Windows Search is one of the most frustrating parts of Windows. It’s extremely slow, often fails to find files, and the Windows Search Indexer kills your battery life in the background. I replaced Windows Search with PowerToys Run, and while it wasn’t perfect, it was far better than Windows’ built-in search implementation.
Now, PowerToys has taken it a step further by introducing Command Palette—a fully extensible quick launcher that’s much faster than Windows Search, has a lot more capability, and doesn’t sacrifice performance. Windows Search is now irrelevant for all intents and purposes.
What is Command Palette
A hidden gem straight out of PowerToys
Command Palette is the spiritual successor to PowerToys Run—a tool that gives you absolute control of your Windows PC. I replaced my Start menu with PowerToys Run the day I discovered it and haven’t gone back since.
Command Palette builds on PowerToys Run by adding a more modern user interface and more features. It easily lets you access your most frequently used commands, apps, development tools, and more from a single interface. You can use the Windows Key + Alt + Spacebar keyboard shortcut to bring up the search bar and immediately start searching for whatever you want.
It’s the Windows equivalent of the Spotlight search feature found on macOS systems. Microsoft claims the tool is designed for Windows power users. However, as it stands, Command Palette should be the default search interface for Windows.
Why Command Palette is better than Windows Search
Faster, smarter, and reliable
Windows Search is only good for looking up files and installed programs. You can try searching the web, but the results always open in Microsoft Edge instead of your default browser. There are File Explorer search hacks that can make the experience better, but it doesn’t compare to the versatility the Command Palette offers.
Additionally, the Windows Search Indexer often ignores Windows’ power management settings. You can explicitly set the service to not index your system when it’s running on battery power, which should, in theory, solve the problem. However, I haven’t seen these settings work consistently enough to make a difference.
This leaves the service constantly running in the background, regardless of your PC’s power and battery settings. It affects both your battery life and performance, especially when running on battery power. The more files you have on your system, the worse this problem gets.
Command Palette solves almost all of these issues. As soon as you activate it, you get instant access to
- Application launching
- File and folder search
- System commands
- Window switching
- Web search and bookmarks
- Calculator
- Winget
- Clipboard history
- Windows settings
- Windows Services
- Registry editor
And if that isn’t enough for you, it also supports extensions. These extensions can add features like Winget integration for installing apps and extensions, customization options, media controls, currency and timezone converters, QR code scanners, RSS feed readers, and more. There’s even a Steam extension that lets you quickly search and launch games from your Steam library. It’s also incredibly easy to create your own extensions if you don’t find one that matches your requirements.
The difference the Command Palette will make in your daily Windows use is striking, to say the least. There’s no waiting for indexing, no mysterious delays, no missing files you know should appear in search, and no random failures that require restarting services. Command Palette responds to any command you throw at it instantly.
Another major advantage the Command Palette has is that it’s part of the Microsoft PowerToys suite. So not only do you get an incredible way of searching your PC and a powerful command bar, you also get tons of additional features that Microsoft should ship as default in Windows 11.
Installing PowerToys on Windows 11 is also rather easy. You can either install it from the Microsoft Store, using a downloader from the official GitHub repository, or via a single Winget command as follows:
winget install --id Microsoft.PowerToys
Installing via Winget is the easiest of all three methods. Winget lets you install multiple Windows apps with one command, and my installations always include PowerToys when I’m setting up a new system.
If you still need more functionality from a similar interface, I’d recommend trying out Fluent Search—a tiny app that can search your PC instantly. It does everything the Command Palette can, but has a native file indexer that’s much faster than Windows Search and some additional features such as screen search and a tag-based search system. Relying on the Windows Search Indexer is one of its major weaknesses, which Fluent Search fixes.
The future of Windows productivity
One search bar to rule them all
The Command Palette represents what Windows search should have been all along—fast, reliable, and extensible. Microsoft has positioned it as the successor to PowerToys Run, and it’s clear that the company is serious about turning it into a comprehensive productivity tool.
If you’re tired of fighting with Windows Search, Command Palette is the one solution that fixes it all. It takes minutes to download and set up, is built by Microsoft, and once you’ve experienced the difference, I don’t think you’ll be going back.
