# Chris Titus Tech's Windows Utility (WinUtil) — User Guide WinUtil is a free, open-source **Windows 11 toolbox** that bundles the most common post-install chores into one window. From a single elevated PowerShell command you can **install** dozens of applications cleanly, **debloat and tweak** Windows for privacy and performance, **fix** broken Windows components, control **Windows Update**, and even build a **custom, debloated Windows 11 installation ISO**. It runs entirely from memory as a PowerShell script — there is nothing to install and nothing left behind when you close it. > [!IMPORTANT] > WinUtil makes system-wide changes (registry edits, service changes, software installs, appx removals). It **must be run as Administrator**, and you should understand what each tweak does before applying it. When in doubt, create a restore point first (WinUtil can do this for you). --- ## 1. Quick Start WinUtil is launched with one line in an **Administrator** PowerShell or Terminal window. There is no download, no installer, and no setup wizard. === "Stable (recommended)" ```powershell irm https://christitus.com/win | iex ``` === "Development (preview)" ```powershell irm https://christitus.com/windev | iex ``` Expected result — the script downloads the latest build, relaunches itself elevated if needed, and the GUI appears: ```text ====Chris Titus Tech===== =====Windows Toolbox===== Winutil needs to be run as Administrator. Attempting to relaunch. ``` A window titled **WinUtil (Admin)** opens with five tabs: **Install**, **Tweaks**, **Config**, **Updates**, and **Win11ISO**. > [!TIP] > `irm` is shorthand for `Invoke-RestMethod` and `iex` for `Invoke-Expression`. The command fetches the script from `christitus.com/win` (a redirect to the latest GitHub release) and runs it. Run it again any time you want the newest version — it always pulls the latest build. > [!NOTE] > WinUtil targets **Windows 11**. Windows 10 reached end of support on **October 14, 2025** and is no longer supported. WinUtil also runs on Windows Server and LTSC editions, though some features may not apply. ### Open an Administrator terminal WinUtil cannot run without elevation. To open an elevated shell: - **Start menu:** Right-click **Start** → *Terminal (Admin)* or *Windows PowerShell (Admin)*. - **Search:** Press the `Windows` key, type `Terminal` or `PowerShell`, then press `Ctrl + Shift + Enter`. If you launch WinUtil from a non-elevated shell, it will detect this and automatically relaunch itself as Administrator (using Windows Terminal or PowerShell, and `pwsh` if installed). --- ## 2. Requirements | Requirement | Detail | |---|---| | Operating system | Windows 11 (Windows 10 unsupported as of 2025-10-14). Server / LTSC work with caveats. | | Privileges | **Administrator** (the script self-elevates if not already elevated). | | PowerShell language mode | **FullLanguage**. Constrained Language Mode is blocked (see Troubleshooting). | | Internet | Required to download the script and to install applications. Most tweaks work offline. | | Package managers | **WinGet** (default) or **Chocolatey** — WinUtil installs/repairs them for you as needed. | > [!NOTE] > You never "install" WinUtil. It is a PowerShell script loaded into memory while the window is open (using roughly 50–100 MB of RAM) and removed from memory when you close it. To uninstall it, simply close the window. --- ## 3. Touring the Interface The window is frameless and draggable. A left navigation rail switches between the five tabs; the top bar holds a search box (on the Install and Tweaks tabs), a theme switcher, and a settings menu. | Tab | Shortcut | What it does | |---|---|---| | **Install** | `Alt + I` | Browse and install/uninstall applications via WinGet or Chocolatey. | | **Tweaks** | `Alt + T` | Apply privacy/performance tweaks, presets, and DNS changes. | | **Config** | `Alt + C` | Enable Windows features, run fixes, open legacy panels, set up remote access. | | **Updates** | `Alt + U` | Choose a Windows Update policy (Default / Security / Disabled). | | **Win11ISO** | `Alt + W` | Build a custom, debloated Windows 11 install ISO or USB (MicroWin). | ### Keyboard shortcuts | Shortcut | Action | |---|---| | `Alt + I` / `T` / `C` / `U` / `W` | Jump to Install / Tweaks / Config / Updates / Win11ISO | | `Ctrl + F` | Focus the search bar (Install and Tweaks tabs) | | `Esc` | Clear the search box | | `Ctrl + Q` | Close WinUtil | | Double-click title