kinesis

Lightweight window management suite for Windows.

Key Features

Task Switching

• global switcher (alt + tab): navigate between all open application windows
• contex switcher (alt + ~): cycle through windows belonging to the current active app
• tab switcher (alt + [1-9]): switch tabs in browsers, IDEs, and file explorer

Launchers

Overlay launchers for quick directory access:

• VS Code Launcher: open workspaces or folders
• WSL Terminal Launcher: jump directly into Linux environments
• Features: path history and real-time folder discovery

System Integration

• tray management: access all settings via system tray icon
• automatic startup: option to toggle "Run on Startup" directly from the menu
• elevation: built-in "Run as Administrator" toggle for managing high-privilege windows
• configuration: open and edit the JSONC configuration file and option to reset to factory defaults
• safety: custom quit dialog sequence to prevent accidental closures

Technical Highlights

• native performance: written in C++ using Win32 API and GDI
• layered UI: uses hardware-accelerated alpha blending for smooth transitions
• low-level hooks: optimized keyboard hooks to ensure reliable hotkey interception
• single instance: mutex-guarded execution to prevent resource conflicts

Default Hotkeys

Hotkey	Action
alt + tab	switch apps
alt + ~	switch same-app windows
alt + [1-9]	browser/IDE/file explorer tab switching
ctrl + qlt + v	VS Code workspace launcher
ctrl + qlt + l	WSL terminal launcher
ctrl + alt + q	open quit dialog

Build & Installation

Releases

If you don't wish to build from source, you can download the latest pre-compiled kinesis.exe from the Releases tab. Just download it, place it anywhere, and run.

Build Prerequisites

• compiler: g++ (MinGW-w64 recommended) with C++17 support
• environment: Windows 10/11
• build tool: PowerShell (to run the provided build script)

Cloning & Building

1. clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/DusanZigic/kinesis.git
cd kinesis

2. debug build (with console output and debug symbols):

./build.ps1

3. release build (optimized, standalone, no console window):

./build.ps1 -release

Portable & Standalone

kinesis is designed to be a single-file utility:

• resource integration: all assets (backgrounds, app icons) are compiled directly into the binary via windres

• zero dependencies: release version is linked statically (-static); only kinesis.exe is needed that can be found in the bin/ folder to run the app on any machine

Security & Transparency

kinesis uses a low-level keyboard kook (WH_KEYBOARD_LL) to intercept alt + tab, alt + ~ and alt + [1-9]. This is the only way to override Windows' default switcher behavior and provide a custom, high-performance replacement.

kinesis does not log or transmit your keystrokes. The hook is used strictly for hotkey detection and logic.

Digital Signatures & SmartScreen

Because kinesis is an open-source project and the binaries are not signed with a paid Certificate Authority (EV Certificate), you will likely encounter the Windows SmartScreen "Windows protected your PC" prompt when running the executable for the first time.

To run the app:

1. click "More info"
2. click "Run anyway"

Antivirus False Positives

Some security software may flag the app as a "keylogger" due to the nature of the keyboard hook. This is a common false positive. You may need to add an exclusion for kinesis.exe in your antivirus settings.