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Mar 27, 2026

How-to What Is ViVeTool? How to Use It to Enable Hidden Features in Windows

ViVeTool is an open-source command-line utility that lets you unlock hidden experimental features on Windows PCs. There is also a GUI version available, which makes it much easier to turn certain Windows features on or off without having to memorize commands.

It gives you a way to try out unreleased features on stable or developer builds of Windows, including things like tabbed File Explorer in its early days or bringing back the classic Windows 11 context menu. But should you actually use ViVeTool? Let’s break it down.

What Is ViVeTool, and How Does It Work?

ViVeTool is a third-party open-source console app and C# library designed to enable unreleased features on Windows computers. You can also use it to disable or restore certain features if needed.

It works by using Feature IDs, which are part of Windows Feature Management. This is Microsoft’s internal system for managing feature rollouts and experiments. ViVeTool taps into that system, allowing you to identify available hidden features and toggle them on or off using either the command-line version or the GUI version.

For example, if you wanted to remove a newer Windows search box and switch back to the classic search icon, you could run the following command in the command-line version of ViVeTool:

Code:

ViVeTool /disable /id:39263329

In that example, 39263329 is the Feature ID. It tells ViVeTool, and the Windows API behind it, exactly which feature should be modified on your PC.

If you do not want to deal with commands, the GUI version of ViVeTool gives you a more user-friendly way to browse available features and enable or disable them.

Is ViVeTool Safe to Use?

ViVeTool does not add brand-new code or inject outside features into Windows. It simply toggles features that already exist inside your version of Windows.

That said, many of these features are experimental by nature. Because of that, enabling them can sometimes cause bugs, visual glitches, or general system instability.

At Geekinter, we’d put it this way: ViVeTool is powerful, but it is not something you should use carelessly on a mission-critical PC. If this is your daily driver, make sure you review your Windows backup and recovery options before changing anything. Even better, test new features in a virtual machine first. If a feature works well and seems stable, then you can decide whether it is worth enabling on your main system.

How to Download and Install ViVeTool GUI

ViVeTool GUI is a graphical front-end built around the original command-line utility. It is much easier to use and removes the hassle of typing commands or remembering Feature IDs.

The GUI version is available either as a standard installer or as a portable build.

How to download ViVeTool GUI

Go to the ViVeTool GUI page on GitHub.
Download the latest available Setup.exe file. If you prefer, you can also download the portable version.
Run the setup file and keep the default installation settings.
Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

Once installed, you can use the app to find and enable unreleased features on your Windows PC.

How to use ViVeTool GUI

Launch ViVeTool GUI from the desktop shortcut or the Start menu.

Click the drop-down menu in the top-left corner and select your Windows build. You can check your Windows 11 version and build number in the Settings app.
ViVeTool GUI will begin scanning for all available features for that selected build. This may take a few minutes, so give it some time.
Once the scan is complete, you will see features organized into categories.
Expand a category and choose the feature you want to manage. You can also use the search bar to quickly find a specific feature.
Select the feature, then click the Perform Action drop-down menu.

Choose Activate to turn the feature on or Deactivate to turn it off.
Wait for the success notification, then click Close.
Restart your PC if required for the change to take effect.

If you want to undo the change and return a feature to its default behavior:

Select the modified feature.
Click Perform Action.
Choose Revert Feature to Default Values.

How to Enable a Feature ID

Once ViVeTool is installed, you need the correct Feature ID for the feature you want to enable. These IDs are often shared in Windows Insider communities, including people like PhantomOfEarth or TheBobPony, or discussed in online Windows forums.

To enable a Feature ID, run this command in Command Prompt while still inside the ViVeTool folder:

Code:

vivetool /enable /id:<feature-id>

For example, if you are enabling 53250194, that command would turn on a newer cropping-related feature for the Windows Snipping Tool.

After you see a success message confirming the feature configuration was applied, close Command Prompt and restart your PC. Any user interface changes or new feature behavior should appear after rebooting.

How to Disable a Feature ID

If a feature causes problems, breaks the UI, or you simply want to turn it off, go back to the ViVeTool folder and run:

Code:

vivetool /disable /id:<feature-id>

The /disable command turns the feature off, and a restart will apply the change.

How to Check Whether a Feature Is Enabled or Disabled

To verify a feature’s current status, use the /query command:

Code:

vivetool /query /id:<feature-id>

Be sure to replace <feature-id> with the actual numeric ID.

This command may return one of the following states:

Default (0): The feature is in its default Windows state.
Enabled (2): The default behavior has been overridden and the feature is forced on.
Disabled (1): The feature is explicitly turned off.

ViVeTool makes it easy to access new beta features before they are publicly released. But because these hidden flags are experimental, you may run into bugs or strange system behavior. That is why it is important to proceed carefully and keep a backup ready.

How to Use the Command-Line Version of ViVeTool

The original version of ViVeTool is a command-line utility. It offers the same core functionality as the GUI version, but it is often the faster option if you already know the Feature ID you want to enable or disable.

Before you begin, you need the correct Feature ID. You can usually find it through Microsoft developer discussions, Windows enthusiast communities, or by using the ViVeTool GUI to look it up.

Steps to use ViVeTool from Command Prompt

Visit the ViVeTool page on GitHub.

Download the latest ViVeTool.xxx.zip file.

Right-click the ZIP file and choose Extract All.
Pick a destination folder and extract the files. Make note of the extracted folder path.
Press the Win key, type cmd, then right-click Command Prompt and choose Run as administrator.

In Command Prompt, switch to the extracted ViVeTool directory using this command:

Code:

cd /d [ViveToolFolderPath]

For example, if your folder is located here:

Code:

C:\Users\username\Downloads\ViVeTool-v0.3.2

then the full command would be:

Code:

cd /d C:\Users\username\Downloads\ViVeTool-v0.3.2

To enable a feature, run:

Code:

ViveTool.exe /enable /id:featureID

Replace featureID with the actual Feature ID you want to activate.

For example, if you wanted to enable tabs in File Explorer and the Feature ID was 37634385, the command would look like this:

Code:

ViveTool.exe /enable /id:37634385

To disable a feature, use:

Code:

ViveTool.exe /disable /id:featureID

After the command finishes running, type:

Code:

exit

and press Enter to close Command Prompt.

Restart your PC to apply the changes.

Once the PC reboots, the feature change should take effect.

Supported ViVeTool Commands

In addition to /enable and /disable, ViVeTool supports a number of other useful commands for resetting feature configurations, exporting or importing settings, and more.

ViVeTool Command	Action
/enable	Enables a feature
/disable	Disables a feature
/query	Lists the current feature configuration
/reset	Resets the custom configuration for a specific feature
/resetall	Resets custom configurations for all features
/addsubs	Adds feature usage subscriptions
/delsub	Removes feature usage subscriptions
/export	Exports custom feature configurations
/import	Imports custom feature configurations
/fixlkg	Fixes the current “Last Known Good” restore system
/appupdate	Checks for new ViVeTool updates
/notifyusage	Displays feature usage notifications

Final Thoughts

ViVeTool gives Windows users a relatively easy way to discover and test hidden features before Microsoft rolls them out publicly. Whether you prefer the GUI version or the original command-line tool, it makes it much easier to turn experimental features on and off.

That said, hidden Windows features are hidden for a reason. Some are unfinished, some are unstable, and some can create system issues if enabled at the wrong time.

At Geekinter, our advice is simple: use ViVeTool if you like exploring Windows and testing new features early, but do it carefully. Keep a system backup ready, know how to roll changes back, and avoid treating experimental features like they are production-ready just because they happen to work once.