{"slug": "winutil", "name": "winutil", "category": "other", "category_name": "Other software", "description": "", "recommenders": 4, "commenters": 5, "warners": 0, "score": 3.762, "rising": -1.31, "first": "2025-12-02", "latest": "2026-06-30", "why": "All around, for everything, I cannot recommend the Chris Titus (and friends) WinUtil enough", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 4, "neutral": 1, "compare": 0, "warn": 0}, "spark": [0, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 2, 0, 0, 0, 0], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "All around, for everything, I cannot recommend the Chris Titus (and friends) WinUtil enough", "icon": true, "domain": null, "github_repo": "github.com/christitustech/winutil", "official_url": "https://github.com/ChrisTitusTech/winutil", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["winutil", "WinUtil", "Winutil"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 779730577, "item_id": 48733161, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48733161", "by": "runjake", "date": "2026-06-30", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I like winutil", "excerpt": "This is essentially what the IoT Enterprise LTSC edition is. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/evaluate-windows-11-iot-enterprise-ltsc Aside from that, there are various tools and deployment files to automate a stripped down Windows 11 installation. I don't really use Windows except on my gaming PC, but I like winutil: https://github.com/christitustech/winutil But there are better declarative tools out there", "context": "uses Windows only on gaming PC", "use_case": "stripping down Windows", "switched_from": "", "story": "Microsoft Needs Windows Lite"}, {"id": 778814368, "item_id": 48675898, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48675898", "by": "greenavocado", "date": "2026-06-25", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "The end result is an extremely clean and stable Windows 11 installation.", "excerpt": "You can get a completely minimalist Windows 11 by grabbing an ISO from Microsoft then reprocessing the ISO by feeding it into this utility: https://github.com/christitustech/winutil (Win11 Creator Tab) to get a NEW ISO which you then install. The end result is an extremely clean and stable Windows 11 installation. The resulting image can remove telemetry, bypass hardware requirement checks, and enable local account s", "context": "", "use_case": "creating a minimal Windows 11 ISO", "switched_from": "", "story": "Windows 10 quietly gets one more year of support and updates"}, {"id": 749014848, "item_id": 46813428, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46813428", "by": "hiccuphippo", "date": "2026-01-29", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I'd recommend Chris Titus' winutil to remove most of the crap.", "excerpt": "I'd recommend Chris Titus' winutil to remove most of the crap. I use the recommended settings and also remove copilot and onedrive. Then from there you can open O&O Shutup10 and disable a few more \"features\". It's just a band-aid not a solution, and you'll have to run it again after Windows updates and helpfully undoes your settings, but at least makes it usable. https://github.com/ChrisTitusTech/winutil", "context": "", "use_case": "debloating Windows 11", "switched_from": "", "story": "Microsoft forced me to switch to Linux"}, {"id": 737921504, "item_id": 46120094, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46120094", "by": "defrost", "date": "2025-12-02", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "All around, for everything, I cannot recommend the Chris Titus (and friends) WinUtil enough", "excerpt": "All around, for everything, I cannot recommend the Chris Titus (and friends) WinUtil enough: https://github.com/ChrisTitusTech/winutil It's a suite of powershell scripts and tweaks that are open source for inspection frontended by a nifty powershell multi tabbed TUI (Text User Interface) widget. There's a tab for upgrades and installs of common dev / tech / power user tools; a tab for tweaks; a tab for windows update", "context": "", "use_case": "Windows tweaks and update control", "switched_from": "", "story": "After Windows Update, Password icon invisible, click where it used to be"}]}], "caveats": [], "who": [{"by": "runjake", "context": "uses Windows only on gaming PC", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48733161", "date": "2026-06-30"}], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["stripping down windows", "creating a minimal windows 11 iso", "windows tweaking", "debloating windows 11", "windows tweaks and update control"], "compared": [], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48720591", "title": "Microsoft Needs Windows Lite", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48675369", "title": "Windows 10 quietly gets one more year of support