DesktopX was released by Alberto Riccio in 1999 as VDE (Verona Desktop Enhancer), and bought in 2000 by Stardock.

DesktopX supports the creation of three different types of widgets: Objects may be controlled by scripts written in either VBScript or JScript, although they are not always required.

DesktopX plugins also avoid the need for scripting common tasks, by offering extra functionality such as media player displays and controls (currently available for iTunes, Winamp, CoolPlayer, an internal version of Windows Media Player and Stardock's own ObjectMedia) and access to Windows Management Instrumentation.

As users often wish to have a uniform desktop style, a common practice is to create several widgets as a coherent theme.

In 2003, Stardock released DesktopX 2 Pro, which allowed developers to export their creations as stand-alone programs called "gadgets".