Tray

Add icons and context menus to the system's notification area.

Overview

The Electron.Tray API provides the ability to add icons and context menus to the system's notification area (system tray). This allows applications to provide quick access to common functions and maintain a presence in the system even when windows are closed.

Properties

📋 IReadOnlyCollection<MenuItem> MenuItems

Gets a read-only collection of all current tray menu items.

Methods

🧊 void Destroy()

Destroys the tray icon immediately.

🧊 void DisplayBalloon(DisplayBalloonOptions options)

Windows: Displays a tray balloon notification.

Parameters:

• options - Balloon notification options

🧊 Task<bool> IsDestroyedAsync()

Check if the tray icon has been destroyed.

Returns:

Whether the tray icon is destroyed.

🧊 void SetImage(string image)

Sets the image associated with this tray icon.

Parameters:

• image - New image for the tray icon

🧊 void SetPressedImage(string image)

Sets the image associated with this tray icon when pressed on macOS.

Parameters:

• image - Image for pressed state

🧊 void SetTitle(string title)

macOS: Sets the title displayed aside of the tray icon in the status bar.

Parameters:

• title - Title text

🧊 void SetToolTip(string toolTip)

Sets the hover text for this tray icon.

Parameters:

• toolTip - Tooltip text

🧊 void Show(string image)

Shows the tray icon without a context menu.

Parameters:

• image - The image to use for the tray icon

🧊 void Show(string image, MenuItem menuItem)

Shows the tray icon with a single menu item.

Parameters:

• image - The image to use for the tray icon
• menuItem - Single menu item for the tray context menu

🧊 void Show(string image, MenuItem[] menuItems)

Shows the tray icon with multiple menu items.

Parameters:

• image - The image to use for the tray icon
• menuItems - Array of menu items for the tray context menu

Events

⚡ OnBalloonClick

Windows: Emitted when the tray balloon is clicked.

⚡ OnBalloonClosed

Windows: Emitted when the tray balloon is closed because of timeout or user manually closes it.

⚡ OnBalloonShow

Windows: Emitted when the tray balloon shows.

⚡ OnClick

Emitted when the tray icon is clicked.

⚡ OnDoubleClick

macOS, Windows: Emitted when the tray icon is double clicked.

⚡ OnRightClick

macOS, Windows: Emitted when the tray icon is right clicked.

Usage Examples

Basic Tray Icon

// Simple tray icon
await Electron.Tray.Show("assets/tray-icon.png");

// Tray icon with single menu item
await Electron.Tray.Show("assets/tray-icon.png", new MenuItem
{
    Label = "Show Window",
    Click = () => ShowMainWindow()
});

Tray with Context Menu

// Tray with multiple menu items
var trayMenuItems = new[]
{
    new MenuItem { Label = "Show Window", Click = () => ShowMainWindow() },
    new MenuItem { Label = "Settings", Click = () => OpenSettings() },
    new MenuItem { Type = MenuType.Separator },
    new MenuItem { Label = "Exit", Click = () => Electron.App.Quit() }
};

await Electron.Tray.Show("assets/tray-icon.png", trayMenuItems);

Dynamic Tray Updates

// Update tray tooltip based on status
await Electron.Tray.SetToolTip("MyApp - Connected");

// Change tray icon based on state
if (isConnected)
{
    await Electron.Tray.SetImage("assets/connected.png");
}
else
{
    await Electron.Tray.SetImage("assets/disconnected.png");
}

Tray Event Handling

// Handle tray clicks
Electron.Tray.OnClick += (clickArgs, bounds) =>
{
    if (clickArgs.AltKey || clickArgs.ShiftKey)
    {
        // Alt+Click or Shift+Click - show context menu
        Electron.Menu.ContextMenuPopup(Electron.WindowManager.BrowserWindows.First());
    }
    else
    {
        // Regular click - toggle main window
        ToggleMainWindow();
    }
};

Electron.Tray.OnRightClick += (clickArgs, bounds) =>
{
    // Show context menu on right click
    Electron.Menu.ContextMenuPopup(Electron.WindowManager.BrowserWindows.First());
};

Windows Balloon Notifications

// Show Windows balloon notification
await Electron.Tray.DisplayBalloon(new DisplayBalloonOptions
{
    Title = "Background Task Complete",
    Content = "Your file has been processed successfully.",
    Icon = "assets/notification-icon.ico"
});

// Handle balloon events
Electron.Tray.OnBalloonClick += () =>
{
    ShowMainWindow();
    Electron.WindowManager.BrowserWindows.First().Focus();
};

macOS Tray Features

// macOS specific tray features
if (RuntimeInformation.IsOSPlatform(OSPlatform.OSX))
{
    await Electron.Tray.SetTitle("MyApp");

    // Use template image for dark mode support
    await Electron.Tray.SetImage("assets/tray-template.png");
    await Electron.Tray.SetPressedImage("assets/tray-pressed-template.png");
}

Application Integration

// Integrate with application lifecycle
Electron.App.WindowAllClosed += () =>
{
    // Keep app running in tray when windows are closed
    if (RuntimeInformation.IsOSPlatform(OSPlatform.OSX))
    {
        Electron.App.Hide();
    }
};

// Handle tray double-click
Electron.Tray.OnDoubleClick += (clickArgs, bounds) =>
{
    ShowMainWindow();
    Electron.WindowManager.BrowserWindows.First().Focus();
};

Related APIs

• Electron.Menu - Context menus for tray icons
• Electron.Notification - Desktop notifications
• Electron.App - Application lifecycle events
• Electron.WindowManager - Windows to show/hide from tray

Additional Resources

• Electron Tray Documentation - Official Electron tray API