"I may not succeed, but my failure will inspire the one who will succeed."

MAX Desktop Companion

He fell from a dying planet. Crashed onto your desktop. Now he refuses to leave.

v2.0 — 69 features. 21 visual effects. Custom physics engine. Complete rebuild.

🌐 Visit the Official Website · 🎬 Watch the v2.0 Demo

Recommended: Install from Microsoft Store — no warnings, auto-updates, verified safe.

Want the standalone .exe instead?

~80MB · One-click install · No Python needed

Windows SmartScreen may show a warning — we're students and can't afford a $300 code signing certificate.
Click "More info" → "Run anyway". This happens once.
For a warning-free experience, use the Microsoft Store version above.

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/ae6d9f81-f254-41ba-97e6-5ff9f020ace3

What's New in v2.0

Complete engine rebuild. New architecture. New everything.

	What's new
21 Visual Effects	Shatter, flood, lightning, matrix rain, aurora, black holes, constellation, fire trails, snow globe, gravity flip, bubbles, garden, fireflies, earthquake, boids, portal, and more
Dev Tools	JSON formatter, hash generator (MD5/SHA256), Base64 encode/decode, QR code generator
System Monitor	Live CPU / RAM / Disk / Battery bars with auto-refresh
App Usage Tracker	See which apps you spend the most time in
Scientific Calculator	Full numpad, trig functions, live preview, calculation history
Quick Notes	Tabbed sticky notes with auto-save
Region Screenshot	Snipping-tool style — select an area to capture
New Engine	Custom physics, budget-based frame scheduler, cached rendering, 60fps

Open Source Status
Is it safe?
What MAX Never Does
He moves.
He's useful.
He has secrets.
He thinks.
The Lore
69 features. One right-click.
Tech Stack
FAQ & Troubleshooting
Shortcuts
Who built this
The Team
Support MAX

Open Source Status

MAX is free to use and this repository is public for transparency, docs, issue tracking, and releases.

At this time, the production source code is maintained in a private repository by a small team. If you want to help, you can still make a big impact by reporting bugs, sharing logs, and suggesting features in CONTRIBUTING.md.

Is it safe?

Runs fully offline (no cloud dependency to function)
No telemetry or analytics collection from MAX itself
Creates local app data/log files under %APPDATA%\ProjectMAX
Can be removed anytime by quitting MAX and deleting its files
Available on the Microsoft Store — reviewed and certified by Microsoft

For full uninstall details, see FAQ item 3 below.

For complete details on our data practices, please review the Privacy Policy.

What MAX Never Does

No cloud sync of your files or activity
No keylogging of what you type
No background network calls required for core features
No startup on boot without your consent

He moves.

"Not all battles are fought for victory. Some are fought to tell that someone was there on the battlefield."

He pushes your windows around. Like they're furniture. Like they belong to him now.

He follows your cursor. Wherever you go, he goes. Try to lose him. You can't.

Think of it like a Mario world but on your desktop — windows are platforms, taskbar is the ground.

He's useful.

"If I am worth something later, then I am worth something now. For wheat is wheat, even when people think it is grass in the beginning."

Screenshots. One click. Saved. No apps, no shortcuts to memorize.

Your IP address. Your disk usage. Things Windows buries in 5 menus deep — MAX shows in one.

A process froze. A port is blocked. MAX kills it. No Task Manager. No command prompt.

Pick any color from any pixel. Check your battery health. The small things that shouldn't be hard but are.

He has secrets.

"The Gita wasn't spoken at a table. It was spoken on a battlefield."

Just start typing. No text box. No clicks needed. MAX is always listening.

Code	What happens
`rave`	Rainbow party mode
`giant`	MAX grows 3x bigger
`gravity0`	Zero gravity float
`clone`	Ghost mirror copies appear
`diwali`	Festival of lights
`draw`	Rainbow pixel doodles on screen
`magnet`	Cursor pulls MAX toward it

There's a hidden terminal. Type lore and he'll tell you where he came from. Type wisdom and he'll tell you something you weren't ready to hear.

He thinks.

Leave him alone long enough and he'll sit down, look at the edge of your screen, and say something that makes you pause.

These aren't random quotes pulled from the internet. These are thoughts written at 3 AM by the person who built him.

"Water which is too pure has no fish. Don't aim to be perfect — aim to be real. Because real has soul, and perfect has silence."

