Group Policy SearchGroup Policy Search
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About this site

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Group Policy Search is a search site for the Group Policy (Administrative Template) settings of Windows and major software. You can check policy names and descriptions, registry paths and options in one place by category or search.

Why this site exists

The Local Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) holds thousands of policies, which makes it hard to find the one you want, and Windows 11 Home does not include it at all. This site lets you find policies directly by name, ID or registry path, and see the same values in the registry even on Home editions.

Main features

  • Every policy has its own address (URL), so you can share a link and find it again.
  • Follow Computer Configuration and User Configuration in the same category structure as gpedit.msc. Search results, policies and registry values carry a Computer/User chip that shows which configuration they belong to, and a policy that appears in both is listed in both trees.
  • Work backwards from a registry key to the policies that use it.
  • Every registry value has its own page. Besides the policy page, it shows the value name, type (such as REG_DWORD), enabled and disabled values, and a table of options.
  • For each value there are .reg file, CMD and PowerShell commands that you can copy with a copy button.
  • Policies removed in newer Windows versions are listed in Older policies.
  • Besides Windows 11, you can find the policies of Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft 365 Apps the same way. Versions and policy counts per source are listed under "Policy sources and versions" on the home page.
  • The Site is available in 12 languages (Korean, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese (Brazil), German, Japanese, Turkish, Italian, Polish, Dutch, Chinese (Traditional)). When a policy has no official string in a language, it is not translated: the English original is shown with an "English original" badge.
  • A category and key tree on the side, breadcrumbs at the top, a color theme switch and a skip-to-content link help you navigate and read.

Site structure

The Site consists of the following pages.

  • Home: reference version, popular policies, category shortcuts and usage guide, frequently asked questions, policy sources and versions
  • Computer Configuration, User Configuration: the Administrative Templates category tree, as in the Local Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc)
  • Find by registry key: start at the HKLM or HKCU hive and walk down the keys to find the policies that use them. It also has guides on applying Group Policy through the registry, reading a key page, value types, using it on Windows 11 Home and common keys.
  • Registry key pages: the Group Policy settings that use the key, subkeys and other keys under the same parent key
  • Registry value pages: the value name, type, enabled and disabled values and option table that one policy writes at one key, with the .reg · CMD · PowerShell apply blocks
  • Search: find policies by name, ID or registry path
  • Older policies, Older registry: policies and registry keys removed in newer Windows versions
  • Policy pages: description, options, registry path, supported OS, source and other policies in the same category
  • Language selection page (root /): links to the 12 languages

How to use the Site

  1. Start from the popular Group Policy settings or a category on the home page, or type a policy name in the search box at the top.
  2. Read the description and options on the policy page.
  3. Check the key, value name, and enabled and disabled values in the registry section. Select "View registry values" to open a page that covers only that value.
  4. Computer Configuration policies use keys under HKLM, User Configuration policies use keys under HKCU. The hive in front of the key and the Computer/User chip tell you which one it is.
  5. To apply a value directly in the registry, expand "Apply with .reg · CMD · PowerShell" on the value card and copy the block you need. Save the .reg content to a file and run it, or paste the CMD or PowerShell commands into a terminal. HKLM values need administrator rights.
  6. If gpedit.msc is available, go to the same category path and set the policy. If it is not, as in Windows 11 Home, you can set the same value in the Registry Editor (regedit). Always back up the registry before you change it.

How to search

You can search from the box at the top of every page. A search term can be up to 100 characters.

  • Enter part of a policy name or description to find it by partial match. A single character also works, but two or more characters are more precise.
  • Enter a policy ID exactly (for example AutoUpdateCfg) and that policy appears first.
  • You can also search by registry path (for example SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate) or value name.
  • Search ignores upper and lower case and accents (such as é and ü).
  • Results are ordered: exact ID or name match, registry path match, name contains the term, registry path contains the term, description contains the term.
  • Long result lists are split into pages. Select a policy in the list to open its page.

Data and updates

Policy names and descriptions come from the Administrative Templates (ADMX/ADML) published by Microsoft and other vendors. Sources and versions are listed in the Terms of Service, and the data is imported again when a new version is released. Policy strings are not translated by hand: the Site uses the official ADML strings of each language (for example en-US) as they are, and a verification step compares the strings shown on the Site with the ADML originals and confirms that there are 0 mismatches.

Operator

The operator, PG, is a full-stack developer who has worked as a technical engineer in the IT industry for 20 years.

Email: pg@extrememanual.net

Questions and error reports

If you find a policy that looks wrong or is displayed incorrectly, let us know at the contact above. Including the address of the policy page helps us check faster.