PowerToys Run plugins take access to Windows 11 search and apps to the next level

PowerToys Run has been around for a while. It lets you use a Run dialog-like bar (with a better UI) to complete tasks without leaving the keyboard. It’s already feature-rich and can search the web, convert units, manipulate operating system settings, search for files, and more. However, support for external plugins allows it to accomplish much more than the basic feature set.

PowerToys Run is similar to the macOS search experience, but it takes the search experience on Windows 11 to the next level by using plugins. Over the past few months, several new plugins, both official and third-party, have appeared and deserve special mention.

For those who don’t know, PowerToys Run is powered by a plugin system, which can be manually activated to enable/disable features. You can select and extend the features of the PowerToys Run search experience.

One of my absolute favorites is to use WinGet directly in the Run bar instead of opening a terminal and then managing installed packages or downloading new ones. If you don’t use WinGet, you can use the plugin for Scoop. This is similar to WinGet, but it is one of the oldest package managers for Windows.

While browsing the Github repository, we also found another useful plugin called BrowserSearch. With this plugin I can search my previously visited sites and pages from the Run terminal.

It supports all popular browsers like Microsoft Edge, Chrome and more. Even some lesser-known software like Waterfox is supported. So I don’t need to launch separate browsers and guess.

You may also like Process Killerone of my absolute favorites that basically gives you a reason not to use Task Manager to kill processes.

We found another cool integration that gives you access to ChatGPT from the Run bar, but the search results open in a new browser window. Basically, you still skip two steps of launching the browser and entering the search query.

It’s not very useful but might please some users. It would be great if he could open it up in the same bar by extending it a bit and adding scrolling capabilities.

Some third-party extension plugins are available. Spotify allows you to search Spotify and listen to music, all while RDP can open a Remote Desktop Connection on your PC.

Install and use a plugin in PowerToys Run

How to use these plugins with PowerToys? First, check out the official plugin page with links to all official and third-party plugins, then follow these steps:

Download PowerToys from the Microsoft Store.
Download their latest package archive to your PC and close all running instances of PowerToys.
Extract the archive files into the Downloads case.
Open the Start menu, paste the following address and press Enter to access the Plugin folder or tool.
```
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\PowerToys\PowerToys Run\Plugins\
```
Move Or copy extract the plugin folder to that location and close all open File Explorer windows.
RELAUNCH PowerToys and visit the Run feature Plugin section to activate the newly added plugin if it is inactive. Note the special direct activation commandwhich is usually a character or small word.
For example, if I want to use the ChatGPT plugin, I type the GPT command in the run bar, add my query and press Enter.

If the plugins don’t work, check the official page again for instructions. However, restarting the PC works most of the time.

And you? Which PowerToys feature do you like best? Let us know in the comments below.