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Configure PowerToys with Microsoft DSC

PowerToys includes a Microsoft Desired State Configuration (DSC) v3 implementation through the PowerToys.DSC.exe command-line tool, enabling modern declarative configuration management of PowerToys settings.

Overview

The PowerToys.DSC.exe command line-tool for PowerToys provides:

  • Standalone configuration tool without PowerShell dependencies
  • Individual DSC resource modules for each PowerToys utility
  • Standard DSC v3 operations: get, set, test, export, schema, manifest
  • JSON schema generation for validation
  • DSC manifest generation for resource discovery
  • Integration with WinGet and other orchestrator tools

Available since: PowerToys v0.95.0

Prerequisites

  • PowerToys v0.95.0 or later - The PowerToys.DSC.exe tool is included with PowerToys starting from version 0.95.0

Optional: Using orchestration tools

If you want to use orchestration tools to manage PowerToys configuration:

  • WinGet v1.6.2631 or later - Required for WinGet configuration file integration. Download from the WinGet releases page
  • Microsoft DSC (dsc.exe) v3.1.1 or later - Required for using Microsoft DSC configuration documents with the dsc command-line tool. Download from the DSC releases page

Note

These orchestration tools are optional. You can use PowerToys.DSC.exe directly without WinGet or dsc.exe for standalone configuration management.

Location

The PowerToys.DSC.exe executable is installed with PowerToys:

  • Per-user installation: %LOCALAPPDATA%\PowerToys\PowerToys.DSC.exe
  • Machine-wide installation: %ProgramFiles%\PowerToys\PowerToys.DSC.exe

You can add the PowerToys directory to your PATH environment variable for easier access, or use the full path to the executable.

Usage

Microsoft DSC for PowerToys supports three usage patterns:

1. Direct command-line execution

Execute DSC operations directly using the PowerToys.DSC.exe tool:

# Get current settings for a module
PowerToys.DSC.exe get --resource 'settings' --module Awake

# Set settings for a module
$input = '{"settings":{"properties":{"keepDisplayOn":true,"mode":1},"name":"Awake","version":"0.0.1"}}'
PowerToys.DSC.exe set --resource 'settings' --module Awake --input $input

# Test if settings match desired state
PowerToys.DSC.exe test --resource 'settings' --module Awake --input $input

2. Microsoft DSC configuration documents

Use standard Microsoft DSC configuration documents to define PowerToys settings:

# powertoys-config.dsc.yaml
$schema: https://aka.ms/dsc/schemas/v3/bundled/config/document.json
resources:
  - name: Configure Awake
    type: Microsoft.PowerToys/AwakeSettings
    properties:
      settings:
        properties:
          keepDisplayOn: true
          mode: 1
        name: Awake
        version: 0.0.1

Apply the configuration using the dsc command-line interface (when available) or through WinGet configuration.

3. WinGet configuration integration

Integrate PowerToys configuration with WinGet package installation:

# winget-powertoys.yaml
$schema: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/PowerShell/DSC/main/schemas/2023/08/config/document.json
metadata:
  winget:
    processor: dscv3
resources:
  - name: Install PowerToys
    type: Microsoft.WinGet.DSC/WinGetPackage
    properties:
      id: Microsoft.PowerToys
      source: winget
  
  - name: Configure FancyZones
    type: Microsoft.PowerToys/FancyZonesSettings
    properties:
      settings:
        properties:
          fancyzones_shiftDrag: true
          fancyzones_mouseSwitch: true
        name: FancyZones
        version: 1.0

Apply with WinGet:

winget configure winget-powertoys.yaml

Common operations

List supported modules

List all PowerToys utilities that can be configured:

PowerToys.DSC.exe modules --resource 'settings'

Get current configuration

Retrieve the current state of a module's settings:

# Get settings for a specific module
PowerToys.DSC.exe get --resource 'settings' --module FancyZones

# Format output for readability
PowerToys.DSC.exe get --resource 'settings' --module Awake | ConvertFrom-Json | ConvertTo-Json -Depth 10

Apply configuration

Set the desired configuration for a module:

# Define desired configuration (using PowerShell)
$config = @{
    settings = @{
        properties = @{
            fancyzones_shiftDrag = $true
            fancyzones_mouseSwitch = $true
            fancyzones_overrideSnapHotkeys = $true
        }
        name = "FancyZones"
        version = "1.0"
    }
} | ConvertTo-Json -Depth 10 -Compress

# Apply configuration
PowerToys.DSC.exe set --resource 'settings' --module FancyZones --input $config

Test configuration

Verify whether current settings match the desired state:

$desired = @{
    settings = @{
        properties = @{
            keepDisplayOn = $true
            mode = 1
        }
        name = "Awake"
        version = "0.0.1"
    }
} | ConvertTo-Json -Depth 10 -Compress

# Test for drift
$result = PowerToys.DSC.exe test --resource 'settings' --module Awake --input $desired | ConvertFrom-Json

if ($result._inDesiredState) {
    Write-Host "Configuration matches desired state"
} else {
    Write-Host "Configuration has drifted"
}

Generate JSON schema

Get the JSON schema for a module to understand available properties:

