microsoft
Command palette not working
Microsoft PowerToys version
0.91.1
Installation method
PowerToys auto-update
Area(s) with issue?
Command Palette
Steps to reproduce
Cannot open its settings The Activation shortcut shortcut key is disabled. Clicking the Open command palette settings to customize.... link just errors with a message box "get an app to open this x-cmdpal link" You system does not have an app that can open this link type of error.
✔️ Expected Behavior
It to be fixed
❌ Actual Behavior
Clicking the Open command palette settings to customize.... link just errors with a message box "get an app to open this x-cmdpal link" You system does not have an app that can open this link type of error.
Additional Information
Windows 11.
Other Software
No response
We've found some similar issues:
- #39476 , similarity score: 88%
- #39490 , similarity score: 82%
- #39321 , similarity score: 81%
- #38413 , similarity score: 81%
If any of the above are duplicates, please consider closing this issue out and adding additional context in the original issue.
Note: You can give me feedback by 👍 or 👎 this comment.
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This, most probably, will be set as a duplicate.
However, I want to add my context and my errors:
I installed Powertoys with the package manager Scoop, mostly because my laptop is an enterprise controlled one and I do not have Admin privileges.
Version 0.90.0 was installed without any problem and Command Pallet was working ok.
However, when 0.91 came Command Palette stopped working. But I didn't notice at first. Someday, I noted it just didn't work anymore and when investigating cues lead to the not registered class x-cmdpal the duplicate issues seem to talk about.
When 0.91.1 arrived, I updated it and carefully check the installation log and this error got my attention:
- Windows cannot install package Microsoft.CommandPalette_0.2.1.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe because it must allow external content to be installed with an external location.
So, it seems to me that the installation of Command Palette has some issues related to permissions related to the way it installs .msix packages.
Also, I noted on the duplicated issues several comments related to non-english installations and mine is one (Spanish) so it migth be something related to it, too.
FWIW here is my installation log of version 0.91.1:
PS C:\Users\F00001375> scoop update powertoys
powertoys: 0.91.0 -> 0.91.1
Updating one outdated app: Updating 'powertoys' (0.91.0 -> 0.91.1)
Downloading new version
PowerToysUserSetup-0.91.1-x64.exe (387,1 MB) [==========================================================================] 100%
Checking hash of PowerToysUserSetup-0.91.1-x64.exe ... ok.
Uninstalling 'powertoys' (0.91.0)
Running uninstaller script...done.
Unlinking ~\scoop\apps\powertoys\current
Installing 'powertoys' (0.91.1) [64bit] from 'extras' bucket
Loading PowerToysUserSetup-0.91.1-x64.exe from cache
Running installer script...done.
Linking ~\scoop\apps\powertoys\current => ~\scoop\apps\powertoys\0.91.1
Creating shortcut for PowerToys (PowerToys.exe)
Running post_install script...Add-AppxPackage : Error de implementación con HRESULT: 0x80073D2E, No se pudo implementar el paquete porque debe permitir que se implemente el contenido externo con una ubicación externa.
Windows cannot install package Microsoft.CommandPalette_0.2.1.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe because it must allow external content to be installed with an external location.
NOTA: Para obtener información adicional, consulta [ActivityId] 573c2b3f-ce39-0000-e0b8-405739cedb01 en el registro de eventos o usa la línea de comandos Get-AppPackageLog -ActivityId 573c2b3f-ce39-0000-e0b8-405739cedb01
En C:\Users\F00001375\scoop\apps\powertoys\current\install-context.ps1: 112 Carácter: 112
+ ... _*.msix\' | Add-AppxPackage -ExternalLocation 'C:\Users\F00001375\sco ...
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+ CategoryInfo : NotSpecified: (C:\Users\F00001....2.1.0_x64.msix:String) [Add-AppxPackage], Exception
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : DeploymentError,Microsoft.Windows.Appx.PackageManager.Commands.AddAppxPackageCommand
done.
'powertoys' (0.91.1) was installed successfully!
