Req
Performs add, change, import, export and other operations on
registry subkey information and values in registry entries.
The reg commands include:
reg add
Adds a new subkey or entry to the registry.
Syntax
reg add KeyName [{/v ValueName |
/ve}] [/t DataType] [/s Separator]
[/d Data] [/f]
Parameters
KeyName
Specifies the full path of the subkey or entry to be
added. For specifying remote computers, include the
computer name (in the format \\ComputerName\)
as part of the KeyName. Omitting \\ComputerName\
causes the operation to default to the local
computer. The KeyName must include a valid
root key. Valid root keys are HKLM, HKCU,
HKCR, HKU, and HKCC. If a
remote computer is specified, valid root keys are
HKLM and HKU.
/vValueName
Specifies the name of the registry entry to be added
under the specified subkey.
/ve
Specifies that the registry entry that is added to
the registry has a null value.
/tType
Specifies the type for the registry entry. Type
must be one of the following:REG_SZREG_MULTI_SZREG_DWORD_ BIG_ENDIANREG_
DWORDREG_BINARYREG_DWORD_LITTLE_ ENDIANREG_LINKREG_
FULL_RESOURCE_DESCRIPTORREG_EXPAND_SZ
/sSeparator
Specifies the character to be used to separate
multiple instances of data when the REG_MULTI_SZ
data type is specified and more than one entry needs
to be listed. If not specified, the default
separator is "\0".
/dData
Specifies the data for the new registry entry.
/f
Adds the registry entry without prompting for
confirmation.
/?
Displays help for reg add at the command
prompt.
Remarks
- Subtrees cannot be added with this operation. This version of Reg does not ask for confirmation when adding a subkey.
-
The following table lists the return values for the reg add operation.
Value Description 0 Success 1 Failure - For key types of REG_EXPAND_SZ, use the caret symbol ( ^ ) with "%" inside the /d parameter.
Examples
To add the key HKLM\Software\MyCo on remote machine
ABC, type:
REG ADD \\ABC\HKLM\Software\MyCo
To add a registry entry to HKLM\Software\MyCo with the options of ValueName: Data, Type: REG_BINARY, and ValueData: fe340ead, type:
REG ADD HKLM\Software\MyCo /v Data /t REG_BINARY /d fe340ead
To add a multivalued registry entry to HKLM\Software\MyCo with the options of ValueName: MRU, DataType: REG_MULTI_SZ, and ValueData: fax\0mail\0\0, type:
REG ADD HKLM\Software\MyCo /v MRU /t REG_MULTI_SZ /d fax\0mail\0\0
To add an expanded registry entry to HKLM\Software\MyCo with the options of ValueName: Path, DataType: REG_EXPAND_SZ, and ValueData: %systemroot%, type:
REG ADD HKLM\Software\MyCo /v Path /t REG_EXPAND_SZ /d ^%systemroot^%
reg compare
Compares specified registry subkeys or entries.
Syntax
reg compare KeyName1 KeyName2 [{/v
ValueName | /ve}] [{/oa | /od | /os
| on}] [/s]
Parameters
KeyName1
Specifies the full path of the first subkey to be
compared. For specifying remote computers, include
the computer name (in the format \\ComputerName\)
as part of the KeyName. Omitting \\ComputerName\
causes the operation to default to the local
computer. The KeyName must include a valid
root key. Valid root keys are HKLM, HKCU,
HKCR, HKU, and HKCC. If a
remote computer is specified, valid root keys are
HKLM and HKU.
KeyName2
Specifies the full path of the second subkey to be
compared. For specifying remote computers, include
the computer name (in the format \\ComputerName\)
as part of the KeyName. Omitting \\ComputerName\
causes the operation to default to the local
computer. Specifying only the computer name in
KeyName2 causes the operation to use the path to
the subkey specified in KeyName1. The
KeyName must include a valid root key. Valid
root keys are HKLM, HKCU, HKCR,
HKU, and HKCC. If a remote computer is
specified, valid root keys are HKLM and
HKU.
/vValueName
Specifies the value name under the subkey to
compare.
/ve
Specifies that only entries that have a value name
of null should be compared.
[{/oa | /od | /os | on}]
Specifies how to display the results of the compare
operation. The default is /od. The following
table lists each of the options.ValueDescription/oaSpecifies
that all differences and matches are displayed. By
default, only the differences are listed./odSpecifies
that only differences are displayed. This is the
default behavior./osSpecifies that only
matches are displayed. By default, only the
differences will be listed./onSpecifies that
nothing is displayed. By default, only the
differences will be listed.
/s
Compares all subkeys and entries recursively.
/?
Displays help for reg compare at the command
prompt.
Remarks
-
The following table lists the return values for reg compare.
Value Description 0 The comparison is successful and the result is identical. 1 The comparison failed. 2 The comparison is successful and differences were found. - The following table lists the symbols displayed in the
results.
Symbol Description = KeyName1 data is equal to KeyName2 data < KeyName1 data is less than KeyName2 data > KeyName1 data and is greater than KeyName2 data
Examples
To compare all values under the key MyApp with all values
under the key SaveMyApp, type:
REG COMPARE HKLM\Software\MyCo\MyApp HKLM\Software\MyCo\SaveMyApp
To compare the value for Version under the key MyCo and the value for Version under the key MyCo1, type:
REG COMPARE HKLM\Software\MyCo HKLM\Software\MyCo1 /v Version
To compare all subkeys and values under HKLM\Software\MyCo on the machine ZODIAC with all subkeys and values under HKLM\Software\MyCo on the current machine, type:
REG COMPARE \\ZODIAC\HKLM\Software\MyCo \\. /s
reg copy
Copies a registry entry to a specified location in the local or
remote computer.
