Windows has plenty of built-in features, but when it comes to automation, you’re mostly on your own. Renaming a hundred files, opening the same apps every morning, or digging through your downloads folder—these tasks aren’t difficult, just repetitive. And repetitive work adds up.
I’ve been using a handful of third-party tools to handle these small annoyances, and while none of them are extraordinary, they’re practical. If you’re tired of doing the same clicks and keystrokes over and over, these six Windows tools can take some of that off your plate.
AutoHotkey
Turn complex keystrokes into simple shortcuts
Screenshot by Pankil Shah — No attribution required
AutoHotkey is a free scripting language that lets you automate almost anything on Windows. You write a script, save it as an .ahk file, and run it whenever you need. The syntax takes some getting used to, but once you understand the basics, you can create shortcuts that go far beyond what Windows offers natively.
I use it for text expansion—typing “@@” inserts my email address, and “##addr” pastes my full mailing address. It’s a small thing, but I type these many times a week.
You can also remap keys, launch apps with custom hotkeys, or build more complex macros that chain multiple actions together. For example, a single keystroke can open a specific folder, resize a window, and paste a block of text.
The learning curve is real, though. AutoHotkey isn’t a plug-and-play solution, and you’ll spend time reading documentation and troubleshooting scripts. However, if you’re comfortable with light coding, AutoHotkey is one of the most flexible automation tools available for Windows.
PowerToys
This Microsoft utility is a must-have for bulk renaming
Microsoft’s PowerToys is a collection of utilities that fill gaps that Windows should’ve addressed years ago. It’s free, open-source, and updated regularly. Two tools in particular—PowerRename and Keyboard Manager—have become part of my workflow.
PowerRename lets you rename multiple files at once using search-and-replace or regular expressions. Right-click a batch of files, select PowerRename, and you can strip prefixes, add dates, or change extensions in seconds. It beats renaming files one by one or writing a PowerShell script for something simple.
Keyboard Manager handles key remapping without needing third-party software. You can swap Caps Lock for Backspace, reassign function keys, or create app-specific shortcuts. The interface is straightforward; you pick the key you want to change, choose its new function, and you’re done.
There are over 20 utilities bundled in PowerToys, so it’s worth exploring beyond these two. FancyZones helps with window management, Image Resizer lets you resize images from the right-click menu, and Text Extractor pulls text from screenshots. But for automation specifically, PowerRename and Keyboard Manager handle the repetitive tasks I run into most often.
Flow Launcher
Stop digging through the Start menu and File Explorer
Flow Launcher is a free, open-source application launcher that sits in the background until you need it. Press a hotkey—Alt + Space by default—and a search bar appears. You can open apps, search files, run system commands, or do quick calculations without touching your mouse.
Instead of clicking through the Start menu or navigating to a folder, you type a few characters and hit Enter. It’s faster than Windows Search and more customizable.
What makes Flow Launcher useful is its plugin system. You can add plugins for searching bookmarks, controlling Spotify, checking the weather, or converting units. If you want to replace the Windows Start menu with something faster, Flow Launcher can handle that role.
I use it mostly to launch apps and open folders I access frequently. For example, typing “dow” brings up my Downloads folder instantly.
The initial setup takes a few minutes. You’ll want to turn off conflicting hotkeys and install a few plugins that match your workflow. After that, it runs in the background and stays out of your way until you call it.
DropIt
Organize files based on rules so you don’t have to
My Downloads folder used to be a mess, having PDFs mixed with installers, screenshots scattered among zip files, and random documents I forgot about weeks ago. DropIt is a lightweight tool that monitors folders and automatically moves files based on rules you define.
The setup is simple. You create associations that link file types to specific actions. For example, all .pdf files go to a Documents folder, .exe files move to an Installers folder, and images get sorted into a Pictures directory. Once configured, DropIt runs in the background and handles sorting without any input from you.
You can trigger sorting manually by dragging files onto the DropIt icon, or set it to monitor folders continuously. I have it watch my Downloads folder and sort new files every day.
Beyond moving files, DropIt can automatically rename, compress, extract, or even delete files. You can chain multiple actions together—extract a zip file, move its contents to a specific folder, and delete the original archive in one go. The interface looks dated, but it works reliably, and after the initial configuration, I rarely open it.
Ditto
Save yourself from the endless cycle of copy and paste
Screenshot by Yasir Mahmood
Windows has a built-in clipboard history that appears when you press Windows + V. You can scroll through recent copies, pin items, and even insert emojis. It’s a decent feature, but Ditto takes clipboard management further.
Ditto stores a much longer history and keeps it after restarts—something Windows clipboard doesn’t do unless you pin items manually. It also has faster search. On the other hand, Windows clipboard history doesn’t offer search at all.
Press Ctrl + ` (or a custom hotkey), and Ditto displays your full history. Then you can paste any item by double-clicking it. Ditto stands out in the organization. It lets you create groups for items you paste regularly, such as email templates, code snippets, and addresses, and access them without digging through your main history. It also syncs clipboard history across multiple computers if you enable network sharing.
Since Ditto outperforms most clipboard managers I’ve tried, it’s stayed installed on every Windows PC I use. The built-in Windows option works fine for casual use, but if you copy and paste frequently, Ditto handles it better.
ShareX
Automate screenshots and everything that comes after
ShareX is a free screenshot tool, but calling it that undersells what it does. The real value lies in its automation, since you can set up workflows that trigger as soon as you capture something, eliminating the manual steps that usually follow.
Take a screenshot, and ShareX can automatically save it to a specific folder, copy it to your clipboard, upload it to cloud storage, and shorten the share link. All of that happens in the background without extra clicks. The after-capture task list is extensive. You can add watermarks, resize images, annotate with arrows or text, convert formats, or run the image through custom actions. You can stack multiple tasks together, and a single hotkey handles what would normally take a dozen clicks.
I use it mostly for screenshots that need to be shared quickly. I capture a screenshot, ShareX auto-uploads to Imgur, and the link is already in my clipboard before I switch windows. For documentation or tutorials, the built-in annotation tools save a trip to an image editor.
ShareX also handles screen recordings, GIF capture, and scrolling screenshots. Since nothing beats ShareX as a Windows screenshot tool, it’s replaced both the Snipping Tool and any screen recorder I used before. The settings panel is overwhelming at first, with many options. But the defaults work fine, and you can customize workflows gradually as you figure out what you need.
None of these tools requires hours of setup. Pick one task that annoys you—it could be renaming files, organizing downloads, or repetitive typing—and try the tool that handles it. Once you’ve automated one thing, you’ll notice others. That’s when you start combining tools. An AutoHotkey script that triggers a DropIt sort, or a ShareX workflow that feeds into Ditto. The tools work well individually, but they can also work better together.
