TranslucentSM

A lightweight utility that makes the Windows Start Menu translucent/transparent.
This app utilizes XAML Diagnostics to inject a dll into a process and modifies the XAML.

中文：README.zh-CN.md · The settings UI is bilingual (English/Chinese, follows your Windows display language; force it with the Language registry value).

Based on rounk-ctrl/TranslucentSM (GPL-3.0), adapted for Windows 11 24H2/25H2. Change summary is listed below.

Special note:

Since my computer does not update the system frequently, it is difficult for me to adapt to new versions of Windows in a timely manner. Therefore, I am providing the Agent analysis package TranslucentSM-porting-kit.zip for Agents to analyze and adapt to other versions of Windows.

Features

Feature	Description
Translucent Start menu	Modifies TintOpacity / TintLuminosityOpacity of AcrylicBrush
Sliders ×2	Real-time adjustment of tint intensity and luminosity layer (see "Parameter meanings" below)
Toggles ×3	Hide search bar, hide white border, hide recommended section
Settings entry	Pencil button in the Start menu bottom bar (left of the power button) → opens settings panel
Bilingual Chinese/English UI	Follows system language; registry Language=zh/en can force it
Auto-start on boot	See below

Parameter meanings (important)

• Tint intensity: Controls the tint from full color to full black-and-white.

  100% = the tint layer is fully opaque, and the entire surface becomes a solid color. This is the standard semantics of Windows AcrylicBrush.

• Opacity: The strength of the gray-white overlay above the blurred background. Default 30%.

Usage

1. Put StartTAP.dll and start.exe in the same directory.
2. Run start.exe (wait for StartMenuExperienceHost to start, up to 30 seconds).
3. Open the Start menu to see the effect; click the pencil button in the bottom bar to adjust parameters. Changes take effect immediately and are written to the registry.

Settings are stored in HKCU\SOFTWARE\TranslucentSM:

Key	Type	Meaning
TintOpacity	DWORD 0-100	Tint
TintLuminosityOpacity	DWORD 0-100	Opacity
HideSearch / HideBorder / HideRecommended	DWORD 0/1	Three toggles
Language	String zh / en	Force UI language (unset = follow system)
GearAutoPlace	DWORD 0/1	Auto-placement of settings button (default on; 0 = old fixed position)

Auto-start on boot and file list

Running start.exe once completes installation: it copies itself (renamed to TranslucentSM.exe) and StartTAP.dll to the shell:startup directory. At Windows login, the exe runs directly to perform injection (no VBS, no window flash, exits after running). Running it again refreshes these two copies (upgrade). Moving the tool directory does not affect the already deployed auto-start.

After logging in to the desktop at boot, injection succeeds automatically within a few seconds (TranslucentSM.exe waits for StartMenuExperienceHost.exe to start, up to 30 seconds), with no manual operation required; after injection completes, it exits by itself.

Files written

Location	Content
%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\TranslucentSM.exe	Auto-start copy (runs once at login, then exits)
%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\StartTAP.dll	TAP copy (used for injection by the exe above)
%TEMP%\TranslucentSM.log	Debug log
Tool directory	start.exe, StartTAP.dll (the set you placed yourself)

Registry written (current user only)

HKCU\SOFTWARE\TranslucentSM: TintOpacity, TintLuminosityOpacity (DWORD 0-100), HideSearch / HideBorder / HideRecommended / GearAutoPlace (DWORD 0/1), Language (string zh/en).

Processes involved at runtime

Process	Description
StartMenuExperienceHost.exe	The system Start menu process, into which StartTAP.dll is injected; ending it in Task Manager → all XAML modifications are immediately restored (the system will automatically restart it, after which injection no longer occurs and the effect disappears)
TranslucentSM.exe	Runs once at login to perform injection, then exits automatically and does not stay resident

Manual uninstall

1. End StartMenuExperienceHost.exe in Task Manager (the Start menu restarts automatically and the effect disappears).
2. Delete TranslucentSM.exe and StartTAP.dll in the Startup directory.
3. Delete the tool directory.
4. (Optional) Delete the registry HKCU\SOFTWARE\TranslucentSM and %TEMP%\TranslucentSM.log.

To temporarily skip auto-start deployment: start.exe /noautostart.

Build

Only MSVC (v143+) and Windows SDK (10.0.22621+) are required; NuGet / VS solution is not needed:

python build\build_adapted.py

Or double-click build\build.cmd. Outputs are in build_out\: StartTAP.dll, start.exe (x64, static CRT, no third-party dependencies). The full build log is written to build_out\build.log.

Antivirus notice

This tool injects the XAML-Diagnostics TAP DLL into StartMenuExperienceHost.exe, so Defender / SmartScreen may produce false positives. The source code is fully open; if you are concerned, you can compile it yourself using the commands above.

License

GPL-3.0 (see LICENSE). Modified parts are also released under GPL-3.0.