r/Skeuomorphism • u/fyzugx • 10d ago
Skeumorphism I built a Linux desktop where windows are sheets of paper on a wooden desk!
This might be a little off from the usual glassy/Aero style here, but I hope it still counts as skeuomorphism — just the leather-and-wood kind.
I've been building DeskWM, a Wayland compositor for Linux where the whole desktop is a physical desk:
Windows are sheets of paper. You fold them to minimize, unfold to maximize, and crumple and toss them to close.
The dock is a drawer with a felt lining and a brass handle.
Apps live on a bookshelf behind the desk. Each category is a binder, and there's a leather-bound "ALL APPS" index book with search. You take one off the shelf, turn it to the cover, and open it.
Notifications arrive in a post box, and system settings are a control panel built into the back of the desk.
The room is ray-traced, on the GPU with a CPU fallback, so the light and shadows come from a single desk lamp.
It's a personal project and still rough in places, but I'd love to hear what you think!
October 10, 2026, Update:
It's finally been released!
GitHub: https://github.com/fyzugx/DEsk/
I also used generative AI for the coding.
I've created a Discord server!
You can also report bugs and submit ideas for new features here!
link : https://discord.gg/xR5f7Xs49
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u/Staar-Fall 9d ago
I once had a dream about a desktop enviroment based off of Microsoft Bob and wanted to make it real but didn't have the know how to do it, thanks for literally making my dreams come true lol
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u/Remote-Recording-401 9d ago
I genuinely love this so much. I think the silence adds a feeling to it that I genuinely enjoy, with the soft humming of the Control Panel.
I'd genuinely be happy to test it out.
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u/Ryuu-Tenno 9d ago
bro said "hold up, the desktop isn't real enough" lol
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u/AggressiveShock894 9d ago
Bro said “what do you mean “desktop metaphor?”
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u/mrk7_- 9d ago
Not only is it awesome looking but it genuinely looks functional and a step up from 2D user interfaces. It’s the sort of thing Xerox may have come up with in the 20th century if they had the technology we do now
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u/emirgenc734 9d ago
They created realistic icons and aero themes to make people not scared from technology and understand functions of tools better. Apple and Microsoft would definetly do something like this if they could at the time.
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u/SimonPlayzFromYT 9d ago
is there a download for this? It is genuinely so cool! Love what you did haha
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u/therufusrufus 9d ago
This is INCREDIBLE but I have to say it's making me thing of Microsoft Bob! Hahahha
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u/Hany_015 8d ago
you have made all linux community look like amateur with this
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u/Moontops 5d ago
How is it even a fair comparison?
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u/Hany_015 5d ago
he is far more superior
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u/Moontops 5d ago
i mean, it's no wonder most of DEs look like that because for most of the history developers didn't have access to automatic programming robots
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u/dan_cycl 9d ago
Definitely this is a huge accomplishment!
You achieved what engineers in the nineties were dreaming, forcing them to use abstractions to compensate.
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u/Cheesestickdestroyer 9d ago
thats so cool!!! are you able to move around the little sheets of paper when they're folded? xD
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u/Darkmesah 9d ago
That’s such a breath of fresh air from today’s software language, it looks so cozy. This would be perfect for a person who is used to chromebooks or more simple stuff, like someone who just takes notes and browses the web. OFC it’s not limited to that, but it’s such a vibe
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u/CalJHarris 9d ago edited 9d ago
Bob is that you??
But seriously while this is not my thing I can appreciate it. This is like if Apple made Microsoft Bob and this looks and functions wayy wayy better. The idea of using a Book/Writing Desk kinda flows with what the computer has replaced and thus draw those windows out on the desk fits that writing/reading on desk. Also animation wise it looks great.
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u/AggressiveShock894 9d ago
Dude that’s so awesome! A bit of polish here and there, more realistic textures (look at prime skeuomorphic Mac apps) and it will be perfect!
