Power Automate for desktop

Power Automate for desktop is Microsoft’s robotic process automation (RPA) tool for Windows. IT staff and power users build “desktop flows” in it that click through applications, move files, fill in Excel sheets and scrape web pages. If you searched for a Power Automate Desktop download, the current build is 2609 (installer 2.72.183.26250, September 2026). It is shareware (conditionally free): Microsoft includes it with Windows 10 and 11 for personal, attended automation, while sharing, cloud triggers and unattended runs need a paid Power Automate plan.

This page used to cover WinAutomation by Softomotive. Microsoft bought Softomotive in May 2020 and built WinAutomation’s technology into Power Automate for desktop. WinAutomation support ended in December 2021, and the product is no longer sold or updated. Power Automate for desktop is its official successor.

Power Automate for desktop at a glance

What it does

• Offers a drag-and-drop flow designer with 400+ prebuilt actions: files and folders, Excel, email, web browsers, UI elements, PowerShell, databases and more.
• Records desktop and web actions to create a first draft of a flow.
• Automates UI in Win32, web, Java, SAP, Citrix and terminal/mainframe applications.
• Extracts data from websites in Edge, Chrome or Firefox through browser extensions.
• Supports variables, loops, conditions, subflows and exception handling for robust flows.
• Runs PowerShell, VBScript, JavaScript and Python scripts as steps inside a flow.
• With a paid plan: triggers flows from cloud flows, runs them unattended on managed machines, and shares them with a team.

How sysadmins use it

Automate a repetitive admin task in a legacy GUI

1. Open Power Automate, click + New flow and name it.
2. Click Record and perform the task once, for example creating a user in an old line-of-business app.
3. Stop recording, then replace typed values with variables. Read them from an Excel sheet with Launch Excel and Read from Excel worksheet, and wrap the steps in a For each loop.
4. Add On block error handling so one bad row does not stop the whole run.

Tidy files and send a report

1. Use Get files in folder on a drop folder, filtered by extension.
2. Loop over the results with Move file(s) into dated subfolders.
3. Write a summary with Write text to file, or with a Run PowerShell script action for anything the built-in actions do not cover.

Start a flow from Task Scheduler (paid plan)

Desktop flows can be started by a run URL. Microsoft lists a Power Automate Premium plan (or a pay-as-you-go environment) as a prerequisite for this. For the MSI version, set Task Scheduler’s program to C:Program Files (x86)Power Automate DesktopdotnetPAD.Console.Host.exe and the argument to:

ms-powerautomate:/console/flow/run?workflowName=NightlyCleanup

The user must be signed in, and by default a confirmation dialog appears. You can turn it off in the console settings, but Microsoft warns this is a security risk.

Install and first run

• Windows 11: search for “Power Automate” in Start; the app installs on first launch. On Windows 10 and Windows Server, install it yourself.
• Two installers: the Microsoft Store version needs no admin rights and updates itself. The MSI installer (Setup.Microsoft.PowerAutomate.exe) needs admin rights, includes the machine-runtime app and supports silent deployment. You cannot have both installed.
• Silent install for fleets:

  Setup.Microsoft.PowerAutomate.exe -Silent -Install -ACCEPTEULA
  Setup.Microsoft.PowerAutomate.exe -Silent -Install -ACCEPTEULA -DONOTINSTALLMACHINERUNTIME

• Requirements: x64 CPU with at least 2 cores (4 for unattended), 2 GB RAM minimum (4 GB recommended), 1–2 GB disk, TLS 1.2 and an internet connection. From version 2.69 the MSI also needs the .NET 10 runtime, which setup installs if it can reach Microsoft’s servers.
• Sign-in: a Microsoft account (flows stored in OneDrive) or a work/school account (flows stored in Dataverse, which must exist in the default environment).
• Browser extensions: install the Power Automate extension for Edge, Chrome or Firefox before automating web pages.
• Gotchas: an authenticating proxy must be bypassed for Power Automate, and required Microsoft endpoints must be reachable. Do not bake it into a VM golden image; install it after cloning.

Limitations

• Windows only. There is no macOS or Linux version, and no ARM support.
• The no-cost tier is limited to attended runs on your own machine in the default environment: no sharing, no cloud triggers, no unattended runs.
• Windows Home can author and run flows locally but cannot run them triggered from the cloud.
• Only one flow runs in local attended mode at a time, and a single run logs at most 10,000 actions.
• Flows made with a newer version may not open in an older one, so keep versions aligned across machines.
• UI automation is brittle when applications change layout; selectors need maintenance.

Power Automate for desktop vs alternatives

SikuliX is free and open source and automates any screen by image recognition. It is useful where UI elements cannot be selected, but it is dormant since 2021. Ansible is the better tool for server configuration and repeatable Windows or Linux admin tasks through APIs and WinRM or SSH, rather than GUI clicks. Commercial RPA suites such as UiPath compete with Power Automate in enterprises.

FAQ

Is Power Automate Desktop free?

It is shareware (conditionally free). Windows 10/11 users can build and run attended desktop flows for personal productivity at no extra cost. Sharing, cloud triggers, premium connectors and unattended RPA need paid Power Automate licences.

Is Power Automate Desktop available for Mac?

No. It runs only on Windows 10, Windows 11 and Windows Server (x64). Mac users need a different automation tool.

What happened to WinAutomation?

Microsoft acquired Softomotive in 2020, ended WinAutomation support on 2 December 2021, and moved its technology into Power Automate for desktop. Microsoft’s migration utility for Softomotive processes has been deprecated.

What is the difference between Power Automate Desktop and Power Automate cloud?

Desktop flows automate things on a Windows PC (apps, files, UI). Cloud flows connect online services through connectors and can trigger desktop flows when you have a paid plan.

How do I install Power Automate Desktop offline or silently?

Use the MSI installer with -Silent -Install -ACCEPTEULA. The machine still needs internet access to sign in and, if missing, to fetch the .NET runtime.

Can I schedule a desktop flow with Windows Task Scheduler?

Yes, through a run URL passed to PAD.Console.Host.exe. Microsoft lists a Premium plan or pay-as-you-go environment as a prerequisite for run URLs.

Power Automate Desktop vs UiPath?

Power Automate for desktop comes with Windows and integrates with Microsoft 365. UiPath is a separate commercial RPA platform with its own orchestrator. Both need paid licences for unattended, enterprise-scale automation.

Last checked against official sources: 30 September 2026 (developer website: learn.microsoft.com). Versions and licence terms change — confirm on the developer's site before deploying in production.