# Win11Debloat 2026.08.24 — Release 2026.08.24

- Product: Win11Debloat (https://whatsnew.fyi/product/win11debloat)
- Vendor: Raphire
- Date: 2026-08-24
- Version: 2026.08.24
- Original notes: https://github.com/Raphire/Win11Debloat/releases/tag/2026.08.24
- Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/win11debloat/releases/2026.08.24

What's New is an index, not a publisher: every entry below links to the vendor's own release notes, which are the authoritative source. Entries are labelled where they are hand-curated sample data, pre-releases, or drawn from a secondary source such as a developer blog.

Reuse: the summaries, labels and curation here are © What's New. Quote freely with attribution and a link back; wholesale republication of the corpus is not permitted — terms: https://whatsnew.fyi/terms. The vendors' own release notes remain their publishers'.

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- **deprecated** — The NoRestartExplorer parameter has been deprecated in favor of the new SkipExplorerRestart parameter
- **fixed** — Honor cancellation during changes
- **fixed** — Escape Windows Terminal path
- **fixed** — Reject Data/Kind mismatches in registry restore before restore begins
- **added** — Add comprehensive test suite
- **changed** — Rename function and file names to match approved verbs
- **changed** — Rename NoRestartExplorer parameter to SkipExplorerRestart
- **fixed** — Force stop widget processes to prevent prompt
- **added** — Improve registry backup safety and add optional backup skipping
- **fixed** — Support QWord, ExpandString and MultiString in the .reg fallback writer
- **fixed** — Remove Mark-of-the-Web from script files at startup
- **added** — Add timeout for WinGet uninstall to prevent hanging
- **added** — Enhance app removal verification and error reporting
- **fixed** — Actually handle ForceRemoveEdge parameter
- **fixed** — Match tweak presets and app-removal scope by stable ID instead of translatable text
- **fixed** — Improve error handling in Set-StoreSearchSuggestionsDisabled
- **added** — Add FeatureId and launcher parameter contract tests
- **fixed** — Improve error reporting when fetching files from GitHub
- **added** — Add an option to hide the desktop Spotlight icon without disabling wallpaper rotation
- **changed** — Improve error reporting and handling

> [!NOTE]
> As of this release, the `NoRestartExplorer` parameter has been deprecated in favor of the new `SkipExplorerRestart` parameter. The behaviour has not changed. Support for the old parameter will be removed in an upcoming release, so please take the time to update any scripts or automations as soon as possible.

##### What's Changed
* fix: honor cancellation during changes by @ShiroKSH in https://github.com/Raphire/Win11Debloat/pull/700
* fix: escape Windows Terminal path by @ShiroKSH in https://github.com/Raphire/Win11Debloat/pull/702
* fix(registry-restore): reject Data/Kind mismatches before restore begins by @STiFLeR7 in https://github.com/Raphire/Win11Debloat/pull/704
* feat: add comprehensive test suite by @Raphire in https://github.com/Raphire/Win11Debloat/pull/708
* refactor: rename function and file names to match approved verbs by @Raphire in https://github.com/Raphire/Win11Debloat/pull/708
* refactor: rename `NoRestartExplorer` parameter to `SkipExplorerRestart` by @Raphire in https://github.com/Raphire/Win11Debloat/pull/709
* fix: force stop widget processes to prevent prompt by @Raphire in https://github.com/Raphire/Win11Debloat/pull/713
* feat: improve registry backup safety and add optional backup skipping by @Raphire in https://github.com/Raphire/Win11Debloat/pull/710
* fix: support QWord, ExpandString and MultiString in the .reg fallback writer by @SashankBhamidi in https://github.com/Raphire/Win11Debloat/pull/715
* fix: remove Mark-of-the-Web from script files at startup by @HetCreep in https://github.com/Raphire/Win11Debloat/pull/724
* feat: add timeout for WinGet uninstall to prevent hanging by @Raphire in https://github.com/Raphire/Win11Debloat/pull/731
* feat: Enhance app removal verification and error reporting by @Raphire in https://github.com/Raphire/Win11Debloat/pull/735
* fix: actually handle ForceRemoveEdge parameter by @Raphire in https://github.com/Raphire/Win11Debloat/pull/736
* fix: match tweak presets and app-removal scope by stable ID instead of translatable text by @SashankBhamidi in https://github.com/Raphire/Win11Debloat/pull/737
* fix: improve error handling in Set-StoreSearchSuggestionsDisabled by @Raphire in https://github.com/Raphire/Win11Debloat/pull/739
* feat: add FeatureId and launcher parameter contract tests by @ryanduguid in https://github.com/Raphire/Win11Debloat/pull/751
* fix: improve error reporting when fetching files from GitHub by @Raphire in https://github.com/Raphire/Win11Debloat/pull/753
* feat: add an option to hide the desktop Spotlight icon without disabling wallpaper rotation by @ryanduguid in https://github.com/Raphire/Win11Debloat/pull/746
* feat: improve error reporting & handling by @Raphire in https://github.com/Raphire/Win11Debloat/pull/741

##### New Contributors
* @ShiroKSH made their first contribution in https://github.com/Raphire/Win11Debloat/pull/700
* @STiFLeR7 made their first contribution in https://github.com/Raphire/Win11Debloat/pull/704
* @ryanduguid made their first contribution in https://github.com/Raphire/Win11Debloat/pull/751

**Full Changelog**: https://github.com/Raphire/Win11Debloat/compare/2026.07.11...2026.08.24

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