microsoft/PowerToys v0.95.0

Release v0.95.0

on GitHub

In the v0.95 release cycle, we focused on new features, stability, optimization improvements, and automation.

Installer Hashes

Highlights

For an in-depth look at the latest changes, visit the release blog.

• NEW: The Light Switch utility in PowerToys allows you to automatically switch between light and dark themes in Windows based on the time of day.
• Command Palette delivered major search performance gains (new fuzzy matcher + smarter fallbacks) improving relevance and speed.
• Peek can now be used activated using the Space bar!
• Find My Mouse added transparent spotlight with independent backdrop opacity, boosting focus and accessibility.
• Settings now lets you delete shortcuts entirely and ignore conflicts.
• Mouse Pointer Crosshairs gained orientation options (vertical / horizontal / both) for customizable accessibility. Thanks @mikehall-ms!
• PowerRename fixed enumeration counter skipping ensuring reliable batch renames. Thanks @daverayment!
• ZoomIt restored legacy draw/snipping behaviors and fixed recording races improving reliability. Thanks @chakrik73!

Command Palette

• Reorganized core projects and introduced CoreLogger to reduce dependencies.
• Applied conditional margin for icon-only tags to tighten layout. Thanks @samrueby!
• Added setting to choose Clipboard History primary action (Paste vs Copy). Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Hardened activation flow for x-cmdpal:// links with synchronous handling + timeout. Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Enabled AOT by default for performance while simplifying publish configs.
• Cleaned and codified .editorconfig without behavior change. Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Replaced service state color dots with play/pause/stop icons for accessibility. Thanks @samrueby!
• Fixed filter dropdown sync and crash by binding SelectedValue and raising UI-thread notifications. Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Ensured long links wrap correctly in details view.
• Removed animation + enforced min width on filter dropdown for clarity. Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Restored focus to More button after ESC closes context menu improving keyboard flow.
• Marked main and toast windows as tool windows to keep them out of Alt+Tab while preserving style. Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Fixed AOT template + theming issues for filter separators. Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Introduced grid layouts (small/medium/gallery) for richer page presentation.
• Materialized result lists to avoid rescoring overhead.
• Disabled problematic selection TextToSuggest behind env flag.
• Resolved AOT warning by making IconMarginConverter partial. Thanks @samrueby!
• Major search performance improvements (new fuzzy matcher, smarter fallbacks, fewer exceptions).
• Added context menu "Show Details" command when details pane hidden.
• Reduced window flicker by avoiding unnecessary cloaking. Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Restored EmptyContent rendering for blank states. Thanks @DevLGuilherme!
• Saved new state even if prior app state file corrupt (better resilience). Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Migrated settings window to WinUI TitleBar control. Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Prevented crash on duplicate keybindings and simplified matching. Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Centralized fullscreen ignore-hotkey logic for summon handling. Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Hid search box on content pages; improved focus and a11y; added Home title. Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Synced generated resource comment to eliminate noisy diffs. Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Blocked Ctrl+I from inserting stray tab in search box.
• Logged HRESULT codes in error logs for deeper diagnostics. Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Advanced font/emoji icon classification & alignment improvements. Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Preserved fallback item icons in Settings by storing initial icon. Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Fixed breadcrumb margin misalignment (visual polish). Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Truncated overly long command labels with ellipsis to prevent overflow.

Command Palette Extensions

• Replaced localized WebSearch setting keys with stable literals and numeric history count. Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Enabled advanced markdown tables and emphasis extensions. Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Added actionable empty-state hints for File Search (search PC / open indexing settings). Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Ensured all WinGet extension assets copy reliably to output. Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Improved Run command line parsing for paths with spaces; sped up related tests.
• Updated WebSearch extension icon set for clarity and contrast. Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Added Terminal profile sort order setting including MRU tracking. Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Added Uninstall Application command (UWP direct, Win32 via Settings). Thanks @mKpwnz!
• Deferred WinGet details loading and added timing logs.
• Removed LINQ from All Apps extension for performance.
• Added standardized key chord system + shortcuts to File Search commands. Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Added Terminal channel filter & remembered selection option. Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Enabled loading local/data/app images in markdown with sizing hints. Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Added external extension reload via x-cmdpal://reload (configurable). Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Instant WebSearch history updates with in-memory store & events. Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Added keep-after-paste option and safe delete with confirmation for Clipboard History. Thanks @jiripolasek!

