Cairo is a desktop environment for Windows.
Our goal is to develop a desktop experience that increases productivity and advances current technology standards.
With a focus on stability, performance, and productivity, Cairo aims to deliver an interface that exceeds expectations and delivers superior ease of use.
Publisher’s description
What is Cairo Desktop Environment?
Cairo Desktop Environment by Cairo Development Team is open-source Windows software in the terminals & cli tools category. It is written in C#.
Installation and requirements
The publisher provides EXE (NSIS) installers for 64-bit, ARM64 and 32-bit Windows. Installation asks for administrator rights. A silent install is possible with the installer’s documented switches.
Updates and version history
The current version is 0.4.434, released on November 12, 2025. The version history goes back to March 6, 2022: 6 releases, all linked to the official files. That is about 1.6 releases a year.
Popularity and file types
The Chocolatey package has been downloaded 2,166 times. The source code on GitHub (cairoshell/cairoshell) has 3,398 stars. Similar programs include PowerShell, Oh My Posh and QPDF.
Project description on GitHub: “Cairo is a customizable, intuitive desktop environment for Windows.”
Pros / Cons
Pros
- Open source: the code can be inspected and built by anyone
- Native ARM64 build for Windows on Arm
- Documented silent install
Cons
- Installation needs administrator rights
In short: Cairo Desktop Environment is an open-source terminals & cli tool tool for 64-bit, ARM64 and 32-bit PCs. Administrators can deploy it unattended.
Is Cairo Desktop Environment safe to download?
- The file is served by github.com, the publisher’s own domain
- The download link uses HTTPS
- A SHA256 hash is published, so you can verify the file:
DC22970C3B80AF4298AAB1A664F0785FCEF906ADB0EB897A14D814916D0625C5· Open the VirusTotal report for this hash - The link has not been checked yet
- The source code is public
- ExeAtlas does not host, wrap or modify installers
Related guide: How to check a file’s SHA256 hash on Windows
Security practices (OpenSSF Scorecard)
Automated checks of the cairoshell/cairoshell repository on GitHub by the Open Source Security Foundation, last run on October 19, 2026.
- No dangerous workflows10
- Actively maintained10
- Licence declared10
- Code review8
- No binaries in the repository6
- Restricted token permissions0
- Pinned dependencies0
- OpenSSF Best Practices badge0
- Security policy0
- Fuzzing0
- Signed releases0
- Static code analysis0
The score rates how the project is developed and released, not whether the program is safe to install. scorecard.dev
Recent versions
All 6 versions ›6 versions over 4 years · about 1.6 a year
| Version | Date | Size | Files |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.4.434Latest | November 12, 2025 | — | 32-bit EXE (NSIS)64-bit EXE (NSIS)ARM64 EXE (NSIS) |
| 0.4.407 | May 6, 2025 | — | 32-bit EXE (NSIS)64-bit EXE (NSIS)ARM64 EXE (NSIS) |
| 0.4.370 | September 2, 2024 | — | 64-bit EXE (NSIS)ARM64 EXE (NSIS)32-bit EXE (NSIS) |
| 0.4.317 | May 25, 2024 | — | 32-bit EXE (NSIS)ARM64 EXE (NSIS)64-bit EXE (NSIS) |
| 0.4.245 | September 26, 2022 | — | 64-bit EXE (NSIS)32-bit EXE (NSIS)ARM64 EXE (NSIS) |
| 0.4.198 | March 6, 2022 | — | 64-bit EXE (NSIS)32-bit EXE (NSIS) |
Install from the command line
Silent install ›winget install --id Cairo.Cairo -echoco install cairoshell -yCairoSetup_64bit.exe /SRelated guide: How to use winget: install and update apps
Information
- Publisher
- Cairo Development Team
- Category
- Terminals & CLI tools
- Licence
- Apache-2.0
- Price
- Free
- Source code
- github.com/cairoshell/cairoshell
- Written in
- C#
- Requires
- Windows 11 / 10
- Architecture
- 64-bit, ARM64, 32-bit
- Installer
- EXE (NSIS)
- Version
- 0.4.434
- Released
- November 12, 2025
- Added to the catalogue
- April 28, 2022
- Versions listed
- 6
- Updates / year
- 1.6
- Chocolatey downloads
- 2,166
- GitHub stars
- 3,398
- GitHub forks
- 278
- Website
- cairodesktop.com
- winget ID
- Cairo.Cairo
- Chocolatey package
- cairoshell
Ratings and reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to rate it.
Alternatives to Cairo Desktop Environment
See all ›-
PowerShell7.6.9.0PowerShell is a cross-platform task automation solution made up of a command-line shell, a scripting language, and a configuration management framework. PowerShell runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS.Open source699.2K ↓ -
Open source820.8K ↓ -
QPDF12.4.2QPDF is a command-line tool and C++ library that performs content-preserving transformations on PDF files.Open source2.1M ↓ -
Alacritty0.17.0Alacritty is a free and open-source GPU accelerated terminal emulator focused on performance and simplicity.Open source75.9K ↓ -
Open source1.5M ↓ -
Open source290.1K ↓ -
PuTTY0.85.0.0A free implementation of SSH and Telnet for Windows and Unix platforms, along with an xterm terminal emulator.Open source5.3M ↓ -
Free5.9M ↓
Frequently asked questions
Is Cairo Desktop Environment free?
Yes. Cairo Desktop Environment is open-source software under the Apache-2.0 licence.
Is Cairo Desktop Environment safe to download?
The download comes from github.com, which belongs to the publisher; ExeAtlas does not host or change the file. Compare its SHA256 hash with the one shown here, or open the VirusTotal report for that hash.
How do I install Cairo Desktop Environment with winget?
Open PowerShell or Windows Terminal and run the winget command shown on this page. winget downloads the official installer and checks its SHA256 hash before running it.
Can Cairo Desktop Environment be installed silently?
Yes. The silent install page lists the exact command for each installer.
Does Cairo Desktop Environment run on ARM (Windows on Arm)?
Yes, there is a native ARM64 installer.
Where can I download an older version of Cairo Desktop Environment?
The versions page lists all 6 versions with links to their official installer files, back to March 6, 2022.
What are alternatives to Cairo Desktop Environment?
PowerShell, Oh My Posh, QPDF, Alacritty and yq. The alternatives page compares them.
