AutoHotKey AHK for short. Allows automation of nearly anything in Windows, and is better than most alternatives. The downside is it's VBScript, which I believe is going he way of the dodo, and it has quite a few gotchyas.

However, on day one you can start assigning keys and combos to do common tasks.

Don't like Caps Lock? Reassign it to open Chrome. Hate that you can't lock the screen with your left hand? Make Win+S a command that locks the screen.

It's free, has a huge community, and is truly amazing.

Microsoft Power Toys

Absolute gamechanger.

• 7zip (archive tool) People still use Winrar for whatever reason.
• Firefox (web browser) - It’s well known but still under-used. Stop using chrome. Chrome will be the end of the free internet.
• windirstat (visualise used disk space) - I use this to clear free space
• musicbee (music player) - replaced VLC with this because VLC has had a bug that makes it not playback FLAC files properly for like... A year?
• Screen2Gif (gif recorder & editor)
• ShareX (screenshot/video tool)
• Open Video Downloader (GUI tool to rip YouTube etc.)
• uBlock Origin (ad-blocker) addon
• Sponsorblock (sponsorship skipper) addon

DaVinci resolve is an extremely powerful video editing software, and the non professional version is free. It feels like an extremely expensive program, powerful, quick and really well designed.

Nobody has mentioned Everything by Void Tools. Find any file in your computer blazingly fast. Make shortcuts to only search certain folder (e.g., search for "notes: python" to find file "python" in your notes folder. Also works for network drives. Some functionality needs admin privileges but most work fine without (hellooo work computer!).

Combine this with Run (Power Toys) or Keypirinha or some other launcher and you can find all files and start all programs with a quick shortcut + short text.

More supercharging by using Fanzy Zones by Power Toys and combining it with AHK for easily controlling virtual desktops and having all windows open where you want them.

Freeplane is such an amazing mind mapping program, as long as you have some patience for learning it. I had never heard of it until maybe a year ago when I downloaded it. It's FOSS!

There are so many ways you can relate ideas to each other and lay out details. Plus it lets you embed internal or external links, images, and probably other types of media; I haven't gotten around to exploring all the features yet. And it also supports add-ons made by the community to extend its already broad functionality.

I'm currently using it to plan my dream video game, and it has been a priceless source of continued inspiration. I have pretty bad ADHD, but using this software has helped me stay motivated and ambitious. I used to get overwhelmed and turned off while navigating my huge plaintext thought-vomit notes. I swear this isn't an ad, as much as it sounds like one 😂

Many people know WinDirStat, but I think SpaceSniffer is better. It shows results in real time, unlike WinDirStat where you have to wait for it all to finish. And I think its interface is more intuitive. And it's free.

Here's SpaceSniffer's website, and the download link is in the last paragraph of text.

Sumatra pdf viewer. Much faster than adobe ,and free.

Filebot comes in clutch a lot

You can match “legal” media files with media databases so things like Plex or Jellyfin can see all the files with the correct seasons and titles. I’ve also set it up to move the stuff where it needs to go at the same time. Might seem minor, but was what pushed the convenience factor up above streaming services for me. Unfortunately not free

Also Usenet

Not free, but I swear by Scrivener as a word processor - I've been using it for both my novel and Uni essays for years and it is just a total lifesaver, as it makes document management so much easier. Strongly recommend

Keypirinha - keystroke launcher. I can't use PC without it, and I also stopped using desktop shortcuts since I started using it. It's extremely lightweight and fast, and it can do a lot of different stuff using plugins...Open programs, open websites, use it as a calculator, convert currency, convert units, kill processes, list your public/local IP, integrate with Everything search, color picker, search timezones...

Huge fan of Obsidian for note taking. Really love the backlinking system.

• W10Privacy (works on both win 10 and 11)
• I never connect with M$, only a local account. When installing Win11 type Shift+F10 to get a console then type cd oobe bypassNRO.cmd It'll give you access to a local account option.
• NextDNS for a system wide ads and tracker filtering
• I've recently switched my mp3 player from AIMP to Dopamine
• WinCDEmu (outdated but still useful)
• OnlyOffice Desktop Editors for my clients who can't understand any UI different from MS Office...
• Firefox/Thunderbird
• ImageGlass

I have three that I use all the time and have for over a decade. Revo Uninstaller, WinDirStat, and ReNamer.

