Every time I set up a new Windows 11 PC, one of the very first applications I download is PowerToys. This first-party Microsoft program is chock-full of power user features that extend the operating system's functionality, while also serving as an incubator for novel new software tools and utilities.
PowerToys is a free and open source (FOSS) application that works across both Windows 11 and Windows 10. It can be downloaded either from the Microsoft Store, or from Microsoft's official GitHub page.
Microsoft PowerToys
PowerToys is an official Microsoft application for Windows that provides several advanced tools and utilities geared towards power users, including FancyZones, PowerRename, and Keyboard Manager.
Command Palette
A better Windows Search experience
Out of the box, I'm not the biggest fan of the default search experience on Windows 11. I find the Windows Search pane to be cluttered, laggy, and poorly integrated with the rest of the operating system. Thankfully, Microsoft has also built Command Palette -- an excellent PowerToys tool that makes searching for PC files a streamlined yet powerful process.
Command Palette looks and feels a lot like Spotlight Search on macOS and iPadOS, and that's no bad thing. I'm a fan of its simplistic, centered search bar aesthetic, and I love how nimble it feels in operation. The tool offers tons of customization options, and it can be used for advanced functions like running and executing system commands.
Microsoft, for its part, has announced a next-generation search experience that's slated to arrive on all Windows 11 PCs in the near future. This new Ask Copilot search interface adopts Command Palette's simpler look and feel, while adding in a hearty dose of AI. Unfortunately, Ask Copilot doesn't appear to be as feature-rich or powerful as Command Palette is for non-AI related inquiries.
Not satisfied with Microsoft's in-house search tools? There are several excellent third-party alternatives available for Windows 11, many of which are entirely free to download and install.
Light Switch
Automatic light and dark mode switching
The newest PowerToy module on this list, Light Switch brings automated light and dark mode theme switching to Windows for the very first time in an official capacity. Theme switching is a modern operating system mainstay, and yet it remains curiously absent from the vanilla Windows 11 experience to this day.
If you'd like to experience auto theme switching without having to carry the bulk of the entire PowerToys application, check out the third-party Auto Dark Mode app from the Microsoft Store.
Light Switch offers some advanced configuration options for setting keyboard shortcuts and offsetting designated theme scheduling, but it's the basic auto-theme switch based on Sunset to sunrise (via geolocation) that I personally hope to see incorporated into the core of Windows 11 sometime soon.
Peek
Don't let macOS have all the fun
Whenever I hop back onto Windows after using macOS for any period of time, I inevitably miss the latter's excellent Preview functionality. With the simple hit of the space button or via a trackpad Force Click, just about any file or folder can be previewed without the need to actually open it in its respective application.
If you're looking for a third-party application that provides Preview-like functionality for WIndows 11 without having to install the entire PowerToys suite, consider downloading the free QuickLook app from the Microsoft Store.
Microsoft has actually built its own Preview equivalent for Windows -- it's just stowed away within PowerToys rather than incorporated into the OS proper. Known as Peek, this module makes it quick and easy to glance at the contents of any given document, image, audio track, or video via a user-defined activation keyboard shortcut.
Awake
Keep your PC caffeinated
Over on macOS, I regularly rely on third-party utilities like Amphetamine and Caffeine to temporarily keep my system running with its screen on for short bursts of time. This function is useful during video calls, presentations, video rendering sessions, and while downloading large files from the internet.
If your PC monitor uses OLED display technology, avoid leaving static images on screen for extended periods of time to mitigate the risk of burn-in. Screen-on tools like PowerToys Awake are meant to be used within certain contexts, and not indefinitely.
Over on the Windows 11 side of things, Microsoft's Awake tool is the equivalent I've settled on using. Included as part of the PowerToys suite, the feature includes configuration options for adjusting keep awake duration, without affecting the system's actual power profile configuration. I'd love to see this small-yet-useful tool make its way into stock Windows 11, as it comes in handy during my workflow.
Mouse Without Borders
Why confine your cursor to a single PC?
These days, it's possible to control both a Mac and an iPad via a single mouse and keyboard using Apple's Universal Control, or to do the same with a Galaxy phone, tablet, and PC using Samsung's Multi control feature. Aside from the obvious cool factor at play, there's genuine utility to being able to drag and drop files and to copy and paste clipboard content across independent devices through a unified input method.
Microsoft hasn't gotten around to building cross-control functionality into Windows 11 quite yet, but it does offer a comparable feature called Mouse Without Borders within its PowerToys application. When enabled, up to four PCs can share a mouse, a keyboard, and a clipboard, and file sharing becomes seamless. The feature does require initial configuration (you have to generate a security key on one PC and type it into the next), and both PCs have to be on the same network, but when it works, it feels like magic.
I love the Mouse Without Borders PowerToys tool, and it's something I hope to see Microsoft implement into Windows 11 at a system level in the future. I often switch between Windows 11 computers throughout the day, and it can be a major pain to switch Bluetooth peripheral pairing each and every time.