microsoft / PowerToys

Windows system utilities to maximize productivity
MIT License
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Separate downloads and installs for each PowerToy #27729

Closed ParadoxV5 closed 11 months ago

ParadoxV5 commented 11 months ago

Description of the new feature / enhancement

It’s an inherent problem with toolkits like PowerToys – it’s practically a collection of bundleware. Take a look inside the install directory and note how everything’s there, including bloatware toys that you’ve disabled for years. This not only wastes disk space, but also the downloading bandwidth on both the initial installation and on each update. (Although what year is it LUL.)

25812 (specifically, number point 1) suggests turning PowerToys into a aggregation platform.

Elaborating, it means turning PowerToys core into a package manager and possibly an infrastructure library for PowerToys (potentially with API for custom PowerToys – #25385).

Each PowerToy may either be enabled, disabled, or altogether not installed. While it’s a good habit to keep them up-to-date, with separate downloads, one can choose whether to update or not on a per-PowerToy basis, namely the disabled ones. Not-installed PowerToys are not updated as they need to be installed regardless of updates.

Scenario when this would be used?

Users who would like to save on storage and/or bandwidth would prefer never installing and/or updating unused PowerToys.

Componentizing the installation also benefit PowerToys developers. Each PowerToy can have their own version schemes and release schedules (hotfixes go brrr) independent of the entire collection.

Supporting information

As this modifies PowerToys’s structural design, implementing this would lead to an infrastructural rewrite, a massive and intrusive project (v1.0?) that may not be feasible. I opened this issue with the intent to give my thoughts and folks’ comments a place of belonging. A (possibly automated) survey may assign a concrete value for such reformation.

### Tasks
ParadoxV5 commented 11 months ago

Ah, did not see #27543. Perhaps I should practice some prompt engineering, even if it’s for traditional search engines and not GPTs.

crutkas commented 11 months ago

currently there are no plans to break apart PowerToys from a suite.