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Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/shadownrx/windows/llms.txt

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Beyond the system-level apps, NEX OS ships a complete productivity suite for everyday use. These applications range from text editors and drawing tools to music players and full development IDEs — all running in draggable, resizable windows managed by WindowManagerContext. Every app is self-contained, opens instantly, and preserves its state as long as its window remains open (even when minimized).

Application Suite

Notepad 2.0

Notepad.tsx ⭐ — An advanced text editor that goes well beyond the classic Windows Notepad. Features a full menu bar (File, Edit, View, Format), adjustable zoom levels, font family and size selection, a live word and character counter, and a persistent status bar showing cursor position. Integrates with useFileSystem() to open and save .txt files from the VFS. Use Ctrl+S to save.

Paint

Paint.tsx — A canvas-based drawing application with a full set of drawing tools (pencil, brush, shapes, eraser, fill), a color palette picker, adjustable stroke sizes, and canvas export. All drawing is rendered to an HTML <canvas> element using the 2D Context API, keeping it entirely client-side with no external dependencies.

Photos

Photos.tsx ⭐ — A full-featured image gallery with lightbox viewer, pinch/scroll zoom, rotation controls, a thumbnail filmstrip at the bottom, and support for custom image URLs. Images can be loaded from VFS VirtualFile entries that have an imageUrl field, or passed directly as a prop array from File Explorer when double-clicking an image file.

Calculator

Calculator.tsx — A functional calculator with standard arithmetic operations, keyboard input support, and a scrollable operation history panel that records every calculation performed during the session.

Calendar

Calendar.tsx — A monthly calendar view with date navigation, event markers, and a date picker. The current date is highlighted automatically. Events can be added to specific dates and are stored in component state for the duration of the session.

Clock

Clock.tsx ⭐ — A multi-mode time application with four distinct views: an animated analog clock face, a digital clock display, a stopwatch with lap recording, and a countdown timer with a circular progress animation. Also includes a world timezones panel showing current time in major cities.

WordPad

WordPad.tsx — A rich text editor supporting basic formatting (bold, italic, underline, font size, alignment) with a toolbar ribbon. Richer than Notepad but simpler than the VS Code clone. Supports Ctrl+S to save content to a VFS file.

VS Code

VsCode.tsx — A full Visual Studio Code interface clone with a sidebar (file explorer, search, source control, extensions panels), a tab bar for multiple open files, a Monaco-style code editor area, a status bar, and an integrated terminal panel at the bottom. Supports Ctrl+S to write file content back to the VFS via useFileSystem().

Dev-C++ 2026

DevCpp2026.tsx — An IDE modeled after the classic Dev-C++ environment, targeting C and C++ development. Connects to the cppEngine.ts utility (src/utils/cppEngine.ts) which bridges to a real g++ compilation process via the Vite dev server. In production, compilation output is simulated. Includes a code editor pane, compiler output panel, and run/build toolbar.

SpotifyMini

SpotifyMini.tsx ⭐ — A simulated Spotify music player with a playlist view, track metadata (title, artist, album art), playback controls (play/pause, skip, previous, shuffle, repeat), and a progress bar with seek support. All audio and track data are simulated — no real Spotify API calls are made.

Windows Defender

WindowsDefender.tsx — A simulated Windows Defender security interface with a scan animation, threat detection results, quarantine list, and protection status indicators. The scan runs as an animated progress sequence. No real system scanning occurs.

Recycle Bin

RecycleBin.tsx — The virtual trash for the NEX OS VFS. Files deleted from File Explorer or via terminal commands (del, rm) are moved here rather than immediately purged. Items can be restored to their original VFS location or permanently deleted from the Recycle Bin interface.

Additional Utility Apps

Beyond the main productivity suite, NEX OS also ships the following utility applications:
AppSource FileDescription
Image ViewerImageViewer.tsxLightweight single-image preview, launched by double-clicking images in File Explorer
Media Playermediaplayer.tsxGeneral-purpose multimedia playback application
SearchSearchApp.tsxGlobal application and file search, also accessible via the taskbar search bar
ManualManualApp.tsxBuilt-in system documentation and help browser
Control PanelControlPanel.tsxFull OS settings: wallpaper, neon theme, brightness, volume, accent color, WiFi, Bluetooth
Counter-Strikecounter.tsxRetro mini-game app bundled for fun
Internet ExplorerIEApp.tsxClassic IE-style retro browser for nostalgia

Keyboard Shortcuts in Productivity Apps

Most text-editing applications in NEX OS respond to the Ctrl+S shortcut to save the current file content back to the Virtual File System via useFileSystem().updateFileContent(). This works in:
  • Notepad 2.0 (Notepad.tsx)
  • WordPad (WordPad.tsx)
  • VS Code (VsCode.tsx)
  • Dev-C++ 2026 (DevCpp2026.tsx)
If the file was opened from the VFS (e.g., by double-clicking a .txt file in File Explorer), the fileId prop is passed to the app and Ctrl+S writes directly to that VFS entry. If no fileId is provided (app opened fresh from the Start Menu), Ctrl+S may prompt for a save location or create a new file depending on the app’s implementation.

Opening Productivity Apps

All productivity apps can be launched from:
  • Start Menu — Click the Windows/NEX button in the taskbar
  • Taskbar pinned icons — Notepad, Clock, Photos, and SpotifyMini are pinned by default
  • File Explorer — Double-click .txt files to open Notepad, .jpg/.png files to open Photos
  • Terminal / CMD — Use start notepad, notepad.nex, or ./notepad.nex
  • Run dialog (Win+R) — Type the app name (e.g., notepad, calc, paint)
  • Desktop icons — Right-click the desktop and create a shortcut
Each app is registered in src/constants/apps.tsx with a unique id, an icon from @fluentui/react-icons, and a component factory. Adding a new productivity app follows the same pattern — see Apps Overview for the registration guide.

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