diff --git a/gpui/Cargo.lock b/gpui/Cargo.lock
index 8b147f2..0db19b3 100644
--- a/gpui/Cargo.lock
+++ b/gpui/Cargo.lock
@@ -583,6 +583,9 @@ name = "bitflags"
 version = "2.13.2"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "3ded4057c258ba199e2d26386d3af3780957ecaee6c4ef4041c6b4b8b97c0b06"
+dependencies = [
+ "serde_core",
+]
 
 [[package]]
 name = "bitstream-io"
@@ -1124,6 +1127,15 @@ dependencies = [
  "cfg-if",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "crossbeam-channel"
+version = "0.5.17"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "98b0cc327b5bc766e7fda9c9260cc0fa81b43a8e240440422dff70788e3f9ef1"
+dependencies = [
+ "crossbeam-utils",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "crossbeam-deque"
 version = "0.8.8"
@@ -1349,6 +1361,12 @@ version = "1.2.1"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "75b325c5dbd37f80359721ad39aca5a29fb04c89279657cffdda8736d0c0b9d2"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "dpi"
+version = "0.1.2"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "d8b14ccef22fc6f5a8f4d7d768562a182c04ce9a3b3157b91390b52ddfdf1a76"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "dunce"
 version = "1.0.5"
@@ -3337,6 +3355,17 @@ dependencies = [
  "wasm-bindgen",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "keyboard-types"
+version = "0.7.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "b750dcadc39a09dbadd74e118f6dd6598df77fa01df0cfcdc52c28dece74528a"
+dependencies = [
+ "bitflags 2.13.2",
+ "serde",
+ "unicode-segmentation",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "khronos-egl"
 version = "6.0.0"
@@ -3772,6 +3801,25 @@ dependencies = [
  "pxfm",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "muda"
+version = "0.19.3"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "1dd04e60bc0b07438a6771710ee1698f98f6ebbc7f89b61264af1563b8aeb878"
+dependencies = [
+ "crossbeam-channel",
+ "dpi",
+ "keyboard-types",
+ "objc2 0.6.5",
+ "objc2-app-kit 0.3.2",
+ "objc2-core-foundation",
+ "objc2-foundation 0.3.2",
+ "once_cell",
+ "png 0.18.1",
+ "thiserror 2.0.21",
+ "windows-sys 0.61.2",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "multiversion_no_op"
 version = "1.0.0"
@@ -4435,6 +4483,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "serde",
  "serde_json",
  "sysinfo 0.39.6",
+ "tray-icon",
  "winreg 0.52.0",
  "winres",
 ]
@@ -6673,6 +6722,26 @@ dependencies = [
  "once_cell",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "tray-icon"
+version = "0.24.2"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "045979e3f037cd18ad1cb2a419dfda133c5c29c9f3453370079f2255d46c257e"
+dependencies = [
+ "crossbeam-channel",
+ "dirs 6.0.0",
+ "muda",
+ "objc2 0.6.5",
+ "objc2-app-kit 0.3.2",
+ "objc2-core-foundation",
+ "objc2-core-graphics",
+ "objc2-foundation 0.3.2",
+ "once_cell",
+ "png 0.18.1",
+ "thiserror 2.0.21",
+ "windows-sys 0.61.2",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "triomphe"
 version = "0.1.17"
diff --git a/gpui/Cargo.toml b/gpui/Cargo.toml
index 258de41..1fdedae 100644
--- a/gpui/Cargo.toml
+++ b/gpui/Cargo.toml
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ gpui-pre-apple = { path = "vendor/gpui-pre-apple" }
 
 [target.'cfg(windows)'.dependencies]
 winreg = "0.52"
+tray-icon = { version = "0.24", default-features = false }
 raw-window-handle = "0.6"
 
