English · 简体中文
A compact notification island for your Windows desktop.
Getting started · Notification sources · Settings · Documentation (简体中文)
Windows Island brings desktop notifications into a compact island with app icons, conversation avatars and messages. Choose one of eight screen positions, keep your keyboard focus, and let the island fold away after each notification.
Download Windows Island from Releases. Supports Windows 10 version 2004 or later and Windows 11, on x64 PCs.
| Package | How to open |
|---|---|
| Windows installer (.exe) | Allow administrator access, choose a folder, then open Windows Island from the Start menu |
| Portable ZIP | Extract and run WindowsIsland.exe |
- Choose the sources you need in Sources.
- To use Windows notifications, open Setup from Overview, follow the initialization and notification access steps, then check the result and return to Overview.
- Select position and animation in Appearance. The monitor illustration follows your choices; use the notification preview to check the desktop result.
- Close the settings window. The app remains available in the system tray.
Before deleting a portable copy, open Setup from Overview, select Unregister notification package, confirm, and wait for Windows Island to exit. First use of system notifications may require administrator access once. The portable package creates no Start menu, startup, or uninstall entry.
Settings save automatically. Click the tray icon to reopen settings, or right-click it to check status and exit. If notification access needs attention, use the Windows settings shortcut in Setup, then refresh or retry.
| Feature | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Icons and avatars | Displays conversation avatars when available, with an app icon as the fallback |
| Native appearance | Follows the Windows light or dark theme |
| Focus stays yours | Notifications remain on top without taking keyboard focus |
| Mouse actions | Left-click opens the source app when available; right-click dismisses the island |
| Eight positions | Choose any corner or the center of any screen edge |
| Animation | Expands from the chosen edge and folds away; animations can be turned off |
| Long messages | Wraps text and truncates overflow while keeping icons visible |
| Automatic dismissal | Each notification stays for about five seconds; new messages refresh the island |
| Message merging | Combines copies of the same message from multiple sources |
| Pinned content | Plugins can keep a compact value visible and provide expandable details and controls; incoming messages take priority |
Sources are built-in plugins with independent switches and connection status.
| Source | Notifications |
|---|---|
| Windows notifications | New system notifications, including those from apps such as QQ |
| New messages and unread previews from a signed-in desktop client, with conversation avatars when available and support for muted conversations | |
| Telegram | New messages from a signed-in desktop client |
| Power | Power connection, charging, disconnection and full-charge events |
The island starts with new messages when a source connects or is re-enabled. Muted WeChat conversations stay quiet, and previous messages are not replayed. Turning off one source leaves the others running.
System notifications require initialization and notification access. Connected sources such as WeChat and the notification preview remain available before system notification setup is complete.
Use the install icon in Plugin management to import a plugin ZIP from a trusted developer. Installed shows installed plugins and their details; Discover provides the official catalog and advanced proxy settings. Manage source switches, connection status and settings in Sources. Click a plugin to open its details and use the back icon to return. To uninstall an external plugin, open its installed details and confirm removal; its settings and data remain available for reinstallation. Plugins run with the app's system permissions, so only install code you trust.
The open platform is reserved for the official catalog and is not available yet. Use manual ZIP import for now. Developers can use the plugin guide to build notification sources, pinned content and interactive controls.
Settings open on Overview. The grouped sidebar contains Overview, Sources, Plugin management, Appearance, Notification behavior, Updates, and Diagnostics & feedback. Open the system notification setup flow from Overview when needed.
| Setting | What you can choose |
|---|---|
| Launch at startup | Enable under General in Notification behavior and approve the Windows administrator prompt to launch in the background when you sign in |
| Game and full-screen mute | Control the two switches independently in Notification behavior; both are enabled by default |
| Windows do not disturb | Toggle in Notification behavior to quiet Windows banners while Windows Island continues receiving messages; Windows priority exceptions still apply |
| Position and animation | Choose a screen position, toggle animation and preview a notification in Appearance |
| Background | Adjust acrylic, background transparency and opacity transitions in Appearance |
| Language | Choose Simplified Chinese, English or the system language in Appearance; the app defaults to Simplified Chinese |
When a selected game or full-screen mute condition is detected, the island pauses popups. New messages appear again when it ends, without replaying the backlog. Windows do not disturb is a separate setting.
Open Updates and click the check icon to view available releases and their notes. Click download to prepare an update; the app restarts to complete installation and keeps your preferences. Interrupted downloads resume from saved progress, while the update page shows the current percentage and transfer rate.
Include prerelease updates is off by default. Enable it if you also want to receive prereleases.
In Diagnostics & feedback, use the generate icon to create a local diagnostic report. You can preview, copy or export it, control local diagnostic collection, and clear stored records.
Reports are never uploaded automatically and exclude message text, avatars and account information. The feedback icon opens a GitHub Issue form; you decide whether to attach a report. Issues are public, so review your text and attachments before submitting.
Run from the repository root:
dotnet build src/WindowsIsland/WindowsIsland.csproj -c Release -p:Platform=x64
dotnet publish src/WindowsIsland/WindowsIsland.csproj -c Release -p:Platform=x64Published files are placed in artifacts/publish/. Copy the entire directory and open WindowsIsland.exe.