Portable gaming, cleanup, debloat, privacy and repair in one native Windows dashboard. Built-in PowerShell and WPF; no account, installer, advertising or background agent.
· MIT license · Changelog
Download v3.0.0 · Release notes and checksums
Rendered from the actual WPF dashboard with initial selections. Hardware and results load on the target PC.
Download the complete v3.0.0 ZIP, extract it into a new folder, then double-click START_TOOLKIT.bat. Accept UAC for your own Windows account. Keep the tool folders and shared Modules folder together; individual tools now depend on the complete bundle. Older releases do not contain this dashboard.
For an upgrade, close the old dashboard and launch the newly extracted copy. Existing reports and recovery backups in %ProgramData%\WindowsPCToolkit remain available. The release includes SHA256SUMS.txt and release-provenance.json; compare the ZIP with Get-FileHash -Algorithm SHA256 to verify your download. GitHub's Code → Download ZIP provides development source, which can differ from the release.
Optimize now applies ten recommended actions together:
- Enable Windows Game Mode.
- Disable promotional suggestions and silent suggested-app installs.
- Disable advertising personalization and tailored experiences.
- Disable activity-history publishing and upload.
- Clean disposable Temp files older than seven days, checking write/access age and skipping protected paths, links and locked files.
- Refresh cached DNS answers, preserving provider and adapter settings.
- Repair confirmed dead startup/MuiCache registry entries with typed backups.
- Disable the Recall optional feature when present and enabled, saving its state for undo.
- Remove allowlisted consumer apps, including modern Microsoft Copilot and the Microsoft 365 hub, after verified package copies.
- Disable Edge built-in AI model downloads and website AI APIs where supported.
Preview changes explains the plan without applying it. Nine additional choices cover captures, mouse acceleration, animations, Explorer/taskbar preferences, Delivery Optimization cleanup and SSD ReTrim. Some settings need sign-out to refresh; no restart is forced.
The one-click profile names installed apps in its removal confirmation; package backups are verified before each uninstall. To keep consumer apps, untick Remove Copilot and optional consumer apps. For individual app removals and startup control, select rows on their pages and tick Also apply my selected startup entries and app removals. These changes share one recovery journal.
| Page | Features |
|---|---|
| Optimize | Recommended/custom choices, read-only preview, progress and results. |
| Startup & tasks | Registry startup entries and third-party boot/logon tasks; reviewed disable and original-state undo. Microsoft tasks are excluded. |
| App debloat | Consumer-app removal for your account after verified package copies. Store, Xbox, Gaming Services, WebView, frameworks and essential packages are excluded. |
| Encrypted DNS | Physical-adapter selection, coherent Quad9/AdGuard profiles, verification, previous-state restore and automatic DNS. |
| Recovery & reports | History, settings/startup undo, failure details and preservation of intervening registry changes. |
| Repair & tools | DISM then SFC, restore points, hardware/essential-service status, advanced consoles and Windows settings. |
The gaming console adds HAGS controls, temporary game-session priority/stay-awake, GPU/network/storage/display/PCVR audits and JSON benchmark snapshots. Session settings are released in finally, including interrupted sessions.
The recommended profile preserves Windows Update, Defender, Store, Xbox, Gaming Services, browser state, separate local-AI model stores, drivers, power/sleep, shaders, network offloads, timers and GPU interrupt settings. It does not mass-disable services or reset networking. Consumer-AppX removal is a visible default choice with a named confirmation; Store, Xbox, Gaming Services, WebView and frameworks are excluded.
Strict privacy, network reset and shader troubleshooting remain explicit advanced choices. No optimizer guarantees FPS gains or policy effects on every edition/build. Registry read-back proves a saved setting, not better frame times.
Registry care is targeted repair: remove dead startup/MuiCache values only when their executable is confirmed absent on a ready fixed local drive. Uninstall/App Paths/COM registrations and shortcuts remain for review. Broad registry sweeping is not an optimization profile.
Existing DoH entries are updated in place. Restore matches adapter GUIDs and separately preserves IPv4/IPv6 automatic versus static modes. Unrelated adapters, VPNs and other providers' DoH entries are preserved. Failed apply attempts restore the previous state and report any rollback failure.
Quad9 requires its live TXT transport test to report doh; an unavailable test fails verification. AdGuard checks configuration/resolution without claiming the same live attestation.
Mullvad public encrypted DNS ends November 2, 2026. Its new-apply choices are removed now; old backups remain restorable. Historical Mullvad launchers open the supported-provider menu. Use Quad9 or AdGuard for ongoing service. Mullvad announcement, Quad9 services, AdGuard DNS.
We recommend optimizerDuck for broader Windows customization, optimization and management. It is a useful open-source companion and informed our coverage goals. Download it from its own releases.
This toolkit uses an independent implementation and a narrower automatic profile focused on update/game compatibility. No Duck binary or GPL source is bundled. See the feature coverage map for overlap and differences.
Dashboard reports, typed registry journals, task states and verified package copies live in %ProgramData%\WindowsPCToolkit\Suite\Runs and Suite\AppBackups.
Registry state is saved before mutation, preserves types/literal environment strings, and is checked after restore. Undo keeps intervening registry changes and lists conflicts. Repeating completed undo preserves current state. Failed registry actions attempt to restore partial changes.
Recall is disabled using the supported Windows optional-feature API with no forced restart. Undo re-enables the recorded feature; pending servicing changes require a restart before verification. The dashboard removes the modern Copilot app rather than relying on the retiring legacy Copilot policy. AI controls preserve Windows AI frameworks and separate local-AI applications/model stores. Browser-policy support varies by version/profile. Copilot removal, Recall management, Edge model policy.
Deleted temporary/cache files, Recall snapshots and browser-built-in AI models are not recoverable through the journal. Windows/Store updates may offer apps again; removal affects the current account, not provisioning for future accounts. App removal can delete app data; backups support package re-registration, not app-data recovery. Dependencies/servicing may prevent re-registration; the report identifies failures and Microsoft Store remains the reinstall route. System repair is logged maintenance, not a reversible registry tweak.
Advanced consoles retain directories under %ProgramData%\WindowsPCToolkit: GamingOptimizer\Snapshots, PrivacyGuard\Snapshots, EncryptedDNS\Snapshots, PCFixer\NetworkSnapshots / AIFeatureSnapshots, and Cleaner\Logs / RegistryBackups.
| Component | Version | Documentation |
|---|---|---|
| Dashboard / core | 3.0.0 | This page |
| Gaming Optimizer | 5.0 | Gaming |
| PC Cleaner | 1.1 | Cleanup/registry |
| Corruption Fixer | 7.2 | Repair |
| Privacy Guard | 2.1 | Privacy |
| Encrypted DNS | 2.2 | DNS |
Windows 11 is the main target. General tools also support Windows 10; Windows 11 options are build-gated and system DoH requires Windows 11. Use built-in Windows PowerShell 5.1 in STA mode; the launcher supplies the executable/arguments. No extra runtime is needed.
# Read-only plan
powershell.exe -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\Toolkit.Run.ps1 -Preview
# Static checks
powershell.exe -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\Validate_All.ps1
# Disposable registry/filesystem, actual WPF, simulated failures
powershell.exe -NoProfile -STA -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\tests\Test_Toolkit.ps1Tests do not apply live optimization or change live DNS/update services. Validation evidence and limits.