These three pieces of software have been key to so many workflows for me and/or helped more with my Windows maintenance than any software I have ever tried.

Revo will actually scan your hard drive and registry for leave-behinds after the software uninstaller finishes. It even clears the registry keys that flag that you have finished a free trial. Fun times.

WinDirStat is great for finding where your hard drive went in a way I find intuitive and powerful, though I am also autistic, so mileage may vary in that.

ReNamer is the most powerful batch-renaming solution I have ever found, and if you ever have to rename thousands of files in organized ways, then you know the pain of trying to get it done. This one lets you do it in a few clicks. Truly.

Greenshot for screenshots

Autohotkey for making scripts/executables

PDF-Xchange for a lightweight but powerful pdf editor

I'd say:

• Flow Launcher
• Kate
• Espanso

XMouseButtonControl is by far the best mouse macro software I have used (assuming you have no more than 2 side buttons)

A few I can think of the top of my head:

Ludusavi - Extremely easy to use backup tool for savedata from games. Some games on Steam doesn't have cloud backup, like Dark Souls 2 and 3, so it's useful to have a backup if I ever need to format my pc.

Logseq - Obsidian-like app for note talking, it's intimidating at first but it's really great. I have been using it for notes, diary/journaling and for drafting ideas.

Haruna Media Player - This one I don't think is available for Windows but if someone on Linux sees this, it's the best video player I have tried. All it lacks for me is a way to download subtitles.

Windows, free, not well known/talked about?

Hands down qttabbar. Adds tabbed browsing to Explorer. Absolutely no idea why this isnt built into Windows, I've used it for some years & hate using a Window machine without it.

More well known:

• Joplin. Markdown note taking app. Also has a portable version (I use this over the .exe version). Can be set up to sync with your other (multi OS) devices
• ShareX. Screenshot clipper. Has a learning curve but the initial pain is worth it. Greenshot is a good portable alternative
• TeraCopy. File transfer tool. Much faster & far more reliable than Explorer copy/paste
• Everything. File search utility. Use this once & you'll absolutely hate having to endure using the built in Explorer search. Also has a portable version

[https://www.gnusocial.rocks/](GnuSocial the free software and p2p replacement for twitter)

• The free software social networking platform.*

Versatile

GNU social supports both single-user and community modes and can be used in an intranet environment or as part of the wider Free Network.

Accessible

Follows AnyBrowser and A11Y guidelines. It runs virtually anywhere you can run a common piece of web software, such as WordPress or Drupal. JavaScript is optional.

Customizable

True to the Unix-philosophy of small programs to do a small job, GNU social can be easily expanded and customized via its simple plugin API.

Privacy focused

GNU social is part of the GNU project, it's 100% free software, with no malicious features or spyware. ___

Linux haha

But for real, to make Windows usable

• even before installing: Rufus to avoid BS Account, hardware requirements and Bitlocker
• Bulk Crap uninstaller
• SimpleWall to block tracking
• NextDNS (or something FOSS) to actually block tracking
• chocolatey to get updates from real sources (if someone knows how to install that pls help)
• Linux to remove the Edge executable from the disk (yes there is no other way lol)
• Firefox, thunderbird, vlc, gimp, irfanview
• flameshot (okay it doesnt have text recognition lol who needs that)
• qclip
• there literally is no good file manager that is not like a webapp
• 7zip as windows thinks this archive format doesnt exist
• Linux to use .tar.xz .tar.gz .tar.bz2 .tar.brot
• Linux to run Waydroid to run Android apps/ Bluestacks with their ad thing
• all the nice Streaming recorder software only available on Windows
• a good Torrent program to get windows-only software for free
• a good antivirus to get rid of that malware again and have some shady company spy all your files simultaneously

Man I love Windows 😘

There are a surprising number of people who don't know about Google's reverse image search feature. It allows you to see where else an image was. Sometimes it's even useful to take advantage of.