What Is Windows 93? The Parody Web OS Explained

Updated October 12, 2026

Windows 93 is a free parody operating system that runs in your web browser at windows93.net. It looks like a 90s Windows desktop that got hit by a meme meteor: a working Start menu, windows you can drag around, odd apps, fake errors and hidden jokes everywhere. It was made by two French artists and musicians, jankenpopp and Zombectro.

It's on both our Retro Vibe and Brain Rot wheels, and the honest instruction is: open Windows 93 and click everything.

What is Windows 93?

Windows 93 is a "web desktop": a website built to look and behave like an operating system. It parodies the Windows 9x era (think Windows 95 and 98), mixed with internet culture from the late 90s and 2000s. Nothing is installed on your computer. It's all HTML and JavaScript in a browser tab.

The project was first teased in October 2014 and declared finished in early 2015. A second version arrived in 2017 and added things like local file storage and a live chat room. A rebuilt version 3 went into public beta in 2023, and it reworked a lot of the app lineup. So if you remember a specific app from years ago, it may have changed or moved.

Who made Windows 93?

Windows 93 is the work of jankenpopp and Zombectro, two French artists who also make music and code. It started as a small proof of concept by jankenpopp, with an interactive Start menu, draggable icons and a single working app, which he handed to Zombectro. The first full release followed with dozens of apps, including a semi-working web browser called Cat Explorer. The pair announced the finished project on Reddit, and it spread from there.

How to use Windows 93

1. Let it boot. Turn your sound on. The startup is part of the joke.
2. Open the Start menu in the corner, just like the real thing, and browse the program list.
3. Double-click desktop icons. Programs open in their own windows, which you can drag, stack and close.
4. Read the files. Text files and folders on the desktop often hide jokes and credits.
5. Expect chaos. Fake crashes and error messages are features, not bugs.

What to click: apps and easter eggs

These are features reported by press coverage and documentation over the years. Because the app lineup changes between versions, not every one may be in the current build.

• The boot sound. Early coverage noted that Windows 93 boots with the original PlayStation startup sound, not a Windows chime.
• Star Wars in ASCII. A file opens a text-character version of Star Wars: Episode IV.
• Castle GAFA 3D. A Wolfenstein 3D-style shooter parody.
• Virtual PC. Runs Windows 93 inside Windows 93. Yes, really.
• The defrag tool. PCWorld spotted that the disk defragmenter doubled as a Snake game.
• Trollbox. A live chat room with other visitors, added in version 2 and later brought back. It's a public chat with strangers, so use the usual internet common sense.
• Real creative tools. Piskel, a proper pixel-art editor, has been part of the system, along with a terminal, a text editor and music toys.
• Blue screens and fake crashes. Reviewers have pointed out the deliberate errors and blue screens of death. Enjoy them.

Why it's addictive

Windows 93 rewards curiosity. There's no goal and no tutorial, just a desktop full of icons that might be a real tool, a dumb joke or a tiny game. That uncertainty is what keeps you clicking. It also hits a specific nostalgia nerve: the clunky windows, the system sounds and the low-res icons feel like the family computer, if the family computer had been run by internet trolls.

Tips

• Use a laptop or desktop. It is built around a mouse and draggable windows, so a phone is a rough experience.
• Sound on, volume moderate. Some of the jokes are loud.
• Explore folders before apps. A lot of the humor is in the file names and documents.
• Don't panic at errors. If something looks broken, it might be intentional. If it actually freezes, just reload the tab.

Sites like Windows 93

If fake operating systems are your thing, these are all on our wheels:

Windows 96

Another parody web operating system, leaning hard into vaporwave aesthetics.

Best for: a calmer, prettier fake OS

EmuOS

A retro desktop in your browser styled after Windows 95, 98 and ME, with classic games and apps to launch.

Best for: actual retro gaming

Infinite Mac

Run classic Macintosh systems like System 7 and Mac OS 8 in your browser.

Best for: Apple nostalgia

Windows 1.01

Try the very first version of Windows from 1985, emulated in the browser.

Best for: computer history nerds

Space Cadet Pinball

The pinball game that shipped with old versions of Windows, playable in a tab.

Best for: a quick hit of nostalgia

Nightwave Plaza

A 24/7 vaporwave radio station with a retro desktop look.

Best for: background music while you explore

Want more of the old internet? Read our list of old websites that work like 90s internet time machines, our picks for websites like StumbleUpon, and the classic weird websites to visit when bored.

Can't decide? Spin the Retro Vibe wheel and let it pick for you.