Microsoft is actively transitioning its PowerToys utility suite for Windows 10 and 11 to the native WinUI 3 framework. As of November 5, 17 tools and settings applications have already been migrated, including PowerRename, Peek, and the Command Palette.
The latest pre-release version, v0.103.3062, includes updates to the Windows App SDK (2.6.4), Win2D (1.4.0), and WebView2 (1.0.4314.35). Developers are refactoring components like the Text Extractor to handle borderless windows and DPI scaling independently, as WinUI 3 lacks certain legacy WPF capabilities.
The migration aims to reduce software bloat. Currently, PowerToys 0.100.2 occupies 960MB of disk space with a 271.7MB installer. Microsoft estimates that removing remaining WPF components could save approximately 85MB of disk space and 30–38MB in installer size, with further savings possible by removing Windows Forms.
Despite the progress, tools like FancyZones, Workspaces, and PowerToys Run remain on WPF. Specifically, PowerToys Run is currently excluded from the migration due to its heavy reliance on the existing WPF plugin ecosystem.
