Windows 11 mod app Windhawk is no longer in beta, gets offline installer and more

Microsoft released Windows 11 version 23H2 this week. And while the ISOs have been available since the announcement, the official Microsoft Media Creation Tool is still not able to download the update. When inquired about the matter, the company confirmed that it still needed "optimization" and would be ready next week.

Alongside the 2023 update, Microsoft also released dynamic updates to improve the Windows Recovery (WinRE), as well as the Setup files. Speaking of which, the OOBE was updated as well.

Perhaps coincidentally if not actively planned for, popular third-party Windows customization and modding tool, Windhawk, received its latest update yesterday following the Windows 11 2023 update. The new version is a significant release as the application is no longer in beta.

Aside from that, the new version brings fixes related to 32-bit processes, lowered network usage, and an offline installer, among other things.

You can find the full changelog for the latest Windhawk version 1.4 release below:

For users

• After almost two years since the first release, Windhawk is no longer beta.
• The Windhawk installer now comes in two variants, an online installer and an offline installer. The new online installer is much smaller (around 10 MB instead of around 120 MB), and it downloads the required dependencies only when needed.
• Added an advanced option to control when mods are loaded for critical system processes.
• Added an advanced mod option to ignore the original mod inclusion/exclusion lists.
• Reduced Windhawk network activity (discussion #91).
• Mod tasks in progress popup no longer stays open for suspended processes (issue #102).
• Added Brazilian Portuguese, Korean, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Ukrainian translations.
• Updated existing translations.

For developers

• Changed Wh_GetBinaryValue, Wh_SetBinaryValue API signatures.
• Updated the Wh_FindFirstSymbol API to allow enumerating only decorated symbols for better performance.
• Added Wh_SetFunctionHookT to windhawk_utils.h (issue #85).
• Added StringSetting to windhawk_utils.h, a RAII wrapper for string settings.
• Added support for quotes in @compilerOptions.
• The underscore symbol is now allowed in mod settings identifiers.
• Added windows.ui.xaml.hosting.desktopwindowxamlsource.h, xamlom.h to the Windhawk compiler.

Bug fixes

• Fixed symbol loading for 32-bit processes.
• Fixed forking a local mod.
• Fixed incorrect folder permissions for installations outside of the Program Files folder. This could cause several mods to fail to load.
• Fixed compatibility with SentinelOne Antivirus (issue #79).

To download the update, both the online as well as the offline installers, you can head over to GitHub or the app"s official website.