bar | Maximize / restore the window | > [!TIP] > Shortcuts are ignored while a task is running, so you can't accidentally start a second operation mid-install. ### Theme and settings - The **theme button** (top bar) offers **Auto**, **Dark**, and **Light**. Auto follows the Windows system theme and updates live when you change it. - The **settings (gear) menu** holds **Import**, **Export**, **About**, **Documentation**, and **Sponsor**. - A **font scaling** slider lets you enlarge or shrink the UI text (50%–… with a **Reset** to 100%). --- ## 4. Installing Applications (Install Tab) The Install tab is a curated catalog of popular Windows apps, grouped into categories such as **Browsers**, **Communications**, **Development**, **Games**, **Microsoft Tools**, **Multimedia Tools**, **Pro Tools**, **Selfhosted Tools**, and **Utilities**. Each app is installed cleanly from its official source — no bundled toolbars or bloatware. ### Choose your package manager At the top of the Install tab, pick the engine used for installs: | Option | Notes | |---|---| | **WinGet** | Default. Windows Package Manager. | | **Chocolatey** | Alternative. WinUtil installs Chocolatey automatically if needed. | Your choice is **remembered across sessions**. If an app has no Chocolatey package (marked `na`), WinUtil automatically falls back to WinGet for that app even when Chocolatey is selected. ### Select and install apps 1. Press `Alt + I` to open the Install tab. 2. Browse the categories, or press `Ctrl + F` and type to **search** by name or description. 3. Tick the checkbox for each app you want. The **Selected Apps** button updates its count (e.g. `Selected Apps: 3`); click it to see and remove individual selections. 4. Click **Install/Upgrade Applications**. ```text =========================================== -- Installs have finished --- =========================================== ``` > [!TIP] > Apps that are **free and open-source (FOSS)** are highlighted in green when the **Highlight FOSS** toggle is on (it is on by default). Toggle it off to remove the highlight. If an app is already installed, the install action upgrades it to the latest version when one is available. ### Right-click any app Right-click an app entry for a quick menu with three actions: | Icon action | What it does | |---|---| | **Install** | Install or upgrade just that one app immediately. | | **Uninstall** | Uninstall just that one app. | | **Info** | Open the app's official website in your browser. | ### Other Install-tab actions | Button | Action | |---|---| | **Uninstall Applications** | Uninstall all selected apps (asks for confirmation first). | | **Upgrade all Applications** | Upgrade *every* installed app via `winget upgrade --all` (or `choco upgrade all`). | | **Show Installed Apps** | Tick the boxes for apps already on your system. | | **Clear Selection** | Clear all checkboxes. | | **Collapse All / Expand All Categories** | Fold or unfold the category list. | > [!WARNING] > **Upgrade all Applications** opens a separate PowerShell window and upgrades everything WinGet/Chocolatey knows about, including apps you didn't install through WinUtil. This is intentional but can be noisy. > [!NOTE] > WinUtil focuses on *installing* apps. There is no full uninstall-everything GUI — use the per-app right-click **Uninstall**, the **Uninstall Applications** button for selected apps, or Windows **Settings → Apps** for anything else. --- ## 5. Tweaking Windows (Tweaks Tab) The Tweaks tab applies privacy, debloat, and performance changes. It is split into: - **Essential Tweaks** — safe, broadly recommended changes (checkboxes). - **Advanced Tweaks – CAUTION** — aggressive changes that can break functionality (checkboxes). - **Customize Preferences** — quality-of-life toggles (on/off switches). - **Performance Plans** — power-plan helpers (not for laptops). ### Apply a recommended preset Instead of picking tweaks one by one, use a preset to tick a curated set of Essential Tweaks: | Preset | Best for | |---|---| | **Standard** | Balanced defaults for most users. | | **Minimal** | The lightest touch — minimal changes suitable for everyone. | | **Advanced** | Deeper debloat for power users (adds Widget removal, OneDrive removal, Windows AI disable, classic right-click menu, and more). | Click a preset to **replace** your current tweak selection, review the ticked boxes, then click **Run Tweaks**. > [!TIP] > A preset only *selects* checkboxes — nothing is applied until you click **Run Tweaks**. Review the selection first, especially with **Advanced**. ### Run and undo tweaks 1. Tick the tweaks you want (or apply a preset). 