Microsoft lastly made a bloat-free model of Windows 11, however regular individuals aren’t allowed to make use of it
In early September 2026, Microsoft introduced Project Zenith, an effort to offer builders with a ready-to-code, distraction-free Windows configuration out of the field, geared up with a collection of helpful developer instruments.
The factor is, apart from the preinstalled instruments, the Windows 11 configuration that may ship on Project Zenith gadgets sounds type of like a debloated model of Windows coming straight from Microsoft, however sadly, you possibly can’t actually apply it to your present PC. That mentioned, you may get fairly shut by working a single script supplied by Microsoft, but it surely’s not fairly the debloat you may anticipate.
Project Zenith sounds nice for anybody bored with Windows 11’s litter
But there is a catch
As I’ve mentioned, Project Zenith is a particular Windows 11 configuration that may ship on gadgets that fulfill the Project Zenith {hardware} necessities, which embrace not less than 64GB of unified reminiscence and reminiscence bandwidth of not less than 250GB/s.
While Project Zenith gained’t be obtainable on common PCs, which is a disgrace, will probably be included on developer PCs geared up with AMD Ryzen AI Max+ (such because the AMD Ryzen AI Halo) or NVIDIA RTX Spark chips, so long as they’ve not less than 64GB of RAM (the RAM acts as unified memory on these chips because it’s shared by the CPU and GPU).
While it’s not a particular version of Windows 11 like Windows 11 Home and Windows 11 Pro are, Project Zenith nonetheless contains a lot of adjustments that reduce down the litter and distractions, together with some useful File Explorer tweaks that may profit energy customers.
For starters, Project Zenith PCs may have Start menu suggestions, account notifications, sync supplier suggestions, and not too long ago used recordsdata and folders turned off, and Command Palette shall be enabled in Search and Start since PowerToys comes preinstalled.
As for the File Explorer settings, hidden recordsdata, the complete path within the title bar, exhibiting file extensions, the main points pane, and long-path help will all be enabled by default. On high of that, Windows Terminal and VS Code shall be pinned to the Taskbar.
These PCs can even ship with a lot of developer instruments and apps preinstalled. You’ll be greeted with VS Code, GitHub Copilot, Windows App Development CLI (winapp CLI), and different instruments as quickly as you activate the PC for the primary time, with numerous programming languages and runtimes included as effectively. Last however not least, each Project Zenith PC will include Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL).
You can get a Project Zenith-like expertise with a single PowerShell command
But I do not suggest doing it because it installs a bunch of developer instruments
While Project Zenith just isn’t supposed for normal customers such as you and me, you possibly can nonetheless get a Project Zenith-like Windows 11 expertise by organising Windows Developer Config, an open-source challenge by Microsoft you can check out on GitHub.
Windows Developer Config contains many of the stuff you’ll get when you purchased a Project Zenith PC, after which some. Instead of getting to personal a beefy PC, all you might want to do is go to the challenge’s GitHub web page and run a single PowerShell command discovered there, relying in your preferences.
The challenge provides two configuration scripts: customary and full. The customary expertise contains all of the developer instruments, PowerShell 7, and the WSL platform and Ubuntu, together with many of the Windows and File Explorer settings adjustments I’ve talked about above. The script additionally disables on-line options in Windows Search, Search Highlights, and Start menu suggestions, and it allows Do Not Disturb mode and darkish theme.
The full expertise comes with a number of extras. Running the complete expertise script will allow Developer Mode and Sudo in Windows settings. It can even disable widgets and the annoying Edge first-run expertise (the place Edge asks you to sign up together with your Microsoft account and import information out of your default browser), together with enabling Remote Desktop.
Now, this seems like a debloated Windows straight from Microsoft, however that’s not totally true. Aside from disabling annoying Windows settings and the Edge first-run expertise, Windows Developer Config scripts additionally set up a bunch of developer instruments and apps in your PC.
Sure, some are very useful to have no matter whether or not you write code, resembling PowerToys and PowerShell 7, however when you aren’t a developer, you positively don’t want stuff like VS Code, GitHub Copilot CLI, and all these programming languages and runtimes resembling Python and Node.js.
So on the finish of the day, I don’t suggest working a Windows Developer Config script when you aren’t a developer. It will disable many annoying Windows settings and options, however you are able to do that anyway, both manually or through a third-party Windows debloating instrument, with out the additional baggage.
Tools like WinUtil change settings and take away pointless apps as an alternative of including new ones
When it involves debloating Windows, you possibly can choose from multiple third-party tools. For occasion, my go-to possibility, WinUtil by Chris Titus, lets you change and disable many of the Windows settings included with the Windows Developer Config scripts, however with out having to put in something.
Besides that, third-party debloating instruments let you disable further Windows choices and options you won’t want or need in your PC, resembling location monitoring and telemetry, BitLocker disk encryption, exercise historical past, and extra. You may also take away bloatware and preinstalled apps you don’t want, tweak your Windows Update settings and even disable updates, and accomplish that way more.
The smartest thing is that each one these tweaks are elective; you possibly can change solely the stuff you need and go away the remaining intact. And whereas WinUtil additionally allows you to set up numerous apps, resembling PowerToys, once more, that’s solely if you wish to. On the opposite hand, Windows Developer Config bulk-changes a bunch of settings together with putting in a ton of developer instruments and apps, which are not of a lot use to non-developers.
We want Project Zenith, however for normal Windows customers
As it stands, Project Zenith sounds very helpful, when you’re a developer. I can say the identical in regards to the Windows Developer Config scripts. Sure, they modify or disable some Windows settings nobody wants, however in addition they include a bunch of pointless stuff for these of us who don’t write code for a dwelling. If you need to debloat Windows, third-party instruments are nonetheless a superior alternative.
That mentioned, I’d nonetheless prefer to see Microsoft give you an initiative much like Project Zenith, however for normal customers. Just think about having the choice to preconfigure Windows 11 throughout set up, having the ability to disable belongings you don’t want and go away solely the stuff you’ll really use.
I don’t want it to permit me to disable telemetry or location monitoring, however booting right into a recent Windows 11 set up with darkish mode enabled, all these distracting choices disabled, and File Explorer settings modified out of the field can be grand to see.
Considering that Microsoft itself said that “Windows is changing into quicker, calmer, and extra polished with extra management over the experiences you care about most,” I hope we’ll see one thing like that ultimately. If Microsoft actually desires to take heed to common customers, and never simply builders, this is able to be place to begin.
