SlyPilot vs. Microsoft PowerToys
PowerToys is Microsoft's free, open-source set of utilities for Windows power users, and a very good one. If you use Windows seriously, you have probably
PowerToys is Microsoft's free, open-source set of utilities for Windows power users, and a very good one. If you use Windows seriously, you have probably installed it. So the honest question isn't "which one?" but "what does SlyPilot add, and where do they overlap?"
The short answer: they overlap on about a dozen small tools, and they differ completely in what they are built around. PowerToys is a toolbox of separate keyboard-and-mouse utilities. SlyPilot is one program built around how you reach your PC: voice, touch, pen, Surface Dial, the phone in your hand, your head, and AI assistants. All of it never steals the focus from the window you are typing in. Many people run both.
PowerToys facts checked in October 2026 (version 0.100, June 2026). PowerToys changes quickly; see Microsoft's PowerToys page for the current list.
🧩 Module by Module
| PowerToys module | SlyPilot | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| FancyZones (window zones) | Snap layouts: 18 touch zones, your own zones, Shift+drag zones with Alt+drag, window rules | FancyZones has a richer visual zone editor; SlyPilot's zones are made for touch, voice ("snap left third") and the snap card. |
| Workspaces | Workspaces across virtual desktops, with optional auto-launch | SlyPilot's include the desktop each window was on. |
| Peek (Ctrl+Space) | File peek (Space; Ctrl+Space if you prefer) | PowerToys Peek plays videos and renders more file types itself; SlyPilot shows the picture Windows makes, lists text and folders, and follows the arrow keys without taking the keyboard from Explorer. |
| PowerRename | Rename Files | PowerRename sits in Windows 11's new right-click menu and has more options; SlyPilot's is one sentence away ("rename these files") with a preview and undo. |
| Image Resizer | Resize Pictures | Similar: new files, never larger. SlyPilot doesn't read WebP or HEIC for resizing yet. |
| Keyboard Manager | Key remap | Both remap keys globally or per program; SlyPilot can also bind a key to any of its 550+ commands (F8 = say:snap left). |
| Mouse utilities: Find My Mouse, Mouse Highlighter, Mouse Pointer Crosshairs, Mouse Jump | Find my mouse (also by shaking), click highlight, crosshairs, pointer to the next monitor | Mouse Jump shows a miniature of all screens; SlyPilot jumps to the same place on the next monitor. |
| Screen Ruler | Screen ruler | PowerToys has more measuring modes (bounds, horizontal, vertical); SlyPilot's measures the spacing at the pointer and copies it with Enter. |
| Shortcut Guide | Shortcut cheat sheet (hold Ctrl) | Shortcut Guide shows Windows' own shortcuts; SlyPilot's shows the program in front (browsers, Office, Teams, Slack, VS Code, Photoshop, Figma …) and can press a shortcut for you. |
| Text Extractor | Copy text from the screen (OCR), plus translate a screen area | Both use Windows' offline OCR. |
| Color Picker | Colour picker in screenshots and the Magnifier's pixel loupe | PowerToys keeps a colour history and more formats. |
| Awake | Keep awake ("keep awake for an hour") and Presenting mode | |
| Always On Top | Pin a window (Touch Bar chip, "pin window") | |
| ZoomIt | The Magnifier, the drawing board, presenter tools and the countdown | SlyPilot's set is larger and works by voice, touch and pen; ZoomIt is a single small tool many presenters know by heart. |
| Command Palette / PowerToys Run | Command palette (Ctrl+Alt+Space): commands, windows, desktops, files, snippets, calculator, units, "? what can it do" | PowerToys' launcher has a large extension ecosystem; SlyPilot's palette knows every SlyPilot command and your own macros. |
| Advanced Paste (AI) | AI actions on selected text | SlyPilot works on the selection in any program, with a model on your PC or one you choose. |
| Mouse Without Borders, File Locksmith, Hosts File Editor, Registry Preview, Environment Variables, Quick Accent, Crop And Lock, New+, Command Not Found | — | Not in SlyPilot. Keep PowerToys for these. |
🌟 What SlyPilot Adds That PowerToys Doesn't Try to Do
- Voice: over 550 offline voice commands, "show numbers" to click anything by voice, and AI dictation (Pro) that types into any program.
- Touch, pen and the Surface Dial: the Touch Bar that never takes the focus, the radial menu, shortcut panels and a gesture pad.
- Hands-free: the head mouse, clicks by holding still.
- Virtual desktops as a first-class thing: switching, naming, routing programs, a live preview of each desktop.
- AI assistants on your desktop: an MCP server and agent API with approvals, protected windows and an activity log; assistants that point and draw on your screen.
- Automations and modes: "when Teams starts, mute notifications and connect my headphones".
- Display switches and a volume mixer in two touch-sized cards.
- SlyPilot Pro: dictation, the phone remote, natural voices, meeting notes with live captions and a copilot, the screenshot editor and recorder, Memory and settings sync.
🤝 Running Both
They coexist. Where both do the same thing, switch one of the pair off so they don't answer the same key:
| If you keep … | Switch off |
|---|---|
| PowerToys Peek on Ctrl+Space | nothing: SlyPilot's peek uses Space. Or switch SlyPilot's off ("file peek off"). |
| PowerToys' crosshairs or Find My Mouse | either one's shortcut, if you set them to the same key |
| Keyboard Manager | don't remap the same key in both |
| FancyZones | SlyPilot's Shift+drag zones (Alt+drag can stay) |