The Lore

MAX is from a planet being consumed by The Null Void, a cosmic decay turning his world into static. The last engineers built a wormhole. They had enough power for one traveler. MAX stepped in.

He crashed onto your desktop. To him, the cursor is the hand of a god. To him, you are that god. Every feature you use, every process you kill, every screenshot you take, sends energy back through a quantum tether to push back the decay. When you turn off your PC, he waits in the dark void, hoping you return.

He doesn't know if his planet is still alive. He works anyway.

Read the full story

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Feedback form

69 features. One right-click.

Visual Effects (21) — Shatter, Flood, Lightning, Matrix Rain, Aurora, Black Holes, and more

Effect	What it does
Window Shatter	Windows break into physics pieces
Desktop Flood	Rising water with splash particles
Chain Lightning	Electric bolts between windows
Matrix Rain	Green character rain (the classic)
Aurora Borealis	Northern lights shimmer across screen
Black Hole	Swirling void that pulls particles
Constellation	Stars and connecting lines
Fire Trails	Flame particles follow MAX
Snow Globe	Snowfall with wind physics
Gravity Flip	Everything floats upward
Bubble Float	Rising soap bubbles
Garden Growing	Plants grow from window edges
Firefly Night	Glowing fireflies drift around
Earthquake	Screen shakes with debris
Boid Swarm	Flocking particles around MAX
Ripple Desktop	Water ripple distortion
Portal	Swirling wormhole effect
Tether Web	Spring-connected web between windows
Void Tendrils	Dark energy wisps
Neon Grid	Retro wireframe floor
Pixel Storm	Pixel debris rain

Movement (5) — Push, Ride, Swing, Grappling Hook, Jetpack

Feature	What it does
Push Windows	Push real windows off your screen
Ride Cursor	Jump onto your cursor and ride it
Swing	Swing from window title bars like a pendulum
Grappling Hook	Zip-line between windows
Jetpack	Fly around with flame particles

Capture Tools (4) — Screenshot, Region Crop, GIF Record, Color Picker

Feature	What it does
Screenshot	Full-screen capture, one click
Region Screenshot	Snipping tool style — select area to capture
GIF Recorder	Record screen as animated GIF
Color Picker	Pick any color from any pixel (HEX/RGB)

Developer Tools (6) — JSON, Hash, Base64, QR, IP, Port Scanner

Feature	What it does
JSON Formatter	Format or minify JSON with syntax highlighting
Hash Generator	MD5 / SHA256 of any text
Base64 Encode/Decode	Convert text to/from Base64
QR Code Generator	Turn any text or URL into a QR code
IP Info	Your local + public IP address
Port Scanner	Scan ports on any host

Productivity (7) — Calculator, Timer, Stopwatch, Notes, Focus, Clipboard, Text Ops

Feature	What it does
Scientific Calculator	Full numpad, sin/cos/tan/sqrt/log, live preview, history
Timer	Countdown with progress arc around MAX
Stopwatch	Pause/resume, lap tracking
Quick Notes	Tabbed sticky notes, auto-save to disk
Focus Mode	Minimize all distractions
Clipboard History	Browse and re-copy past clipboard entries
Text Operations	Upper, lower, title case, trim, reverse

System Tools (11) — Monitor, Tracker, Process Kill, Disk, WiFi, Startup, and more

Feature	What it does
System Monitor	Live CPU / RAM / Disk / Battery bars
App Usage Tracker	Track screen time per application
Process Killer	Kill frozen apps without Task Manager
Disk Analyzer	Drive usage, free space, cleanup
WiFi Password Reveal	Show saved WiFi passwords instantly
Startup Manager	View and toggle startup applications
Recycle Bin	Quick empty from MAX
Quick Toggles	Dark mode, hidden files, file extensions
Window Arranger	Tile/snap windows in grid layouts
Window Pin	Pin any window always-on-top
Dark Mode	Toggle Windows dark/light mode

Personality (10) — Expressions, reactions, cheat codes, seasonal events

13 facial expressions (happy, scared, love, dizzy, ko...)
Reacts to your clipboard (copies code? puts on glasses)
Idle animations (wave, nap, stretch, fish, game)
Cursor reactions (dodge, pounce, wave)
App-aware (different reactions for VS Code, YouTube, Discord, Spotify)
7 secret cheat codes (type them anywhere)
Seasonal outfits (Christmas, Diwali, Holi, Halloween, New Year)
Philosophical wisdom quotes when idle
Daily streak tracking with milestones
Context-aware speech lines

