aero-msstyles DarkMode Class Parser

A lightweight Windows utility that parses and displays DarkMode class mappings embedded in .msstyles theme files (e.g. aero.msstyles).

It reads the CMap resource section of a Visual Styles file and extracts all DarkMode::* class variants, displaying them in a hierarchical tree view.

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Features

• 📂 Open any .msstyles file via a file dialog
• 🌲 Displays DarkMode class groups as a tree (base class → variants)
• 💾 Persists the last opened file path via the Windows Registry
• 🔍 Enumerates all CMap resources (not just ID=1)
• ✅ Supports MSVC and MinGW/GCC builds

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Screenshot

Tree view showing DarkMode base classes and their variants parsed from aero.msstyles.

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Building

Requirements

• Windows SDK
• A C++ compiler (MSVC or MinGW-w64)
• Links against: Comctl32.lib, Shlwapi.lib, User32.lib, Advapi32.lib, Comdlg32.lib, Gdi32.lib

MSVC (Visual Studio)

Open a Developer Command Prompt and run:

cl /W4 /EHsc main.cpp /link Comctl32.lib Shlwapi.lib User32.lib Advapi32.lib Comdlg32.lib Gdi32.lib /SUBSYSTEM:WINDOWS

MinGW / GCC

g++ -municode -mwindows main.cpp -o aero-darkmode-parser.exe -lcomctl32 -lshlwapi -luser32 -ladvapi32 -lcomdlg32 -lgdi32

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Usage

1. Run aero-darkmode-parser.exe
2. A file picker will open on first launch — select a .msstyles file
   (typically at C:\Windows\Resources\Themes\aero\aero.msstyles)
3. The tree populates with all discovered DarkMode class groups
4. Use File → Open .msstyles... to load a different file

The last used path is remembered in the registry under:

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ThemeManager

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How It Works

.msstyles files are PE-format DLLs containing embedded resources. Among these is the CMap resource type, which holds null-delimited wide-string entries mapping theme class names.

This tool:

1. Loads the .msstyles as a data-only module (LOAD_LIBRARY_AS_DATAFILE)
2. Enumerates all CMap resources via EnumResourceNames
3. Scans each blob for entries containing DarkMode
4. Groups them by base class name (the part after ::)
5. Displays the hierarchy in a TreeView control

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Project Structure

aero-darkmode-parser/
├── main.cpp          # Full source (single-file Win32 application)
└── README.md

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License

MIT License. See LICENSE.