PowerToys is a free collection of utilities from Microsoft for customizing Windows and speeding up everyday tasks. It includes FancyZones for window layouts, a keyboard launcher, a bulk file renamer, a colour picker, a text extractor and other tools, each of which you can switch on or off in its settings. The current release on GitHub is 0.101.2362.0, published on 25 August 2026.
Who it suits
- People who work with many windows and want repeatable layouts.
- Keyboard-first users who want a launcher and remappable shortcuts.
- Anyone who renames, resizes or inspects files often.
How to get the official version
Microsoft’s install guide recommends two sources: the GitHub releases page and the Microsoft Store. It also documents winget install --id Microsoft.PowerToys --source winget. Chocolatey and Scoop packages exist but are community-maintained.
GitHub offers two kinds of installer for x64 and ARM64:
- Per user (
PowerToysUserSetup): installs for your account only, under%userprofile%\AppData\Local\Programs. - Machine wide (
PowerToysSetup): installs for all users under Program Files.
PowerToys is Windows-only. There is no version for macOS, Linux, Android or iPhone.
Cost
Free and open source under the MIT license.
Requirements
Windows 11, or Windows 10 version 2004 (build 19041) or newer, on a 64-bit x64 or ARM64 processor. Setup installs the Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime if needed.
Safety notes
Download from Microsoft’s GitHub account or the Microsoft Store. The SHA-256 hashes below come from GitHub and match the hash table Microsoft publishes in the release notes. PowerToys checks for updates itself and shows a notification when one is available.
Useful tools to try first
After installation, the PowerToys settings window shows an overview of each utility and its shortcut, and you can enable or disable tools one by one. Many people start with FancyZones for window layouts and the text extractor for copying text from anything on screen.
Questions
Per-user or machine-wide installer?
Microsoft says both receive updates normally. Pick per-user if you do not have administrator rights or only you use the PC.
Why is the version number so long?
That is how Microsoft tagged this release on GitHub: v0.101.2362.0.
Does PowerToys work on Windows 10?
Yes, from version 2004 (build 19041) onward.
