PinTop

PinTop v11.0.0

ALWAYS ON TOP · WINDOWS 10 / 11

One shortcut keeps the window you're using on top.
v11, rebuilt from scratch in Rust

PinTop is a free Windows utility that keeps any window floating above the others. Click a window and press Ctrl + Alt + Space to pin it; press again to release it. Sixteen years after the first version in 2010, it drops C# (.NET) and is completely rewritten in Rust + Win32 + Direct2D. No installer, no .NET runtime — just a single 483KB executable.

Free · No adsSingle 483KB EXENo install · No runtime한국어 · English · 中文 · 日本語

PinTop panel — Click the tray icon or press Ctrl + Alt + P to open it. Two windows are pinned on top (blue pins), and the notes window is set to 75% opacity. Dark and light switch instantly with the system theme.

v10 → v11: what changed

v11 isn't a patch to the old code — it's a brand-new program built from scratch. The language moved from C# (.NET 8) to Rust, and the UI is drawn with Windows' own Win32 API and Direct2D. So there's no runtime to install, and it responds the instant you press a key.

Measured speed

Test PC: Windows 11 (build 26300), 2560×1600 display. Measured on the release build with all 14 automated tests passing.

Three steps to use it

Always on top, with a pinned-window outline

CtrlAltSpace pins the window you're using on top in one press. It uses only Windows' built-in hotkey feature (RegisterHotKey), with no keyboard hook, so it never slows down other programs' keyboard input. Pinned windows get a colored outline, so you can see at a glance which ones are pinned.

Per-window opacity and Ghost mode

CtrlAlt↓ makes a window more transparent, CtrlAlt↑ less transparent. Adjust in 10% steps from 20% to 100%; hold the keys to change continuously. You can also use the panel slider, the mouse wheel, or the tray right-click menu.

🌗 Per-window opacity

Remembered separately for each window. A small notification briefly appears with each change (you can turn it off in Settings).

👻 Ghost modeNEW

CtrlAltG pins the window semi-transparent and lets mouse clicks pass through to the window behind it. Keep a video or reference open and keep working in the window underneath. Press the same key again to return to normal.

PinTop panel — find and pin instantly

Run PinTop, left-click the tray icon, or press CtrlAltP to open the panel. Search by window or app name (Korean input supported) and pin or unpin with one click. Pinned windows get an opacity slider right there, and every row has ★ Auto-pin and 👻 Ghost mode buttons.

Tray right-click quick menu

On the tray icon, right-click to open a native Windows menu instantly, with no animation. Submenus list the windows currently open, and your choice applies immediately. Pinned windows appear separately at the top, so you can release them with one click.

Auto-pin · Enforced on top · Admin windows

Add programs you open often to the Auto-pin list and they're pinned the moment they launch. Instead of polling, it reacts to Windows window events, so it uses no CPU while waiting.

Default shortcuts

Changing shortcuts: In Settings → Shortcuts, click the item to change and press the new key combination. Esc cancels, Backspace clears the shortcut. Shortcuts already used by another program are shown in red.

Settings file · Portable · Command line

Command-line options are available for shortcuts and scripts. If PinTop is already running, the options are passed to the running instance.

How it works · Specs

Who it's for

Download (free)

Just PinTop.exe — download it and run. No installer, no .NET runtime, no admin rights required. If your browser or company security policy makes it hard to download an .exe directly, get the ZIP with the same file inside.

Use the buttons in the download box above. If you need the old v10.8 (Lite · Full), get it from “Version history” below.

# Windows (PowerShell)
Get-FileHash .\PinTop-11.0.0-x64.exe -Algorithm SHA256

# Expected
# PinTop-11.0.0-x64.exe  (= PinTop.exe inside the ZIP)
# 8F41E32DF54FD3E14CF3CAFC4CBC318070847FE6C4989EFF04D30E3BE7FD4CA0
#
# PinTop-11.0.0-x64.zip
# 07DA694915BAAE640635AA508AB6C940FCEC9A59CE192E758B8F56FFEF759C5E

16 years of version history

FAQ

How do I keep a window always on top in Windows?

Windows 10 and 11 have no built-in menu to keep any window always on top. Run PinTop, click the window you want to pin, and press Ctrl + Alt + Space — that window stays above all others. Press the same keys again to release it.

Do I need to install it? Does it need .NET?

No. In v11 you just run PinTop.exe. There's no installer and no runtime such as .NET. Unlike the v10 Lite edition, you no longer need to install .NET 8 separately.

Ctrl + Alt + Space doesn't work.

Another program may be using the same shortcut — the Claude desktop app, for example, also uses Ctrl + Alt + Space. In that case PinTop tells you when it starts, and a ⚠ appears on the shortcut shown at the bottom of the panel. Click it and change to a different key combination.

Can I make a window semi-transparent and still click the window behind it?

Yes — that's Ghost mode (Ctrl + Alt + G). The window is pinned semi-transparent and mouse clicks pass through to the window behind it. Press Ctrl + Alt + G again to return to normal.

Some windows can't be pinned.

They are most likely running as administrator. Go to Settings → General → “Run as administrator” and click [Restart]; PinTop switches to admin mode while keeping your pinned windows, and can then pin those windows too.

What happens to pinned windows when I quit PinTop?

Pins, opacity and Ghost mode all return to normal. Even if PinTop crashes, relaunching it picks up the existing windows where it left off.

I can't see the tray icon.

Windows 11 puts new tray icons in the hidden area (^). Drag the icon onto the taskbar, or turn PinTop on under Settings → Personalization → Taskbar → Other system tray icons. Double-clicking PinTop.exe again or pressing Ctrl + Alt + P also opens the panel.

Are my v10 settings carried over?

No — v11 uses a new settings format, so they aren't migrated automatically. You only need to set your shortcuts and auto-pin apps again. If you used v10, quit it before running v11.

Can I run it portably from a USB stick?

Yes. Create an empty PinTop.ini file in the same folder as PinTop.exe and settings are saved in that folder. The registry is used only when “Run at Windows startup” is on.

Does it connect to the internet or send any data?

No. PinTop has no networking at all. Only the [Homepage] button on the About screen opens this page in your default browser.

Is it really free?

Yes. It's free for personal and business use, with no ads and no sign-up. If it helps you, a Buy Me a Coffee would mean a lot.