StackyNG Tutorial#

This tutorial provides a comprehensive guide on how to get the most out of StackyNG, the modern icon stack solution for the Windows taskbar. View Readme

1. Why StackyNG?#

The Problem#

Windows taskbar shortcuts are great, but they quickly become cluttered. If you have 20 games or 15 development tools, pinning them all individually takes up precious screen real estate.

The StackyNG Solution#

StackyNG allows you to group related shortcuts into a single “stack.” When you click the stack, a clean, high-performance menu pops up with all your icons, beautifully rendered and ready to launch.

Comparison with Other Tools#

2. Basic Setup#

Step 1: Create your Stack Folder#

Create a folder anywhere on your computer (e.g., C:\Stacks\Games). This folder will hold all the shortcuts you want to see in your menu.

Step 2: Add Shortcuts#

Copy and paste Windows shortcuts (.lnk files) into this folder.

• You can right-click any .exe and select Create shortcut, then move that shortcut into your Stack folder.

Step 3: Create the StackyNG Launcher#

1. Right-click stacky.exe and select Create shortcut.

2. Right-click the new shortcut and select Properties.

3. In the Target field, add the path to your stack folder after the executable path:

   "C:\Path\To\stacky.exe" "C:\Stacks\Games"

4. Click OK and rename the shortcut to something like “My Games”.

Step 4: Pin to Taskbar#

Drag your new launcher shortcut to the Windows taskbar.

3. Advanced Organization#

Hierarchical Menus (Subfolders)#

StackyNG automatically turns subdirectories into submenus.

• C:\Stacks\Work\Office\ -> Becomes a submenu “Office >”
• C:\Stacks\Work\Design\ -> Becomes a submenu “Design >”

Folders will only appear in the menu if they contain at least one .lnk file (or a subfolder that does).

Using Symlinks and Junctions#

StackyNG fully supports NTFS symbolic links and junctions. This is useful for including folders from different drives without moving them.

• Example: To include your Steam games folder in a stack:

  mklink /J "C:\Stacks\Games\Steam" "D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common"

StackyNG has built-in protection to detect and ignore circular junctions, preventing infinite menu loops.

4. Customization (stacky.json)#

StackyNG supports advanced customization via a stacky.json file placed in your stack folder.

Global Settings#

You can force the theme of the menu:

"theme": "dark"  // Options: "auto", "dark", "light"

Item Overrides#

You can customize individual shortcuts by using their file name (without extension) as the key:

"MyGame": {
    "name": "Play Modern Warfare",
    "icon": "icons/mw.png",
    "args": "--developer-mode",
    "admin": true
}
"Browser": {
    "name": "Web Browser"
}

• name: The text displayed in the menu.
• icon: Path to a .png, .ico, or .jpg file. Supports transparency.
• args: Custom command-line arguments passed to the application.
• admin: If set to true, the application will launch with Administrator privileges (triggering a UAC prompt).

StackyNG will automatically detect this file and apply the changes.

Windows 11 Examples#

On Windows 11, many system apps are stored in protected or non-standard locations. You can use stacky.json to make them look and behave exactly how you want.

Root Folder Example (C:\Stacks\Main\stacky.json)#

"theme": "auto"

"Notepad": {
    "name": "Text Editor",
    "icon": "C:/Windows/System32/notepad.exe"
}
"Calculator": {
    "name": "Math",
    "icon": "C:/Windows/System32/calc.exe"
}
"RegistryEditor": {
    "name": "Registry Editor (Admin)",
    "args": "",
    "admin": true
}

Subfolder Example (C:\Stacks\Main\System\stacky.json)#

You can have different settings for each subfolder. Subfolders will only use the stacky.json located within them.

"CMD": {
    "name": "Terminal",
    "args": "/k echo Welcome to StackyNG!",
    "admin": true
}
"TaskMgr": {
    "name": "Activity Monitor"
}

5. Troubleshooting & Logs#

If an icon isn’t appearing correctly or a shortcut isn’t launching, check the log file:

• Location: Look for !stacky.log in your stack folder.
• Cache: StackyNG uses a hidden !stacky.cache file to speed up loading. If things look outdated, StackyNG will usually auto-refresh, but you can always delete this file to force a deep rescan.