Notes
-----
Add PowerToys context menu option by running:
Invoke-Expression -Command "C:\Users\F00001375\scoop\apps\powertoys\current\install-context.ps1"
If an error occurs when updating or uninstalling, execute the following command then retry:
`Stop-Process -Name 'explorer'`
PS C:\Users\F00001375>
Here is the log produced by the suggested command Get-AppPackageLog -ActivityId 573c2b3f-ce39-0000-e0b8-405739cedb01:
Time ID Message
---- -- -------
26/05/2025 7:53:00 a.?m. 603 Started deployment Add operation on a package with main parameter
Microsoft.CmdPal.UI_0.2.1.0_x64.msix and Options 0 and 0. See
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=235160 for help diagnosing app deployment issues.
26/05/2025 7:53:00 a.?m. 157 La firma del paquete de la aplicaci?n se valid? para el contenido principal del paquete de la
aplicaci?n publicado por CN=Microsoft Corporation, O=Microsoft Corporation, L=Redmond, S=Washington,
C=US. La carga no se validar? hasta que se lean los archivos.
26/05/2025 7:53:00 a.?m. 216 Advertencia de validaci?n del manifiesto de la aplicaci?n: el espacio de nombres declarado
http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/appx/2015/build no es aplicable, se omitir? durante el
procesamiento del manifiesto.
26/05/2025 7:53:00 a.?m. 216 Advertencia de validaci?n del manifiesto de la aplicaci?n: el espacio de nombres declarado
http://schemas.microsoft.com/appx/manifest/uap/windows10/17 no es aplicable, se omitir? durante el
procesamiento del manifiesto.
26/05/2025 7:53:00 a.?m. 170 El lector por secuencias se cre? correctamente para el paquete de la aplicaci?n
Microsoft.CommandPalette_0.2.1.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe.
26/05/2025 7:53:00 a.?m. 10002 Creating Resiliency File C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\AppRepository\2e02d913-158c-4e3d-a996-994e1
ca493c2_S-1-5-21-3908138131-1379222915-1738568700-4123_5.rslc for Add Operation on Package
Microsoft.CommandPalette_0.2.1.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe.
26/05/2025 7:53:00 a.?m. 607 Deployment Add operation on package Microsoft.CommandPalette_0.2.1.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe has been
de-queued and is running for user SID S-1-5-21-3908138131-1379222915-1738568700-4123.
26/05/2025 7:53:00 a.?m. 854 Successfully added the following uri(s) to be processed: file:///C:/Users/F00001375/scoop/apps/power
toys/0.91.1/WinUI3Apps/CmdPal/Microsoft.CmdPal.UI_0.2.1.0_x64.msix.
26/05/2025 7:53:00 a.?m. 794 Windows cannot install package Microsoft.CommandPalette_0.2.1.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe because it must
allow external content to be installed with an external location.
26/05/2025 7:53:00 a.?m. 605 Error 0x80073D2E: Failure in the Indexed state handler.
26/05/2025 7:53:00 a.?m. 401 Deployment Add operation with target volume C: on Package
Microsoft.CommandPalette_0.2.1.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe from: (Microsoft.CmdPal.UI_0.2.1.0_x64.msix)
failed with error 0x80073D2E. See http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=235160 for help diagnosing
app deployment issues.
26/05/2025 7:53:00 a.?m. 404 AppX Deployment operation failed for package Microsoft.CommandPalette_0.2.1.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe
with error 0x80073D2E. The specific error text for this failure is: Windows cannot install package
Microsoft.CommandPalette_0.2.1.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe because it must allow external content to be
installed with an external location.
