Spotlight Search has long been a defining feature of MacOS, an advantage only highlighted by the diminishing quality of Windows' start menu search. But, using PowerToys, we can emulate some of Spotlight's quick access functionality on Windows, and even add some extra functionality that's not available even in Spotlight search; all while also adding extra customization and extensibility. With PowerToys Run, you'll never need to fight the Start Menu search again.

What is PowerToys Run?

A nifty addition to Microsoft's suite of tools for power users

PowerToys is Microsoft's first-party downloadable suite of inbuilt customization and improvement tools for Windows. In recent years, it's become increasingly packed full of the kind of great little tweaks and features that can help level up your Windows experience, whether you're a developer looking to level up their productivity or just interested in the coolest new tweaks to play with on Windows.

PowerToys Run is a feature included in this suite, which enables a quick access search bound by default to the ALT+SPACE hotkey in Windows. This search box is a huge improvement on the start menu search, and cluttered with much less junk. The central positioning is, for me, also a huge improvement on the bloat of the Start menu. Its placement is similar to Spotlight/Alfred, and is something I've been replicating on Linux with Rofi (another great search tool for Linux) for years. It's got no animation and opens up almost instantly to begin your search.

Installing PowerToys

To set up PowerToys Run, you'll first need to install PowerToys, which doesn't come installed by default on Windows. You can install PowerToys either from GitHub or via the Microsoft Store. If you're running an older version of PowerToys, we'd recommend you update. There are loads of great PowerToys Run-specific improvements in recent updates.

How to install PowerToys from the Microsoft Store

1. Open the Microsoft Store by searching for it in the Start menu.
2. Enter PowerToys into the top search bar and select the first result.
3. Click install.

How to install PowerToys from Github

As an alternative to the Microsoft Store, you can install PowerToys from Github. This is useful when you aren't signed in with a Microsoft account on your PC or if you want to install a previous or beta version. To install from Github, follow these steps:

1. Browse to the GitHub releases page for Microsoft PowerToys.
2. Locate the release version you want. You may find it easier to browse releases by tag. To do this, select Tags at the top.
3. Under Installer Hashes, download the executable file for the version you need.
   • We recommend you install per user.
   • Make sure you select the correct architecture for your PC. If you’re unsure, download the x86 version.
4. Once downloaded, open the executable and follow the installer’s instructions.

Enabling PowerToys Run

PowerToys Run isn't enabled by default when installing PowerToys, To enable PowerToys Run and access its customization settings, follow these steps:

1. Open up the PowerToys Menu by searching Powertoys in the start menu
2. Using the sidebar menu, select PowerToys Run
3. Enable PowerToys Run using the Toggle at the top of the page
4. Using the hotkey shown at the top of the window - test out PowerToys Run. Our default hotkey is Alt+Space. You should see a floating search box appear on your active monitor.

That's it! You're ready to get using PowerToys Run. We'd suggest you test out a few basic searches and the default settings before diving into the PowerToys Run plugin ecosystem. Most of the default settings for PowerToys Run itself are set to sensible defaults. The only setting we'd suggest changing is Ignore shortcuts in fullscreen mode. This is a personal preference, but might be a source of annoyance if you're a gamer.

Plugins give PowerToys Run its power

Microsoft's new approach continues to reap rewards for the user experience

Microsoft has taken a sensible approach with PowerToys run - the core of PowerToys run enables almost no functionality. Instead, all features are added via plugins, which can be enabled and disabled, customized individually, and easily modified or improved by third parties and the open-source community. This is a similar technique to what we've seen with the Windows Terminal and Visual Studio Code, both of which have been well received by developers and powerusers, and have helped to support vibrant open-source communities.

Some of these plugins are functionality you'd expect - like the ability to search for Windows Settings or Search the web - but, unlike the Start Menu, enabling or disabling this functionality is not hidden away. Each plugin can be individually enabled or disabled, as well as have its own set of settings and a unique activation command. This direct activation command is a shortcut in the PowerShell Run prompt to interact directly with that Plugin. Include each plugin's unique activation at the start of your search to limit it to that plugin. If no direct activation is provided, all plugins will be used.

For example, type > to interact directly with the run plugin, allowing you to run commands directly from PowerShell Run.

We've included a list of some of the great default plugins and their interaction commands below. Depending on which plugins you're using frequently, it can be worth learning a few of the direct activation commands. This can help you search for files, installed programs or web results easily without generating the noise that's plagued the start menu search for years.

You can customize the direct activation command for each plugin in the PowerToys Run settings menu.

If you don't provide a direct activation, all plugins will be used by default. It's possible to further customize the search functionality itself by defining a custom order (or weighting) for returned results, allowing some plugins to take priority over others when no direct activation is used. You can do this by enabling Results order tuning in the settings menu, then giving plugins custom sort order score modifiers in their unique settings.

Installing Custom Plugins

PowerToys Run's ecosystem is still developing, but there's cool stuff here

The open-source, modular design of PowerToys Run lends itself to supporting a rich and vibrant ecosystem of open-source contributions, and while PowerToys Run is still in its relative infancy, there's some cool stuff already out there. Microsoft curates their own list in their official Github repository, which includes many of our favorites, including plugins for controlling Spotify, searching your Clipboard History, and even direct integration with Visual Studio. Another really cool plugin (especially if you're a developer or sysadmin) is Input-Typer, which takes input from your clipboard and types it in as if it was typed from the keyboard. This is useful in captive consoles or terminals where pasting isn't supported.

Again, each of these plugins has its own direct activation command by default.

The process for installing each plugin can vary, as additional steps might be required, so we'd recommend you read the documentation (or README) file for each new plugin you install. That said, we'll show you the basic steps to installing a PowerToys Run plugin.

1. Download the plugin's Zip file. If the plugin is on GitHub, you can find this in Releases section of the GitHub repo.
2. Once downloaded, extract the contents of the plugin in Windows Explorer.
3. Copy the contents of the Plugin to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\PowerToys\PowerToys Run\Plugins. You can access this folder by pressing WIN+R and pasting that address in (% signs and all)
4. Restart PowerToys. Your plugin should be available in the list of plugins in the PowerToys Run menu.

The future is bright for PowerToys Run

PowerToys Run is another in a series of great PowerToys features Microsoft has introduced over the last few years. Its focus on customisability and extensibility is a welcome change from the nebulous workings of the last few generations of the Start menu. Hopefully, we'll continue to see great developer support for PowerToys Run, and a range of new plugins and features introduced. But in the meantime, it's already a welcome improvement on the Start Menu and a faster, animation free way to bring something approaching the power of macOS' Spotlight Search to your Windows desktop. Hopefully Microsoft will continue to add these kinds of useful features in the upcoming version of Windows.