Features
Everything you need.Nothing you don't.
Keep the programs and the habits you already have. Lose the account, the adverts, the tracking and the surprise restarts. Here is everything Wild OS does, including the clever bits you won't notice until you need them.
Windows mode
Your programs.
Without the baggage.
A genuine copy of Windows runs out of sight. Its programs open as normal windows on your desktop, and the rest of it stays out of your way.
Real Windows programs, as normal windows
Word, Excel, Photoshop and the tools your work depends on. They sit in your taskbar, snap and Alt+Tab like everything else.
Nothing to relearn and nothing to replace.
Shut down without losing work
If a document is unsaved when you shut down, Wild OS keeps Windows exactly as it was and puts it all back next time.
The safety net Windows itself doesn't have.
Windows sees only what it needs
Windows sees your Documents, Downloads, Pictures and Desktop folders. Switches for each of them, the printer and the camera are on the way.
The rest of your files stay out of its reach.A minute after you close your last Windows program, Windows mode pauses and uses no processor time at all. It's ready again in about a second.
Your battery and fans will notice.The programs you use most stay loaded in the background, so they open in about a second.
Fast where it matters most.Most PCs sold with Windows 11 Pro have the licence built in. Wild OS finds it and uses it, so there is nothing to buy.
Windows 11 Home isn't supported yet. We say so up front.Our own apps
Four apps,
included.
Remote, Mail, Write and Tables. Built by us, free, and private like everything else.
Every server and every PC.
One window.
- A proper terminal. Tabs, saved snippets, and suggestions from your own history as you type.
- Files both ways. Drag files onto a server, or edit one in place and it uploads when you save.
- Remote desktop, full screen. Windows PCs and servers, with a toolbar that slides down when you need it.
- Keys that stay home. No cloud sync and no account. Your keys never leave this PC unless you export them.
Every account in one inbox. Gmail, iCloud, Yahoo and any other IMAP account together. Trackers are blocked and pictures wait until you say so.
Documents that open and save as Word files. The tabbed toolbar you already know, and fonts that match Word's, so documents keep their layout.
Spreadsheets that open and save as Excel files. Formulas, charts and pivot tables included, so most spreadsheets open just as they were.
Private by default
Protected from
the first boot.
No account, no telemetry, no adverts. The protection is on before you do anything, and it explains itself in plain English.
Your disk is encrypted at install unless you choose otherwise, with a recovery key you keep. A lost laptop is a locked box.
Store apps run in their own sandbox and ask before using your camera or microphone.
Start searches your files and apps on this PC. Nothing you type is sent to a search engine.
Security updates install quietly and restarts wait for you. No more losing an evening to a forced reboot.
Any change to the system needs your say-so, in a plain sentence that tells you what will happen.
Apps from Debian and Flathub. Flathub apps run in a sandbox, with permissions you can see and change.
The desktop
Where your hands
expect it.
Over 70 screens designed from scratch, so everything feels like one product, in light and dark.
Pinned apps, recent files and search, exactly where Windows taught you to look.
Drag a window to an edge or hover the maximise button to tile your work in a click.
Every window, Linux and Windows alike, in one switcher.
Wi-Fi, sound, brightness, notifications and the calendar, one click from the taskbar.
A Task Manager that shows what's using your PC, including Windows mode, in words you'll understand.
Six themes set the wallpaper, light or dark, the accent colour and the glass in one go. Every part can still be changed on its own.
Quiet for the office, loud for the gaming setup.
RGB lighting that moves
Turn on the underglow and a thin line of light runs along the top of the taskbar. Pick your accent colour, a custom colour, or the full RGB spectrum flowing along the bar.
- Steady, breathing or flowing
- Pauses on battery and while a game is full screen
- Switches off with Reduce motion
A look for every desk
Calm and quiet for work, bright for creative days, neon glass for the gaming rig. Each theme is one click, and every part of it can still be changed on its own.
Six themes and new wallpapers, all made for Wild OS.
The little things
Small touches.
Big difference.
The details Windows and Mac users reach for without thinking.
Hover an app on the taskbar for a live preview of each window. Hover a preview and that window comes forward while the rest fade.
The thing Windows users miss firstSnap one window to half the screen and the other half offers your open windows to fill it.
Two windows side by side in two clicksPress Space on any file for an instant preview of photos, PDFs, video, text and code. Arrow keys move to the next.
Borrowed from the Mac, done properlyRight-click a frozen app and end it, without opening Task Manager.
Ten seconds instead of a minuteSuper+` cycles the windows of the app you're in.
Great with three documents openOne tile in quick settings stops sleep for an hour, four hours, or until you say.
For long downloads and presentationsDo not disturb on a schedule, so evenings stay quiet without remembering to switch it on.
Set it onceChoose what closing the lid or pressing power does, separately on battery and plugged in.
Laptops behave how you expectPlus your battery percentage next to the icon.
Small, but people ask for itMaximise, minimise or nothing. Your choice.
Your habits, not oursComing next, free
And it keeps
getting better.
These are designed and being built now. They arrive as free updates, and you won't need to reinstall.
Windows programs that open instantly
The window appears the moment you click, while Windows mode wakes up behind it. No more waiting and wondering whether it heard you.
In development. It arrives as a free update.Side by side
Same programs.
Fewer strings.
What changes when you move from Windows 11 to Wild OS, in fair terms.
| Windows 11 | Wild OS | |
|---|---|---|
| Your Windows programs | Yes | Yes, in Windows mode with your Windows 11 Pro licence |
| Word, Excel and Outlook | Microsoft 365, £84.99 a year | Write, Tables and Mail, included |
| Terminal, SSH and remote desktop | Separate apps, some paid | Remote, included |
| Account to sign in | Pushes you to a Microsoft account | None. Ever. |
| Adverts and suggestions | In Start, the lock screen and Settings | None |
| Data about how you use it | Required diagnostic data you can't turn off | Nothing from Wild OS itself |
| Restarts for updates | You can delay them, not refuse them | When you say |
| Whole-disk encryption | Depends on your edition and PC | On by default at install, on every PC |
| Source code | Closed | Open, for anyone to check |
Wild OS runs straight from the USB stick, so you can see it on your own PC without changing a thing.
The installer can put Wild OS alongside Windows, and you choose which to start.
No licence fee, no subscription, no premium tier. Open source, so anyone can check our work.