolling, desktop widgets, and integrated system search.
desktop-shell
linux
open-source
gui
widgets
Cairo Shell: Simple, Beautiful, Fast Linux Desktop Shell
Cairo Shell is a desktop graphical shell for Linux that aims to be simple, beautiful and fast. It provides an intuitive user interface with features like smooth scrolling, desktop widgets, and integrated system search.
What is Cairo Shell?
Cairo Shell is a desktop graphical shell designed for Linux operating systems. It aims to provide an intuitive yet powerful user interface for managing applications and files.
Some key features of Cairo Shell include:
- A simple, clean interface with smooth scrolling animations and transparency effects
- Highly customizable desktop with support for desktop widgets and themes
- Integrated system-wide search for quickly launching applications and finding documents
- A dock providing quick access to frequently-used apps
- Supports multiple workspaces to organize open windows
- Lightweight design focused on speed and efficiency
Cairo Shell offers extensive options for customizing the look and feel to suit any workflow. It can serve as an attractive and modern alternative to traditional Linux desktop environments like GNOME or KDE.
With its emphasis on simplicity and sleek visuals, Cairo Shell aims to provide an intuitive yet efficient desktop experience for Linux users who value aesthetics alongside functionality.
Cairo Shell Features
Features
- Desktop widgets
- Integrated system search
- Smooth scrolling
- Simple and intuitive user interface
- Beautiful and customizable UI
Pricing
- Free
- Open Source
Pros
Lightweight and fast
Easy to use
Highly customizable
Good looking interface
Desktop widgets provide quick access to info
Cons
Limited compatibility with some Linux distros
Less features than some other desktop environments
Still relatively new project with limited support
Official Links
The Best Cairo Shell Alternatives
Top Os & Utilities and Desktop Environments and other similar apps like Cairo Shell
Here are some alternatives to Cairo Shell:
Suggest an alternative ❐
Xfce
Xfce is a lightweight desktop environment for Linux and other UNIX-like operating systems. It aims to be fast and lightweight, while still being visually appealing and easy to use. Some key features and characteristics of Xfce include:Designed for speed and low resource usage - makes it a popular choice for...
ModernFlyouts
ModernFlyouts is a free, open-source software that allows customizing the flyout menus in Windows 10 and 11. It gives users greater control over the appearance of flyouts like the Start menu, Action Center, Taskbar menu, and more.Some of the key features of ModernFlyouts include:Customizing the background blur effect of flyoutsChanging...
Bug.n
bug.n is an open source, self-hosted bug tracker and project management tool. It has an intuitive and clean interface that allows for easy tracking of issues and tasks across multiple projects.With bug.n, you can:Manage bugs/issues with priority levels, statuses, assignees, labels and moreBreak projects into components and categorize issuesTrack tasks,...
Liteshell
Liteshell is a free, open-source terminal emulator and SSH client developed specifically for Windows. It aims to provide a fast, lightweight, yet fully-featured terminal experience.Some key features of Liteshell include:Multiple tabbed sessionsCustomizable themes and stylesKeyboard shortcuts and bindingsSSH client with key supportScripting and automation capabilitiesPortable app requiring no installationAs an...
DeskSpace
DeskSpace is a virtual desktop manager software for Windows that helps users organize their applications and windows into separate desktop spaces. It aims to provide a clean, distraction-free working environment by enabling users to group applications and windows based on their purpose or project.Some key features of DeskSpace include:Create unlimited...
Emerge Desktop
Emerge Desktop is an open-source virtual desktop infrastructure built on KDE Plasma and Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) technology. It provides a complete Windows-compatible environment for Linux users to run Windows applications and games seamlessly without having to dual boot or use Wine.Some key features of Emerge Desktop include:Provides a full...
Enlightenment
Enlightenment, also known simply as E, is an open source desktop environment and window manager project aimed at providing Linux and BSD users with a lightweight yet visually appealing graphical user interface. Some key highlights of Enlightenment include:Very lightweight and fast, ideal for older hardware or resource constrained environmentsHighly themeable...
BbLean
bbLean is a flexible and easy-to-use business process management and workflow automation software. It enables organizations to model, automate, execute, monitor, and optimize business processes with an intuitive graphical interface.Key features of bbLean include:Drag and drop process modeling - Build workflows intuitively without coding using bbLean's graphical process designer.Pre-built application...
LXQt
LXQt is a lightweight desktop environment for Linux and UNIX-like operating systems. It is designed to be highly modular and customizable while using relatively few system resources.Some key features of LXQt:Uses the Qt framework for its graphical user interface, allowing integration with Qt appsVery lightweight - ideal for older hardware...
LXDE
LXDE (Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment) is an open source desktop environment for Linux and other Unix-like operating systems. It is designed to be lightweight, modular, and resource-friendly, making it a good choice for older or less powerful hardware.Some key features and characteristics of LXDE:Very low memory and CPU usage compared...