and updates", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47738917", "title": "Windows debloating tools are basically useless", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46795864", "title": "Microsoft forced me to switch to Linux", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46116567", "title": "After Windows Update, Password icon invisible, click where it used to be", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {}, "2025-12": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-01": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-02": {}, "2026-03": {}, "2026-04": {"neutral": 1}, "2026-05": {}, "2026-06": {"recommend": 2}, "2026-07": {}, "2026-08": {}, "2026-09": {}, "2026-10": {}}, "quotes": [{"id": 779730577, "item_id": 48733161, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48733161", "by": "runjake", "date": "2026-06-30", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I like winutil", "excerpt": "This is essentially what the IoT Enterprise LTSC edition is. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/evaluate-windows-11-iot-enterprise-ltsc Aside from that, there are various tools and deployment files to automate a stripped down Windows 11 installation. I don't really use Windows except on my gaming PC, but I like winutil: https://github.com/christitustech/winutil But there are better declarative tools out there", "context": "uses Windows only on gaming PC", "use_case": "stripping down Windows", "switched_from": "", "story": "Microsoft Needs Windows Lite"}, {"id": 778814368, "item_id": 48675898, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48675898", "by": "greenavocado", "date": "2026-06-25", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "The end result is an extremely clean and stable Windows 11 installation.", "excerpt": "You can get a completely minimalist Windows 11 by grabbing an ISO from Microsoft then reprocessing the ISO by feeding it into this utility: https://github.com/christitustech/winutil (Win11 Creator Tab) to get a NEW ISO which you then install. The end result is an extremely clean and stable Windows 11 installation. The resulting image can remove telemetry, bypass hardware requirement checks, and enable local account s", "context": "", "use_case": "creating a minimal Windows 11 ISO", "switched_from": "", "story": "Windows 10 quietly gets one more year of support and updates"}, {"id": 763846881, "item_id": 47740430, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47740430", "by": "pogue", "date": "2026-04-12", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Winutil is definitely a tool I wouldn't recommend for a beginner", "excerpt": "I used this when installing fresh copies of Windows 11 and was very satisfied with it. I never thought about it increasing RAM as the author says, I was just interested in disabling CoPilot, all telemetry options, changing the start menu and task bar to act more like Windows 10 and various other options. Winutil is definitely a tool I wouldn't recommend for a beginner, as many of the options are things you wouldn't w", "context": "", "use_case": "Windows tweaking", "switched_from": "", "story": "Windows debloating tools are basically useless"}, {"id": 749014848, "item_id": 46813428, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46813428", "by": "hiccuphippo", "date": "2026-01-29", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I'd recommend Chris Titus' winutil to remove most of the crap.", "excerpt": "I'd recommend Chris Titus' winutil to remove most of the crap. I use the recommended settings and also remove copilot and onedrive. Then from there you can open O&O Shutup10 and disable a few more \"features\". It's just a band-aid not a solution, and you'll have to run it again after Windows updates and helpfully undoes your settings, but at least makes it usable. https://github.com/ChrisTitusTech/winutil", "context": "", "use_case": "debloating Windows 11", "switched_from": "", "story": "Microsoft forced me to switch to Linux"}, {"id": 737921504, "item_id": 46120094, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46120094", "by": "defrost", "date": "2025-12-02", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "All around, for everything, I cannot recommend the Chris Titus (and friends) WinUtil enough", "excerpt": "All around, for everything, I cannot recommend the Chris Titus (and friends) WinUtil enough: https://github.com/ChrisTitusTech/winutil It's a suite of powershell scripts and tweaks that are open source for inspection frontended by a nifty powershell multi tabbed TUI (Text User Interface) widget. There's a tab for upgrades and installs of common dev / tech / power user tools; a tab for tweaks; a tab for windows update", "context": "", "use_case": "Windows tweaks and update control", "switched_from": "", "story": "After Windows Update, Password icon invisible, click where it used to be"}]}