The recently released Dev Home App preview for Windows 11 offers several developer-related features to make life easier for code writers. But Microsoft wants to take an extra step and equip the app with "Advanced Windows Settings," a section with additional options and preferences that otherwise require more complicated actions to turn on/off or customize.
Microsoft announced the idea on Dev Home"s GitHub repository, and the company wants to hear your feedback and ideas about what options or features to include in "Advanced Windows Settings." The post also acknowledges that developers wish to tweak many settings or registry keys that are "either not accessible via the Settings app" or are "difficult to discover throughout the OS."
Ultimately, "Advanced Windows Settings" will give developers (and regular customers) more control over their computers, provide access to new or experimental features for developer workflows, and increase awareness of features that could improve their experiences. Consider it a developer-focused variation of PowerToys.
Microsoft also clarifies that "Advanced Windows Settings" are not meant to replace existing options and features in Settings > System > For Developers or other settings across the app or make customizing and tweaking Windows computers more complicated. The main goals behind the proposal are the following:
- Give developers more control over their system settings and advanced bevhaviors.
- Help developers discover powerful settings that can improve their daily workflows & improve machine performance.
- Create a uniform UI experience for managing/customizing new developer experiences on Windows (e.g. Native File Explorer + Version Control integration) so we can rapidly iterate on new features/customizations.
- Work with the developer community to identify additional settings that are helpful to populate in the tool.
- Can be easily scripted and re-applied to new and/or existing machines.
Here is what the early mockup looks like:
You can read more about "Advanced Windows Settings" and propose your ideas in a post on GitHub.