Microsoft is experimenting with a new optional top menu bar for Windows 11 through its PowerToys project. Dubbed the Command Palette Dock, the concept aims to offer fast access to tools, system resources, and extensions, signalling renewed interest in rethinking Windows’ desktop ergonomics.
A Familiar Idea Returns in a New Form
Microsoft is once again revisiting an old idea with modern ambitions. The company’s PowerToys team is exploring a configurable top menu bar for Windows 11, a design pattern long associated with Linux desktops, macOS, and even earlier versions of Windows itself.
The experimental feature, known internally as the Command Palette Dock, is not a core Windows change—at least not yet. Instead, it is being prototyped within PowerToys, Microsoft’s open-source playground for advanced users and developers. The company has released early concept images and is actively soliciting feedback on whether users would find such a dock useful in daily workflows.
What the Command Palette Dock Is Meant to Do
According to Microsoft, the dock is designed as a flexible, optional interface layer that sits alongside existing Windows UI elements rather than replacing them. It would provide quick access to commonly used tools, surface system resource information, and host extensions that users can pin and rearrange.
Niels Laute, a senior product manager at Microsoft, said the dock is intended to be “highly configurable.” Users could position it at the top, bottom, left, or right edge of the screen, and divide it into three logical regions—start, center, and end—where different extensions and shortcuts can live. This modular approach mirrors the philosophy behind PowerToys itself: power without forcing change on users who don’t want it.
Customisation Over Convention
One of the more notable aspects of the proposal is how far Microsoft is willing to go on customisation. The dock would support theming options, including background transparency, styling tweaks, and visual adjustments to better match a user’s setup. Extensions could be freely reordered or moved between regions, allowing the dock to function as anything from a lightweight system monitor to a productivity launcher.
This emphasis on flexibility reflects a broader shift in how Microsoft is approaching Windows UI experimentation. Rather than imposing sweeping changes across the operating system, the company is increasingly testing ideas in optional layers where feedback can shape outcomes before anything becomes mainstream.
Built to Complement Command Palette
The proposed dock is not an isolated experiment. It is designed to work alongside Microsoft’s Command Palette, a keyboard-driven launcher introduced last year as part of PowerToys. Command Palette functions similarly to Apple’s Spotlight, enabling fast access to apps, commands, and developer tools without leaving the keyboard.
Together, Command Palette and the dock hint at a more modular, productivity-focused Windows experience—one that borrows ideas from other operating systems while trying to preserve Windows’ identity. The dock offers persistent, glanceable access, while Command Palette handles deeper, search-driven interactions.
Why Microsoft Is Exploring This Now
The timing is notable. Windows 11 has already undergone significant UI changes, from its centered taskbar to redesigned system menus, and not all of those changes have been universally welcomed. Power users, in particular, have often asked for more flexibility and density rather than simplified, touch-friendly layouts.
By testing a menu bar through PowerToys, Microsoft can engage directly with that audience without committing the broader user base. It also allows the company to observe how users actually interact with such a dock in real-world scenarios, rather than relying solely on internal design assumptions.
Still an Experiment, Not a Promise
It is important to stress that this is a proposal, not a roadmap commitment. Microsoft has made clear that it is gathering feedback before deciding whether to fully build and ship the dock as a supported PowerToy. Developers who are curious can already experiment with an early version by pulling the relevant project from Microsoft’s PowerToys GitHub repository and running it in Visual Studio.
Historically, many PowerToys experiments never graduate beyond niche tools, while others quietly influence mainstream Windows features years later. The Command Palette Dock could follow either path.
A Signal of How Windows Might Evolve
Whether or not this specific dock ships, the experiment itself is telling. Microsoft appears increasingly open to reintroducing ideas that prioritise efficiency, visibility, and user control—traits that long-time Windows users often associate with the platform’s earlier eras.
In an operating system that must serve casual users, enterprises, gamers, and developers alike, PowerToys remains Microsoft’s testing ground for alternative futures. The top menu bar experiment suggests one such future, where Windows becomes less rigid and more modular, allowing users to shape their desktop around how they actually work rather than how the OS assumes they should.
