LaunchMenu vs Open-Shell Menu

LaunchMenu is a free, open-source launcher that provides utilities called applets through a keyboard-oriented interface. Its menus support recursive fuzzy search, pattern filters, and prioritization of frequently used items. Users can navigate with arrow keys, activate primary actions with Enter, and open context menus with Tab; controls can be customized. Multi-select allows compatible actions to be applied to several items together. Applets include a dictionary, notes, file manager, internet search, calculator, translator, snippets, time tracker, and calendar. Users can adjust applet settings and themes, import or export settings, and manage official or third-party applets. LaunchMenu runs on macOS and Windows. The site identifies Windows as the primary development and test platform, while Mac testing has been less extensive. Linux support is planned and has not yet been worked on. Developers can build applets using TypeScript and React, compile them into LaunchMenu-ready packages, and upload completed applets to npm with the launchmenu-applet keyword. The listed free plan costs nothing.

Open-Shell Menu is a free collection of Windows utilities that brings back classic interface features. Its classic-style Start menu supports Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10 and 11, with Start button controls and custom search. It also adds a toolbar and a status bar to Windows Explorer; the status bar can show file size and disk space. A classic copy interface is available for Windows 7 only, and Open-Shell provides title-bar and status-bar features for Internet Explorer. The project says it is compatible with Windows for ARM beginning with version 4.4.196, while warning that older versions may prevent account login after reboot. It was originally known as Classic Shell and is described as having been created by Ivo Beltchev. Free code signing is provided by SignPath.io with a certificate from SignPath Foundation. The project directs users to issue reporting, Discussions, Gitter and Discord for support. A temporary language option uses a downloaded language DLL placed in the installation folder or Open-Shell Languages folder.