RainbowTaskbar vs SmartTaskbar

RainbowTaskbar is a Windows app for changing the taskbar’s appearance with animations, colors, images, websites, and other effects. It supports web configurations as well as instruction-based configurations. Web configurations can respond to mouse input, use WebGL, canvas graphics, and video, and call the RainbowTaskbar API to adjust taskbar style and transparency. The app supports positioning and transparency controls, along with complex multi-monitor setups involving scaling and positioning. Through the RainbowTaskbar Workshop, users can download configurations without an account; uploading one requires signing in with Google or GitHub. The app is portable, but needs the.NET 8 runtime if that runtime is not already installed. The maker warns that RainbowTaskbar conflicts with TranslucentTB and says to close that app before running it. RainbowTaskbar is free and open-source, with a free plan listed at free. Its maker describes it as a passion project first released in 2021.

SmartTaskbar is a free Windows utility that changes whether the taskbar is shown or hidden. In Auto Mode, it hides the taskbar when the focused window intersects it. Double-clicking the tray icon switches between Show and Auto-Hide, while the taskbar status stays unchanged when the pointer is over the taskbar. Auto Mode follows Windows Auto-Hide behavior, so closing Start or Search may hide the taskbar before SmartTaskbar brings it back. Some applications with special maximization logic may not make the taskbar appear when the pointer moves to its position; the project suggests WIN+T as a workaround. Release notes say the hook can sometimes fail and advise restarting Explorer and SmartTaskbar or rebooting. Auto Mode may not work on Windows 10 versions released in 2019 or earlier, for which the notes suggest the Win10_1809 installer. The privacy statement says the app collects no user data, uses no telemetry, and stores settings offline locally, though it accesses the Registry to monitor and set taskbar settings. The project lists an MIT license and links to a Microsoft Store version described as less functional and stable.