A simple desktop taskbar written in Java (Swing). It sits at the bottom of the screen, shows an "Apps" menu built from installed applications (Linux .desktop files), and a clock. The bar stays on top of other windows.
This is not a professional or production-oriented project. It is a hobby project and may also be useful as a practical example or assignment base for an Operating Systems course (e.g. working with the filesystem, XDG paths, processes, and a minimal desktop UI). A taskbar is, after all, just another program running on the operating system; illustrating that is the educational goal of this project.
- Apps menu: Scans standard application directories (XDG, Flatpak, Snap) and lists apps by category (Graphics, Multimedia, Games, Office, etc.). Menu is rebuilt each time you open it so new installs appear without restarting.
- Clock: 12-hour format, updated every second. The time is not read from the operating system; it uses Java's built-in APIs (
java.util.Date,java.text.SimpleDateFormat,java.util.Timer) to obtain and format the current time within the JVM. - Always on top: The taskbar window stays above other windows.
- Flatpak detection: If run inside Flatpak, a notice is shown suggesting to run the JAR from a normal terminal to see all installed applications.
- Java 21 or later
- Linux (relies on XDG application dirs and common icon paths; not tested on other OSes)
For a full view of system applications (e.g. under /usr/share/applications), run the JAR from a normal system terminal rather than from inside a Flatpak or sandboxed IDE.
