PowerToys is an amazing suite of tools that can help boost your productivity on Windows 11 in a wide range of ways thanks to the over two dozen modules included. But among those modules, the best one is definitely PowerToys Run, a launcher and search bar that makes it easy to get things done, whether it's launching apps or finding files.

To make it even cooler, PowerToys Run itself can be enhanced by plug-ins that offer different kinds of results, allowing you to do even more. A few plug-ins are already included that deliver some of the basic features, but I wanted to highlight some of the plug-ins you need to level up your productivity with PowerToys Run.

7 Window Walker

Multi-tasking made easier

For the most part, I'm avoiding plug-ins that are already included by default in PowerToys, but Window Walker is worth a mention nonetheless. While this plug-in is included and enabled by default, it requires an activation command in PowerToys Run (by default, it's ), so it may be a good idea to add its result to the global search.

Window Walker allows you to search the names of all your running apps, so you can easily switch between windows. For most people, this may not be a huge deal, but if you run dozens of apps at the same time, using Alt-Tab or the taskbar to switch between windows can get cumbersome. With Window Walker, you can use the keyboard to just search for the name of any given window and switch to it instantly. It makes it a lot easier to manage multiple apps and get work done more quickly.

6 OneNote

Browse your notes easily

OneNote is another plug-in that is included in PowerToys Run by default; however, it's turned off until you set it up, so you'll need to head into the settings to enable it. The OneNote plug-in is fairly self-explanatory, and it lets you find your notebooks and pages in OneNote so you can immediately get to information you may need.

All you need to do is type in the name of the notebook you want to search and it will open in OneNote, so you can find any notes you need at any given time. There isn't much more to it, but this is enough to make for a very useful plug-in.

5 Winget (or Scoop)

Make installing apps easier

The first plug-in that isn't included by default in PowerToys Run (yet) is WinGet, the Windows Package Manager. This tool allows you to easily install and uninstall apps from a trusted repository, reducing risks when looking for new apps and giving you a centralized source for all of them.

Typically, you'd use Winget through a Windows Terminal or Command Prompt window, but with this plug-in, you can use PowerToys Run to look for packages to install at any time, making the whole processs even easier. Of course, you may not need to install new apps that often, but when you do, this will save you a lot of time.

If you're not a fan of Winget, there's also a plug-in for Scoop, an alternative package manager that's been around for a while longer. Scoop is generally the same concept, but it may have more apps or different ones, so it's also worth checking out. You can get the WinGet plug-in here, while Scoop is on this page.

4 Browser Search

Quick access to your browser history

Opening a new tab in your browser isn't necessarily a tedious process, but sometimes you may get the urge to open a new page when you're not looking at a browser, and BrowserSearch is a good plug-in for that. This plug-in lets you search your browser history and open any page you want more quickly.

BrowserSearch works with the vast majority of web browsers, including Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Arc, Vivaldi, and much more, so regardless of what browser you use, you should be able to take advantage of this plug-in. It's a great way to speed up opening websites you visit frequently.

If you want to set up BrowserSearch, you'll need to download it from GitHub.

3 FastWeb

Open websites even faster

This one has a sort of similar spirit to the plug-in above, but it's interesting in its own right. FastWeb lets you create quick shortcuts for basically any website you want, and then access them with a much shorter text command.

For example, say you want to open the XDA homepage frequently (as you should) — instead of typing the whole URL, FastWeb lets you assign a shortcut to it, so you can just type in XDA to open the website. You can apply this to any website and use any text command of your choice, so opening websites is that much faster.

FastWeb can be found on GitHub, if you want to add it to PowerToys Run.

2 Everything

Find files even faster

Out of the box, PowerToys Run lets you find files and folders on your PC by searching using Windows Search, but Windows Search isn't the fastest way to search your files. Indexing can be slow, and it may not always include every file on your PC.

Everything is a standalone search engine for your files that's known for being incredibly fast and lightweight. By installing this plug-in, you can integrate those search results into PowerToys Run, so you can save even more time by not having to open Everything first. Simply open PowerToys Run and start searching for the files you want. You'll see results instantly so you can open your files faster than ever.

To add Everything to PowerToys Run, head to the GitHub page.

1 Clipboard Manager

Find items in your clipboard easily

Managing your clipboard can be a little tedious. I suspect some users may not even know there's a clipboard history on Windows 11, but it's also not the easiest to use, as it requires you to scroll through results, and they disappear after you restart your PC.

Clipboard Manager solves one of these problems by making your clipboard history searchable, making it much easier to re-use text clips you need frequently. I use a similar feature in Raycast on macOS and it saves me a ton of time looking for some text bits I need frequently.

You can find Clipboard Manager on GitHub if you want to add it to PowerToys Run.

PowerToys Run is an amazing productivity boost

I've said it before, but it always bears repeating: app launchers are possibly the best way to boost your productivity, and PowerToys Run is a fantastic one. It's great on its own, and the fact that it's included with a ton of other tools that help speed things up on your PC makes it all the better. If you haven't yet, you can download PowerToys below and get started with PowerToys Run and all the other plug-ins.

• Microsoft PowerToys

  OS

  Windows 10/11

  See at Github See at Microsoft Store