A powerful Windows system tray utility for web monitoring, hotkeys, macros, and automation.
Download latest version (For Windows, signed by RTsoft)
Toolfish is a swiss army knife feature-rich Windows system tray application that handles global hotkeys, macros, monitors websites for changes (percent changed detection), text-to-speech notifications, scheduled tasks, and much more.
It has kind of an internal scripting system that allows you to specify "triggers" and "actions" to do stuff automatically on your computer.
This was a commercial app I released in 2002, eventually making free in 2015. As of Feb 2026, it's now open source too! Anytime I need a little utility to do something, I throw it into this app.
It can be moved to a new computer very easily simply by copying its folder.
Toolfish uses a powerful event system where Triggers determine when something happens, and Actions determine what happens.
| Trigger | Description |
|---|---|
| Time | Run at a specific time with auto-rescheduling options |
| Time Range | Only activate within a specified time window |
| Hotkey | Trigger on any key combination (global hotkeys) |
| Inactivity | Trigger based on keyboard/mouse/gamepad idle time |
| Day Filter | Limit events to specific days of the week |
| Process | Trigger when a process starts, stops, or has focus |
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| Say/Show/Email/Macro Message | Output text via TTS, popup, email, log, or keystrokes |
| Play Sound | Play a .wav audio file |
| Open Website | Open a URL in your default browser |
| Web Compare | Check if a webpage has changed (conditional) |
| Run/Open File | Execute programs, batch files, or open any file |
| Stealth Mode Toggle | Hide/show the system tray icon |
| Check Email | Monitor a POP3 inbox for new messages (conditional) (old feature, worthless now) |
| Open/Hide Toolfish Toggle | Toggle Toolfish window visibility |
| Atomic Clock Time Adjust | Sync system time from an internet time server |
| Enable/Disable TTS | Turn text-to-speech on or off |
| Enable/Disable Smart Mute | Turn the auto-mute feature on or off |
| Set System Volume | Adjust system volume with optional fade |
| Set Mic Input Volume | Adjust microphone input level |
| Set Sound Output Device | Switch to a specific audio output device |
| Site Monitor | Check server uptime and connectivity (conditional) |
| Send Command To Application | Control other windows (close, minimize, send keys) |
| Delay | Wait a specified time before the next action |
| Logoff/Shutdown/Reboot | Power actions for the system |
| Leet-Type Toggle | Enable/disable l33t sp34k typing mode (Win 11 only?) |
| Reset Screen Resolutions | Asks Windows to reset the displays. (useful in very specific situations) |
- Keyboard Spy - Stealth keyboard logging (use responsibly!)
- Smart Mute - Automatically mute your computer after inactivity, with optional volume knob sensitivity controls (if your knob changes volume too slowly, this can fix that)
- Fun statistics - Track how many miles you've moved your mouse, button clicks, and more
- Includes some default useful hotkey functions - Comes with useful defaults like Ctrl-Shift-Alt-I to paste your IP address, or Ctrl-Shift-Alt-V to "inject paste", it's like normal paste but "types" it in virtually, works in places where normal paste doesn't
- Run
Toolfish.exe - The application will appear in your system tray
- Use the Event Wizard to quickly set up common monitoring tasks
- Use the Event Manager for full control over triggers and actions
- Monitor a website - Use Event Wizard → Web Compare to get notified when a page changes or has a certain keyword
- Set a reminder - Create a Time trigger with a TTS (text-to-speech) action
- Create a hotkey - Add a Hotkey trigger with a Run action to launch programs
- Auto-mute - Enable Smart Mute to silence your PC after inactivity
It's a bit scary to run an a system tray app that can see everything you do (especially if you enable elevated access) so a bit about me:
-
I am Seth A. Robinson (Wikipedia), having written over 50+ games and utilities over the last 35 years
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This app doesn't share your personal data at all. It does hit RTsoft for two functions though:
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Getting your true IP address - It hits rtsoft.com/htbin/ip.php to get your 'outside' IP address, for use with the default IP address hotkey macro
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Checking for updates - It hits rtsoft.com/toolfish/server.txt to see what the latest version is. Also sends the current version of toolfish as a parm. It does NOT auto update, it just mentions the new version in the log and gives a link.
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Both of these functions can be disabled in Options menu.
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The version I have here for download has been signed by Robinson Technologies Corporation, my company. The first time you run it, Windows will popup telling you this - if it doesn't (the file isn't signed) than DON'T run it, it didn't come from me.
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You can also compile it yourself using Visual Studio 2026 and run that version
V2.35 Feb 4th, 2026
- Added "Set audio output device" action.
- Added "modify volume knob sensitivity" option to the Smart Mute menu.
- Added "Duplicate" to Event Manager dialog.
- "Inactivity" detection improved, now monitors gamepads (both xinput and DirectX) and detects Windows' "display required' state (watching movies, etc)
- Added option to autostart in admin mode, otherwise hotkeys and inactivity detection won't work with other apps that ARE running in admin mode, like Genshin Impact (I use this to auto mute it when my kid is AFK)
- Using low level hook instead of DLL injection now, should work a bit better I guess
- HTTPS support added for web compares/etc
- Fixed issue with not respecting the system's default browser setting
- Source code released.
- Open
Toolfish.slnin Visual Studio 2026 - Build the solution (both Release and Debug configurations available)
- The keyboard hook DLL (
SMDLL) will be built automatically as part of the solution
License: BSD-style attribution, see LICENSE.md
- Written by Seth A. Robinson ([email protected])
- Art by Akiko
- Twitter: @rtsoft
- Website: rtsoft.com
- Blog: Codedojo