How I Use PowerToys Workspaces to Switch Contexts in Two Clicks 🫰
Have you ever sat down at your computer, ready to get into a flow state, and then spent the first ten minutes just arranging windows? Dragging your editor here, your browser there, nudging Slack into a corner - only to close it all two hours later, and start from scratch the next day? Yeah. Me too.
I've been a big fan of Microsoft PowerToys for a while now. It's one of those tools that quietly makes your Windows experience feel a lot more intentional. There are a bunch of great utilities in there - but recently I've been leaning heavily on one in particular: PowerToys Workspaces.
What is PowerToys Workspaces?
Workspaces is a Windows desktop management utility that lets you capture your ideal window layout, which apps are open, where they're positioned, what size they are, and then launch that entire setup with a single click.
Think of it like a saved game state, but for your desktop.
You could have a "Coding" workspace that opens VS Code to a specific project, a browser on the side, and Terminal ready to go. Or an "Email & Admin" workspace that brings up Outlook, your calendar, and a notes app. Whatever your workflow looks like - you set it up once, and Workspaces handles the rest every time.
Setting Up Your First Workspace
If you haven't already got PowerToys installed, you can grab it from the Microsoft Store or via WinGet. Once it's running, head into the PowerToys Settings and enable Workspaces.
To create your first workspace:
- Hit
Win + Ctrl + 'to open the Workspaces editor (or go to Settings and click "Launch editor"). - Click "+ Create workspace".
- You'll enter Capture mode - arrange your apps exactly how you want them.
- When you're happy hit "Capture".
- Give it a name, tweak anything you need to, and save it.
That's it. When it you launch it, it will open those apps exactly as you'd like them. You can create as many different workspaces as you'd like depending on your needs.
The Part That Surprised Me
What I didn't expect was how useful the CLI arguments feature would be. When you're in the editor, each app has a little dropdown where you can pass command line arguments. So for VS Code, I can point it straight to a specific project folder on launch. For Edge, I can give it a comma-separated list of URLs and it'll open all those tabs automatically.
It sounds like a small thing - but removing those few extra clicks every time you start a session adds up surprisingly quickly.
Desktop Shortcut
Within the workspace editor, you can select the option to Create a desktop shortcut which creates a handy shortcut on your desktop.
I find this super handy for when I start my PC first thing in the morning. Just a double click and your workspace is loaded and ready to go. If you prefer, you could pin it to your taskbar if you really want it front and centre.
A Few Things Worth Knowing
When a workspace launches, you'll briefly see windows jumping around the screen as PowerToys repositions them. There's a status dialog that pops up to show you what's loading, which helps - but it can look a bit chaotic the first time you see it.
Also worth noting: if you've got apps snapped using Windows' built-in snap feature, Workspaces won't preserve that snapped state. It uses its own positioning engine under the hood. Not a dealbreaker, but something to be aware of when you're setting things up.
How I Use It Day to Day
If you've read my recent post on staying technical as a TPM, you'll know I'm always looking for ways to reduce friction and stay in a coding mindset. Workspaces has become one of those small but surprisingly impactful habits.
I've ended up with two workspaces that cover probably 90% of my week:
- Coding - VS Code, Terminal, and a browser window with the relevant docs.
- Daily - Outlook, Teams, Slack and a browser.
Switching between them takes a double click. It sounds almost too simple - but honestly, that's the point. The friction of setting up your environment is just gone.
If you haven't explored PowerToys yet, it's one of the best free productivity tools for Windows and the Workspaces docs are a great place to start.