What is ricing btw?
So yeah, ricing is nothing but customizing your PC. Do you know why people prefer ricing on Linux? Because it provides you so much flexibility and way too much customization!
Why you should do ricing?
Because it's fun, man! Like, suppose you have your own personal PC. How will you call it personal if you can't even personalize it as per your own will? Those nice descriptive options and icons are for those who are new. Yeah, you should remove 'em.
Just kidding, not exactly remove them, but customize it according to you. Your own macros, configs... etc!
So how exactly can you do ricing on Windows?
Well, since it is WINDOWS, you can't do much like on Linux, but you can still do a decent amount of customization.
So how much can you do as a beginner?
I won't deep dive the internals like those patchers which provide you changing registry, resulting in some issues (in rare situations).
well , some of my prev rices.
These are the options you can customize:
- Changing the taskbar by minimizing the extra spaces and too many changes (I will tell you more later)
- A tiling window manager (for faster access and productivity)
- Adding a top bar (like those in Linux and macOS)
- Changing cursor
- Changing the overall theme
Alright, let's get into the good stuff – the tools and resources you can use!
1. Windhawk
Hey, so if you want an instant package to do almost so many customizations, you can use Windhawk. It can boost the customization capability to 40%! check it out.
btw , here are some of screenshot of mods we can do:
- Link: Windhawk
2. Tacky Borders
This one helps you customize those window borders. its cool little mod you can install.
- Link: tacky-borders github
3. For Cursors, like mine!
For cool cursors, I always prefer resources from DeviantArt. The community there uploads so many free themes and cursors, it's insane!
Link: W11 cursors
- Link: DeviantArt Cursors
4. Themes
Now as for the themes, DeviantArt is absolutely the go-to. Just make sure to not download from any sus(sketchy) sites.
- Link: DeviantArt Themes
5. Tiling Manager
Now, for productivity and speed, you might want a tiling window manager. There are a bunch of options: Komorebi, GlazeWM, FancyWM, and so on. Personally, I use Komorebic because it's built on Rust, so it's super lightweight. The rest is totally your choice! I'll drop the links, don't worry.
- Komorebi: Komorebi github
- GlazeWM: GlazeWM github
- FancyWM: FancyWM github
6. Rainmeter (I don't like it but still...)
Okay, so Rainmeter is a big one for many ricers, but personally, I'm not a huge fan. The background activity just bugs me, and I don't have a beast PC that could handle it. So here I go with my tiny Victus!
But, if you're really want to use Rainmeter, it does provide so many community-built themes and tons of features like clocks right on your desktop, etc.
- Link: Rainmeter
7. SeleenUI (Please don't use this, seriously!)
Just a heads-up on SeleenUI: This thing is basically a web runtime chilling in the background and eating your precious resources. Yeah, it looks really good, but the price it takes is just way too much. I totally don't recommend it, but here's a quick look just for reference.
- Link: SeleenUI github
8. Managing Workspaces and Bars
If you're diving into a tiling window manager, you'll definitely want a top bar to manage your workspaces. You've got pretty decent options like Zebar, YASB (Yet Another Start Bar), or even komorebic-bar. yasb provides the most customizability.
- Zebar: Zebar (GitHub)
- komorebic-bar: (Github )
![preview of komorebic-bar] (https://r2w8bs08bn.ufs.sh/f/RnU7TL81beNUiwDVQDyuADN8HC6FUzB4tnslW9vSbjhJRdIk)
9. Join the Communities!
Wanna know more and connect with other ricers? There are awesome communities out there!
On Reddit:
- r/desktops: This one's great because it covers ricing for all platforms – Windows, Mac, and Linux! https://www.reddit.com/r/desktops/
- r/unixporn: Despite the name, this one's primarily for Linux ricing. It's fantastic for inspiration! https://www.reddit.com/r/unixporn/
And for Windows ricers, there's a cool Discord server:
- Winthemers: (https://discord.gg/winthemers-763847972013342740)
P.S.: Sorry for an typos and hopefully, you liked this and got some good info about ricing! That's all in this blog for now. Meet ya soon. Byee :)