LiteStep
LiteStep is a free and open-source shell replacement and window manager for Windows. It replaces Windows Explorer, the default Windows shell, with an alternate graphical user interface that is highly customizable through the use of themes and skins.LiteStep is based on AfterStep, a window manager originally created for Unix systems....
360desktop
360desktop is an open source desktop virtualization solution developed by 360Works. It enables users to run multiple operating systems on a single physical machine through virtual machines.Some key features of 360desktop include:Open source codebase available under GPLv3 licenseSupports major operating systems like Windows, Linux, and macOS as guest VMsAllows users...
Talisman Desktop
Talisman Desktop is a free, open-source 2D animation program for Windows, macOS and Linux operating systems. It is designed to provide a full-featured alternative to premium animation software like Toon Boom or Adobe Animate at no cost.Some of the key features of Talisman Desktop include:Layers and onion skinning for easier...
CDE (Common Desktop Environment)
The Common Desktop Environment (CDE) is a desktop environment that was commonly used in commercial UNIX operating systems in the 1990s. It was developed through a collaboration between HP, IBM, Sun Microsystems, and other major UNIX vendors at the time.CDE provided an integrated graphical user interface for UNIX systems, featuring...
Window Maker
Window Maker is an X11 window manager originally designed to provide integration support for the GNUstep Desktop Environment. It first appeared in 1997 and is developed in C and Objective-C.Some key features of Window Maker include:Lightweight and fast - uses very little system resources for better performanceHighly customizable - nearly...
VirtuaWin
VirtuaWin is a lightweight virtual desktop manager for Windows that enables users to create and manage multiple virtual desktops on their system.The key features of VirtuaWin include:Create up to 20 virtual desktops and easily switch between themAssign desktop names and background images for quick identificationRun applications on specific desktops to...
SphereXP
SphereXP is a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) solution designed for enterprises. It allows organizations to host desktop operating systems like Windows and Linux on virtual machines in the data center, and deliver them to end users over the network.Some key features and benefits of SphereXP:Supports major hypervisors like VMware, Hyper-V,...
UKUI
UKUI is a lightweight desktop environment based on GNOME and developed primarily for Chinese Linux distributions. It focuses on simplicity, efficiency, and ease of use.Some key features of UKUI include:Simple and intuitive user interface designed to be easy to use for Linux beginners.Very lightweight and fast, ideal for older hardware...
GNUstep
GNUstep is an open source implementation of the Cocoa and Cocoa Touch application development frameworks used by Apple on platforms like macOS, iOS, iPadOS and watchOS. It provides a free software replacement for these frameworks that allows developers to build Cocoa-like applications that run on other operating systems like Linux,...
GeoShell
GeoShell is an open-source desktop geographic information system (GIS) software designed for working with spatial data. It offers a wide range of capabilities for creating, editing, analyzing, and generating maps from geospatial information.Key features of GeoShell include:Powerful vector and raster data editing tools for creating new geospatial datasetsAdvanced geospatial analysis...
Bluetile
Bluetile is an open-source tiling window manager for Linux operating systems. Unlike traditional window managers that allow windows to float freely on the desktop, Bluetile organizes open application windows in a grid-like layout to make efficient use of screen real estate.Some key features of Bluetile include:Keyboard-driven navigation and window management...
Unity Desktop Environment
Unity Desktop Environment is a graphical desktop environment that was originally developed by Canonical Ltd. for the Ubuntu Linux operating system. First released in 2010, Unity aimed to provide an intuitive and elegant desktop experience for Ubuntu users.Some key features and goals of the Unity desktop include:Simplified user interface -...
Trinity Desktop Environment (TDE)
Trinity Desktop Environment (TDE) is a fork of the KDE 3 desktop that aims to continue the KDE 3.5 legacy for Linux and other Unix-like operating systems. It provides a lightweight, stable, fast and customizable desktop environment that resembles the look and feel of the KDE 3.5 releases.TDE was created...
DeskHedron
DeskHedron is a virtual desktop manager software for Windows that allows users to organize their applications and windows into multiple virtual workspaces called 'Desks'. This helps keep your actual desktop clean and decluttered while also allowing you to group related tasks and windows together for improved workflow and focus.Some key...
Phosh
Phosh is a desktop shell designed specifically for Linux-based mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. It aims to provide an intuitive and user-friendly graphical interface optimised for touchscreen inputs.Some key features of Phosh include:A mobile-centric user interface with large buttons and components ideal for touchscreens.Gesture navigation - swipes, taps...
Moksha
Moksha is a modular open source desktop environment that emphasizes flexibility, stability and a non-intrusive user interface. It is based on the Enlightenment Foundation Libraries (EFL) and aims to provide a lightweight yet powerful and customizable desktop experience for Linux and BSD systems.Some key features of Moksha include:Modular architecture -...
