RunCat365: a taskbar cat with one install path and nothing documented to configure

The cat runs inside the taskbar, with no window in front of it

RunCat365 draws a cat running along the Windows taskbar rather than opening an application window. The repository tags name the whole stack directly: C#, Win32, .NET 9.0, Visual Studio. At the top level sit RunCat365.sln, a RunCat365/ directory holding the project, a WapForStore/ directory, a docs/ directory, a .editorconfig, a .gitignore, a CLAUDE.md, a CONTRIBUTING.md, and a LICENSE file carrying Apache-2.0. The default branch is main and the project is not archived.

The Microsoft Store is the only install route on record

The only install route the README names is the Microsoft Store. There is no installer file, no portable archive, and no command line, so anyone on a managed or Store-blocked machine has no documented way to get the animation onto a taskbar. The project publishes one Store listing and states one hard operating system floor, and those two lines are the entirety of the install documentation:

Microsoft Store: https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9nw5lpnvwfwj
Requirement: Windows 10 version 19041.0 or higher

Eight interface languages ship in the package, and the floor is 19041.0

The Store package ships in eight interface languages: Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), English as the default, French, German, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish. Combined with the stated requirement of Windows 10 version 19041.0 or higher, this is the whole compatibility story: one build line, one distribution channel, eight languages. There is no list of supported Windows 11 builds, no mention of ARM, and no note about what happens on a Windows release older than the floor, so the only check a reader can perform is their own build number against that single figure.

The maintainers close macOS questions and non-English ones in advance

The README opens with a CAUTION block that reads more like a triage policy than a warning. The project is for Windows, so the maintainers state they do not accept inquiries about a macOS version. They do not accept issues or pull requests in languages other than English, and issues that do not follow the Issue Template are closed without question. For a reader who arrived through a search for a Mac build or a translated version, that is the answer in advance: a port request or a translation pull request lands in a closed queue. A macOS version is not a roadmap item the repository acknowledges, and outside contributors writing in any language other than English are not the audience this project is shaped for, whatever the eight shipped UI languages suggest.

The contributor portal is for talking, not for requesting

Contributor discussion happens on a separate portal, https://runcat-dev.github.io, presented as a space for contributors to communicate closely about development and operations. The framing is careful: it is a place for discussing features, not for submitting requests, and requests belong in an Issue built from the template.

No settings, no toggles, and no installer to script against

The documentation names no settings, no toggles, and no configuration file. So a reader hoping to change the animation speed, pin it to a particular taskbar button, or quiet it on battery has no documented switch to reach for, and a reader hoping to install it from an automated Windows provisioning run has no documented installer to call. That absence is not a claim that the code has no options. It is a claim that what is published leaves nothing to configure and nothing to script against, which pushes every such question into an Issue where, by the stated policy, untemplated reports are closed.

main sits past the 3.5.0 build with no changelog to compare

The three most recent releases are: 3.3.0 on 2026-03-07, 3.4.0 on 2026-03-14, and 3.5.0 on 2026-05-25. The last push to the repository is dated 2026-10-19, almost five months after the 3.5.0 build went out, so the branch has moved past what the Store listing is likely serving. Nothing documents the gap. There is no changelog file at the top level and no changelog file, so a Store user on 3.5.0 and a reader of main cannot tell which fixes they are missing. Building from source means opening RunCat365.sln in Visual Studio against .NET 9.0, and the README gives no restore command, no publish target, and no test suite to run.

Editorial conclusion

A Windows user who wants a small taskbar animation and accepts Microsoft Store defaults should install it, because the store listing, the 19041.0 floor, and the eight shipped languages are all stated plainly. Anyone planning to script an install, tune the animation, or port it to macOS should look elsewhere: the repository documents no portable build, no configuration, and no macOS plan, so check the Issue tracker before promising it to a team.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

1. License: Apache-2.0
2. Project website
3. README
4. Releases
5. runcat-dev/RunCat365 on GitHub