How to add Google Search bar to Windows 11 desktop

Windows 11 is one of the sleekest-looking and most customizable operating systems. Users can modify the appearance of their operating systems for an Android or macOS theme. Thanks to a robust modding community, most users can get away without writing a single line of code. The most technical step in the entire process might involve adding or rewriting some registry keys — which can be easily carried out by following our detailed step-by-step guide.

Like Android and iOS, Windows users can add a fully functional Google Search bar to their operating system. Replacing the Bing search bar makes the setup look more minimalist and unique. Let's look at how to implement the same.

---

Adding Google Search bar in Windows 11 is easy

A minimalist Windows 11 desktop setup with a Google search bar (Image via Sportskeeda)

To add a Google Search bar on a Windows 11 PC, follow these steps:

Step 1. Install Rainmeter on your computer. It is the best desktop modding tool with multiple user-created profiles that can help with maximum customization. Launch the app and unload all the pre-loaded Illustro skins.

Step 2. Download the search bar skin by following this link to Deviant Art.

Step 3. Double-click the downloaded file and install the skin.

Step 4. Launch Rainmeter and navigate to the installed skin. Follow this location: MinimalSearchDark/dark.ini. Load the screen onto your Windows 11 desktop.

Step 5. Click on Edit. This will launch a Notepad file where you can edit certain settings to customize the search as per your choice.

The Notepad file can now be edited as per our choice

Step 6. Navigate to the Placeholder segment and alter the arguments under Shape to the following:

Rectangle 5,5,800,60,11 | Fill Color #BGColor# | StrokeWidth 0 | Stroke Color #BGColor#

Step 7. Navigate to the SearchIcon segment. Here, we will alter the size of the search icon to fit our resized search bar. Set X to 750, Y to 15, W to 40, and H to 40.

Step 8. Navigate to CharcoalSearchMeter. Here, we will add a Google logo to make the bar look like a Google Search bar. First, search the internet and download a transparent Google logo image. Paste the logo to the following location:

C:\Users\%UserName%\OneDrive\Documents\Rainmeter\Skins\MinimalSearchDark\@Resources\Images

Step 9. Copy the name of the file (including the .png file extension). Paste the name in the ImageName field under the Charcoal Search Meter segment. The code should look like the following:

ImageName=#@#Images\<Image Name>.png

Step 10. Alter the location of the logo. Set X to 25, Y to 15, W to 40, and H to 40.

Step 11. Next, head over to the CharcoalSearchMeter segment. Add a new line before the Meter field and type out the following code segment:

Hidden=1

Step 11. Go to the CharcoalSearchMeasure segment. Set FontFace to Nunito Sans, which is the closest alternative to Google Sans, the company's official font face for the latest Android version.

You can visit Google's official website if you don't have Nunito Sans installed on your Windows 11 computer.

Next, set X to 25, Y to 15, W to 770, and H to 40.

The updated Notepad file should look something like this (Image via Sportskeeda)

Step 12. Click on File, then hit Save. Close the Notepad document. Now, inside Rainmeter, navigate to the dark.ini file under the MinimalSearchDark folder and click Refresh. The updated Google Search bar should now pop up on the screen. You can click on it, enter some text, and hit enter. This will initiate a Google search on a new tab in your default browser.

You can also drag the bar to any portion of the screen per your preferences. With this, one can easily add a Google Search bar to a Windows 11 PC.