Screw the Windows Search Bar and Use the Command Palette Instead
Mac users are spoiled when it comes to searching on their computers. Macs have a built-in Spotlight search that they can use to open apps, find files, perform calculations, and search the web. Windows has a search bar, but when you compare what they can do, it’s not quite the same.
Now, however, there’s a new tool called Command Palette, and it’s a keyboard launcher designed specifically for developers and power users. It replaces the similar PowerToys Run feature and offers many more features, including the ability to run commands, search the web, search for files, and add custom bookmarks and global keyboard shortcuts.
How to install and enable the command palette
The Command Palette is part of PowerToys, a set of powerful apps and utilities created by Microsoft itself. They are open source and updated much faster than any built-in Windows feature. You can download and install PowerToys from theirGitHub page, from the Microsoft Store , or using the Windows Package Manager .
After installing PowerToys (or updating to version 0.9 or higher), open the application and look for the Command Palette option in the sidebar. If you don’t see the application window, right-click the PowerToys utility in the Windows taskbar and select Options .
On the Command Palette screen, make sure the extension is enabled. Here you will see the default keyboard shortcut for the Command Palette, which is Windows + Alt + Space , but you can change it to whatever you want.
Customize Command Palette Keyboard Shortcuts and Other Options
First, open the Command Palette using the keyboard shortcut, then click the Settings button in the bottom right corner. From here, you can use the Activation Key option to reassign the keyboard shortcut to something simpler, like Alt + Space .
While you’re here, you can also customize the behavior of the command palette. I find the ability to use Backspace to go back to the previous step most useful, but your mileage may vary.
Now let’s see what the command palette can do.
System settings and file search
Open the Command Palette and start typing. Everything you could want from a basic keyboard launcher is here. You can use the Command Palette to open apps and find files and folders.
You can start searching for apps directly. But when it comes to files and folders, it is better to select the file search option first. Just type “ file ”, select the option, and then start searching. Similarly, if you use the “ = ” key, you will enter the calculator mode.
Switching between open windows
The Command Palette has a built-in window switcher, and it can display all windows across different desktops and monitors. Open the Command Palette and type the less-than symbol ( ), and you’ll see a list of all your open windows and applications. You can scroll or search through it, or you can simply type the name of a specific application or window to highlight it, then press Enter to quickly switch to it.
Use bookmarks to open any folder or website
Bookmarks are probably the best feature in Command Palette. Searching for files is certainly useful, but more often than not, you find yourself opening the same folders and files over and over again throughout the day. For me, that’s the Screenshots and Downloads folders. Now I can use Command Palette to make opening them easier.
Namely, I can create a bookmark that opens the Downloads folder with just a few letters or a global keyboard shortcut. This works for any folder or file path, even a website URL.
First, navigate to the folder you want to assign a shortcut to, right-click the folder at the top and select Copy Address to copy the file path. In the command palette, use the Add Bookmark option. Here, paste the file path and give it a name.
Now you can give it a unique nickname and a global shortcut. Go to the Command Palette settings and in the sidebar, select Extensions > Bookmarks . Here you will see your newly created bookmark.
Click on it and you can now record a unique global hotkey or give it an alias that will make it easier to find in the command palette.
Search the Internet
The Command Palette has a quick way to search the web that opens right in your default browser. Type ” ?? ” and then type your query. Hit Enter and that’s it.
Run any Terminal command
If you use the greater than sign ( > ) before you start typing in the Command Palette, you’ll enter Terminal mode. From here, you can type any command and it will open in the Terminal app, where it will be executed for you.
Installing Applications Using WinGet
We’ve already talked about WinGet, the hidden package manager inside Windows that lets you install any package or app with a single command. Well, now you don’t even have to open the Terminal to do it. Once you’ve set up WinGet, you can simply type ” winget ” into the Command Palette, then specify the package you want to install. The Command Palette will search for and start installing the package for you.
Use extensions to add even more functionality
Finally, you can use third-party extensions to add even more functionality to the Command Palette. Since this feature is new, the collection is quite limited, but we hope that the developers will add more extensions in the future. To see your extensions, open the Command Palette and search for Extensions. You can find extensions on WinGet or in the Microsoft Store.