How to Enable the Metro Start Menu Style for Windows 11

While Windows 11 has embraced the “Fluent” design language, many users still find themselves missing the efficiency and bold look of the Windows 8 and Windows 10 era. The Metro Start Menu style for Windows 11 is a powerful customization choice for those who prefer large, accessible tiles and a full-screen or modular layout that emphasizes “information at a glance.”

The Evolution of the Metro Design Language

The Metro design language was originally inspired by transportation signs—clean, flat, and easy to read from a distance. Implementing the Metro Start Menu style for Windows 11 allows you to move away from small, cramped icons and toward a grid-based system that highlights your most important applications. This aesthetic prioritizes typography and geometry over shadows and gradients, making it the perfect choice for minimalist enthusiasts.

In 2026, the Metro look has seen a resurgence as a “retro-modern” alternative. It offers a structured environment that works exceptionally well on touch-screen laptops and high-resolution monitors where screen real estate is plentiful.

Key Features of the Metro Start Menu Style for Windows 11

Live Tile Functionality: Get real-time updates for weather, news, and calendar events directly on your Start menu tiles.
Customizable Tile Sizes: Choose between small, medium, wide, and large tiles to prioritize your workflow.
Full-Screen Mode: Unlike the standard centered menu, the Metro style can be expanded to fill the entire screen for a tablet-like experience.
High-Contrast Colors: Uses bold, solid accent colors that make navigation faster and more intuitive.

Download and install Windhawk
Open Windhawk and install the Windows 11 Start Menu Styler mod
Go to the Advanced tab
Paste the provided configuration code into the “Mod settings” box
Click Save to apply the style
For more details, visit this GitHub guide