 # GPUI's layout and text work is very slow unoptimized (a plain scrolling page
diff --git a/gpui/src/bin/main.rs b/gpui/src/bin/main.rs
index 49520c6..1fe35b6 100644
--- a/gpui/src/bin/main.rs
+++ b/gpui/src/bin/main.rs
@@ -46,10 +46,19 @@ fn main() {
         }) {
             view.update(cx, |view, cx| view.set_page(page, cx));
         }
-        // Started by the OS at login (see autostart.rs): stay out of the way.
-        // There is no tray yet, so minimized is the quiet option.
+        // Closing the window hides it to the tray icon (where there is one).
+        let has_tray = openmouse_gpui::tray::install(cx, handle.into());
+        // Started by the OS at login (see autostart.rs): stay out of the way,
+        // in the tray if there is one, else minimized.
         if openmouse_gpui::autostart::launched_by_os() {
-            let _ = cx.update_window(handle, |_, window, _| window.minimize_window());
+            let _ = cx.update_window(handle, |_, window, _| {
+                if has_tray {
+                    #[cfg(windows)]
+                    openmouse_gpui::tray::hide(window);
+                } else {
+                    window.minimize_window();
+                }
+            });
             // A window that never became active reports no deactivation, so
             // say so here or the background scans would stay at full rate.
             openmouse_gpui::activity::ACTIVITY.set_active(false);
diff --git a/gpui/src/lib.rs b/gpui/src/lib.rs
index 8b347d6..53f5d77 100644
--- a/gpui/src/lib.rs
+++ b/gpui/src/lib.rs
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ pub mod native_window;
 pub mod overlay;
 pub mod presence_text;
 pub mod proc;
+pub mod tray;
 pub mod profiles;
 pub mod settings;
 pub mod theme;
diff --git a/gpui/src/tray.rs b/gpui/src/tray.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ba6e4e8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/gpui/src/tray.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,141 @@
+//! System tray: closing the main window hides it to a tray icon instead of
+//! quitting, and the icon brings it back. Quitting is the tray menu's job.
+//!
+//! Windows only for now; elsewhere [`install`] does nothing and closing the
+//! window quits as before.
+
+#[cfg(windows)]
+mod imp {
+    use futures::channel::mpsc;
+    use futures::StreamExt as _;
+    use gpui_kit::{AnyWindowHandle, App, AppContext as _, Window};
+    use raw_window_handle::{HasWindowHandle, RawWindowHandle};
+    use tray_icon::menu::{Menu, MenuEvent, MenuItem, PredefinedMenuItem};
+    use tray_icon::{Icon, MouseButton, MouseButtonState, TrayIconBuilder, TrayIconEvent};
+
+    use crate::activity::ACTIVITY;
+
+    #[link(name = "user32")]
+    extern "system" {
+        fn ShowWindow(hwnd: isize, cmd: i32) -> i32;
+        fn SetForegroundWindow(hwnd: isize) -> i32;
+    }
+
+    const SW_HIDE: i32 = 0;
+    /// Shows a hidden window and un-minimizes a minimized one.
+    const SW_RESTORE: i32 = 9;
+    /// The app icon `build.rs` embeds as the exe's first icon resource.
+    const APP_ICON_RESOURCE: u16 = 1;
+
+    enum Command {
+        Show,
+        Quit,
+    }
+
+    fn hwnd_of(window: &Window) -> Option<isize> {
+        match HasWindowHandle::window_handle(window).map(|handle| handle.as_raw()) {
+            Ok(RawWindowHandle::Win32(handle)) => Some(handle.hwnd.get()),
+            _ => None,
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Hides the window (no taskbar button either) and tells the background
+    /// loops nobody is looking.
+    pub fn hide(window: &Window) {
+        if let Some(hwnd) = hwnd_of(window) {
+            unsafe {
+                ShowWindow(hwnd, SW_HIDE);
+            }
+        }
+        ACTIVITY.set_active(false);
+    }
+
+    fn show(window: &mut Window) {
+        if let Some(hwnd) = hwnd_of(window) {
+            unsafe {
+                ShowWindow(hwnd, SW_RESTORE);
+                SetForegroundWindow(hwnd);
+            }
+        }
+        window.activate_window();
+        ACTIVITY.set_active(true);
+    }
+
+    /// Creates the tray icon and makes closing `window` hide it. Returns
+    /// whether the tray exists; without one, closing still quits.
+    pub fn install(cx: &mut App, window: AnyWindowHandle) -> bool {
+        let Ok(icon) = Icon::from_resource(APP_ICON_RESOURCE, Some((32, 32))) else {
+            return false;
+        };
+        let open = MenuItem::with_id("open", "Open OpenMouse", true, None);
+        let quit = MenuItem::with_id("quit", "Quit", true, None);
+        let menu = Menu::new();
+        if menu.append_items(&[&open, &PredefinedMenuItem::separator(), &quit]).is_err() {
+            return false;
+        }
+        let Ok(tray) = TrayIconBuilder::new()
+            .with_icon(icon)
+            .with_tooltip("OpenMouse Desktop")
+            .with_menu(Box::new(menu))
+            .with_menu_on_left_click(false)
+            .build()
+        else {
+            return false;
+        };
+
+        // The handlers run inside the tray's window procedure on the main
+        // thread; they only queue a command for the task below.
+        let (commands, mut queue) = mpsc::unbounded();
+        let menu_commands = commands.clone();
+        MenuEvent::set_event_handler(Some(move |event: MenuEvent| {
+            let command = match event.id.as_ref() {
+                "open" => Command::Show,
+                "quit" => Command::Quit,
+                _ => return,
+            };
+            let _ = menu_commands.unbounded_send(command);
+        }));
+        TrayIconEvent::set_event_handler(Some(move |event: TrayIconEvent| {
+            let clicked = matches!(
+                event,
+                TrayIconEvent::Click { button: MouseButton::Left, button_state: MouseButtonState::Up, .. }
+                    | TrayIconEvent::DoubleClick { button: MouseButton::Left, .. }
+            );
+            if clicked {
+                let _ = commands.unbounded_send(Command::Show);
+            }
+        }));
+
+        // Owns the icon, so it lives as long as the app does.
+        cx.spawn(async move |cx| {
+            let _tray = tray;
+            while let Some(command) = queue.next().await {
+                match command {
+                    Command::Show => {
+                        let _ = cx.update_window(window, |_, window, _| show(window));
+                    }
+                    Command::Quit => {
+                        let _ = cx.update(|cx| cx.quit());
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        })
+        .detach();
+
+        let _ = cx.update_window(window, |_, window, cx| {
+            window.on_window_should_close(cx, |window, _| {
+                hide(window);
+                false
+            });
+        });
+        true
+    }
+}
+
+#[cfg(windows)]
+pub use imp::{hide, install};
+
+#[cfg(not(windows))]
+pub fn install(_cx: &mut gpui_kit::App, _window: gpui_kit::AnyWindowHandle) -> bool {
+    false
+}