Looking closely to the error, it mentions line 112 of script "install-context.ps1" (this is something related to scoop):
Get-ChildItem 'C:\Users\F00001375\scoop\apps\powertoys\0.91.1\WinUI3Apps\CmdPal\Microsoft.CmdPal.UI_*.msix\' | Add-AppxPackage -ExternalLocation 'C:\Users\F00001375\scoop\apps\powertoys\0.91.1\WinUI3Apps\CmdPal' | Out-Null
That is: Install every file with extension msix on directory ...\CmdPal where there is only one file:
- "Microsoft.CmdPal.UI_0.2.1.0_x64.msix"
So, this will be equivalent to:
Add-AppxPackage -Path 'C:\Users\F00001375\scoop\apps\powertoys\0.91.1\WinUI3Apps\CmdPal\Microsoft.CmdPal.UI_0.2.1.0_x64.msix' -ExternalLocation 'C:\Users\F00001375\scoop\apps\powertoys\0.91.1\WinUI3Apps\CmdPal'
And that last command fails exactly the same:
PS C:\Users\F00001375> Add-AppxPackage -Path 'C:\Users\F00001375\scoop\apps\powertoys\0.91.1\WinUI3Apps\CmdPal\Microsoft.CmdPal.UI_0.2.1.0_x64.msix' -ExternalLocation 'C:\Users\F00001375\scoop\apps\powertoys\0.91.1\WinUI3Apps\CmdPal'
Add-AppxPackage : Error de implementación con HRESULT: 0x80073D2E, No se pudo implementar el paquete porque debe permitir que se implemente
el contenido externo con una ubicación externa.
Windows cannot install package Microsoft.CommandPalette_0.2.1.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe because it must allow external content to be installed
with an external location.
NOTA: Para obtener información adicional, consulta [ActivityId] 573c2b3f-ce39-0007-130f-425739cedb01 en el registro de eventos o usa la
línea de comandos Get-AppPackageLog-ActivityId 573c2b3f-ce39-0007-130f-425739cedb01
En línea: 1 Carácter: 1
+ Add-AppxPackage -Path 'C:\Users\F00001375\scoop\apps\powertoys\0.91.1 ...
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+ CategoryInfo : NotSpecified: (C:\Users\F00001....2.1.0_x64.msix:String) [Add-AppxPackage], Exception
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : DeploymentError,Microsoft.Windows.Appx.PackageManager.Commands.AddAppxPackageCommand
Finally, it is worth nothing that above line 112 of install script "install-context.ps1" there are these 2 commands: line 108:
Add-AppxPackage -Path 'C:\Users\F00001375\scoop\apps\powertoys\0.91.1\ImageResizerContextMenuPackage.msix' -ExternalLocation 'C:\Users\F00001375\scoop\apps\powertoys\0.91.1' | Out-Null
line 110:
Add-AppxPackage -Path 'C:\Users\F00001375\scoop\apps\powertoys\0.91.1\WinUI3Apps\PowerRenameContextMenuPackage.msix' -ExternalLocation 'C:\Users\F00001375\scoop\apps\powertoys\0.91.1\WinUI3Apps' | Out-Null
And those command did not fail, but the Command Pallete one does!
J.
BTW I installed powertoys on my daughter's laptop this time with Chocolatey (she had admin privs ;)) and this time it installed without any problem and Command Palette works as expected.
Perhaps the problem is related to non-admin installations?
J.
BTW I installed powertoys on my daughter's laptop this time with Chocolatey (she had admin privs ;)) and this time it installed without any problem and Command Palette works as expected.
Perhaps the problem is related to non-admin installations?
J.
I think it may be an upgrade problem occurring after an upgrade from 0.91.0. A fresh install of 0.91.1 worked for me also on test computer. But on my own computer, I upgraded from 0.91.0..
For what it's worth; anyone installing PowerToys via scoop specifically, the following did the trick for me:
scoop uninstall --purge powertoys
scoop install powertoys
Note that it seems you will not lose all your settings upon doing so? I would still recommend backing up the contents of your scoop persist directory first, though. It's located in your home directory under scoop/persist/powertoys.
I think it may be an upgrade problem occurring after an upgrade from 0.91.0. A fresh install of 0.91.1 worked for me also on test computer. But on my own computer, I upgraded from 0.91.0..
@marcuswestlund I just ran into this upgrading from 0.91.1 to 0.92.0 so I don't think it's specific to those versions but it is definitely something to do with upgrading in general.
Powertoys 0.92.0 failed exactly the same way:
It seems to me Power Toys "Command Palette" DOES NOT work in PORTABLE mode.
J.