2. Click **Run Tweaks**. A progress bar shows each tweak as it applies. 3. To revert, tick the **same** tweaks and click **Undo Selected Tweaks** — WinUtil restores the original values. ```text ================================= -- Tweaks are Finished --- ================================= ``` > [!TIP] > Keep **Create Restore Point** ticked (it is part of the Standard and Advanced presets). WinUtil creates the restore point *first*, before any other tweak, so you always have a rollback path. ### Customize Preferences (toggles) These are instant on/off switches — flipping a toggle applies the change immediately (and flipping it back undoes it). They include: | Toggle | Effect | |---|---| | Dark Theme for Windows | Switch Windows to dark mode | | File Explorer File Extensions | Show known file extensions | | File Explorer Hidden Files | Show hidden files | | Taskbar Centered Icons | Center or left-align taskbar icons | | Taskbar Search Icon / Task View Icon | Show/hide taskbar buttons | | Start Menu Bing Search | Disable web/Bing results in Start search | | Start Menu Recommendations | Hide the recommended section | | System Tray Battery Percentage | Show battery percentage | | Mouse Acceleration | Enable/disable pointer precision | | Sticky Keys | Enable/disable Sticky Keys | | Num Lock on Startup | Force NumLock at boot | | Game Mode | Toggle Windows Game Mode | | Enable Long Paths | Allow paths longer than 260 characters | | Verbose Logon / BSoD Verbose Mode | Show detailed logon and crash info | | ...and more | (Outlook new version, scrollbars, sleep modes, etc.) | > [!NOTE] > Some Essential and Advanced tweaks (for example, removing widgets or reverting the Start menu) download and run small helper tools or restart Explorer. WinUtil tells you in the output panel and may ask you to restart for changes to take effect. ### Change your DNS In the **Advanced Tweaks** section, the **DNS – Set to:** dropdown points all active network adapters at a chosen provider (both IPv4 and IPv6): | Option | Provider | |---|---| | `Default` | Leave DNS unchanged | | `DHCP` | Reset to automatic (DHCP-assigned) DNS | | `Google` | 8.8.8.8 / 8.8.4.4 | | `Cloudflare` | 1.1.1.1 / 1.0.0.1 | | `Cloudflare_Malware` | 1.1.1.2 (blocks malware) | | `Cloudflare_Malware_Adult` | 1.1.1.3 (blocks malware + adult content) | | `Open_DNS` | 208.67.222.222 / 208.67.220.220 | | `Quad9` | 9.9.9.9 | | `AdGuard_Ads_Trackers` | 94.140.14.14 (blocks ads/trackers) | | `AdGuard_Ads_Trackers_Malware_Adult` | 94.140.14.15 (blocks ads/trackers/malware/adult) | Pick a provider and click **Run Tweaks**. The DNS change is applied alongside any other selected tweaks. ### Other Tweaks-tab tools | Button | Action | |---|---| | **Ultimate Performance Profile – Enable / Disable** | Add or remove the "Ultimate Performance" power plan. **Not for laptops.** | | **O&O ShutUp10++ – Run** | Download and launch the popular O&O ShutUp10++ privacy tool. | | **Clear Tweaks Selection** | Untick all tweaks. | --- ## 6. Fixing & Configuring Windows (Config Tab) The Config tab groups one-click **Features**, **Fixes**, **Legacy Windows Panels**, **PowerShell Profile**, and **Remote Access** actions. Click a button to run it. ### Features (enable optional Windows components) | Button | Enables | |---|---| | **.NET Framework (2, 3, 4)** | Legacy .NET Framework features | | **Hyper-V** | Microsoft's hardware virtualization | | **Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)** | Run Linux natively on Windows | | **Network File System (NFS)** | NFS client + configures anonymous access | | **Windows Sandbox** | Disposable isolated desktop | | **Registry Backup (Daily 12:30am)** | Re-enables periodic registry backups | | **Legacy F8 Boot Recovery – Enable / Disable** | Advanced Boot Options menu | | **Install Features** | Apply the selected feature checkboxes | ### Fixes (repair broken Windows components) | Button | What it does | |---|---| | **Windows Update – Reset** | Stops update services, clears caches, re-registers DLLs, resets policies, and restarts updates. | | **Network – Reset** | `netsh winsock reset` + `netsh int ip reset` (restart afterward). | | **System Corruption Scan – Run** | Runs `chkdsk`, `sfc /scannow`, and `DISM /RestoreHealth`. | | **WinGet – Reinstall** | Repairs or reinstalls WinGet. | | **NTP Server – Enable** | Switches time sync to `pool.ntp.org`. | | **AutoLogon – Run** | Downloads Sysinternals Autologon to set up automatic sign-in. | ### Legacy Windows Panels One-click shortcuts to classic control panels: **Control Panel**, **Computer Management**, **Network Connections**, **Power Panel**, **Printer Panel**, **Region**, **Windows Restore**, **Sound Settings**, **System Properties**, and **Time and Date**. ### PowerShell Profile & Remote Access | Button | What it does | |---|---| | **CTT PowerShell Profile – Install / Remove** | Installs (or removes, restoring your backup) Chris Titus Tech's PowerShell 7 profile. | | **OpenSSH Server – Enable** | Installs and enables the Windows OpenSSH server. | > [!CAUTION] > Enabling **OpenSSH Server** opens your machine to remote SSH connections. Only do this on trusted networks and ensure strong account passwords. --- ## 7. Controlling Windows Update (Updates Tab) Three mutually exclusive policies: | Button | Result | |---|---| | **Default Updates** | Restores Windows Update to stock behavior (removes WinUtil's update policies, re-enables services and scheduled tasks). | | **Security Updates** | Installs security patches but defers **feature** updates 365 days and **quality** updates 4 days. | | **Disable Updates** | Blocks **all** updates, including security. **Not recommended.** | > [!WARNING] > **Disable Updates** stops security patches and clears the SoftwareDistribution folder. Use it only temporarily and re-enable updates (Default Updates) as soon as possible. A restart is required for changes to take effect. --- ## 8. Building a Custom Windows 11 ISO (Win11ISO / MicroWin) The Win11ISO tab (MicroWin) lets you create a slimmed-down, debloated Windows 11 installation image — useful for clean installs without preinstalled bloat. Typical workflow: - [ ] **Download** a Windows 11 ISO (a button links to Microsoft's official download page) or **Browse** to one you already have. - [ ] **Mount & Verify** the ISO so WinUtil can read its contents. - [ ] **Modify** the image — WinUtil removes AppX bloatware and OneDrive, applies offline privacy/OOBE/telemetry/update tweaks, and (optionally) injects your current system's drivers. - [ ] **Export** the modified image to a new **ISO** file, or **write it directly to a USB** drive. > [!IMPORTANT] > MicroWin modifies a copy of the Windows image offline (it never touches your running system). Building an ISO needs significant free disk space and time, and the optional driver injection further increases both. > [!NOTE] > MicroWin can write an **autounattend.xml** answer file into the image to bypass OOBE prompts (hardware checks, Microsoft account requirement, etc.) for a hands-off install. --- ## 9. Automating WinUtil (Presets, Config Files & Unattended Runs) WinUtil can run without the GUI for scripted or repeat deployments. Pass parameters to the downloaded script using the `& ([ScriptBlock]::Create(...))` pattern. ### Run a preset directly ```powershell & ([ScriptBlock]::Create((irm https://christitus.com/win))) -Preset Standard ``` This applies the chosen preset's tweaks. `-Preset` accepts `Standard`, `Minimal`, or `Advanced`. ### Export and reuse a configuration 1. Set up your apps/tweaks/toggles/features in the GUI. 2. Open the **settings (gear) menu → Export** and save a `.json` file. 3. WinUtil copies a ready-to-run command to your clipboard, for example: ```powershell iex "& { $(irm https://christitus.com/win) } -Config 'C:\Users\You\Desktop\winutil.json'" ``` 4. Run that command on any machine to reproduce the same configuration. **Import** (settings menu) loads a `.json` from a file or URL. ### Command-line parameters | Parameter | Values | Purpose | |---|---|---| | `-Config` | path or URL to a `.json` | Apply an exported configuration. | | `-Preset` | `Standard` \| `Minimal` \| `Advanced` | Apply a built-in preset. | | `-Noui` | switch | Run without opening the GUI (requires `-Config` to know what to do). | | `-Offline` | switch | Start in offline mode — disables the Install tab and install buttons. | > [!TIP] > Combine `-Config` and `-Noui` for fully unattended runs across multiple PCs: > ```powershell > & ([ScriptBlock]::Create((irm https://christitus.com/win))) -Config 'C:\winutil.json' -Noui > ``` --- ## 10. Troubleshooting WinUtil writes a full transcript of every session to `%LocalAppData%\winutil\logs\winutil__