Environment Variables

• Replaced custom window chrome with WinUI TitleBar for cleaner, maintainable Environment Variables UI.

File Locksmith

• Adopted WinUI TitleBar to simplify window chrome while preserving appearance.

Find My Mouse

• Added transparent spotlight support with separate backdrop opacity; migrated to WASDK composition.

Hosts File Editor

• Migrated to native WinUI TitleBar for cleaner, maintainable window chrome.

Light Switch

• Introduced as a brand-new PowerToy module.
• Automatically switches between light and dark themes.
• Supports time-based scheduling or location-based sunrise/sunset switching.
• Supports using a keyboard shortcut to force a change.
• Supports filtering changes for Apps and/or System Theme.

Mouse Pointer Crosshairs

• Added Esc key to cancel active gliding cursor sequence. Thanks @mikehall-ms!
• Added orientation option (vertical / horizontal / both) for crosshairs customization. Thanks @mikehall-ms!

Mouse Without Borders

• Continued Common class refactor (part 5/7) by extracting clipboard and init/cleanup logic into focused classes. Thanks @mikeclayton!

Peek

• Added optional single Space key activation with context-aware eligibility and telemetry.

PowerRename

• Fixed enumeration counter skipping when regex replacement equals original filename (counters now advance reliably). Thanks @daverayment!

Quick Accent

• Expanded Welsh layout with acute, grave, and dieresis variants for vowels (consistent ordering). Thanks @PesBandi!

Registry Preview

• Migrated to native TitleBar and AppWindow APIs for cleaner window chrome.

Screen Ruler

• Fixed ARM64 crash by aligning cursor position structure to 8-byte boundary.

Settings

• Added ability to ignore specific hotkey conflicts to reduce noise.
• Stopped creating backup directory during dry-run status checks (cleaner first-run).
• Standardized casing and localization for ZoomIt and modules header.
• Improved search results page accessibility and conditional module grouping.

ZoomIt

• Updated resource file to reflect standalone v9.01 and current copyright year. Thanks @foxmsft!
• Restored legacy draw/snipping behaviors and fixed recording race conditions. Thanks @chakrik73!

Documentation

• New Microsoft Learn documentation for the Light Switch module.
• New dev docs for the Light Switch module.

Development (Area-Build & Area-Tests)

• Allowed debug launches to continue when modules fail to load, speeding developer iteration.
• Fixed spell checker dictionary entry (advapi) to eliminate false error.
• Added VS Code development guide and launch configs to streamline cross-editor workflows.
• Upgraded Windows App SDK and related dependencies to 1.8 for newer platform features.
• Rewrote YAML comment to resolve new spell checker forbidden pattern. Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Corrected solution structure by returning misplaced Common project, reducing build confusion.
• Modernized build scripts with shared helpers and VS environment autodetection for simpler CLI builds.
• Standardized build scripts and platform detection to improve reliability and reuse.
• Added missing Command Palette version bump to align module release cadence.
• Added EXECUTEDEFAULT term to dictionary to prevent regression build failures. Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Introduced nightly pre-warm pipeline and configurable MSBuild cache mode to improve CI performance.
• Resolved CI forbidden pattern spelling complaint to keep pipelines green.
• Added AI contributor instruction set to clarify code area expectations.
• Added accessibility IDs to settings and FancyZones toggles, stabilizing UI tests.
• Added automatic log collection on UI test failures to speed root cause analysis.
• Stabilized Mouse Utils tests by switching to AccessibilityId selectors.
• Added Screen Ruler UI test coverage to validate core measurement workflows.