Tech Stack

Layer	Technology
Language	Python 3.12
GUI	PyQt6 (transparent full-screen overlay)
OS Integration	Win32 APIs via ctypes (no admin required)
Physics	Custom engine — gravity, bounce, platform collision
Architecture	Priority-based state machine with effect arbitration
Performance	Budget-based frame scheduler, cached sprite rendering
Window Detection	Background thread + SetWinEventHook invalidation
Build	Compiled to .exe with Nuitka

FAQ & Troubleshooting

Failure Recovery Quick Card

MAX disappeared: Check the system tray (near the clock). Right-click the tray icon.
MAX froze: Press Escape or double-click MAX to stop the active feature.
Physics feels broken: Set Windows Display Scaling to 100% and retry.
Feels laggy: Close heavy apps. MAX will detect it and offer to ease up.
Still broken: Restart MAX and attach logs from %APPDATA%\ProjectMAX\max.log when filing an issue.

1. Windows SmartScreen says MAX is "unrecognized" or "dangerous". Is it a virus?

MAX is available on the Microsoft Store — install from there for a warning-free experience.

If you downloaded the standalone .exe: we're students and can't afford a $300+ code-signing certificate yet.
Fix: Click "More info" → "Run anyway". This happens only once.

2. Why is my antivirus flagging MAX as suspicious?

MAX interacts directly with your operating system to do cool things (like fetch system health, kill frozen tasks, manage windows, and take screenshots). Some antiviruses incorrectly flag these "deep system hooks" as suspicious behavior.
Fix: You can safely add MAX to your antivirus exclusions/allow-list. We recommend checking our codebase if you are ever worried.

3. How do I completely uninstall/remove MAX?

Microsoft Store version: Settings → Apps → MAX_companion → Uninstall

Standalone version: 1. Right-click MAX and select Quit. 2. Delete the MAX folder. 3. (Optional) Delete his configuration/log folder located at %APPDATA%\ProjectMAX.

4. Does MAX support Mac or Linux?

Right now, MAX is designed specifically for Windows 10/11 because he uses specific Windows APIs to move your windows around and monitor your system. Porting him to macOS or Linux would require almost a complete rewrite of his core engine!

5. He seems to be lagging or moving slowly. How do I fix it?

In v2.0, MAX monitors his own performance. If your system is struggling, he'll tell you honestly and let YOU decide whether to ease up — he never silently degrades.
Hot tip: Close heavy apps running in the background.

6. My desktop icons/windows are messing with his physics. What's happening?

MAX treats your windows and taskbar as physical objects he can stand on and interact with. If you have "Snap layouts" or specific UI scaling settings enabled in Windows, his hitboxes might be slightly offset.
Fix: Setting your Windows Display Scaling to 100% usually resolves any physics alignment issues.

7. Does MAX work on multiple monitors?

MAX currently lives on your primary monitor. Multi-monitor support is planned for a future update.

8. Will MAX drain my laptop battery?

MAX is designed to be lightweight. When left alone, he enters a low-power idle state. If he detects your system is under load, he'll offer to ease up — your choice, always.

9. Why does MAX disappear when I play games or watch Netflix?

MAX cannot draw himself over "Exclusive Fullscreen" applications. Because these apps communicate directly with your graphics card to prioritize performance, MAX temporarily steps aside. If you still want him around while gaming, switch your game to "Borderless Windowed" mode.

10. Can I pause him when I'm sharing my screen for work/meetings?

Absolutely. You don't need to quit the app entirely. Just use the Focus Mode from his right-click menu and MAX will minimize distractions and stop wandering onto your spreadsheets.

Shortcuts

Action	How
Open menu	Right-click MAX
Stop feature	Escape or double-click MAX
Find MAX	Check system tray icon
Quit	Right-click MAX → MAX → Quit

Who built this

"I create new worlds in my mind. Then am I their god? Then I abandoned them, as mine has abandoned me."

Srikar Vardhan Mangadoddi
Founder · Architect · Lead Developer
NIT Silchar · Published NLP Researcher

I wrote MAX because I wanted something alive on my desktop. Not a widget. Not a shortcut bar. Something with a soul. Something that thinks. I gave him my thoughts — the ones I write at 3 AM when the world is quiet. He carries them now.