It is time for a big PowerToys update, as version 0.97 is now available. The first release of 2026 introduces plenty of changes for Command Palette, one of my favorite tools that entirely replaced the Start menu on my PC. Additionally, there is a new mouse utility that will be helpful for users with multi-monitor setups.
Starting with Command Palette, the launcher is now much more customizable. You can select a custom background and a tint for a more personal touch. Next, Command Palette now lets you customize fallback ranking. In other words, you can specify priority for each command when typing your request.
Another big change for Command Palette is the ability to control PowerToys directly from it. Switch themes, toggle between FancyZones layouts, open settings, and a lot more. Additionally, Peek can now preview files and folders within Command Palette. A few extra changes include the following:
- Support for Pinyin! To enable this, make sure your OS language is set to a supported Chinese variant.
- A new built-in Remote Desktop extension to quickly jump to your remote desktops.
- You can now select a custom search engine in the Web Search extension settings.
- Added drag and drop support. File Indexer and Clipboard History can now drag content from Command Palette into other apps, and extension developers can add this capability to their own extensions.
Next, we have a brand-new tool called CursorWrap. It will be a big help for users with big monitors or multi-monitor setups, as it allows you not to drag the cursor from one end to another. Just keep hovering, and the cursor will show up on the opposite side of the screen once it reaches one of the edges.
Other changes in PowerToys 0.97 include better performance for Quick Access, CLI support for FancyZones, Image Resizer, and File Locksmith, the ability for Light Switch to follow Night Light settings, and more.
Here is the full changelog:
Advanced Paste
- Added hex color previews in clipboard history. Thanks @crramirez!
- Added automatic placeholder endpoints when required fields are left empty.
- Fixed a grammar issue in the AI settings description. Thanks @erik-anderson!
- Fixed loading order so custom action hotkeys are read correctly.
- Updated Advanced Paste descriptions to reflect support for online and local models.
- Fixed clipboard history item selection so it doesn’t duplicate entries.
- Prevented placeholder endpoints from being saved for providers that don’t need them.
- Added image input support for AI transforms and improved clipboard change tracking.
Awake
- Fixed Awake CLI so help, errors, and logs appear correctly in the console. Thanks @daverayment!
Command Palette
- Fixed background image loading in BlurImageControl. Thanks @jiripolasek!
- Fixed SDK packaging paths and added a CI SDK build stage.
- Aligned naming and spell-checking with .NET conventions. Thanks @jiripolasek!
- Added drag-and-drop support for Command Palette items. Thanks @jiripolasek!
- Added a PowerToys Command Palette extension to discover and launch PowerToys utilities.
- Fixed grid view bindings and layout issues. Thanks @jiripolasek!
- Fixed a line-break issue in RDC extension toast messages. Thanks @jiripolasek!
- Made the Settings button text localizable. Thanks @jiripolasek!
- Hid the RDC fallback on the home page and fixed MSTSC working directory handling. Thanks @jiripolasek!
- Optimized result list merging for better performance. Thanks @daverayment!
- Added Small/Medium/Large detail sizes in the extensions API. Thanks @DevLGuilherme!
- Hid fallback commands on the home page when no query is entered. Thanks @jiripolasek!
- Added back navigation support in the Settings window. Thanks @jiripolasek!
- Added a Command Palette solution filter. Thanks @jiripolasek!
- Updated Extension SDK documentation links to Microsoft Learn. Thanks @RubenFricke!
- Added a custom search engine URL setting for Web Search. Thanks @jiripolasek!
- Added pinyin matching for Chinese input. Thanks @frg2089!
- Bumped Command Palette version to 0.8.
- Removed subtitles from built-in top-level commands. Thanks @jiripolasek!
- Refined separator styling in the details pane. Thanks @jiripolasek!
- Added a built-in Remote Desktop extension.
- Added a Peek command to the Indexer extension.
- Improved default browser detection using the Windows Shell API. Thanks @jiripolasek!
- Added Escape key behavior options. Thanks @jiripolasek!
- Added theme and background customization options. Thanks @jiripolasek!
- Improved WinGet package app matching. Thanks @jiripolasek!
- Added an auto-return-home delay setting. Thanks @jiripolasek!
- Added fallback ranking and global results settings.
