Command Palette - Microsoft PowerToys

Overview

Command Palette (CmdPal) is an extensible, modern command launcher that serves as the next iteration of PowerToys Run. With extensibility at its core, it provides a unified interface to start anything, run commands, and interact with system features through a plugin architecture.

Command Palette is currently in preview. The API may introduce breaking changes before reaching v1.0.0 stability.

Activation

Enable Command Palette

Open PowerToys Settings and enable Command Palette

Open Launcher

Press the activation shortcut: Win+Alt+Space (default)

Start Typing

Enter commands, search queries, or action triggers

Key Features

Extensible Architecture

Extension System

WinRT-based plugin interfaceLanguage-agnostic extension development

Command Providers

Custom command sourcesIntegrate any data or action

Page Extensions

Full UI extensionsCustom interfaces within palette

Native Integration

Built-in PowerToys commandsSystem-level integration

Extension Development

Create extensions in any language supporting WinRT:

// Example C# extension structure
using Microsoft.CommandPalette.Extensions;

public class MyExtension : ICmdPalExtension
{
    public string DisplayName => "My Extension";
    public string Description => "Custom functionality";
    
    public IListPage GetListPage()
    {
        // Return command list
    }
    
    public IEnumerable<ICommandItem> GetCommands(string query)
    {
        // Return matching commands
    }
}

API Documentation: Microsoft Learn - Command Palette Extensibility

Built-in Features

Command Palette includes these capabilities out of the box:

Application Launcher
File Search
Calculator
System Commands

Launch installed applications
Search Start Menu items
Open UWP and Win32 apps
Recent app suggestions

Creating Extensions

The fastest way to create an extension:

Run Create Command

Open Command Palette and run “Create extension”

Provide Details

Enter project name, display name, and output directory

Open Solution

Navigate to the generated .sln file and open in Visual Studio

Build & Deploy

Build the project - it automatically deploys to Command Palette

Configuration

Activation Shortcut

hotkey

default:"Win+Alt+Space"

Global hotkey to open Command PaletteConfigurable in PowerToys Settings

Extension Management

Manage installed extensions:

Open Command Palette
Type “extensions” or “plugins”
View installed extensions
Enable/disable individual extensions
Configure extension settings

Search Behavior

number

default:"10"

Maximum number of results to display

number

default:"150"

Debounce delay for search queries (milliseconds)

boolean

default:"true"

Enable fuzzy search for command matching

Use Cases

Quick Actions

Launch Applications

Fastest way to open applications:

Press Win+Alt+Space
Type: "vscode"
Press Enter
→ Visual Studio Code opens

Calculations

Quick math without opening calculator:

Win+Alt+Space → "= 1234 * 56" → Enter to copy result

File Navigation

Developer Workflows

# Custom extension for Git repos
Win+Alt+Space
→ "repo project-name"
→ Opens in VS Code

# Extension for build tasks
Win+Alt+Space
→ "build release"
→ Runs build script

# Docker extension commands
Win+Alt+Space
→ "docker ps"
→ Shows container list

System Management

Settings Access

Quick access to Windows settingsWin+Alt+Space → "settings display"

PowerToys Control

Manage PowerToys utilitiesWin+Alt+Space → "powertoys color picker"

Process Management

Extension for task managementCustom commands for process control

Power Options

Quick power commandsShutdown, restart, sleep actions

Custom Integrations

Examples of custom extensions:

API Testing: Quick REST API calls
Cloud Services: Interact with Azure, AWS, etc.
Database Queries: Run quick database lookups
Documentation: Search local documentation
Snippets: Insert code snippets
DevOps: Trigger CI/CD pipelines

Extension Development

Getting Started

Install Prerequisites

Visual Studio 2022+ with C++ and .NET workloads
Windows SDK 10.0.26100.0+
PowerToys installed

Create Extension Project

Use the “Create extension” command in Command PaletteOr manually with project template

Implement Interface

Implement ICmdPalExtension interface:

public class MyExtension : ICmdPalExtension
{
    public string DisplayName { get; }
    public IExtensionIcon Icon { get; }
    public IListPage GetPage() { }
}

Build & Test

Build project - extension auto-deploys to Command PaletteTest immediately in running instance

Extension Types

Command Providers
Page Extensions
Form Pages

Provide searchable commands:

public class MyCommandProvider : ICommandProvider
{
    public IEnumerable<ICommandItem> GetCommands(string query)
    {
        // Return matching commands
        yield return new CommandItem
        {
            Name = "My Command",
            Description = "Does something",
            Icon = myIcon,
            Action = () => ExecuteCommand()
        };
    }
}