# Get schema for a module
PowerToys.DSC.exe schema --resource 'settings' --module ColorPicker

# Format for readability
PowerToys.DSC.exe schema --resource 'settings' --module ColorPicker | ConvertFrom-Json | ConvertTo-Json -Depth 10

Generate DSC manifests

Create DSC resource manifest files:

# Generate manifest for a specific module
PowerToys.DSC.exe manifest --resource 'settings' --module Awake --outputDir C:\manifests

# Generate manifests for all modules
PowerToys.DSC.exe manifest --resource 'settings' --outputDir C:\manifests

# Print manifest to console
PowerToys.DSC.exe manifest --resource 'settings' --module FancyZones

Configuration examples

Example 1: Configure FancyZones

# fancyzones-config.dsc.yaml
$schema: https://aka.ms/dsc/schemas/v3/bundled/config/document.json
resources:
  - name: Configure FancyZones window management
    type: Microsoft.PowerToys/FancyZonesSettings
    properties:
      settings:
        properties:
          fancyzones_shiftDrag: true
          fancyzones_mouseSwitch: false
          fancyzones_overrideSnapHotkeys: true
          fancyzones_displayOrWorkAreaChange_moveWindows: true
          fancyzones_zoneSetChange_moveWindows: true
        name: FancyZones
        version: 1.0

Example 2: Configure multiple utilities

# multi-utility-config.dsc.yaml
$schema: https://aka.ms/dsc/schemas/v3/bundled/config/document.json
resources:
  - name: Configure general app settings
    type: Microsoft.PowerToys/AppSettings
    properties:
      settings:
        properties:
          Enabled:
            Awake: true
            FancyZones: true
            PowerRename: true
            ColorPicker: true
          run_elevated: true
          startup: true
        name: App
        version: 1.0
  
  - name: Configure Awake
    type: Microsoft.PowerToys/AwakeSettings
    properties:
      settings:
        properties:
          keepDisplayOn: true
          mode: 1
        name: Awake
        version: 0.0.1
  
  - name: Configure ColorPicker
    type: Microsoft.PowerToys/ColorPickerSettings
    properties:
      settings:
        properties:
          changecursor: true
          copiedcolorrepresentation: "HEX"
        name: ColorPicker
        version: 1.0

Example 3: Install and configure with WinGet

# complete-setup.yaml
$schema: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/PowerShell/DSC/main/schemas/2023/08/config/document.json
metadata:
  winget:
    processor: dscv3
resources:
  - name: Install PowerToys
    type: Microsoft.WinGet.DSC/WinGetPackage
    properties:
      id: Microsoft.PowerToys
      source: winget
      ensure: Present
  
  - name: Enable utilities
    type: Microsoft.PowerToys/AppSettings
    properties:
      settings:
        properties:
          startup: true
          theme: "dark"
        name: App
        version: 1.0
  
  - name: Configure PowerToys Run
    type: Microsoft.PowerToys/PowerLauncherSettings
    properties:
      settings:
        properties:
          maximum_number_of_results: 8
          clear_input_on_launch: true
        name: PowerLauncher
        version: 1.0

Available resources

Microsoft DSC for PowerToys provides individual resource types for each utility. The resource type naming follows the pattern: Microsoft.PowerToys/<UtilityName>Settings

Common resources include:

  • Microsoft.PowerToys/AppSettings - General application settings
  • Microsoft.PowerToys/AlwaysOnTopSettings - Always On Top configuration
  • Microsoft.PowerToys/AwakeSettings - Awake keep-awake settings
  • Microsoft.PowerToys/ColorPickerSettings - Color Picker settings
  • Microsoft.PowerToys/FancyZonesSettings - FancyZones window management
  • Microsoft.PowerToys/PowerLauncherSettings - PowerToys Run settings
  • Microsoft.PowerToys/PowerRenameSettings - PowerRename bulk rename
  • And many more for each PowerToys utility

For a complete list of resources and their properties, see the developer documentation.

Advanced usage

Backup and restore configuration

Export all module configurations for backup:

# Get list of all modules
$modules = PowerToys.DSC.exe modules --resource 'settings'

# Export each module
$backup = @{}
foreach ($module in $modules) {
    $config = PowerToys.DSC.exe export --resource 'settings' --module $module | ConvertFrom-Json
    $backup[$module] = $config
}

# Save backup
$backup | ConvertTo-Json -Depth 10 | Out-File powertoys-backup.json

# Restore from backup
$restore = Get-Content powertoys-backup.json | ConvertFrom-Json
foreach ($module in $restore.PSObject.Properties.Name) {
    $input = $restore.$module | ConvertTo-Json -Depth 10 -Compress
    PowerToys.DSC.exe set --resource 'settings' --module $module --input $input
}

Migrating from PowerShell DSC

If you're migrating from the PowerShell DSC module (Microsoft.PowerToys.Configure), note these key differences:

  1. Resource naming: PowerShell DSC uses a single PowerToysConfigure resource with nested properties. Microsoft DSC uses individual resources per utility (e.g., AwakeSettings, FancyZonesSettings)

  2. Property format: Some property names may differ slightly. Use the schema command to see available properties for each module

  3. Configuration structure: Microsoft DSC uses the settings wrapper with properties, name, and version fields

  4. No PowerShell required: Microsoft DSC runs standalone without PowerShell dependencies

See also

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