Microsoft PowerToys is a collection of utilities designed to help power users customize and optimize their Windows experience for greater productivity. Inspired by the classic Windows 95 PowerToys project, this modern reboot offers tools tailored to streamline workflows and enhance efficiency in Windows.
Key Features:
Advanced Paste: Supports multiple AI model providers (e.g., Azure OpenAI, Google Gemini) for versatile text generation and manipulation.
FancyZones: Customizable window layouts to maximize screen real estate and improve multitasking.
PowerRename: Efficient batch file renaming with support for metadata extraction from images.
Command Palette: A searchable command launcher that integrates clipboard history, math calculations, and system commands for quick access.
Awake: A countdown timer designed to stay accurate over long periods, helping users maintain focus.
Audience & Benefit:
Ideal for power users seeking to tailor their Windows environment for individual workflows, PowerToys provides tools to increase productivity, customize the OS, and simplify repetitive tasks. Its utilities cater to those who value efficiency, customization, and advanced functionality in their computing experience.
Available via winget, PowerToys can be installed with a command-line interface, ensuring seamless integration into existing workflows.
For detailed installation instructions and system requirements, visit the installation docs.
But to get started quickly, 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.
We are planning some nice new features and improvements for the next releases – PowerDisplay, Command Palette improvements and a brand-new Shortcut Guide experience! Stay tuned for v0.99!
❤️ 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.