Microsoft PowerToys: the modules I cannot work without

Microsoft PowerToys is a collection of small utilities for Windows, very actively maintained on GitHub. It includes (at the time of writing):

• Color Picker
• Fancy Zones
• File Explorer add-ons
• Image Resizer
• Keyboard Manager
• Power Rename
• PowerToys Run
• Shortcut Guide

It’s open source (MIT) and a single installer pulls in everything, so even if you only want one of the modules it’s worth installing the whole thing.

PowerToys Run

This is the module I use most. The idea is the same as the launcher tools that have been around for years (Quicksilver, Launchy, Alfred): press Alt+Space and a focused text input appears in the middle of the screen. Type the name of an app, file, or folder and hit enter.

I came across PowerToys specifically because I was looking for a replacement for Launchy, which I’d used for more than a decade but is no longer maintained. PowerToys Run can locate anything indexed by Windows Search, so if you keep a folder of portable tools (I do), just make sure that folder is in the Windows Search Index and it’ll show up.

PowerToys Run.

Keyboard Manager

Useful for remapping keys on a laptop where the layout doesn’t quite suit programming or heavy text editing. I previously used SharpKeys for the same job; Keyboard Manager has replaced it.

Color Picker

I haven’t switched to it as my daily driver yet (I still use Just Color Picker), but it looks well-built and integrates nicely with the rest of PowerToys.

Other Windows tools I rely on

PowerToys is one piece of a broader toolkit I lean on every day:

• Microsoft Terminal — terminal with tabs, profiles, and proper Unicode support.
• Agent Ransack — fast file/contents search.
• Bulk Rename Utility — heavy-duty bulk renaming.
• Everything — instant file-name search across the whole disk.
• WinMerge — diff and merge tool.
• WinSCP — SFTP/SCP client.
• Notepad++ — quick edits.
• MediaInfo — inspect audio/video metadata.
• Just Color Picker — eyedropper.
• SumatraPDF — fast, lightweight PDF reader.
• Git Extensions — git GUI for the cases where the command line is awkward.
• Typora — distraction-free markdown editor.
• Audacity / Sox — audio editing.
• Draw.IO / Ipe — diagramming and figures (Ipe especially for LaTeX-bound figures).
• Advanced IP Scanner / Advanced Port Scanner — network discovery.
• Process Monitor / Process Explorer — Sysinternals process inspection.
• Dependencies — modern replacement for Dependency Walker.
• USB Device Tree View — for when a USB device misbehaves.
• TreeSize — disk-usage explorer.