Keep any window always on top on Windows 11 & 10 — instantly, with a global hotkey.

Press Win+Ctrl+T and the focused window stays on top of everything else. Slide its opacity down to see through it. Restart your PC and PinIt re-pins it automatically. A single-purpose, ~2.5 MB alternative to installing a whole utility suite — built with Rust and Tauri for native performance.

Pin a window, fade it, and keep working — all from one hotkey

Download

⬇ Download the latest release — Windows 10 & 11, free.

File	What it is
PinIt_x.y.z_x64-setup.exe	NSIS installer (recommended, ~2.5 MB)
PinIt_x.y.z_x64_en-US.msi	MSI installer (for enterprise / Group Policy deployment)

Note: The installers are not yet code-signed, so Windows SmartScreen may show "Windows protected your PC". Click More info → Run anyway. PinIt is fully open source (Apache 2.0) — audit the code or build it yourself from this repository.

Features

• Global hotkey pinning — Win+Ctrl+T pins/unpins the focused window. No clicking through menus.
• Per-window transparency — make any pinned window see-through with Win+Ctrl+= / Win+Ctrl+- or a slider. Great for reference docs, video calls, or notes over your work.
• Pins survive restarts — PinIt remembers what you pinned (and its opacity) and re-pins it when you log back in.
• Windows 11 topmost re-enforcement — Win11's compositor sometimes strips the always-on-top flag; PinIt watches window events and re-applies it automatically.
• Customizable shortcuts — rebind every hotkey from the app.
• System tray app — closes to the tray and stays out of your way. Optional start-with-Windows.
• Tiny and fast — Rust backend talking directly to the Windows API. ~2.5 MB installer, minimal RAM.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Action	Default shortcut
Pin / unpin focused window	Win + Ctrl + T
Increase opacity	Win + Ctrl + =
Decrease opacity	Win + Ctrl + -
Show / hide PinIt	Win + Ctrl + P

All shortcuts can be customized from within the app.

How PinIt compares

PowerToys is great when you want twenty utilities. PinIt is for when you want exactly one, done properly:

Feature	PinIt	PowerToys Always On Top module	DeskPins classic freeware
Price	✅ Free	✅ Free	✅ Free
Single-purpose, lightweight	✅ ~2.5 MB	❌ Full utility suite	✅ Yes
Global hotkey to pin	✅ Win+Ctrl+T	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
True per-window transparency	✅ 20 to 100%	❌ No ¹	❌ No
Pins persist across restarts	✅ Automatic	❌ Forgets on reboot	❌ No
Actively maintained	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	❌ Last release 2018

The short version: if pinning is all you need, PinIt is the smallest tool that does all of it, and the only one that remembers your pins after a reboot.

¹ PowerToys' "Opacity" setting changes the highlight border around pinned windows, not the window content itself. True window transparency is a long-standing open feature request (#26049).

FAQ

How do I keep a window always on top in Windows 11?

Windows has no built-in always-on-top button. Install PinIt, click the window you want to keep visible, and press Win+Ctrl+T — it stays on top of every other window until you unpin it.

What is the keyboard shortcut to pin a window on top?

PinIt's default is Win+Ctrl+T to toggle pinning. You can rebind it (and the opacity shortcuts) from the app.

Can I make a window transparent / see-through on Windows?

Yes — pin a window with PinIt, then press Win+Ctrl+- to fade it (down to 20% opacity) or Win+Ctrl+= to make it solid again. Each pinned window keeps its own opacity level.

Do my pinned windows stay on top after I restart?

Yes. PinIt saves your pins (per app, with their opacity) to %LOCALAPPDATA%\PinIt and re-pins matching windows on the next launch — something neither PowerToys nor DeskPins does.

PowerToys already has Always On Top — why PinIt?

Two things PowerToys can't do: true per-window transparency and pins that survive a reboot. Plus, PinIt is a single ~2.5 MB tool rather than a large suite — if pinning is all you need, you don't have to install everything else.

Does it work with apps running as administrator?

Windows security (UIPI) prevents normal apps from modifying elevated windows. To pin a window that's running as administrator, run PinIt as administrator too.

Is PinIt free and open source?

Yes — PinIt is completely free and open source under the Apache 2.0 license. Use it, modify it, and redistribute it, including commercially.

Development

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v18+)
• Bun (recommended) or npm
• Rust

Setup

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/Razee4315/Pin-It.git
cd Pin-It

# Install dependencies
bun install

# Run in development mode
bun run tauri dev

# Build for production
bun run tauri build

Why PinIt?

As a developer moving between Linux and Windows, I always missed the native ability to keep any window on top. While Linux desktop environments often have this built-in, Windows options were limited.

The most common solution, Microsoft PowerToys, comes bundled with dozens of other utilities I didn't need. I wanted a lightweight, singular-purpose tool that does one thing and does it well — without the bloat. PinIt was born from the desire for a clean, simple, and resource-efficient alternative that feels like a native part of the system.

Tech Stack

• Frontend: React, TypeScript, Vite
• Backend: Rust, Tauri v2 (direct Windows API)
• Build: Bun

License

PinIt is open source under the Apache License 2.0 — free to use, modify, and redistribute, including for commercial purposes.

Author

Saqlain Abbas Email: saqlainrazee@gmail.com

GitHub: @Razee4315