Certain aspects of a generic user interface command architecture allow an application to host commands for presentation on a computing device. The commands can be written by the same designer or author as the application, or alternatively by other parties (e.g., by a third-party developer). Other aspects of the generic UI command architecture describe an application programming interface (API) that can be used to allow the application to host the commands. Other aspects of the generic UI command architecture describe an activation mechanism by which registered commands can be activated by an application.