{"id":16918525,"url":"https://github.com/ppfeister/windex","last_synced_at":"2025-10-29T15:47:54.475Z","repository":{"id":220899964,"uuid":"752840677","full_name":"ppfeister/Windex","owner":"ppfeister","description":"Windows Bloat Removal and Provisioning","archived":false,"fork":false,"pushed_at":"2024-06-03T07:22:38.000Z","size":1394,"stargazers_count":10,"open_issues_count":2,"forks_count":1,"subscribers_count":1,"default_branch":"master","last_synced_at":"2025-10-04T01:48:34.834Z","etag":null,"topics":["bloatware-removal","debloat","privacy","provisioning","telemetry","tweaks","windex","windows-10"],"latest_commit_sha":null,"homepage":"","language":"PowerShell","has_issues":true,"has_wiki":null,"has_pages":null,"mirror_url":null,"source_name":null,"license":"gpl-3.0","status":null,"scm":"git","pull_requests_enabled":true,"icon_url":"https://github.com/ppfeister.png","metadata":{"files":{"readme":"README.md","changelog":null,"contributing":null,"funding":".github/FUNDING.yml","license":"LICENSE","code_of_conduct":null,"threat_model":null,"audit":null,"citation":null,"codeowners":null,"security":null,"support":null,"governance":null,"roadmap":null,"authors":null,"dei":null,"publiccode":null,"codemeta":null},"funding":{"github":"ppfeister"}},"created_at":"2024-02-04T23:40:15.000Z","updated_at":"2025-09-01T09:18:59.000Z","dependencies_parsed_at":"2024-03-07T07:42:15.145Z","dependency_job_id":null,"html_url":"https://github.com/ppfeister/Windex","commit_stats":null,"previous_names":["ppfeister/windex"],"tags_count":2,"template":false,"template_full_name":null,"purl":"pkg:github/ppfeister/Windex","repository_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repositories/ppfeister%2FWindex","tags_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repositories/ppfeister%2FWindex/tags","releases_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repositories/ppfeister%2FWindex/releases","manifests_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repositories/ppfeister%2FWindex/manifests","owner_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/owners/ppfeister","download_url":"https://codeload.github.com/ppfeister/Windex/tar.gz/refs/heads/master","sbom_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repositories/ppfeister%2FWindex/sbom","scorecard":null,"host":{"name":"GitHub","url":"https://github.com","kind":"github","repositories_count":281651098,"owners_count":26537963,"icon_url":"https://github.com/github.png","version":null,"created_at":"2022-05-30T11:31:42.601Z","updated_at":"2022-07-04T15:15:14.044Z","status":"online","status_checked_at":"2025-10-29T02:00:06.901Z","response_time":59,"last_error":null,"robots_txt_status":"success","robots_txt_updated_at":"2025-07-24T06:49:26.215Z","robots_txt_url":"https://github.com/robots.txt","online":true,"can_crawl_api":true,"host_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub","repositories_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repositories","repository_names_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/repository_names","owners_url":"https://repos.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/hosts/GitHub/owners"}},"keywords":["bloatware-removal","debloat","privacy","provisioning","telemetry","tweaks","windex","windows-10"],"created_at":"2024-10-13T19:40:31.019Z","updated_at":"2025-10-29T15:47:54.440Z","avatar_url":"https://github.com/ppfeister.png","language":"PowerShell","funding_links":["https://github.com/sponsors/ppfeister"],"categories":[],"sub_categories":[],"readme":"\u003cdiv align=\"center\"\u003e\n  \u003cpicture\u003e\n    \u003csource media=\"(prefers-color-scheme: dark)\" srcset=\"./assets/brand/large-banner.png\" height=200px\u003e\n    \u003csource media=\"(prefers-color-scheme: light)\" srcset=\"./assets/brand/large-banner.png\" height=200px\u003e\n    \u003cimg alt=\"Windex\" src=\"./assets/brand/large-banner.png\" height=200px\u003e\n  \u003c/picture\u003e\n  \u003ch1\u003eWindex\u003c/h1\u003e\n  \u003cimg alt=\"Built for Windows\" src=\"https://img.shields.io/badge/Windows-0078D6?style=for-the-badge\u0026logo=windows\u0026logoColor=white\"\u003e \u003cimg alt=\"Powered by PowerShell\" src=\"https://img.shields.io/badge/PowerShell-%235391FE.svg?style=for-the-badge\u0026logo=powershell\u0026logoColor=white\"\u003e \u003cimg alt=\"Maintenance\" src=\"https://img.shields.io/maintenance/yes/2024?style=for-the-badge\"\u003e\n\n\n  \u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\nUse Windex to clean Windows of as much bloat and telemetry as possible without impeding normal function. Windex was built with **stable** and **easily auditable** virtualization in mind, but we're starting to use it on workstations as well, providing a QOL boost.\n\n![Windex Desktop](./assets/demo/start.png)\n\n### 📦 Package debloat\n\nWindex automates the removal of both [metro](./defs/metro/) and [modern](./defs/winget/) applications through the use of manifests. AppX/Metro applications are further deprovisioned to (hopefully) prevent their reinstallation for new users.\n\nLegacy applications and services are purged or disabled. Internet Explorer, MS Paint, WordPad, all removed.\n\n### 🌲 Service pruning\n\nUndesirable Windows services are disabled, removed, or blacklisted. This has a positive effect on performance and reduces baked-in telemtry. We're also working on removing certain protected but undesirable services, such as the Microsoft Account nagger (for local users).\n\n### 🖥️ Virtualization and optional tweaks\n\nWindex was designed with a heavy focus on virtualization. When ran inside of a known hypervisor, Windex can detect which guest tools to install and retrieve them automatically, simplifying the build process.\n\nFor advanced use cases, Windex has several normally-hidden tweaks available. Defender Firewall and Defender AV management, Windows update service management, etc.\n\n### 📗 Playbook support\n\nDespite YAML not being natively supported by PowerShell, Windex has a parser built in with easily extendable Ansible-style [playbooks](./defs/README.md#playbooks).\n\n## Basic use\n\n\u003e [!WARNING]\n\u003e While Windex was designed with stability and usability in mind, not everyone's environments and workflows are the same. Taking a snapshot or backup beforehand is considered best practice.\n\nMust be ran in an **elevated** PowerShell instance. **Reboot when complete.**\n\n```powershell\nSet-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process # Confirm with Y or A\n\n\u0026 ./windex.ps1 # User will be presented with an interactive menu\n```\n\n### Direct call via PowerShell\n\n```powershell\n# When pasting is available, copying this may be quicker than dealing with Edge's first-launch \"welcome\"\n# Fetches the latest stable release, not the latest commit\n\nSet-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process # Confirm with Y or A\nInvoke-WebRequest -Uri \"https://api.github.com/repos/ppfeister/windex/releases/latest\" `\n| Select-Object -ExpandProperty Content `\n| ConvertFrom-Json `\n| Select-Object -ExpandProperty zipball_url `\n| %{\n    Invoke-WebRequest -Uri \"$_\" -OutFile \"windex-stable.zip\"\n  }\nExpand-Archive -Path \"windex-stable.zip\" -DestinationPath .\ncd ppfeister-Windex-*\n\u0026 .\\windex.ps1\n\n```\n\n\n## Detailed documentation\n\n- [Manifests and playbooks](defs/README.md)\n- Further documentation in progress\n\n## Planned development\n\n- [x] Adopt playbooks for easier expansion and maintenance\n- [ ] Remove additional telemetry **(in progress)**\n- [ ] Escalate to SYSTEM or TI without triggering UAC and without psexec to disable certain protected services\n- [ ] Create some sort of deployment pipeline for easier fetch and exec (possibly to one of the Windows package managers)\n- [x] Add normally-hidden tweak for the installation of hypervisor guest agents **(KVM/QEMU support added!)**","project_url":"https://awesome.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/projects/github.com%2Fppfeister%2Fwindex","html_url":"https://awesome.ecosyste.ms/projects/github.com%2Fppfeister%2Fwindex","lists_url":"https://awesome.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/projects/github.com%2Fppfeister%2Fwindex/lists"}