FREE TOOLS

Bloom: free Dynamic Island notch and dock for Windows (check this first)

By AiCoN | Published 22 October 2026 | Sources checked 22 October 2026

Bloom replaces the Windows taskbar with a floating dock and adds a Dynamic Island style notch at the top of the screen. It is free and open source, but it is a young project and its installer is not code-signed. Here is what it does and what to check before you install it. We read the source and release pages; we did not install it.

Quick facts

What it does: a Windows 10/11 desktop add-on with two parts: a dock that replaces the native taskbar, and a notch at the top of the screen for music, quick settings, timers, a file shelf and Wi-Fi/Bluetooth.
Price: free. Licence GPL-3.0. We found no paid tier or ads on the project pages.
Runs on: Windows 10 or 11 only (per the project's own notes). Not for Mac, Linux or phones.
Made by: an individual developer (GitHub: SehajveerSingh2005). The repository started in March 2026; the latest release is v3.10.1 from 22 October 2026.
Download: GitHub Releases, file bloom_3.10.1_x64-setup.exe (about 14 MB). An .msi is also offered.

What it is

Bloom is a "desktop shell" add-on. While it runs, it hides the normal Windows taskbar and puts its own dock at the bottom. The dock supports pinning, drag to reorder, hover previews of open windows, right-click menus, Win+1 to Win+9 shortcuts, and optional shortcuts to your drives, folders and the Recycle Bin. At the top, the notch works like the iPhone Dynamic Island. Hover shows a status strip, a click opens a panel.

See how Bloom looks

These are the developer's own visuals from Bloom's official GitHub page, not our screenshots. We did not run Bloom ourselves.

Bloom on a Windows desktop: the notch at the top of the screen and the dock at the bottom, shown in the developer's hero screenshot — The notch at the top and the dock at the bottom. Source: Bloom's GitHub README.

Official demo video

Close-ups of the dock and the notch

Bloom dock with pinned app icons — The dock replaces the taskbar.

Bloom notch (the Island) at the top of the screen — The notch, called the Island in Bloom's README.

What the notch can do

Music: album art, track info, playback controls and an audio visualiser.
Command Center: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Do Not Disturb, volume and brightness in one place. Version 3.10 added lists to connect to Wi-Fi networks and manage paired Bluetooth devices from the notch.
Status and calendar: battery, weather, a month calendar and a Pomodoro focus timer.
Shelf: drop files or text on the notch to hold them, then drag them out somewhere else. It keeps up to 10 items and clears them when Bloom closes unless you turn on "persist".

Is it safe? What we could check

Open source: the full source is public under GPL-3.0, so anyone can inspect it. That is not the same as a security audit, and we did not audit the code.
Installer is not code-signed: we checked the v3.10.1 installer file and found no Authenticode certificate in it. Expect a Windows SmartScreen "unknown publisher" warning, and possibly an antivirus warning. The "signature" files on the release page are for Bloom's own updater, not a Windows publisher certificate.
File matches GitHub's record: the installer we downloaded from the official release has SHA-256 5cb4d8fe87aaf26f161be61954aebfacb4c9f481b12c5bbcfc48aa6b56db7231, the same value GitHub lists for that file. This only shows the download was not corrupted or swapped in transit.
Defender claim not verified: the project's README says Microsoft reviewed the installer and removed a Defender detection. We could not confirm that from any Microsoft source, so treat it as the developer's claim. We also would not follow its advice to clear Defender signatures just to get the app running.
Updates: Bloom checks GitHub for new versions about once a day, and its code says an auto-install waits at least 24 hours after a release.
Network use we noticed: weather uses IP-based location unless you set a city by hand. This is in the project's own settings guide.
Not scanned: we did not run the installer or scan it with antivirus tools.

Known problems

The project is active (60 open issues on 22 October, with fixes landing every few days), which is good, but it also means rough edges. Examples open that day: a user on Windows 11 reported the dock and notch not responding to the mouse after installing v3.10.0, and another open issue covers Windows permission (UAC) prompts getting stuck in the background. Because Bloom hides the native taskbar, a bug here affects how you reach your apps.

Getting it back to normal

The project's developer notes say Bloom restores the native taskbar when it exits through its tray menu, and that a marker file restores it after a crash. We did not test this. Before trying Bloom on your main PC, know how to quit it and confirm your taskbar comes back.

Is it worth trying?

If you like the look of a macOS-style dock and a notch with music and quick settings, and you want it free, this is one of the more complete open-source options we found. It makes sense for a spare PC, a Windows Sandbox or a laptop where a taskbar bug would not stop your work. If you only need a cleaner taskbar, a lighter tool may do. We have a separate guide on TranslucentTB.

How to install it safely

Open github.com/SehajveerSingh2005/bloom/releases/latest and download only from that page.
Optional: compare the file's SHA-256 with the value GitHub shows next to it (in PowerShell: Get-FileHash .\bloom_3.10.1_x64-setup.exe).
Run the installer. If SmartScreen warns, that is expected for an unsigned app; continue only if you are comfortable with that.
Find the Bloom icon in the system tray and note the Quit option.
Open Settings in Bloom to switch the dock to "smart" or "peek" mode and turn off modules you do not want.

AiCoN checkOn 22 October 2026 we read the project's GitHub repository, README, release notes, security policy, settings guide and developer notes, and the open and closed issues. We downloaded the v3.10.1 installer, confirmed its SHA-256 matches GitHub's listed value and that it carries no Authenticode certificate. We did not install or run Bloom, did not test it on Windows, and did not scan it. The claim of "under 10 MB idle RAM" on the project's promo graphic is the developer's, not ours.

Frequently asked questions

Is Bloom free?

Yes. It is open source under GPL-3.0 and we found no paid plan or ads.

Does it work on Windows 10?

The project's notes list Windows 10 and 11. Most bug reports we saw are from Windows 11.

Does it replace the taskbar for good?

No. It hides the taskbar while Bloom runs and should restore it when you quit Bloom or uninstall it.

Why does Windows warn me about the installer?

The installer has no publisher certificate, so Windows cannot identify the publisher. That is common for small open-source apps but is a reason to be careful.

Sources: Bloom on GitHub (images and video: developer's README), v3.10.1 release, issue 293, settings guide, security policy. Checked 22 October 2026.

Scoped recheck 23 October 2026: latest release updated to v3.10.1 (22 October 2026); installer download, SHA-256 match and no-certificate check re-done on the new file. All other claims re-verified against the project's repository, README, release notes, settings guide and developer notes.