DWM Accent Tweaker for Windows 11

A powerful utility for customizing Windows 11 Desktop Window Manager (DWM) accent colors and visual effects beyond what's available in the Windows Settings app.

Features

• Visual Color Editor: Real-time RGBA color picker with alpha transparency control
• Complete DWM Value Access: Modify all DWM registry values including:
  • AccentColor (system accent color)
  • AccentColorInactive (inactive window borders)
  • ColorizationAfterglow (hover/focus glow effects)
  • ColorPrevalence (accent on title bars)
  • And some more obscure values...
• Hex & Decoded Views: See both raw DWORD hex values and human-readable RGB/Alpha representation
• Backup & Restore: Save your color schemes to JSON files and share them
• System Restore Point: Create restore points before making changes
• Quick Logoff: Built-in logoff button to apply changes immediately
• Tooltips & Descriptions: Every setting includes helpful explanations

Requirements

• Targeting Windows 11 (may work on Windows 10 with limited functionality, not tested!)
• .NET 10.0+ Desktop Runtime
• Administrator privileges

Installation

Option 1: Download Release

1. Download the latest release from the Releases page
2. Extract the 7z file
3. Run DWMAccentTweaker.exe

Option 2: Build from Source

1. Clone this repository
2. Open the solution in Visual Studio 2026 or similar with support for .NET 10
3. Build the project (Release configuration)
4. Run the executable from bin/Release/

Usage

Basic Workflow

1. Read Current Values: Click "Read" to load current DWM settings
2. Select a Value: Click on any row in the grid
3. Edit the Value:
   • For colors: Use the color picker and alpha slider
   • For DWORDs: Edit the hex value directly
4. Apply Changes: Click "Apply" to write to registry
5. Log Off & Log In: Some changes require a new session to take effect

Important Notes

⚠️ Some DWM changes require logging out and back in to take effect. Use the "Logoff..." button for convenience.

⚠️ Backup First: Always create a backup before making extensive changes. Use the "Backup..." button to save current settings.

⚠️ Administrator Privileges: While not required for reading values, administrator rights are needed to create System Restore Points and write new values to registry.

Color Format (ABGR DWORD)

DWM uses the ABGR (Alpha-Blue-Green-Red) DWORD format:

• AABBGGRR where each pair is a hex byte (00-FF)
• Example: FF0A0A0A = RGB(10, 10, 10) with Alpha 255 (100% opaque)
• Example: CC56B894 = RGB(148, 184, 86) with Alpha 204 (80% opaque)

Backup File Format

Backups are saved as JSON files with the following structure:

{
  "backupDate": "2024-12-22 15:30:00",
  "computerName": "YOUR-PC",
  "values": {
    "AccentColor": 4292311040,
    "AccentColorInactive": 3435180061,
    ...
  }
}

Safety Features

• Validation: All inputs are validated before writing to registry
• Error Handling: Clear error messages for all operations
• Backup/Restore: Save and restore your configurations
• System Restore Points: You can create a restore point before writing changes
• Read-Only Access: Reading values never modifies anything

Known Limitations

• Changes require logout/login to take effect
• The Windows Settings app will overwrite most of these if you edit anything through Personalization in Settings
• Windows may apply additional blending/processing to colors
• Legacy values (ColorizationGlassAttribute, etc.) have minimal effect on Windows 11

Troubleshooting

"Access Denied" errors

• The DWM registry key should be accessible without admin rights
• Try running as Administrator if issues persist

Changes don't appear after logout

• Some values are overridden by Windows Settings
• Try disabling "Transparency effects" in Settings > Personalization > Colors
• Ensure ColorPrevalence is set to 1 (enabled)

Colors look different than expected

• Windows applies additional blending based on theme (Light/Dark)
• High contrast mode may override custom colors
• Try adjusting both AccentColor and ColorizationAfterglow together

Registry Location

All values that this tool reads and/or writes to are stored at:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

MIT License - Feel free to use, modify, and distribute.

Credits

• Built with VB.NET and WinForms on .NET 10
• Icons by FatCow (FatCow 16x16 pack)

Disclaimer

⚠️ Use at your own risk. While this tool only modifies user-level registry settings and includes safety features, always backup your settings before making changes. The author is not responsible for any issues that may arise from using this software.

Links

• GitHub: https://github.com/0gecco/DWM-Accent-Tweaker
• Issues: Report a bug