📥 Install
- Download
Trimmel-Setup.exe (or the portable zip) from trimmel.app, for Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit).
- Run it. Trimmel asks for administrator rights once, so it can clean system folders and install drivers.
- The installer is not code signed yet, so Windows SmartScreen may warn. If it does, choose More info, then Run anyway.
Trimmel is free and open source under the MIT licence. The sections below are for developers.
👀 See it in action
No download needed. Here is how each main screen looks.
Screenshots of the real interface, filled with sample data.
✨ What it does
| Tool | What you get |
|---|
| Overview | A health score out of 100 with plain-English suggestions that jump to the right tab, plus CPU, memory, drives and uptime. Optional reminder to tidy up every week, fortnight or month. |
| Processes | Live CPU and memory per process, refreshed every 2 seconds, with a plain-English note on what each one belongs to. End a task in one click. Critical Windows processes are protected. |
| Cleanup | Scans temp folders, Windows Update downloads, Chrome, Edge and Firefox caches, crash dumps and the Recycle Bin. Shows what each takes up, then deletes only what you tick. Also graphics shader caches, Windows error reports and the Delivery Optimization cache. |
| Storage | Shows which folders and files take the most space on a drive, with drill-down and "Show in Explorer". Read-only: nothing is deleted from this page. |
| Startup | Lists everything that launches at sign-in, including scheduled tasks and Microsoft Store apps, with a rough impact rating and a plain-English note on each. Switch items off and on; it uses the same flag as Task Manager, so it is fully reversible. |
| Apps | Every installed program with size and install date. Uninstall opens the program's own uninstaller so you confirm what is removed. |
| Move apps | Moves a big program to another drive and leaves a link behind so it keeps working. Copies and verifies first, and can move it back. Cleans up leftovers from interrupted moves. |
| Old versions | Finds older duplicate installs and opens each program's own uninstaller, so you see and confirm what is removed. |
| Drivers | Lists installed drivers and checks Windows Update for newer ones. Installs the ones you pick. |
🧰 Tech stack
| Layer | Tech | Why |
|---|
| 🪟 Shell | Wails v2 | Small native .exe that hosts the UI in WebView2. No bundled browser. |
| ⚙️ Backend | | Fast, one static binary, easy Windows API access. |
| 🎨 Frontend | | Vanilla views, no framework. Typed bindings in api.ts. |
| 📊 System stats | gopsutil | CPU, memory, disks and per-process figures. |
| 🔌 Windows | go-ole, wmi, golang.org/x/sys | Windows Update Agent, driver list, registry and junctions. |
| 🔐 Sign-in (optional) | go-oidc, oauth2, go-keyring | OpenID Connect with PKCE. Refresh token kept in the Windows credential store. |
| 🔤 Type | Nunito | Friendly, readable, bundled locally. |
🛡️ Safety first
Trimmel is built to be cautious. Tools that delete or change things follow these rules:
- Cleanup only removes files older than 24 hours in temp and update folders. It never follows symlinks or junctions and never removes the target folder itself. Locked files are skipped and counted. The Recycle Bin is opt-in.
- Startup writes a flag instead of deleting the entry. Switch it back on at any time, in the app or in Task Manager.
- Move apps copies, then checks file counts and sizes match, then swaps in a link. If anything looks wrong it restores the original. It refuses system folders, Store apps and running programs.
- Drivers come only from Windows Update, so they are signed and matched to your hardware. Updates with licence terms are skipped rather than accepted for you.
- Processes: system-critical processes and the app itself cannot be ended.
- Old versions never runs a command from the UI. The uninstaller is looked up by ID and must still be flagged as an older version.
🚀 Get started
Prerequisites
- Windows 10 or 11 (WebView2 runtime is preinstalled)
- Go 1.26+
- Node.js 18+
- Wails CLI:
go install github.com/wailsapp/wails/v2/cmd/wails@latest
Run wails doctor to check everything is in place.
