It allows users to access new APIs or hidden features in Windows 11 builds before they are released publicly through an open-source command-line utility called ViVeTool. This tool lets you force-enable or unlock hidden or controlled features by using some simple commands. Until these features are rolled out publicly, further testing is required. This utility, however, can be used to activate features such as Taskbar Search and Task Manager options in the taskbar context menu. In this guide, we are going to share “How to Use ViveTool on Windows 11.”
Available commands in ViveTool
- /enable: Enables a feature
- /disable: Disables a feature
- /reset: Removes custom configurations for a specific feature
- /fullreset: Removes all custom feature configurations
- /changestamp: Prints the feature store change counter (changestamp)*
- /querysubs: Lists existing feature usage subscriptions*
- /addsub: Adds a feature usage subscription.
- /delsub: Remove a feature usage subscription
- /notifyusage: Fires a feature usage notification
- export: exports custom feature configurations
- /import: Imports custom feature configurations
- /lkgstatus: Prints the current ‘Last Known Good’ rollback system status.
- /fixlkg: Fixes ‘Last Known Good’ rollback system corruption
- /fixpriority: Moves override type configurations from service to user priority.
- /appupdate: Check for a new version of ViVeTool*
- /dictupdate: Checks for a new version of the feature name dictionary
Featured IDs
| Feature description | Feature ID | Minimum Windows version |
|---|---|---|
| Tabs in File Explorer | 37634385 | 21536 |
| Tablet-optimized Taskbar | 26008830 | 25197 |
| Revamped Widgets UI | 40772499 | 25227, 22623.746 |
| New system tray | 38764045 | 25211 |
| Widgets settings menu | 38652916 | 25217 |
| Search bar in Task Manager | 39420424 | 25231 |
| Search bar on Desktop | 37969115 | 25120 |
| Animated navigation panel icons in Settings | 34878152 | 25197 |
| Modern “Open with” menu | 36302090 | 25151, 22622.290 |
Here’s how to enable Windows features using ViveTool.
ViVeTool, a command-line tool for manipulating features, is open-source. It uses a C# library called ViVe under the hood. The following steps will guide you through the process of testing any new Windows 11 feature:
- First, download ViveTool from ViveTool’s GitHub repository. You can download the latest version.
- After that, the archive can be extracted anywhere that is convenient for you.
- Now, launch a Terminal (Run as Admin) shell window by pressing Windows + X on your keyboard. PowerShell is also an option if you like, or you can use plain old Command Prompt with elevated privileges if you prefer.
- Navigate to the extracted ViveTool directory. When you have extracted ViveTool to c:\ViveTool,
- Now, type the command in the Command Prompt like this:
- cd C:\ViveTool
- After that, run the Enable Features
- vivetool /enable /id:xxx
- From the table above, locate the feature ID corresponding to the feature you wish to enable.
- vivetool /enable /id:xxx
- A successful feature configuration should appear on the console if everything goes well.
- Restart your computer after closing the console window.
The changes can be reverted if you change your mind and replace /enable with /disable in step 6.