Full UI pages within Command Palette:

public class MyPage : IListPage
{
    public string PageName => "My Custom Page";
    
    public IList<IListItem> GetItems()
    {
        // Return list items with custom UI
    }
    
    public void OnItemInvoked(IListItem item)
    {
        // Handle item selection
    }
}

Input forms for complex commands:

public class MyFormPage : IFormPage
{
    public IList<IFormField> GetFields()
    {
        return new List<IFormField>
        {
            new TextBoxField { Label = "Name" },
            new DropdownField { Label = "Type" }
        };
    }
    
    public void OnSubmit(IFormData data)
    {
        // Process form data
    }
}

Extension Packaging

Package and distribute extensions:

<!-- Extension manifest -->
<Package>
  <Identity Name="MyExtension" Version="1.0.0" />
  <DisplayName>My Command Palette Extension</DisplayName>
  <Description>Custom commands for X</Description>
  <Dependencies>
    <TargetDeviceFamily Name="Windows.Desktop" />
  </Dependencies>
</Package>

Sample Extensions

Official samples in repository:

Generic samples: src/modules/cmdpal/ext/SamplePagesExtension
Real-world samples: src/modules/cmdpal/ext/ProcessMonitorExtension
Shipped extensions: GitHub - CmdPalExtensions

Source reference: src/modules/cmdpal/README.md:48

Technical Details

Architecture

Key Projects

Project	Purpose
`Microsoft.CmdPal.UI`	Main Command Palette application
`Microsoft.CommandPalette.Extensions`	Extension interface (language-agnostic WinRT)
`Microsoft.CommandPalette.Extensions.Toolkit`	C# helper library for extensions
`SampleExtensions/*`	Example extension implementations

Build location: src/modules/cmdpal

Extension SDK

The extension interface is designed to be language-agnostic:

// WinRT interface allows implementation in:
// - C#
// - C++/WinRT
// - Rust (with windows-rs)
// - Python (with pythonnet)
// Any language with WinRT support

SDK Spec: src/modules/cmdpal/doc/initial-sdk-spec/initial-sdk-spec.md

Extension Discovery

Command Palette discovers extensions through:

Installation Directory: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\PowerToys\CommandPalette\Extensions
Package Registration: Windows package registration
Development Mode: Direct DLL loading for debugging

Keyboard Shortcuts

Global

Shortcut	Action
`Win+Alt+Space`	Open Command Palette (default)

In Command Palette

Shortcut	Action
`Type to search`	Filter commands
`↑` / `↓`	Navigate results
`Enter`	Execute selected command
`Esc`	Close Command Palette
`Tab`	Auto-complete / Next field
`Shift+Enter`	Alternative action (if available)
`Ctrl+[Number]`	Quick select result

Troubleshooting

Command Palette won't open

Check:

PowerToys is running
Command Palette enabled in settings
Shortcut not conflicting

Debug:

Check PowerToys logs
Try alternate activation shortcut
Restart PowerToys

Extension not loading

Verify:

Extension built successfully
Extension in correct directory
Extension manifest valid
Dependencies installed

Location: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\PowerToys\CommandPalette\ExtensionsLogs: Check Command Palette logs for load errors

Extension crashes Command Palette

Steps:

Disable extension
Review extension error handling
Check exception logs
Debug extension in Visual Studio

Best practices:

Wrap extension code in try-catch
Validate all inputs
Handle async operations properly

Search results not appearing

Check:

Extension implementing search correctly
Query parsing logic
Result filtering
Performance (timeout issues)

Performance tip: Return results quickly, use async for slow operations

​Overview

​Activation

​Key Features

​Extensible Architecture

Extension System

Command Providers

Page Extensions

Native Integration

​Extension Development

​Built-in Features

​Creating Extensions

​Configuration

​Activation Shortcut

​Extension Management

​Search Behavior

​Use Cases

​Quick Actions

​Developer Workflows

​System Management

Settings Access

PowerToys Control

Process Management

Power Options

​Custom Integrations

​Extension Development

​Getting Started

​Extension Types

​Extension Packaging

​Sample Extensions

​Technical Details

​Architecture

​Key Projects

​Extension SDK

​Extension Discovery

​Keyboard Shortcuts

​Global

​In Command Palette

​Troubleshooting

​See Also

Overview

Activation

Key Features

Extensible Architecture

Extension Development

Built-in Features

Creating Extensions

Configuration

Activation Shortcut

Extension Management

Search Behavior

Use Cases

Quick Actions

Developer Workflows

System Management

Custom Integrations

Extension Development

Getting Started

Extension Types

Extension Packaging

Sample Extensions

Technical Details

Architecture

Key Projects

Extension SDK

Extension Discovery

Keyboard Shortcuts

Global

In Command Palette

Troubleshooting

See Also