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PowerToys Command Palette vs Launchy: catalog facts
PowerToys Command Palette	Launchy
Best for: Windows users who want a keyboard launcher from Microsoft	Best for: Windows users who want a simple, free keystroke launcher
Free Free as part of Microsoft PowerToys.	Free Free and open source.
Windows	Windows
Opens with one shortcut and searches apps, files, commands and the web Extensible and customisable All 4 strengths for PowerToys Command Palette Opens with one shortcut and searches apps, files, commands and the web Extensible and customisable Optional compact search box mode Comes with the rest of the PowerToys utilities	Guesses the target from a few typed characters Opens programs, files, folders and websites All 3 strengths for Launchy Guesses the target from a few typed characters Opens programs, files, folders and websites Runs quietly in the background until called
Windows only Requires PowerToys to be installed and running in the background	A community fork of an older project with a small following Windows focused
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: MIT	License not stated
No account needed	No account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Offline features available
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for PowerToys Command Palette learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/powertoys/command-palette… Catalog checked October 1, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for Launchy github.com/OpenNingia/Launchy Catalog checked October 1, 2026

“Not stated” means we have not confirmed it. Features can vary by device and plan.