Easily restore the disappered Open with Code context menu item in the Windows explorer context menu.

How To easily restore the disappered Windows context menu “Open with Code” using VS Code, open a command prompt elevated as administrator and run the following lines.

REG ADD "HKCR\VSCodeContextMenu" /v "Title" /t REG_EXPAND_SZ /d "Open with Code" /f
REG ADD "HKCR\VSCodeSourceFile\shell\open\command" /ve /t REG_SZ /d "\"C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Programs\Microsoft VS Code\Code.exe\" \"%%1\"" /f
REG ADD "HKCU\Software\Classes\VSCodeContextMenu" /v "Title" /t REG_EXPAND_SZ /d "Open with Code" /f
REG ADD "HKCU\Software\Classes\VSCodeSourceFile\shell\open\command" /ve /t REG_SZ /d "\"C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Programs\Microsoft VS Code\Code.exe\" \"%%1\"" /f

Replace the username placeholder in square brackets with your actual username, without square brackets.

The path to code.exe shown here accordingly vs code is installed from the pre-release channel; otherwise, look under Program Files and replace the path accordingly.

Open with Code Batch file

Another option is to download openwcode.cmd from here, Right-click and save as openwcode.cmd without the .txt extension.

Before you run the batch file, don’t forget to replace the placeholder [username] with your actual username.

Editing the Batch file

You can use the search replace command using sed, to replace your actual windows username.

sed -i "s/\[username\]/%USERNAME%/g" openwcode.cmd

This adds the Windows 11 context menu as well as the common menu without requiring the shift key to be pressed when clicking file or folder.

Getting sed on Windows 11 is easiest with install Git for Windows. Open PowerShell or command prompt and enter the the command:

winget install --id Git.Git -e --source winget

This command installs the official “Git for Windows” package, which includes Git Bash with necessary tools. Finally, you can run the command.

"%ProgramFiles%\Git\usr\bin\sed.exe" -i "s/\[username\]/%USERNAME%/g" openwcode.cmd

How having an almost AI-free Windows 11?

A new tool is designed to remove Copilot, Recall and other AI components from Windows 11, giving users more control.

Microsoft push the goal of developing Windows into an AI-powered operating system. This isn’t to everyone’s liking. This is precisely where the new tool RemovewindowsAI comes in. As the name suggests, the script is designed to remove almost all AI elements from Windows 11 upon request. This gives users the ability to decide for themselves which functions should remain part of the system.

According to the GitHub documentation, the AI-free Windows 11 project was created to provide a centralized solution for removing these increasingly intertwined functions. The developer, Zoicware, provides the source code but also adds a graphical user interface. This allows the tool to be used even by users with limited command-line experience.

Al-free Windows 11 to resitend updates

A significant part of the script is also the attempt to prevent the removed components from being reinstalled. For this purpose, the developer has included a separate package designed to prevent Windows updates from automatically restoring the deleted AI modules. The undo mode is also a welcome feature. This allows users to reverse all changes and reinstall removed components if problems arise or if they regret their decision.

Not all AI functions can be deleted

Despite the far-reaching processes, the approach is reaching its technical limits. Some AI components are so deeply embedded in the system or cloud services that their removal cannot be automated. Elements that still require manual steps include, for example, Gaming Copilot, OneDrive AI, and Windows Studio Effects.

Such profound interventions in the system architecture naturally carry risks. Since Microsoft does not provide official uninstallation methods for these core functions, the script operates in a kind of gray area.

Future Windows 11 updates could encounter deleted dependencies, potentially leading to instability or other errors. Therefore, users should absolutely create a complete backup or at least a system restore point before running this script. Use of this script is entirely at your own risk.

Non-Interactive Mode with All Options

Run in a PowerShell elevated as administrator.

& ([scriptblock]::Create((irm "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zoicware/RemoveWindowsAI/main/RemoveWindowsAi.ps1"))) -nonInteractive -AllOptions