Files
PowerToys/src/modules/cmdpal
2025-04-23 14:37:59 -05:00
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cmdpal logo Command Palette

Windows Command Palette ("CmdPal") is the next iteration of PowerToys Run. With extensibility at it's core, the Command Palette is your one-stop launcher to start anything.

By default, CmdPal is bound to Win+Alt+Space.

Creating an extension

The fastest way to get started is just to run the "Create extension" command in the palette itself. That'll prompt you for a project name and a Display Name, and where you want to place your project. Then just open the sln it produces. You should be ready to go 🙂.

The official API documentation can be found [on this docs site](TODO! Add docs link when we have one)

We've also got samples, so that you can see how the APIs in-action.

[!info] The Command Palette is currently in preview. Many features of the API are not yet fully implemented. We may introduce breaking API changes before CmdPal itself is v1.0.0

Building CmdPal

The Command Palette is included as a part of PowerToys. To get started building, open up the root PowerToys.sln, to get started building.

Projects of interest are:

  • Microsoft.CmdPal.UI: This is the main project for CmdPal. Build and run this to get the CmdPal.
  • Microsoft.CommandPalette.Extensions: This is the official extension interface.
    • This is designed to be language-agnostic. Any programming language which supports implementing WinRT interfaces should be able to implement the WinRT interface.
  • Microsoft.CommandPalette.Extensions.Toolkit: This is a C# helper library for creating extensions. This makes writing extensions easier.
  • Everything under "SampleExtensions": These are example plugins to demo how to author extensions. Deploy any number of these, to get a feel for how the extension API works.