Microsoft shipped PowerToys v0.100.0 on June 9, 2026, and the release is more than a round number. It introduces a built-in Extension Gallery for the Command Palette, a fully redesigned Shortcut Guide overlay, multi-monitor support for the Dock, faster power status updates, and a quiet integration of Sysinternals’ ZoomIt—all alongside dozens of bug fixes. The free utility suite now feels like a mature control center for Windows power users.

The headliner is the Command Palette’s new in‑app Extension Gallery. Instead of hunting down GitHub repositories and manually installing .dll files, users can now browse, install, and manage extensions directly from the Palette’s settings. The gallery opens with a searchable list of verified extensions, each showing a short description, author, version, and one‑click install button.

Extensions currently cover actions like controlling Spotify playback, querying system information, toggling Windows features, and launching custom scripts. A new “Developer Mode” flag inside the gallery lets advanced users sideload unpublished extensions from local folders. Microsoft says an extension validation process will help maintain quality, but the emphasis on community contributions remains. During the v0.100.0 beta, early testers praised the streamlined workflow; one Reddit thread called it “the feature that makes Command Palette truly indispensable.”

Under the hood, the Palette’s plugin API has been extended to support asynchronous operations and richer UI snippets, so future extensions can return contextual previews—like a weather widget inline with search results. This lays groundwork for a marketplace of interactive modules within the launcher. PowerToys lead Clint Rutkas hinted at plans for a “Packages” concept that would bundle multiple extensions, but that remains on the roadmap beyond v0.100.0.

Redesigned Shortcut Guide

The Shortcut Guide—the overlay that displays available Windows key shortcuts when you hold the Win key—has been rebuilt from scratch. The new guide sports a translucent acrylic backdrop, animated key caps, and a fresh layout that groups shortcuts by category (navigation, window management, accessibility, and more).

More important, the guide is now deeply customizable. Users can reorder shortcut groups, hide keys they never use, and assign custom colors to specific combinations. A high‑contrast mode improves legibility for visually impaired users. The guide also responds to dark and light Windows themes automatically.

Performance has improved dramatically. On older hardware, the previous version could stutter during the overlay animation; the redesigned renderer cuts start‑up time to under 50 milliseconds. A new option lets users replace the default Win‑key trigger with any modifier combination—for example, Ctrl+Win or Alt+Win—to avoid conflicts with game‑related shortcuts. Reviewers on the Microsoft Store have called it “the reason to finally turn Shortcut Guide back on.”

Multi-monitor Dock Support

The Dock module, introduced in v0.90 as a way to quickly access apps and folders from a customizable drawer at the edge of the screen, now supports multiple monitors independently. Each connected display can have its own Dock instance with a unique set of pinned items, position, and visibility rules. A toggle in the Dock settings lets you mirror the same dock across all screens or configure each one separately.

For example, a user with a coding monitor can pin Visual Studio, Terminal, and a file explorer while keeping a second monitor’s Dock tailored to communication apps like Teams and Outlook. Context‑aware behavior also arrives: the Dock can auto‑hide when a full‑screen game or presentation is active, and return when the desktop regains focus.

The multi‑monitor code required a significant rewrite of the Dock’s window‑management layer, and the team credits community contributors for stress‑testing the feature during the 0.99 preview cycle. Early feedback highlights a smoother integration with FancyZones, so snapping windows into zones no longer causes the Dock to flicker or reposition unexpectedly.

Faster Power Display Updates

The Power module—which shows battery percentage, charging status, and estimated time remaining in a compact pop‑up—has been retuned for lower latency. Previously, clicking the Power icon in the system tray triggered a Win32 API call that could lag by a second or more, especially on machines running aggressive power throttling. v0.100.0 replaces the polling mechanism with an event‑driven listener that pushes updates immediately when the system battery state changes.

Battery estimates now refresh every 200 milliseconds while the pop‑up is visible, and the UI uses hardware‑accelerated animations to display the charging graph. A new “Battery Saver” notification appears when the battery drops below a customizable threshold, offering a one‑click link to Windows power settings. Users on Surface devices report that the module now accurately reflects the actual battery wear level, something that had been an open GitHub issue for over a year.

ZoomIt Integration and Other Tweaks

Perhaps the most surprising addition is the quiet integration of ZoomIt, the screen zoom and annotation tool from Sysinternals. Once enabled, a new “ZoomIt” action appears in the Command Palette, launching the utility with a single keystroke. PowerToys doesn’t bundle the obsolete executable but rather acts as a launcher for the version already installed on the machine—a smart design choice that keeps the suite lightweight.

The tie‑in makes sense: ZoomIt’s audience of presenters and demo‑creators overlaps heavily with PowerToys’ power‑user base. Inside the PowerToys settings, users can configure ZoomIt’s default zoom level, drawing pen color, and break timer duration, bypassing the need to memorize Sysinternals’ command‑line switches.

Other changes in v0.100.0 include a refined FancyZones editor that snaps dragged windows more reliably when multiple monitors have different DPI settings, a memory‑leak fix in the Awake module, and accessibility improvements across Color Picker and Text Extractor. The installer now signs all binaries with a SHA‑256 certificate, addressing an enterprise security concern.

How to Get PowerToys v0.100.0

PowerToys v0.100.0 is available immediately from the Microsoft Store (auto‑updated for existing users) and as a standalone installer on GitHub. New users can download it from the official releases page. The update requires Windows 10 version 2004 or later and works on both x64 and ARM64 architectures. The team advises a reboot after installation if you encounter any module registration errors.

If you’re upgrading from a much earlier version, the installer will automatically back up your settings to a JSON file, which you can restore manually. Microsoft’s PowerToys documentation at learn.microsoft.com has been updated with quick‑start guides for the new features.

A Milestone Release

Reaching v0.100.0 carries symbolic weight. PowerToys started as a revival of a Windows 95 nostalgia project, and it has grown into a first‑class productivity toolkit with over 20 million monthly active users. This release signals a shift from a loose collection of experiments into an integrated environment where modules speak to one another—the Command Palette can trigger FancyZones, Dock can follow monitor focus, and ZoomIt launches from the Palette.

Early feedback from the PowerToys GitHub and forums has been overwhelmingly positive, with the Extension Gallery earning the most praise. Some users have reported minor glitches when using the Dock on mixed‑DPI setups, and the team has already tagged those bugs for v0.100.1. The increased community involvement—evident from pull requests that added the Gallery and multi‑monitor Dock—suggests that PowerToys’ future will be even more community‑driven.

For Windows enthusiasts, v0.100.0 is a must‑update. It not only refines existing tools but also opens the door for a wave of new Command Palette extensions. If you haven’t given PowerToys a try in a while, this release makes a compelling case to reinstall and see how far the suite has come.