Run it
git clone https://github.com/<your-username>/trimmel.git
cd trimmel
go mod tidy
wails dev # hot-reloading dev build
wails build # release build -> build\bin\trimmel.exe
frontend/dist is not committed. wails dev and wails build create it. If you only want go build or go test ./... to compile the root package, run npm install && npm run build in frontend first.
Build the installer
.uild-installer.ps1 # -> installeruildin\Trimmel-Setup.exe
The installer is its own small Wails app in installer/, themed to match Trimmel. It embeds the built app, installs to Program Files, adds Start Menu and optional desktop shortcuts, and registers an uninstaller under Settings > Apps. Running the same file again updates in place. Bump productVersion in wails.json for each release.
Admin rights
Trimmel asks for administrator rights at launch (a UAC prompt). It needs them for Windows temp and Windows Update cleanup, startup items for all users, driver installs, and moving apps out of Program Files. Standard accounts need an admin password to start it.
🔑 Sign in with Google
Users just click Sign in with Google the first time. After that the app remembers them, so there is nothing to configure. To make that work, the maintainer builds the Google credentials into the app once:
-
In Google Cloud Console, create an OAuth client ID of type Desktop app. On the consent screen, add only the openid, email and profile scopes, then set the publishing status to In production so anyone with a Google account can sign in.
-
Create a git-ignored file named .env.local next to build-installer.ps1:
TRIMMEL_GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID=<client id>
TRIMMEL_GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET=<client secret>
-
Run .\build-installer.ps1. The values are compiled into the app. Without a client ID the build has no sign-in and opens straight into the app.
Google issues a secret for desktop apps but does not treat it as confidential, because PKCE protects the flow. Still, keep it out of git.
It uses the authorization code flow with PKCE and a loopback redirect, verifies ID tokens, and stores only the refresh token in the Windows credential store. Other OpenID Connect providers work through %APPDATA%\trimmel\auth.json (issuer, clientId, optional clientSecret) or the TRIMMEL_OIDC_ISSUER, TRIMMEL_OIDC_CLIENT_ID and TRIMMEL_OIDC_CLIENT_SECRET environment variables.
Sign-in is a convenience gate, not a security boundary against someone with access to your user account.
🗂️ Project layout
app.go methods bound to the frontend (window.go.main.App.*)
internal/overview system snapshot (gopsutil)
internal/procs process monitor; keeps handles so CPU % is a live delta
internal/cleanup targets + scan/delete walker (with tests)
internal/startup Run keys, Startup folders, StartupApproved flags
internal/drivers WMI driver list, Windows Update Agent via go-ole
internal/mover move installs between drives via junctions, leftovers
internal/oldver older duplicate installs and their uninstallers
internal/auth OpenID Connect sign-in (PKCE, loopback redirect)
internal/elevation IsElevated check
installer/ custom themed setup app (embeds the built app)
frontend/src vanilla TypeScript views, typed bindings in api.ts
Each Windows-specific package has an _other.go stub, so go vet and go test also run on macOS and Linux.
✅ Tests
go test ./... # run the tests
go test ./... -coverprofile=coverage.out # with coverage
go tool cover -html=coverage.out # browse it
GitHub Actions runs the same checks on every push and pull request (.github/workflows/ci.yml): frontend type check and build, go vet, staticcheck, unreachable code (deadcode), vulnerable dependencies (govulncheck), the tests with a coverage floor, and unused frontend code (knip). The coverage report is a build artifact and appears in the run summary.
🎨 Design
Warm and friendly on purpose. Plum sidebar, teal actions, honey highlights, Nunito type, soft rounded shapes and gentle screen transitions. Motion respects the system reduce motion setting.
| Colour | Used for |
|---|
| #3b2a3f plum | Sidebar, toasts |
| #178f86 teal | Primary actions, bars |
| #ffc25a honey | Active tab, highlights |
| #fff8f1 cream | Background |
🤝 Contributing
Issues and pull requests are welcome. Please run go test ./... and npm run build in frontend before opening a PR, and keep new tools in line with the safety rules above: preview first, reversible where possible, never delete without a clear choice.
📄 License
MIT. Third-party notices, including the bundled Nunito font, are in THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md.