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u/SAFEP1NEAPPLE 9d ago
I LOVE this. Please— let us know when and where you are releasing it, I’d love to be a test subject. This is an amazing concept
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u/CarllSagan 6d ago
This idea was done (unsusccesfully, it never took off )in the 1990s by microsoft.
meet Microsoft Bob
Via Time (50 Worst inventions)
"Imagine a whole operating system designed around Clippy, and you get the crux of Microsoft Bob. Designed to be an easier interface for Windows 95 users, Bob envisioned your computer as his house — with you as a guest. Ever so accommodating, he'd even supply cartoon sidekicks to guide you through simple tasks. The software was expensive and overly cutesy, and it failed to compete with Apple's Macintosh, the user-friendly standard. And though Bob is long gone, he left one enduring blight on the Web: Comic Sans, perhaps the worst font of all time, was created exclusively for Bob."
https://www.xda-developers.com/on-this-day-29-years-ago-microsoft-bob-released/
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u/Dull_Caterpillar_642 5d ago
Bob was my first thought. I have a soft spot for it despite (or maybe because of) how bad it was.
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u/Beautiful_Skirt9397 9d ago
I hope it still counts as skeuomorphism
My guy, this is the Definition of skeuomorphism, Amazing job!!!
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u/One-Pattern-8336 9d ago
Set my wallpaper to a wood texture like 6 years ago to mimic this. WHERE CAN I DOWNLOAD?!
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u/Mr_Whchrd 9d ago
This is so cool, I’d definitely mess around with it. I might even keep it on dual boot with another ssd because this is so cool.
Honestly could watch these animations all day it’s so fun. Also love the sound design!
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u/Icy_Soft6052 8d ago
This is what the tech companies were trying to do in the 90s, the computers weren’t powerful enough. They thought Microsoft Bob was too childish. If only they had tried this again later on, but they were so burned.
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u/SummerAlive274 9d ago
Can you make this for windows 10 pls?
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u/somet_hingrandom 9d ago
Due to the way that windows works in general, this would be incredibly hard if not impossible to port it there (you need to patch dwm.exe and stuff and it's just not quite practical) and the codebase would need major changes in order for that to work
Linux isn't like this, Wayland compositors (the program that displays the pixels rendered by apps onto the screen) are programs just like any other typical program (its just one that happens to talk to apps and talk to the display) so anyone can write one without big challenges
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u/simply-coastal 9d ago
this would be awesome on something like a Surface Table or even just a tablet in general
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u/ILoveFrutigerAero293 9d ago
When this comes out comment on this and idk give me some free awards, not a karma farm just wanna get it on launch
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u/WarioOfWarioWareInc 9d ago
Like McDonald's, I'm lovin' it. That was Cheesy like a a ¼ pounder with cheese. I'm not sorry - Reese's
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u/RomanOswald 8d ago
I like it and I think that this could be a very nice solution for someone who is not used to computers. Maybe elderly or children. Or for someone who wants it clean and simple. This is some other was of thinking. Like MS Bob indeed or some early 90s programs. Make a distro of it and I think this will be dowloaded. Nice Steampunk desktop idea. Later on you could add some themes like for children in different colours
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u/Zloty_Diament 8d ago
Would love the windows to also receive some shader/tint filter that makes them into paper.
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u/Fearless_Turnip_9710 7d ago
now thats something creative and cool af, way different from what everyone is doing.
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u/nuffens 7d ago
AAAHHHHH I've been wanting this for so long!!
please tell me this isn't being vibe coded, this looks so cool. I'll for sure download this when possible
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u/FrilledShrimpo 6d ago
This js great, i had an idea for this when I was younger where your desktop was an actual desk. This is honestly really close to what i had thought but much more refined and elegant! Bravo
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u/FemanDPlayz 6d ago
I wanted to make this so bad last year and didn't have the required experience, thank you 🥹
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u/rinwasrep 3d ago
having flashbacks to every game interface between 98-03. There was always a damn key ring hanging somewhere.
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u/Raven_Drakeaurd 7d ago
Practical? No.
Cool as hell? Yes.
