What if Discord looked like it belonged on a Windows 7 desktop?
That was the idea behind AeroCord.
AeroCord is an open-source Discord client designed around the classic Windows Vista/Windows 7 Aero experience. Instead of trying to make another modern-looking Discord client, I wanted to see what would happen if I took a modern chat application and gave it the visual language of an older desktop OS.
Why build this?
I've always liked the visual style of Windows Vista and Windows 7.
The glass effects, gradients, buttons, borders, icons, and overall desktop aesthetic are very different from the flat interfaces that dominate modern software.
So I started wondering:
What would Discord look like if it were designed for Windows 7?
That question eventually turned into AeroCord.
The interface
The goal isn't simply to put a Windows 7 wallpaper behind Discord.
The interface itself is designed around that era of Windows:
- Aero-inspired panels
- Classic gradients
- Glass-like UI elements
- Traditional desktop-style buttons
- Windows-era typography
- A layout inspired by older desktop applications
The result is intentionally different from the current Discord interface.
Building the client
AeroCord is written in Python and uses Qt for its desktop interface.
One of the interesting parts of the project has been connecting a modern service to an interface that intentionally feels much older.
There are two very different problems to solve:
The backend needs to communicate with Discord.
The frontend needs to feel like it came from the Windows 7 era.
Keeping those two sides separate makes it much easier to experiment with the UI without completely rewriting the application whenever something changes.
Supporting older Windows versions
Another goal of the project is keeping AeroCord useful on older Windows systems.
The project is primarily designed around Windows 7 and Vista-era hardware and software, rather than assuming that everyone is running the newest version of Windows.
That makes the project a fun challenge because modern software development often assumes APIs and operating-system features that simply aren't available on older systems.
The current release
AeroCord is currently at v0.6.5.
It's still an evolving project, but it has already gone from an idea to a functioning Discord client.
There are plenty of things I still want to improve, including the interface, compatibility, and overall polish.
What's next?
I'm planning to keep developing AeroCord and experiment with more ways to make it feel like a genuine Windows-era application rather than just a modern application with an old-looking skin.
Some of the things I'd like to work on include:
- More Aero-inspired UI elements
- Better compatibility
- More customization
- Additional Discord functionality
- More polished release builds
- Better documentation
Try it out
If you're interested in the project, you can find AeroCord here:
Website: https://aerocord.chunkp.workers.dev/index.html
GitHub: https://github.com/VerityOfficial/AeroCord
I'd especially love to hear from people who remember using Windows Vista or Windows 7 as their daily OS.
Would you actually use a Discord client that looked like this?
AeroCord — Finally, Discord for Windows 7. 🪟
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