- Removed the selection indicator in the context menu list. Thanks @jiripolasek!
- Added a developer ribbon with build and log info. Thanks @jiripolasek!
- Updated the “Learn more” string for Command Palette. Thanks @pratnala!
- Added arrow-key navigation for grid views. Thanks @samrueby!
- Fixed version display when running unpackaged. Thanks @jiripolasek!
- Added a native debugging launch profile. Thanks @jiripolasek!
- Reduced redundant property change notifications in the SDK. Thanks @jiripolasek!
- Improved section readability and accessibility. Thanks @jiripolasek!
- Made gallery spacing uniform. Thanks @jiripolasek!
- Added sections and separators for list and grid pages. Thanks @DevLGuilherme!
Crop & Lock
- Added a screenshot mode that freezes a cropped region into its own window. Thanks @fm-sys!
Cursor Wrap
- Improved Cursor Wrap behavior on multi-monitor setups by wrapping only at outer edges. Thanks @mikehall-ms!
FancyZones
- Fixed editor overlay positioning on mixed-DPI multi-monitor setups. Thanks @Memphizzz!
- Added a FancyZones CLI for command-line layout management.
File Locksmith
- Added a File Locksmith CLI for querying, waiting on, or killing file locks.
Find My Mouse
- Improved spotlight edge rendering for clearer Find My Mouse visuals.
- Added telemetry to track how Find My Mouse is triggered.
Image Resizer
- Fixed Fill mode cropping when Shrink Only is enabled. Thanks @daverayment!
- Added a dedicated Image Resizer CLI for scripted resizing.
Light Switch
- Added telemetry events for Light Switch usage and settings changes.
- Added a Follow Night Light mode to sync theme changes with Night Light.
- Clarified LightSwitchService and LightSwitchStateManager roles in docs.
- Added a Quick Access dashboard button to toggle Light Switch quickly.
- Ensured Light Switch honors GPO policy states with clear status messaging.
Mouse Without Borders
- Continued refactoring Mouse Without Borders by splitting the large Common class into focused components. Thanks @mikeclayton!
- Completed the Common class refactor with Core and IPC helper extraction. Thanks @mikeclayton!
Peek
- Hardened Peek previews with strict resource filtering and safer external link warnings.
- Improved SVG preview compatibility by rendering via WebView2.
PowerRename
- Added HEIF/AVIF EXIF metadata extraction and extension status guidance for related previews.
- Fixed undefined behavior in file time handling. Thanks @safocl!
- Optimized memory allocation for depth-based rename processing.
- Fixed Unicode normalization and non‑breaking space matching. Thanks @daverayment!
- Fixed date token replacements followed by capital letters. Thanks @daverayment!
PowerToys Run Plugins
- Fixed a plugin name typo and added Project Launcher to the third‑party list. Thanks @artickc!
- Added the Open With Antigravity plugin to the third‑party list. Thanks @artickc!
PowerToys Run
- Avoided unnecessary hotkey conflict checks when settings change.
- Added QuickAI to the third-party PowerToys Run plugin list. Thanks @ruslanlap!
Quick Accent
- Added localized quotation marks to Quick Accent. Thanks @warquys!
- Fixed duplicate and redundant characters in Quick Accent sets. Thanks @noraa-junker!
- Fixed DPI positioning issues for Quick Accent on mixed-DPI setups. Thanks @noraa-junker!
Settings
- Added a new tray icon that adapts to theme changes. Thanks @HO-COOH!
- Centralized module enable/disable logic for cleaner Settings UI updates.
- Simplified Settings utilities by removing ISettingsUtils/ISettingsPath interfaces. Thanks @noraa-junker!
- Improved Settings UI consistency and disabled-state visuals.
- Added semantic headings to the Dashboard for better accessibility.
- Introduced Quick Access as a standalone host with updated Settings integration.
- Fixed Dashboard toggle flicker and sort menu checkmarks. Thanks @daverayment!
- Added Native AOT-compatible settings serialization.
- Standardized mouse tool description text. Thanks @daverayment!
- Added a global SettingsUtils singleton to reduce repeated initialization.
You can read more about the latest PowerToys update here. Version 0.97 is now available for download from GitHub and the Microsoft Store.