Most of the repetitive work in an IT department is not worth a script. Renaming a batch of exports, clicking through a vendor portal that has no API, pressing the same four keys in an application written in 2011 — these are the tasks that quietly eat an afternoon a week, and they sit below the threshold where anyone writes proper code for them.
That is the gap the tools below fill. None of them replaces PowerShell for real administration; all of them beat doing the thing by hand.
What is available free
| Tool | Approach | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Actiona | Visual action lists with conditions, loops and variables | Structured automation without writing a program |
| TinyTask | Records mouse and keyboard, replays them | A one-off repetitive task, right now |
| Clavier+ | Global hotkeys that launch, type or switch | Removing friction from things you do fifty times a day |
| Project Mercury | Gives the foreground application processor priority | Nothing new — abandoned since 2017, listed for completeness |
When the task has logic: Actiona
Actiona builds automation as a list of actions you assemble rather than code you write: click here, wait for that window, read a value, branch on it, loop over a list, write a file. It is cross-platform and free.
The reason to reach for it over a recorder is that real tasks have conditions. “If the export finished, move the file; if it did not, wait and try again” is trivial in Actiona and impossible in a replay of mouse movements. If you find yourself re-recording a macro because the window sometimes opens a second later, this is the tool you should have started with.
When the task has none: TinyTask
TinyTask is about 35 KB, needs no installation, and does exactly one thing: record what you do and play it back. Press record, do the task once, press stop, press play.
For a job you will do two hundred times this afternoon and never again, nothing is faster to set up. Its limits are inherent to the approach: it replays coordinates and keystrokes, so it breaks if a window moves, a dialog is slow, or the screen resolution changes. It cannot make decisions. Treat it as disposable.
One note of accuracy: the current download is version 1.77, while the author’s changelog stops at 1.75. The tool works; its documentation is simply behind.
The quiet time-saver: Clavier+
Clavier+ assigns global hotkeys — a key combination launches a program, opens a folder, types a block of text or brings a window to the front. It is tiny, free and portable.
The unglamorous win is text. Every administrator types the same server names, paths, ticket boilerplate and connection strings dozens of times a day. Binding them to key combinations removes both the typing and the typos. The last release is 11.4.1 from November 2023; it is a finished tool rather than an abandoned one.
Project Mercury: listed, not recommended
Project Mercury raises the priority of whichever application has focus. The idea is sound, and the tool was well regarded once. It has had no release since October 2017, the author’s site has not been updated since 2020, there is no source repository, and a known crash in the 64-bit build was never fixed. Modern Windows also schedules processes better than Windows 7 did, so the benefit is smaller than it was. Process Lasso does the same job and is maintained.
Where scripting still wins
Be clear about the boundary. If the task involves Active Directory, Microsoft 365, file permissions, the registry across many machines, or anything with an API, PowerShell is the right tool and these are not. GUI automation is inherently fragile: it depends on windows being where they were, and it fails silently when they are not.
Use GUI automation when there is genuinely no interface underneath — a vendor portal with no API, an old application nobody can change, a device utility that only exists as a window. Everywhere else, write the script.
Rules that keep automation from causing incidents
- Never automate something destructive unattended. A replay that deletes the wrong folder does it at machine speed.
- Make it visible. Have the automation write a log line when it starts and finishes. Silent automation is unverifiable automation.
- Build in a way to stop it. Know the key combination that halts the run before you start it.
- Test against a copy. Especially with recorded macros, where a shifted window means the clicks land somewhere unintended.
- Write down what it does and why. The macro that nobody understands is the macro nobody dares change, and it will outlive you at the company.
- Review after upgrades. An application update moves a button and the automation starts doing something else entirely.
A sensible progression
- Start with Clavier+: hotkeys for the things you type and open constantly. Ten minutes, immediate return.
- Use TinyTask for today’s mindless repetition, and throw it away afterwards.
- Move to Actiona when a task recurs weekly and needs to handle conditions.
- Move to PowerShell as soon as the task touches a system with an interface behind the window.
FAQ
What is the best free automation tool for Windows?
Actiona for tasks with logic, TinyTask for a quick one-off recording, Clavier+ for hotkeys and text expansion.
Can I record mouse clicks and replay them?
Yes — TinyTask does exactly that, with no installation. It will not adapt if windows move.
Is Project Mercury still worth using?
No. It has not been updated since 2017 and a known 64-bit crash was never fixed. Use a maintained alternative.
When should I use PowerShell instead?
Whenever the system you are automating has an API or a command line. GUI automation is a last resort, not a first choice.
Are these tools safe to run on company machines?
They automate input, so treat them like any other admin tool: run them knowingly, log what they do, and never leave a destructive one running unattended.
