What is ViVeTool? How to use ViVeTool to enable hidden features on Windows

It allows you to try out new and unreleased features on stable or developer releases of Windows, such as the Multi-tab feature in File Explorer or restoring the classic context menu of Windows. Windows 11. But should you use ViVeTool? Let's find out through the following article!

What is ViveTool and how does it work?

ViveTool is a third-party open source C# library and console application for enabling unreleased features on Windows computers. You can also use it to restore or disable some features.

ViveTool uses Feature ID, part of Windows Feature Management, a software development methodology, to identify available features. You can then use Feature ID to enable or disable certain features on your Windows computer using the GUI utility or the ViVeTool command line.

For example, if you want to remove the new search box and replace it with the classic search icon, you will need to run the command ViVetool /disable /id:39263329 using the ViVeTool command line utility.

Feature ID id:39263329 in the above command tells ViVeTool and subsequent API which feature to enable on your Windows machine.

Alternatively, you can use the GUI version of ViveTool to find and enable or disable features on your Windows computer.

Is ViVeTool safe to use?

ViVeTool does not add new features by itself. It simply toggles existing features to enable or disable them for your Windows system. However, because these features are experimental in nature, activating them can sometimes cause problems.

If you want to use ViVeTool on your daily driver, go through the Windows data backup and recovery options and proceed with the steps below. Ideally, use a virtual machine to test new features, and if it seems stable, apply them to your daily driver.

How to download and install ViVeTool GUI

ViveTool GUI is a fork version of the ViveTool command line utility. It is less complicated to use and eliminates the hassle of executing commands or memorizing them in the first place.

The GUI version is available as an installer executable or in a portable version. Here's how to install and use ViVeTool GUI on Windows.

To download ViVeTool GUI:

1. Visit the ViveTool GUI page on GitHub.

What is ViVeTool? How to use ViVeTool to enable hidden features on Windows Picture 1

2. Download the latest version of the existing Setup.exe file. You can also download the portable version if you want.

3. Run the setup file and keep the default settings. Follow the on-screen instructions to install the app.

4. Now that the app is installed, you can use it to find and install unreleased features on your Windows computer. Here's how to do it.

5. Launch ViVeTool using the desktop shortcut or from the Start menu.

What is ViVeTool? How to use ViVeTool to enable hidden features on Windows Picture 2

6. Click the drop-down menu in the top left corner and select your Windows build. You can check the Windows 11 version and build using the Settings panel .

7. ViVeTool GUI will now start searching for all available features for the selected build. This may take a few minutes, so wait until the listing is complete.

8. ViVeTool GUI categorizes available features into different categories. You can expand the category and choose which features to install. Alternatively, type the feature name in the search bar to find any feature.

9. Select the feature you want to enable or disable and click the Perform Action drop-down menu.

What is ViVeTool? How to use ViVeTool to enable hidden features on Windows Picture 3

10. Select Activate to enable the feature and Deactivate to disable the feature. Wait for the success message and click   Close .

11. You may need to restart your PC for the changes to apply.

What is ViVeTool? How to use ViVeTool to enable hidden features on Windows Picture 4

12. To revert the feature to its default state, select the modified feature, click Perform Action and select Revert Feature to Default Values ​​.

How to use the command line version of ViveTool

The original version of ViVeTool was a command line utility. Although it provides the same functionality as the GUI version, it is an effective way to quickly turn Windows features on and off.

However, to enable any feature, you must enter the Feature ID. You can get the Feature ID from the Internet, such as Microsoft's developer documentation or the GUI version of ViveTool.

Once you have the Feature ID, you can use the command line version of ViVeTool to enable or disable features on your Windows computer. Here's how to do it.

1. Visit the ViveTool page on GitHub.

What is ViVeTool? How to use ViVeTool to enable hidden features on Windows Picture 5

2. Click the ViVeToo.xxx.zip file to download the latest version to your local drive.

What is ViVeTool? How to use ViVeTool to enable hidden features on Windows Picture 6

3. Right click on the zip file and select Extract all . Select a destination and click Extract . Note the extracted folder.

4. Next, press the Win key and type cmd.

5. Right click on Command Prompt and select Run as administrator .

What is ViVeTool? How to use ViVeTool to enable hidden features on Windows Picture 7

6. In Command Prompt, change directory to ViVeTool extracted directory. So type the following command and press Enter to change directory:

 cd /d [ViveToolFolderPath] 

7. For example, if you save the ViVeTool folder in C:UsersusernameDownloadsViVeTool-v0.3.2, the full command would look like this:

cd /d C:UsersusernameDownloadsViVeTool-v0.3.2

8. Next, to enable a feature, use the following command and press Enter:

ViveTool.exe /enable /id:featureID

9. In the above command, replace featureID with the Feature ID you want to enable.

What is ViVeTool? How to use ViVeTool to enable hidden features on Windows Picture 8

10. For example, to enable tab feature in File Explorer, Feature ID is id:37634385, full command would look like this:

 ViveTool.exe /enable /id:37634385 

11. If you want to disable a feature, the command would look like this:

ViveTool.exe /disable /id:featureID 

12. When the command is executed, type exit and press Enter to close the Command Prompt.

13. Restart the PC to apply the changes. After the PC restarts, the changes should be visible.

ViveTool Supported Commands

In addition to the /enable and /disable commands, ViVeTools also supports many other commands to reset custom configurations for some or all features, update ViVeTool, export and import custom feature profiles.

ViVeTool makes it easy to find and test new experimental features before they're released to the public. Whether you use the GUI or the command line version, it allows you to easily enable and disable some cool features.

However, many of these hidden features can fail and cause system crashes. So, have a system backup ready before modifying ViVeTool.

Samuel Daniel

Update 28 February 2023