I got the same error when upgrading from version 0.92.0 to version 0.92.1
scoop update *
powertoys: 0.92.0 -> 0.92.1
Updating one outdated app:
Updating 'powertoys' (0.92.0 -> 0.92.1)
Downloading new version
PowerToysUserSetup-0.92.1-x64.exe (398.3 MB) [================================================================] 100%
Checking hash of PowerToysUserSetup-0.92.1-x64.exe ... ok.
Uninstalling 'powertoys' (0.92.0)
Running uninstaller script...done.
Unlinking ~\scoop\apps\powertoys\current
Installing 'powertoys' (0.92.1) [64bit] from 'extras' bucket
Loading PowerToysUserSetup-0.92.1-x64.exe from cache
Running installer script...done.
Linking ~\scoop\apps\powertoys\current => ~\scoop\apps\powertoys\0.92.1
Creating shortcut for PowerToys (PowerToys.exe)
Running post_install script...Add-AppxPackage: Cannot find path 'C:\Users\ADMIN\scoop\apps\powertoys\0.92.1\ImageResizerContextMenuPackage.msix' because it does not exist.
Add-AppxPackage: Deployment failed with HRESULT: 0x80073D2E, The package deployment failed because it must allow external content to be deployed with an external location.
Windows cannot install package Microsoft.CommandPalette_0.3.1871.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe because it must allow external content to be installed with an external location.
NOTE: For additional information, look for [ActivityId] dc80e97e-f2c3-0003-0415-83dcc3f2db01 in the Event Log or use the command line Get-AppPackageLog -ActivityID dc80e97e-f2c3-0003-0415-83dcc3f2db01
done.
'powertoys' (0.92.1) was installed successfully!
Notes
-----
Add PowerToys context menu option by running:
Invoke-Expression -Command "C:\Users\ADMIN\scoop\apps\powertoys\current\install-context.ps1"
If an error occurs when updating or uninstalling, execute the following command then retry:
`Stop-Process -Name 'explorer'`
I tried uninstalled and reinstalled again:
scoop uninstall --purge powertoys
scoop install powertoys
And then I ran to add PowerToys to context menu option it get this error:
Invoke-Expression -Command "C:\Users\ADMIN\scoop\apps\powertoys\current\install-context.ps1"
Add-AppxPackage: Cannot find path 'C:\Users\ADMIN\scoop\apps\powertoys\0.92.1\ImageResizerContextMenuPackage.msix' because it does not exist.
Add-AppxPackage: Deployment failed with HRESULT: 0x80073D2E, The package deployment failed because it must allow external content to be deployed with an external location.
Windows cannot install package Microsoft.CommandPalette_0.3.1871.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe because it must allow external content to be installed with an external location.
NOTE: For additional information, look for [ActivityId] dc80e97e-f2c3-0007-30f8-81dcc3f2db01 in the Event Log or use the command line Get-AppPackageLog -ActivityID dc80e97e-f2c3-0007-30f8-81dcc3f2db01
Add-AppxPackage: Deployment failed with HRESULT: 0x80073D2E, The package deployment failed because it must allow external content to be deployed with an external location. Windows cannot install package Microsoft.CommandPalette_0.3.1871.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe because it must allow external content to be installed with an external location.
If PowerToys was installed via Scoop, this issue may already be resolved in https://github.com/ScoopInstaller/Extras/pull/15999.
To fix existing PowerToys installation, run:
scoop update
scoop update powertoys -f
Invoke-Expression -Command "<ScoopDir>\apps\powertoys\current\install-context.ps1"
Hope this is a real fix.
Unfortunately, I can't confirm 'cause I got tired of scoop's Powertoys implementation and got permissions to install it from github which worked flawlessly.
J.
Unfortunately, I can't confirm 'cause I got tired of scoop's Powertoys implementation and got permissions to install it from github which worked flawlessly.
Thanks for letting me know! ❤️ Glad it's working well now. I understand your point.
Since its inception, Scoop has favored portable packages, so that users get the benefits Scoop promised when installing it via Scoop.
For complex installers, things get complicated, since Scoop doesn't execute the installer -- it only extracts it.
Non-portable version might have fewer bugs.