Win11Debloat: a PowerShell script to declutter Windows
/Win11Debloat
Win11Debloat is worth running if you set up Windows machines often and want app removal, telemetry tweaks, and UI cleanup done in one pass instead of clicking through Settings menus by hand. It runs from PowerShell with command-line parameters, so the same config can be scripted across multiple machines. Skip it if you're not willing to read the parameters before running it as admin.
What Is Win11Debloat
Win11Debloat is a PowerShell script that declutters Windows 10 or 11 by removing pre-installed apps, disabling telemetry, and adjusting Start menu, taskbar, and File Explorer settings. You run it once, answer its prompts or pass command-line parameters, and it makes the changes directly instead of walking you through Settings screens one by one.
What Win11Debloat Can Do
- ✓Removes a long list of pre-installed apps in a single run, covering the whole batch that Settings would otherwise make you uninstall one at a time.
- ✓Disables telemetry, diagnostic data collection, activity history, app-launch tracking, and targeted ads.
- ✓Turns off Microsoft Copilot, Windows Recall, and Click to Do, and stops the WSAIFabricSvc AI service from auto-starting.
- ✓Rewrites Start menu, taskbar, and search behavior — removes pinned apps, disables Bing web search in Windows Search, and restores the old right-click context menu.
- ✓Adjusts File Explorer defaults: shows file extensions and hidden files, changes the default open location, and hides duplicate removable-drive entries.
- ✓Controls Windows Update behavior, including delaying updates and disabling Delivery Optimization sharing between PCs.
- ✓Exports and imports your chosen settings as a config, so the same setup can be replayed across multiple machines.
- ✓Supports Sysprep mode to bake changes into the Windows Default user profile, and can apply changes to a different logged-in user.
Who Is Win11Debloat For
- •IT admins imaging new laptops who want the same debloated baseline applied every time, via exported settings or Sysprep mode.
- •Power users setting up a personal PC who want telemetry, ads, and Copilot off without hunting through Settings menus for an hour.
- •Anyone who wants Windows Recall, Click to Do, and other AI features disabled system-wide, not just turned off per app.
- •People customizing File Explorer and taskbar behavior back toward how Windows 10 used to work.
How to Run Win11Debloat
Win11Debloat offers three ways to run it, all documented in the README. The quick method runs a one-liner in PowerShell — `& ([scriptblock]::Create((irm "https://debloat.raphi.re/")))` — which downloads and launches the script automatically. The traditional method has you download the latest release ZIP, extract it, and double-click Run.bat, accepting the UAC prompt since administrator rights are required for the script to function. The advanced method is for people who want more control: download the release, open PowerShell as administrator, run `Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process -Force` to allow the script to execute, `cd` into the extracted folder, then run `.\Win11Debloat.ps1` directly. All three methods accept command-line parameters, documented on the project's wiki, for running the same configuration without answering prompts interactively.
Removing Apps and Tweaking Settings
Once launched, Win11Debloat walks through its options interactively by default. Read every prompt first. Some changes — like disabling BitLocker automatic encryption or turning off fast startup — affect how the system behaves after a reboot. Command-line parameters let you skip the prompts and select specific categories instead: app removal, privacy and telemetry settings, Start menu and taskbar customization, File Explorer tweaks, or Windows Update behavior. The project's wiki documents export and import of your chosen settings, so once you've picked the options you want on one machine, you can replay the exact same run on the next one instead of re-answering every prompt. Sysprep mode applies the changes to the Windows Default user profile so they carry over to every new account created afterward.
Strengths
- ✓Covers a wide range of areas — apps, telemetry, AI features, Start menu, taskbar, File Explorer, Windows Update — in one script instead of stitching together several tools.
- ✓Command-line parameters make it scriptable, so admins can bake a debloat run straight into an imaging or deployment process.
- ✓Actively maintained enough to already cover newer Windows additions like Windows Recall and Click to Do, not just legacy bloatware.
- ✓MIT-licensed, so you can read exactly what each change does before running it, or fork it for your own settings.
Risks and What Win11Debloat Cannot Do
- △Applying changes directly to the registry and OS configuration carries real risk if you don't read the prompts — the README itself warns to use it at your own risk.
- △Command-line parameters and advanced features like Sysprep mode and running as another user are documented on the wiki, not in the README itself, so you'll need to click through separately.
- △It only touches Windows-side settings and pre-installed apps; it doesn't remove third-party software or do general disk cleanup.
- △Reverting changes and reinstalling apps through the Microsoft Store is described as possible, but it's a manual process, not a one-click undo button in the script.
Other Windows Debloat Tools
Frequently Asked Questions
Win11Debloat is designed to work on both Windows 10 and 11 without breaking core OS functionality, and the project's README notes it takes care to avoid that — but it still warns to use it at your own risk and to report issues on GitHub if something breaks.
Most changes Win11Debloat makes can be reverted, and the project's wiki has a dedicated page walking through how to undo them; removed apps can generally be reinstalled again through the Microsoft Store.
Win11Debloat needs administrator rights to apply most of its changes — the traditional install method requires accepting a UAC prompt specifically because admin access is required for the script to function.
Win11Debloat can remove a wide range of pre-installed Windows apps in one run; the exact list is documented on the project's wiki rather than the README, since it covers many individual apps.
Win11Debloat doesn't turn Windows Update off entirely — it adjusts specific update behavior, like delaying new updates, blocking automatic restarts while signed in, and disabling Delivery Optimization sharing between PCs.
Win11Debloat can disable and remove Microsoft Copilot, Windows Recall, and Click to Do, and it can also stop the underlying AI service (WSAIFabricSvc) from starting automatically.
The problem it solves
New Windows 10 and 11 installs — especially OEM machines — ship with pre-installed apps, ads inside Settings and the Start menu, and telemetry collection turned on by default, and turning all of it off by hand means working through many separate Settings pages, Group Policy entries, and registry keys one at a time. Win11Debloat replaces that manual checklist with a single script you can rerun on every machine you set up.
Who should try it — and who should skip
Try Win11Debloat if you set up Windows machines more than once — for yourself, family, or as part of an IT job — and you're comfortable reading a PowerShell prompt before hitting yes. The command-line parameters and settings export make repeat runs fast once you've picked your configuration. Skip it if you want a fully GUI-driven, click-only experience with no PowerShell involved, or if you're not willing to read the wiki for parameter details — the README covers the basics, but Sysprep mode, running as another user, and full parameter lists live there instead.
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