Best System Tray Productivity Apps for Windows 11 (2026)
The Windows tray is the clock corner of the taskbar. The apps in the list below sit in that clock corner between clicks. A matching key opens QuickBoard, FocusDim, or MeetReady from any window. PeakFlow is six of those tools shipped together in one installer.
The free installer includes all six tools, with no time limit and no account. A 14-day Pro trial comes along with that same free download. EarTrumpet, PowerToys, ShareX, f.lux, and Greenshot are the other tray apps.
PeakFlow in the tray
SoundSplit
SoundSplit gives each app its own volume slider with memory for those levels. Click the tray icon to see the sliders for apps that are running right now. Turn the chat slider down for the task, with the music slider left alone. SoundSplit has no live meter for the master volume on the PC. The longer notes are in the per-app volume guide.
QuickBoard
QuickBoard opens from Ctrl+Shift+V anywhere on Windows, including from the tray icon. Unpinned clips follow a limit you set, with 500 as the default. The settings field accepts a limit from 10 to 2000. Pinned clips are kept on top of that cap, past the unpinned limit. Unpinned clips older than 24 hours are removed by default. Those pinned clips stay in place through the daily removal of old ones.
A fuzzy search can find a clip from a partial phrase you remember. A plain-text paste mode is there for clips that carry formatting from another app. History encryption is a Pro feature you turn on yourself from settings. History encryption stays off on a fresh install of QuickBoard. QuickBoard skips that copied item when the window title sits on its built-in list of password managers and bank apps. Matching secret text is kept, then shown in a masked form. A copied image can be read for text on this machine.
FocusDim
FocusDim dims the windows behind the one you are using right now. Active mode leaves only the front window bright on the screen. App mode leaves every window from that same app bright. All Windows mode dims the desktop plus the taskbar while leaving the windows bright. The default hotkey for FocusDim is Ctrl+Shift+D on Windows. The strength slider runs from 10% to 90%, with 60% as the default strength.
Drag escape is turned on by default in a fresh install. During a drag, the dimming fades to reveal the drop target, then returns. You can exclude one app from the dimming across your monitors. The dimming guide shows each mode on its own page.
ScreenSlap
ScreenSlap shows a full-screen alert for an upcoming Google Calendar event. The default warning is 1 minute ahead of that event. The alert stays up for 60 seconds with sound on by default. ScreenSlap checks that calendar on a poll, not from a push notice. The tray icon stays quiet in the corner between those full-screen alerts.
MeetReady
MeetReady checks both the camera and the microphone ahead of a video chat. With that switch on, it can open itself 2 minutes ahead of the chat. The default hotkey for MeetReady is Ctrl+Shift+M on Windows. It does not cover the screen the way ScreenSlap does.
LiquidFocus
LiquidFocus is the countdown timer in that same tray. The default run is 25 minutes, then a 5-minute break. Four of those runs lead to a 15-minute long break. Breaks stay waiting, with a separate option for ones that start on their own. The camera check stays off on a fresh install of LiquidFocus. Turning that check on is a Pro feature inside the 14-day trial.
The camera looks only for a face inside the frame. The check does not follow your eyes around the screen at all. During a running work timer, a local helper on 127.0.0.1 tells the PeakFlow browser extension which names to block. The default names are YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, TikTok, Netflix, Twitter, and X. The block lasts only for the length of that running work timer. It is not a block for every program on the PC by itself.
Six tools, one installer
The download link puts these six tools into the Windows tray. The free tier has no time limit and no account to create. The 14-day Pro trial is included with that same download.
Download PeakFlow (Free)Other tray apps
EarTrumpet
EarTrumpet is a tray mixer with a slider for each running app on the PC. SoundSplit is the one that can remember the levels you set per app. EarTrumpet covers the mixer job on this PC without storing levels for later. SoundSplit is the tray app that keeps the levels for the next day.
PowerToys
PowerToys puts FancyZones, PowerToys Run, and a color picker behind one tray icon. FancyZones draws the custom zones you want for your windows. PowerToys Run opens with Alt+Space for apps and for files. The color picker samples one pixel from the screen you point at. People leaving a Mac often open PowerToys Run for the launcher job on Windows.
ShareX
ShareX captures the screen or records it from a hotkey you set inside the app. ShareX records the screen, with an optional link after an upload finishes. Greenshot is the lighter capture tool beside ShareX, not a second copy of it.
f.lux
f.lux changes the screen's color temperature as the day gets later. Windows Night Light does a similar shift with fewer controls. f.lux stays in the tray after you set the hours. Night Light lives in Settings instead.
Greenshot
Greenshot takes a shot from the tray, then lets you mark it up. ShareX also records the screen and can hand you a link. Greenshot stops at the picture and a few marks.
Visible tray icons
Windows hides most tray icons behind a small arrow in the clock corner. You choose the icons that stay visible in that corner.
- Click the upward arrow in the clock corner to show hidden icons.
- Drag an icon from that hidden list onto the visible tray.
- Right-click the taskbar, then choose Taskbar settings from the menu.
- Turn on the icons you want in the system tray list there.
Leave visible the icons you click several times across a normal day. Leave every other icon hidden behind the overflow arrow in the corner. A backup tool you never click does not need a permanent slot on the tray.
Which icons belong together
For video chats, SoundSplit, MeetReady, and ScreenSlap are the tray icons that match the job. For copying text, QuickBoard is the icon you open from the corner. For a long document, FocusDim and LiquidFocus sit next to each other in the tray. PowerToys Run is the launcher for apps and files from Alt+Space. ShareX or Greenshot is the capture tool for a picture of the screen. f.lux is the color shift you leave running into the evening.
The Mac-to-Windows page pairs older Mac apps with these. The comparison of Windows apps by the job they do includes tools that are not tray icons.
The installer
The PeakFlow installer puts the six tools in the tray together on this PC. Each of the six tools can be turned off from its own settings. Pro is $6.99 a month, or $39.99 a year, shown as $3.33 a month.
Get PeakFlow Suite (Free)Back to the window
A tray app keeps its slot by doing one job, then leaving the window. SoundSplit moves one app slider, then gets out of the way. QuickBoard finds an older clip, then gets out of the way. FocusDim dims the other windows, then leaves the front one bright. ScreenSlap covers the whole screen for an upcoming calendar event. Hide an icon behind the arrow when you cannot name its job.