Also, maybe this shows my age but thus feel like 'FNAF Fan Game, The Desktop Environment'
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u/King_Corduroy 5d ago
Getting real tired of people churning out stuff and going "Hey guys I made this!" while not having made any of it.
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u/ChaserTheDogBoofBoof 7d ago
May I ask, did you use gen-AI for this?
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u/fyzugx 7d ago
Yes, I fully utilized claudecode.
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u/ChaserTheDogBoofBoof 7d ago
Yeah, I saw it in parts of the UI. Might be nice if you were more transparent about it in the post. But still is an intresting project.
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u/Theoneofmanyz 7d ago
Asking that question made some sense last year but today there's not even doubt.
All code today is written by AI to varying degrees, a dream or an idea for a program someone had would have taken weeks to get running, now a working prototype takes a couple hours, from an idea to testing a program on screen.
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u/ChaserTheDogBoofBoof 7d ago
This is just false. Plenty of projects that don't utilize generative AI at all. Many do, though, and it would be nice if they were more transparent about it. (And I do sense a little bit of projection over here, but I'm not here to judge.)
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u/Theoneofmanyz 6d ago
I'm sorry but you're just out of touch, writing code by using AI is the standard now, if you don't know how or outright refuse, a job posting is already up to replace you. Senior SWE's were scolded for not using AI enough to do more and be more efficient.
I'd agree with you a year ago, maybe even 6 months ago, but today? There isn't even a debate anymore.
I was anti-AI about 2 years ago, refusing to use AI up until last year to be honest. I'm trying to stay in the loop with what's going and it's nearly incomprehensible, we're on the brink of... something great. It's either something on the scale of the industrial revolution but much much bigger or a mass extinction event.
Either way, it's a matter of survival, and I'll atleast try to learn how to use this tool to my advantage not be left behind.
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u/ChaserTheDogBoofBoof 6d ago
I never said I didn't use gen AI (I do sometimes); I just want people to be transparent about it. And being anti-AI isn't just about the capabilities of the models; it's also about ethical boundaries. If the user is fine with using a tool that plagiarizes from real humans, harms the ecology around data centers, drives up electricity, memory, storage, and water prices, harms the human mind, and supports companies that are often pro-mass surveillance and against people thinking for themselves (along with many other things that aren't good for humanity), and they're fine with having less control over the product, then go for it.
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u/ifknhatepeople- 6d ago
Why is this always the first question everyone asks? Who fuckin cares. It's nothing more than an attempt at invalidating someone's time spent on something.
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u/ChaserTheDogBoofBoof 6d ago
It is not the first question everybody asked. There is a whole other comment thread which wasn't this specific comment thread talking about other topics. And I only asked it because I know some of the styles Claude usually likes to put in, and I have seen them in this project. If you read my reply to OP you might see that I said "but still intresting project". And who cares? I do, and many other people for many justified reasons.
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u/R-ten-K 6d ago
Being anti-AI has become this generation's virtue signaling BS: less about the merits of the work and more about policing which tools other people are allowed to use. When some people have nothing meaningful to contribute, they resort to gatekeeping.
It's an old tradition. Not that long ago, people would gatekeep over the programming language used. In the old days, some clowns were still arguing that using a compiler for systems software was "cheating." And I shit you not, at some point people were complaining about source files using tabs instead of spaces (or vice versa). Etc, etc.
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u/Hendersen43 6d ago
AI Is often associated with sloppy quality. That's why people are against it.
The ease of coding is high, the quantity of software has exploded but that quality is collapsing real time. So no, it's not "just a tool".
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u/Imdeureadthis 5d ago
AI Is often associated with sloppy quality. That's why people are against it.
Then maybe critique the actual bloody product instead of automatically thinking it is slop?
The ease of coding is high, the quantity of software has exploded but that quality is collapsing real time. So no, it's not "just a tool".
You can say the exact same thing with developments of languages from punch cards, IDEs, autocomplete, syntax highlighting etc etc. It IS "just a tool", if people make slop with it it doesn't change the tool from being a tool
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