Specify default category for Add New Programs: registry value DefaultCategoryUserHKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Uninstall

Policy ID: DefaultCategory
Scope: User Configuration
Supported on: Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 2000 only
Source: Administrative Templates (.admx) for Windows 11 2026 Update (26H2) (version 1.0)
Category: Control Panel › Add or Remove Programs

Registry

DefaultCategory

REG_SZUser

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Uninstall Current key

Enabled value: Depends on the option value
Element: Category:
Value type: REG_SZ
Required: true

Apply with .reg · CMD · PowerShell

.reg

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Uninstall]

; Value names and types follow the ADMX. Replace <enter value> below with your own data
"DefaultCategory"="<enter value>"

CMD

:: Value names and types follow the ADMX. Replace <enter value> below with your own data

reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Uninstall" /v "DefaultCategory" /t REG_SZ /d "<enter value>" /f

PowerShell

# Value names and types follow the ADMX. Replace <enter value> below with your own data

New-Item -Path 'HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Uninstall' -Force | Out-Null
New-ItemProperty -Path 'HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Uninstall' -Name 'DefaultCategory' -PropertyType String -Value '<enter value>' -Force | Out-Null