Microsoft PowerToys is a set of utilities for power users to tune and streamline their Windows experience for greater productivity.
Inspired by the Windows 95 era PowerToys project, this reboot provides power users with ways to squeeze more efficiency out of the Windows 10 shell and customize it for individual workflows.
Microsoft PowerToys is a set of productivity tools designed to enhance and customize the Windows experience for power users. The software allows users to streamline their workflow, optimize system performance, and tailor their environment to suit individual preferences.
Key Features:
Keyboard Manager: Customize keyboard shortcuts for greater efficiency.
FancyZones: Create and manage window layouts to maximize screen real estate.
File Explorer Enhancer: Add tabs and customize columns in File Explorer for better organization.
PowerRename: Batch rename files with advanced search-and-replace functionality.
Image Resizer: Resize images directly from the context menu.
Audience & Benefit:
Ideal for power users, developers, and professionals who seek to maximize productivity and efficiency on Windows. PowerToys empowers users to customize their environment, reduce repetitive tasks, and work smarter.
For detailed installation instructions, visit the installation docs.
Before you begin, make sure your device meets the system requirements:
> [!NOTE]
> - Windows 11 or Windows 10 version 2004 (20H1 / build 19041) or newer
> - 64-bit processor: x64 or ARM64
> - Latest stable version of Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime is installed via the bootstrapper during setup
Choose one of the installation methods below:
Download .exe from GitHub
Go to the PowerToys GitHub releases, click Assets to reveal the downloads, and choose the installer that matches your architecture and install scope. For most devices, that's the x64 per-user installer.
Download PowerToys from WinGet. Updating PowerToys via winget will respect the current PowerToys installation scope. To install PowerToys, run the following command from the command line / PowerShell:
There are community driven install methods such as Chocolatey and Scoop. If these are your preferred install solutions, you can find the install instructions there.
ZoomIt restored legacy draw and snipping behaviors, and fixed recording issues, improving reliability. Thanks @chakrik73!
Command Palette
Applied conditional margin for icon-only tags to tighten layout. Thanks @samrueby
Improved the reliability of accessing Command Palette settings through PowerToys Settings and executing other x-cmdpal:// protocol commands. Thanks @jiripolasek
Enabled AOT by default for improved performance while simplifying publish configs.
Replaced service state color dots with play/pause/stop icons for enhanced accessibility. Thanks @samrueby
Fixed filter dropdown sync and crash by binding SelectedValue and raising UI-thread notifications. Thanks @jiripolasek
Ensured long links wrap correctly in details view.
Removed animation and enforced minimum width on filter dropdown for clarity. Thanks @jiripolasek
Restored focus to More button after ESC closes context menu, improving keyboard flow. Thanks @chatasweetie
Marked main and toast windows as tool windows to keep them out of Alt+Tab while preserving style. Thanks @jiripolasek
Fixed AOT template and theming issues for filter separators. Thanks @jiripolasek
Introduced grid layouts (small, medium, gallery) for richer page presentation.
Materialized result lists to avoid rescoring overhead.
Added smooth image option for improved zoom quality using GDI+ for static zoom and Magnifier API for live zoom. Thanks @markrussinovich!
Documentation
New Microsoft Learn documentation for the Light Switch module.
New dev docs for the Light Switch module.
Development (Area-Build & Area-Tests)
Allowed debug launches to continue when modules fail to load, speeding developer iteration.
Fixed spell checker dictionary entry (advapi) to eliminate false error.
Added VS Code development guide and launch configs to streamline cross-editor workflows.
Upgraded Windows App SDK and related dependencies to 1.8 for newer platform features.
Rewrote YAML comment to resolve new spell checker forbidden pattern. Thanks @jiripolasek!
Corrected solution structure by returning misplaced Common project, reducing build confusion.
Modernized build scripts with shared helpers and VS environment autodetection for simpler CLI builds.
Standardized build scripts and platform detection to improve reliability and reuse.
Added missing Command Palette version bump to align module release cadence.
Added EXECUTEDEFAULT term to dictionary to prevent regression build failures. Thanks @jiripolasek!
Introduced nightly pre-warm pipeline and configurable MSBuild cache mode to improve CI performance.
Resolved CI forbidden pattern spelling complaint to keep pipelines green.
Added AI contributor instruction set to clarify code area expectations.
Added accessibility IDs to settings and FancyZones toggles, stabilizing UI tests.
Added automatic log collection on UI test failures to speed root cause analysis.
Stabilized Mouse Utils tests by switching to AccessibilityId selectors.
Added Screen Ruler UI test coverage to validate core measurement workflows.
🛣️ Roadmap
We are planning some nice new features and improvements for the next releases – a revamped Keyboard Manager UI, custom endpoint and local model support for Advanced Paste, Command Palette improvements and a brand-new Shortcut Guide experience! Stay tuned for v0.96!
❤️ PowerToys Community
The PowerToys team is extremely grateful to have the support of an amazing active community. The work you do is incredibly important. PowerToys wouldn't be nearly what it is today without your help filing bugs, updating documentation, guiding the design, or writing features. We want to say thank you and take time to recognize your work. Your contributions and feedback improve PowerToys month after month!
Contributing
This project welcomes contributions of all types. Besides coding features / bug fixes, other ways to assist include spec writing, design, documentation, and finding bugs. We are excited to work with the power user community to build a set of tools for helping you get the most out of Windows. We ask that before you start work on a feature that you would like to contribute, please read our Contributor's Guide. We would be happy to work with you to figure out the best approach, provide guidance and mentorship throughout feature development, and help avoid any wasted or duplicate effort. Most contributions require you to agree to a Contributor License Agreement (CLA) declaring that you grant us the rights to use your contribution and that you have permission to do so. For guidance on developing for PowerToys, please read the developer docs for a detailed breakdown. This includes how to setup your computer to compile.