`windhawk://` protocol opens code editor instead of open the mod's page in the Windhawk UI
Author: Ivanmat90Created Apr 14, 2026Updated Sep 5, 2026
Labelsbugpre-release
I was trying to create a direct link to install a mod using the windhawk:// protocol (e.g., windhawk://mods/explorer-details-better-file-sizes), but instead of opening the mod installation page in Windhawk, it opens a code editor window (similar to VS Code). The window title shows "Windhawk", but it looks and behaves like a code editor.
Steps to reproduce:
- Install Windhawk on a clean Windows 11 VM (no IDEs, no VS Code, no VS Codium).
- Open any
windhawk://link in a browser. - Observe that Windhawk opens a code editor window instead of installing or showing the mod.
Expected behavior:
- The
windhawk://protocol should open Windhawk and open the mod’s page in the Windhawk UI).
Actual behavior:
- A code editor window opens (with "Windhawk" in the title bar).
- The editor does nothing related to mod installation.
- It appears that Windhawk is essentially a stripped-down VS Code fork.
Additional context:
- Tested on a clean virtual machine with only Windhawk installed (no other software).
- The same issue occurs on my main machine (Windows 11, Windhawk 1.7).
- The
windhawk://protocol seems to be registered but not properly handled.
Suggestion:
- Either properly implement
windhawk://protocol handling to install mods, or - Remove/disable the protocol registration if it's not intended to work.
Thank you for your work on Windhawk — I’m sharing this to help improve the project, not to criticise.
System info:
- OS: Windows 11 25H2
- Windhawk version: 1.7.3
- No external IDEs installed during VM test
Source: ramensoftware/windhawk