A developer under the nickname Mayuki created ReProgman – a modern clone of the program manager from Windows 3.1, using Claude Code. The first working version appeared in about an hour of automatic code generation. The author assessed the result as quite decent, but afterwards, he had to refine the program and fix some issues in the interface. The project name is related to progman.exe – the shell that was used in early versions of Windows and was replaced by 'Explorer' after the release of Windows 95. The developer humorously regards the project, noting that the program is more intended for a brief acquaintance with the interface of the past rather than for prolonged use.
The ready-made versions of ReProgman occupy between 12 and 16 MB and do not require installation. The application works on Windows 11, as well as on Mac computers with Apple Silicon processors. Thanks to this, modern files and programs can be managed through an interface styled after the shell of the early 1990s. For self-assembly of the project, .NET SDK version 10.0 or newer is required. The source code is published on GitHub, allowing developers to modify the program and add their own features. Thus, the experiment simultaneously demonstrates the capabilities of modern AI tools in code generation and allows the use of the old Windows concept on current operating systems.
progman.exe had another unusual role. Despite the emergence of a more modern shell, the program manager remained part of Windows for a long time as a backup option. Until Windows XP, users could assign it as the main shell of the system through the registry if explorer.exe was damaged, including due to virus infection. This allowed preserving the graphical interface and launching necessary programs, including antivirus software. ReProgman is not an official continuation from Microsoft, but it reproduces the familiar structure of the historical shell and demonstrates how quickly AI tools can recreate old software interfaces.