Rainmeter is a free Windows program for building a customized desktop from skins. These can display system details such as hardware usage, along with RSS feeds and weather. A skin can also hold notes or to-do lists, launch applications, and provide media-player controls. The NowPlaying feature can retrieve track information and control supported players, including AIMP, iTunes, Winamp, and Windows Media Player, though some players need extra plugins or have partial support. Users can create and edit skins with Rainmeter’s skin language, meters, measures, plugins, and Lua scripting; measures and plugins can draw information from the computer or the internet. The Manage interface loads and unloads skins, changes settings, and saves layouts. The About window can display logs, measure values, and application or plugin status. A portable installation keeps the program, skins, and settings in a chosen folder without changing the Windows Registry or Start menu. Rainmeter supports Windows 7 Service Pack 1 with Platform Update and later.
Who it is for
Rainmeter suits Windows users who want desktop information, feeds, weather, notes, or media controls presented through customizable skins. It also serves users who want to create their own skins or keep the installation in a chosen folder.
What is good
- Free and open source under GNU GPL v2.
- Skins can show system information, feeds, and weather.
- Custom skins support Lua scripting and plugins.
- Portable installation avoids Registry and Start menu changes.
What to know first
- Windows only.
- Some media players need extra plugins or have partial support.
- Requires Windows 7 Service Pack 1 with Platform Update or later.
Verdict
Rainmeter combines desktop displays and controls with tools for authoring and managing skins. Its Windows-only support and varying media-player support are important considerations.
Rainmeter plans and pricing
All plansCompared on desktop widget software
- Free plan
- Yes
- Supported platforms
- windows
- Widget categories
- memory, battery, RSS feeds, weather forecasts, notes, to-do lists, application launchers, media-player controls
- System monitoring
- Yes
- Custom layouts
- Yes
- Weather widgets
- Yes
- Feed widgets
- Yes
