Task Priority Memory

A tiny Windows tray utility that does one job well: it lets you change a program's CPU priority and CPU affinity — and then remembers those choices. Whenever that program launches again, Task Priority Memory detects it and re-applies your saved settings automatically.

Think "the two most useful columns of Task Manager, made permanent."

What it does

• Only priority & affinity. No killing processes, no memory pokes — just the two knobs that actually make apps run faster/quieter, so it's safe to leave on.
• Remembers per program. Set chrome to Below Normal on CPUs 0–3 once; it sticks forever, across reboots.
• Auto-applies on launch. A lightweight background watcher notices new processes and enforces the matching saved preference.
• GUI. A Processes tab to pick a running app and set its priority/affinity, and a Saved Preferences tab to view / toggle / remove remembered programs.
• Extremely low usage. No busy loops — a single timer diffs the process list every few seconds and idles at ~0% CPU. Runs on the built-in .NET Framework (no runtime to install).
• Starts with Windows. One click adds a per-user startup entry (no admin, no UAC prompt at logon).
• Hides in the tray. Lives in the notification area (the taskbar "show hidden icons" ^ flyout). Double-click the icon to open the window; closing the window just hides it again.

Requirements

• Windows 8.1 / 10 / 11
• .NET Framework 4.8 (already present on all supported Windows versions)

Usage

1. Launch TaskPrioMemory.exe. It appears as an icon in the tray. (Launching it again while it's already running just brings up the window of the existing instance — there's always exactly one copy running.)
2. Double-click the tray icon to open the window.
3. Processes tab → pick a program → choose a Priority and/or check the CPU affinity boxes.
   • Apply now — changes the running instance(s) immediately.
   • Save + remember — also stores the preference for next time.
   • Use the Filter by name box to find a program quickly; a ✓ in the Saved column marks programs you already have a preference for.
   • Tick Auto-refresh to keep the list live while the window is open (it pauses automatically when you hide the window, to stay idle).
4. Saved Preferences tab → see everything you've remembered. Untick a row to temporarily disable it, or select and Remove it. Add program… lets you save a preference for a program that isn't running yet (it applies the next time it launches); double-click a row (or Edit selected) to change it.
5. Options tab → toggle run-at-startup, start-minimized, continuous re-apply, and the scan interval (larger = even lower CPU usage).
6. Right-click the tray icon for Run at Windows startup, Apply preferences to running apps now, or Exit.

A note on permissions

Changing your own apps needs no special rights. To manage processes owned by another user or by an elevated app, run Task Priority Memory as administrator (right-click → Run as administrator). When a change is denied, the app tells you instead of failing silently.

Where settings are stored

%AppData%\TaskPrioMemory\

• rules.json — your remembered programs
• settings.json — poll interval and options

Use Open data folder on the Saved Preferences tab to jump there.

Building

The project targets .NET Framework 4.8 with an SDK-style project, so it builds with either Visual Studio or the dotnet CLI on Windows:

dotnet build TaskPrioMemory.sln -c Release
# output: src/TaskPrioMemory/bin/Release/net48/TaskPrioMemory.exe

Or open TaskPrioMemory.sln in Visual Studio 2022 and press F5.

CI (.github/workflows/build.yml) builds every push on windows-latest and uploads the compiled exe as an artifact.

Project layout

src/TaskPrioMemory/
  Program.cs                 entry point + single-instance guard
  Model/                     ProcessRule, AppSettings, affinity formatting
  Storage/                   JSON persistence + RuleStore
  Core/
    ProcessManager.cs        the ONLY mutations: set priority / set affinity
    ProcessWatcher.cs        low-usage timer that auto-applies rules
    StartupManager.cs        HKCU "run at startup" toggle
  UI/
    TrayApplicationContext.cs  tray icon, menu, app lifetime
    MainForm.cs                the tabbed window
    RuleEditorForm.cs          add/edit dialog for saved preferences
    IconFactory.cs             runtime-generated icon (no binary asset)

License

MIT — see LICENSE.