{
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  "controlStyles[0].styles[0]": "Visibility=Visible",
  "controlStyles[0].styles[1]": "MaxWidth=600",
  "controlStyles[0].styles[2]": "Margin=290,-10,0,0",
  "controlStyles[1].target": "Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.Grid#AllAppsRoot",
  "controlStyles[1].styles[0]": "Visibility=Visible",
  "controlStyles[1].styles[1]": "Width=360",
  "controlStyles[1].styles[2]": "Transform3D:=<CompositeTransform3D TranslateX=\"-1059\" />",
  "controlStyles[1].styles[3]": "Margin=180,0,-220,0",
  "controlStyles[2].target": "Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.Button#CloseAllAppsButton",
  "controlStyles[2].styles[0]": "Visibility=Collapsed",
  "controlStyles[3].target": "StartDocked.StartSizingFrame",
  "controlStyles[3].styles[0]": "MinWidth=650",
  "controlStyles[3].styles[1]": "MaxWidth=650",
  "controlStyles[3].styles[2]": "MaxHeight=670",
  "controlStyles[4].target": "Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.Grid#ShowMoreSuggestions",
  "controlStyles[4].styles[0]": "Visibility=Collapsed",
  "controlStyles[5].target": "Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.Button#ShowAllAppsButton",
  "controlStyles[5].styles[0]": "Visibility=Collapsed",
  "controlStyles[6].target": "Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.GridView#RecommendedList > Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.Border > Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.ScrollViewer#ScrollViewer > Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.Border#Root > Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.Grid > Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.ScrollContentPresenter#ScrollContentPresenter > Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.ItemsPresenter > Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.ItemsWrapGrid > Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.GridViewItem",
  "controlStyles[6].styles[0]": "MaxWidth=145",
  "controlStyles[6].styles[1]": "MinWidth=145",
  "controlStyles[6].styles[2]": "Margin=0",
  "controlStyles[7].target": "StartDocked.AllAppsGridListView#AppsList",
  "controlStyles[7].styles[0]": "Padding=90,3,6,16",
  "controlStyles[8].target": "Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.Grid#AllAppsPaneHeader",
  "controlStyles[8].styles[0]": "Margin=97,-10,0,0",
  "controlStyles[9].target": "Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.Grid#SuggestionsParentContainer",
  "controlStyles[9].styles[0]": "Height=168",
  "controlStyles[10].target": "StartDocked.NavigationPaneView#NavigationPane",
  "controlStyles[10].styles[0]": "FlowDirection=0",
  "controlStyles[10].styles[1]": "Margin=30,0,30,0",
  "controlStyles[11].target": "StartDocked.PowerOptionsView#PowerButton",
  "controlStyles[11].styles[0]": "FlowDirection=0",
  "controlStyles[12].target": "StartDocked.AppListView#NavigationPanePlacesListView",
  "controlStyles[12].styles[0]": "FlowDirection=1",
  "controlStyles[13].target": "Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.ListViewItem",
  "controlStyles[13].styles[0]": "FlowDirection=0",
  "controlStyles[14].target": "Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.ItemsStackPanel > Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.ListViewItem",
  "controlStyles[14].styles[0]": "FlowDirection=0",
  "controlStyles[15].target": "StartDocked.SearchBoxToggleButton#StartMenuSearchBox",
  "controlStyles[15].styles[0]": "Margin=23,-101,23,14",
  "controlStyles[16].target": "Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.TextBlock#NoSuggestionsWithoutSettingsLink",
  "controlStyles[16].styles[0]": "Margin=11,0,48,0",
  "controlStyles[17].target": "StartDocked.LauncherFrame > Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.Grid#RootGrid > Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.Grid#RootContent > Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.Grid#MainContent > Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.Grid#InnerContent > Windows.UI.Xaml.Shapes.Rectangle",
  "controlStyles[17].styles[0]": "Margin=67,7,0,21",
  "controlStyles[18].target": "Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.SemanticZoom#ZoomControl",
  "controlStyles[18].styles[0]": "IsZoomOutButtonEnabled=true",
  "controlStyles[18].styles[1]": "Margin=0",
  "controlStyles[19].target": "Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.Button#ZoomOutButton > Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.ContentPresenter#ContentPresenter > Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.TextBlock",
  "controlStyles[19].styles[0]": "Text=",
  "controlStyles[20].target": "Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.Button#ZoomOutButton",
  "controlStyles[20].styles[0]": "Width=28",
  "controlStyles[20].styles[1]": "Height=28",
  "controlStyles[20].styles[2]": "Margin=-1,-36,0,0",
  "controlStyles[20].styles[3]": "FontSize=14",
  "controlStyles[20].styles[4]": "CornerRadius=4",
  "controlStyles[20].styles[5]": "VerticalAlignment=0",
  "controlStyles[20].styles[6]": "Background=Transparent",
  "controlStyles[20].styles[7]": "BorderBrush=Transparent",
  "controlStyles[21].target": "Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.ListView#ZoomAppsList",
  "controlStyles[21].styles[0]": "Padding=86,0,27,0",
  "controlStyles[22].target": "StartDocked.SearchBoxToggleButton",
  "controlStyles[22].styles[0]": "Height=0",
  "controlStyles[22].styles[1]": "Margin=0,-100,0,24",
  "controlStyles[23].target": "StartMenu.PinnedList",
  "controlStyles[23].styles[0]": "MaxHeight=400",
  "controlStyles[24].target": "Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.TextBlock#PinnedListHeaderText",
  "controlStyles[24].styles[0]": "Margin=-30,-2,0,0",
  "controlStyles[25].target": "Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.Grid#SuggestionsParentContainer",
  "controlStyles[25].styles[0]": "Margin=-20,0,0,0",
  "controlStyles[26].target": "Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.Grid#TopLevelSuggestionsListHeader",
  "controlStyles[26].styles[0]": "Margin=35,0,0,0",
  "controlStyles[27].target": "Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.Border#ContentBorder > Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.Grid#DroppedFlickerWorkaroundWrapper > Border@CommonStates",
  "controlStyles[28].target": "Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.Border#ContentBorder > Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.Grid#DroppedFlickerWorkaroundWrapper > Border#BackgroundBorder",
  "controlStyles[29].target": "Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.TextBlock#PinnedListHeaderText",
  "controlStyles[29].styles[0]": "Visibility=Visible",
  "controlStyles[30].target": "Rectangle[4]",
  "controlStyles[30].styles[0]": "Margin=0,-20,0,0",
  "controlStyles[31].target": "GridView#RecommendedList",
  "controlStyles[31].styles[0]": "Margin=-20,0,20,0",
  "controlStyles[32].target": "StartMenu.ExpandedFolderList > Grid > Grid",
  "controlStyles[32].styles[0]": "Margin=0,0,80,0",
  "controlStyles[33].target": "StartMenu.ExpandedFolderList > Grid > Border",
  "controlStyles[33].styles[0]": "Width=350",
  "controlStyles[33].styles[1]": "Margin=0,0,92,0",
  "controlStyles[34].target": "Microsoft.UI.Xaml.Controls.PipsPager#PinnedListPipsPager",
  "controlStyles[34].styles[0]": "Margin=-10,0,0,0",
  "controlStyles[35].target": "StartMenu.ExpandedFolderList > Grid > Grid > Microsoft.UI.Xaml.Controls.PipsPager#PinnedListPipsPager",
  "controlStyles[35].styles[0]": "Margin=-20,0,20,0",
  "controlStyles[36].target": "Border#AcrylicBorder",
  "controlStyles[36].styles[0]": "CornerRadius=10",
  "controlStyles[36].styles[1]": "Margin=0",
  "controlStyles[36].styles[2]": "BorderThickness=2",
  "controlStyles[36].styles[3]": "Background:=<AcrylicBrush TintColor=\"{ThemeResource CardStrokeColorDefaultSolid}\" FallbackColor=\"{ThemeResource CardStrokeColorDefaultSolid}\" TintOpacity=\"0\" TintLuminosityOpacity=\".40\" Opacity=\"1\"/>",
  "controlStyles[36].styles[4]": "BorderBrush:=<LinearGradientBrush StartPoint=\"0,0\" EndPoint=\"1,1\" Opacity=\"0.6\"><GradientStop Color=\"#80ffffff\" Offset=\"0.0\" /><GradientStop Color=\"{ThemeResource SurfaceStrokeColorDefault}\" Offset=\"0.55\" /><GradientStop Color=\"#80ffffff\" Offset=\"1\" /></LinearGradientBrush>",
  "controlStyles[37].target": "Border#AcrylicOverlay",
  "controlStyles[37].styles[0]": "Visibility=Collapsed"
}

Metro vs. Neo Style: Which is Right for You?

If you have been following our customization series, you might be torn between the “Neo” look and the Metro Start Menu style for Windows 11. The Neo style is focused on glow and transparency, while Metro is focused on flat surfaces and utility. If you are a power user who wants to see your notifications without opening an app, Metro is the superior choice.

Performance Impact on Modern Hardware

One of the biggest advantages of the Metro Start Menu style for Windows 11 is its performance. Because it avoids complex blur and transparency effects (like Acrylic or Mica), it is incredibly fast. It opens instantly and has a virtually zero-percent impact on your CPU and RAM, making it the ideal theme for older hardware or high-performance gaming rigs where every frame counts.

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