PowerToys Awake May Get a New Flyout for Faster Controls

PowerToys Awake may soon become easier to access and configure, as Microsoft is working on a redesigned experience for the Windows utility.

Awake is part of Microsoft PowerToys, the company’s official utility suite for advanced Windows users. The tool lets users stop their PC from automatically going to sleep when they need the system to stay active.

Microsoft is testing a new Awake experience

Microsoft is exploring a redesigned Awake interface through a new PowerToys GitHub proposal.

The proposal introduces a lightweight Awake flyout that would give users quicker access to the tool’s main controls. Instead of relying on system tray context menus, users would see Awake’s key options in a cleaner and simpler interface.

The new flyout would include the main Awake modes, such as indefinite, timed, and passive modes. This would make the tool easier to use for people who need to keep their PC awake during downloads, long tasks, presentations, remote sessions, or background work.

Custom durations may be added

One of the proposed changes would add support for custom Awake durations.

At the moment, users rely on existing Awake modes and available timing options. Custom durations would let users set more specific time periods, making the tool more flexible.

For example, a user could keep a PC awake for an exact amount of time instead of choosing from preset intervals. This would help users who need Awake for short, task-based sessions.

Awake could also work with specific apps

Microsoft is also considering a feature that would attach Awake to a specific app or process.

With this option, Awake would keep the PC awake only while the selected process runs. Once that app or process closes, Awake would stop overriding Windows sleep behavior.

This could be useful for people running video exports, downloads, scripts, backup tools, or other long-running tasks. Instead of manually turning Awake on and off, users could tie the feature to the app that needs it.

That approach would also reduce the chance of leaving a PC awake longer than necessary.

The feature is still only a proposal

The redesigned Awake flyout has not reached a stable PowerToys release yet.

Microsoft has not confirmed when or if the new experience will become available to all users. For now, the company appears to be gathering community feedback before deciding how to move forward.

If users respond positively, the redesigned Awake interface could eventually arrive in a public PowerToys update.

More PowerToys changes are in development

Awake is not the only PowerToys feature that may receive changes.

Microsoft is also working on Alt Windows Cycle, another proposed PowerToys feature. Separately, PowerToys 0.100.2 was released recently with various bug fixes.

These updates show that Microsoft continues to refine PowerToys with smaller quality-of-life improvements aimed at power users and productivity-focused Windows users.

Via Neowin