Classic Shell is now developed under the name Open-Shell. I was discussing how I debloat non-LTSC instances to a very Microsoft-centric friend and he showed me how Open-Shell is one of the first pieces he installs to take it back to any form of normality. I did inform him he still needs to debloat the spyware/junk and disable telemetry. I've generally found Geek Uninstaller [1] and O&O ShutUp10 [2] work well together to take out the majority.
[0] https://github.com/Open-Shell/Open-Shell-Menu
[1] https://geekuninstaller.com/
[2] https://www.oo-software.com/en/shutup10
In Someone found a way to bypass Windows 7 Extended Security Updates checksOpen-Shell
Open-Shell-Menu
C++2018–2026
Open-Shell / Open-Shell-Menu
Open-Shell-Menu
Classic Shell Reborn.
44Distinct people
49Mentions
0Explicit recommenders
9.5KGitHub stars
What to know before exploring
What it is
Classic Shell Reborn.
GitHub
Where it is used
No documented product use was verified in the last source check.
What people are saying
No recommendation phrase was found in the indexed comments.
No classified warning is attached to this page. Read the discussions before treating silence as approval.
Also in these discussions
- valinet/explorerpatcher · linked in 4 of the same discussions
Mentioned in the same Hacker News threads. That is not proof they are substitutes.
This week on Hacker News
Nov 7–Nov 14 UTC · Direct repository links and separately labeled related project stories. Indexed through 11/14/2026, 7:02:50 PM UTC.
No direct repository links were found in the indexed HN discussions over the past seven days. Older discussions are available below.
Mentions over time
HN mentions by year49 dated mentions
Observed mentions: 2018-09-11 20:11:43 UTC to 2026-10-24 05:01:17 UTC.
* An incomplete calendar period is marked with an outlined bar. Its count is not directly comparable with a full period.
Counts come from the repository’s dated source evidence. Index cutoff: 2026-11-02 08:16:59 UTC.
View mention counts and date ranges
| Period | Start (UTC) | End (exclusive, UTC) | Mentions | Submissions | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 2018-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2019-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 2019 | 2019-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2020-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 2020 | 2020-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2021-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 2021 | 2021-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2022-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2022 | 2022-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2023-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| 2023 | 2023-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2024-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 2024 | 2024-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2025-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| 2025 | 2025-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2026-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 2026 (partial) | 2026-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2027-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 5 | 0 | 5 |
From the project README
An excerpt from the repository, fetched Nov 13, 2026.
Read the project’s introduction
Open-Shell
A collection of utilities bringing back classic features to Windows.
Originally Classic Shell by Ivo Beltchev
Open-Shell Homepage
Features
Classic style Start menu for Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10, and 11
Toolbar for Windows Explorer
Explorer status bar with file size and disk space
Classic copy UI (Windows 7 only)
Title bar and status bar for Internet Explorer
Download
You can find the latest stable version here:
Important
Windows for ARM compatibility
Open-Shell is compatible with Windows for ARM since version 4.4.196.
If you install older one on a Windows for ARM installation (ex. using Parallels Desktop on an Apple Silicon Mac), you will no longer be able to log into your account the next time you reboot. Please refrain from installing Open-Shell on Windows for ARM.
Code signing
Free code signing provided by SignPath.io, certificate by SignPath Foundation
Temporary Translation/Language Solution
Download language DLL
Place it either in the Open-Shell's install folder or in the %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\OpenShell\Languages folder
For archival reasons, we have a mirror of www.classicshell.net here.
How To Skin a Start Menu
Classic Shell: Custom Start Buttons
Questions? Ask on the Discussions section or on Discord
Submit a bug report/feature request
Read the full README on GitHubWhat Hacker News says
9 sourcesIf I have to support anyone using Windows 10 the first thing I do is recommend they install Classic Shell / Open Shell.
The UX on default Windows 10 Start Menu is unacceptable.
https://github.com/Open-Shell/Open-Shell-Menu
In Where is Notepad in Windows 10? (2015)It's been replaced by Open Shell which works well: https://github.com/Open-Shell/Open-Shell-Menu
In Useless Windows 10 FeaturesI encourage everyone unhappy with Windows 10 Start menu to give Open Shell a try: https://github.com/Open-Shell/Open-Shell-Menu
It replaces native Start menu with Win7/8 lookalike that's highly customizable and much faster. Search works better, too.
In Useless Windows 10 Features> Please replace it with something better, either use Classic Shell or Start is Back, but stop using that shit.
Classic Shell is dead, long live its successor Open Shell [1]
[1] https://github.com/Open-Shell/Open-Shell-Menu
In Windows 10 Debloat ScriptSee Open Shell: https://github.com/Open-Shell/Open-Shell-Menu
In Microsoft loses control over Windows TilesI've been using classic shell to completely ban tiles from my windows experience, it does a good job of returning the interface to more or less windows 7 familiarity.
h̶t̶t̶p̶:̶/̶/̶w̶w̶w̶.̶c̶l̶a̶s̶s̶i̶c̶s̶h̶e̶l̶l̶.̶n̶e̶t̶/̶
I'd be keen to know if anyone else has used this or some other approach to de-candy-ify their desktop.
Edit: thanks so much for the feedback everyone, the hive mind at its best! I learned from the cementers below that classic shell has been abandoned and then forked to a community project here:
https://github.com/Open-Shell/Open-Shell-Menu
In Microsoft loses control over Windows TilesLooking their commit history, all the last "fixes" were rebranding. If I see it right, the latest substantial fix that is an actual improvement was:
https://github.com/Open-Shell/Open-Shell-Menu/issues/53
A patch by Ivo Beltchev himself! In the just world the man would be paid by Microsoft until the end of his life just for what he did up to now.
The critical fix before that was important and made by the new maintainers:
https://github.com/Open-Shell/Open-Shell-Menu/pull/33
It also shows that it's a real work keeping everything functioning with each Windows release.
In Microsoft begins work on its 2020 Windows releases in new previewThe maintained version is Open Shell: https://github.com/Open-Shell/Open-Shell-Menu
In Microsoft begins work on its 2020 Windows releases in new preview