In computing, the task bar is a term for an application desktop bar which is most often used for the Windows 95 and later operating systems.

In Windows, the default location for the taskbar is at the bottom of the screen, following Fitts' law, and from left to right it contains by default the Start menu, Quick Launch bar, Taskbar buttons and Status area or system tray.

The Start menu contains commands that can access programs, documents, and settings. These commands include Programs, Documents, Settings, Find, Help, Run, and Shut Down.

The Quick Launch bar contains shortcuts to applications. Windows provides default entries, such as Internet Explorer, and the user may add any further shortcuts that they choose. A single click on the application's icon in this area launches the application. This section may not always be present: for example it is absent by default in Windows XP, although it can be enabled.

The Windows Shell places a button on the taskbar whenever an application creates an unowned window: that is, a window that doesn't have a parent and that is created according to normal Windows UI guidelines. Typically all SDI applications have a single taskbar button for each open window, although modal windows may also appear there.

The last part of the taskbar is called the Status area or systray, and contains mainly status notifications. The clock by default appears here, and applications can put icons in the status area to indicate the status of an operation or to notify the user about an event. For example, an application might put a printer icon in the status area to show that a print job is under way, or a display driver application may provide quick access to various screen resolutions.

Other toolbars may be added to the taskbar, and it can also be placed on top or at the window sides.

Windows is not the only operating system with a taskbar: similar bars are present in various Linux desktop environments. Mac OS X's Dock is also a kind of taskbar.

In various KDE distributions, the taskbar is run by the kpanel program, and consists of two parts: the panel and the taskbar. The panel is a control bar across the bottom of the screen, which is used to find and launch applications and navigate among windows and desktops. It contains the menu, which is comparable to the Windows start menu; the disk navigator, which allows access to the file system by menus (a similar thing can be done in Windows); and the desktop pager, which changes between desktops. The last item is not possible in Windows by default. As with the Windows 'Quick Launch bar', additional buttons can be added to the KDE panel, to quickly open applications, directories, and URLs. The second part is the taskbar, which runs across the top of the screen and helps keep track of running applications. This is similar to the 'Taskbar buttons' area of the Windows taskbar.