How to create Command Palette extensions

Learn how to build custom extensions for the Command Palette using C#. This comprehensive guide covers everything from project setup to deployment, helping you enhance this powerful productivity tool for Windows.

Overview

The Command Palette extension system allows developers to create custom commands and workflows that integrate seamlessly with PowerToys Command Palette. Extensions are written in C# and can be developed using the built-in template generator.

What you'll learn:

• How to create a new Command Palette extension project
• Understanding the extension project structure
• Deploying and testing your extension
• Best practices for extension development

Prerequisites:

• Visual Studio with C# development workload
• Windows 11 with PowerToys installed
• Basic knowledge of C# programming

Extensions are written in C#. The fastest way to get started writing extensions is from the Command Palette itself.

1. Open Command Palette
2. Run the Create a new extension command
3. Fill out the fields to populate the template project, and you should be ready to start.

Create a new extension

The form will ask you for the following information:

• ExtensionName: The name of your extension. This will be used as the name of the project and the name of the class that implements your commands. Make sure it's a valid C# class name - it shouldn't have any spaces or special characters, and should start with a capital letter. Reference in docs as <ExtensionName>.
• Extension Display Name: The name of your extension as it will appear in the Command Palette. This can be a more human-readable name.
• Output Path: The folder where the project will be created.
  • The project will be created in a subdirectory of the path you provided.
  • If this path doesn't exist, it will be created for you.

Understanding the extension project structure

Once you submit the form, Command Palette will automatically generate the project for you. At this point, your projects structure should look like the following:

<ExtensionName>/
│   Directory.Build.props
│   Directory.Packages.props
│   nuget.config
│   <ExtensionName>.sln
└───<ExtensionName>
    │   app.manifest
    │   Package.appxmanifest
    │   Program.cs
    │   <ExtensionName>.cs
    │   <ExtensionName>.csproj
    │   <ExtensionName>CommandsProvider.cs
    ├───Assets
    │   <A bunch of placeholder images>
    ├───Pages
    │   <ExtensionName>Page.cs
    └───Properties
        │   launchSettings.json
        └───PublishProfiles
                win-arm64.pubxml
                win-x64.pubxml

(with <ExtensionName> replaced with the name you provided)

You can deploy and run your extension:

• In Visual Studio, Deploy your extension

Once your package is deployed and running, Command Palette will automatically discover your extension and load it into the palette.

**/Properties/launchSettings.json
*.pubxml

1. In the Command Palette, type Reload and press Enter
   1. Make sure to select the Reload that has a subtitle of: Reload Command Palette Extension
2. In the Command Palette, scroll all the way down to the bottom of the list of commands
   1. or up arrow once to get to the end
3. Press Enter on your <ExtensionName>
4. You should see a single command that says TODO: Implement your extension here.

Congrats! You've made your first extension! Now let's go ahead and actually add some commands to it.

Next up: Add commands to your extension

Related content

• PowerToys Command Palette utility
• Extensibility overview
• Extension samples