Syntax
reg copy KeyName1 KeyName2 [/s] [/f]
Parameters
KeyName1
Specifies the full path of the subkey to copy. For
specifying remote computers, include the computer
name (in the format \\ComputerName\) as part
of the KeyName. Omitting \\ComputerName\
causes the operation to default to the local
computer. The KeyName must include a valid
root key. Valid root keys are HKLM, HKCU,
HKCR, HKU, and HKCC. If a
remote computer is specified, valid root keys are
HKLM and HKU.
KeyName2
Specifies the full path of the subkey destination.
For specifying remote computers, include the
computer name (in the format \\ComputerName\)
as part of the KeyName. Omitting \\ComputerName\
causes the operation to default to the local
computer. The KeyName must include a valid
root key. Valid root keys are HKLM, HKCU,
HKCR, HKU, and HKCC. If a
remote computer is specified, valid root keys are
HKLM and HKU.
/s
Copies all subkeys and entries under the specified
subkey.
/f
Copies the subkey without prompting for
confirmation.
/?
Displays help for reg copy at the command
prompt.
Remarks
- Reg does not ask for confirmation when copying a subkey.
-
The following table lists the return values for the reg copy operation.
Value Description 0 Success 1 Failure
Examples
To copy all subkeys and values under the key MyApp to the
key SaveMyApp, type:
REG COPY HKLM\Software\MyCo\MyApp HKLM\Software\MyCo\SaveMyApp /s
To copy all values under the key MyCo on the machine ZODIAC to the key MyCo1 on the current machine, type:
REG COPY \\ZODIAC\HKLM\Software\MyCo HKLM\Software\MyCo1
reg delete
Deletes a subkey or entries from the registry.
Syntax
Reg delete KeyName [{/v ValueName |
/ve | /va}] [/f]
Parameters
KeyName
Specifies the full path of the subkey or entry to be
deleted. For specifying remote computers, include
the computer name (in the format \\ComputerName\)
as part of the KeyName. Omitting \\ComputerName\
causes the operation to default to the local
computer. The KeyName must include a valid
root key. Valid root keys are HKLM, HKCU,
HKCR, HKU, and HKCC. If a
remote computer is specified, valid root keys are
HKLM and HKU.
/vValueName
Deletes a specific entry under the subkey. If no
entry is specified, then all entries and subkeys
under the subkey will be deleted.
/ve
Specifies that only entries that have no value will
be deleted.
/va
Deletes all entries under the specified subkey.
Subkeys under the specified subkey are not deleted
with this parameter.
/f
Deletes the existing registry subkey or entry
without asking for confirmation.
/?
Displays help for reg delete at the command
prompt.
Remarks
-
The following table lists the return values for the reg delete operation.
Value Description 0 Success 1 Failure
Examples
To delete the registry key Timeout and its all subkeys
and values, type:
REG DELETE HKLM\Software\MyCo\MyApp\Timeout
To delete the registry value MTU under HKLM\Software\MyCo on the machine ZODIAC, type:
REG DELETE \\ZODIAC\HKLM\Software\MyCo /v MTU
reg export
Copies the specified subkeys, entries, and values of the local
computer into a file for transfer to other servers.
Syntax
Reg export KeyName FileName [/y]
Parameters
KeyName
Specifies the full path of the subkey. The export
operation works only with the local computer. The
KeyName must include a valid root key. Valid
root keys are HKLM, HKCU, HKCR,
HKU, and HKCC.
FileName
Specifies the name and path of the file to be
created during the operation. The file must have a .reg
extension.
/y
Overwrites any existing file with the name
FileName without prompting for confirmation.
/?
Displays help for reg export at the command
prompt.
Remarks
-
The following table lists the return values for the reg export operation.
Value Description 0 Success 1 Failure
Examples
To export the contents of all subkeys and values of the key
MyApp to the file AppBkUp.reg, type:
reg export HKLM\Software\MyCo\MyApp AppBkUp.reg
reg import
Copies the contents of a file containing exported registry
subkeys, entries, and values into the registry of the local
computer.
Syntax
Reg import FileName
Parameters
FileName
Specifies the name and path of the file whose
contents will be copied into the registry of the
local computer. This file must be created beforehand
using reg export.
/?
Displays help for reg import at the command
prompt.
Remarks
-
The following table lists the return values for the reg import operation.
Value Description 0 Success 1 Failure
Examples
To import registry entries from the file named AppBkUp.reg,
type:
reg import AppBkUp.reg
reg load
Writes saved subkeys and entries into a different subkey in the
registry. Intended for use with temporary files used for
troubleshooting or editing registry entries.
Syntax
reg load KeyName FileName
Parameters
KeyName
Specifies the full path of the subkey to be loaded.
For specifying remote computers, include the
computer name (in the format \\ComputerName\)
as part of the KeyName. Omitting \\ComputerName\
causes the operation to default to the local
computer. The KeyName must include a valid
root key. Valid root keys are HKLM, HKCU,
HKCR, HKU, and HKCC. If a
remote computer is specified, valid root keys are
HKLM and HKU.
FileName
Specifies the name and path of the file to be
loaded. This file must be created beforehand with
the reg save operation using a .hiv
extension.
/?
Displays help for reg load at the command
prompt.
Remarks
-
The following table lists the return values for the reg load operation.
Value Description 0 Success 1 Failure
Examples
To load the file named TempHive.hiv to the key HKLM\TempHive,
type:
REG LOAD HKLM\TempHive TempHive.hiv
reg quer#
Returns a list of the next tier of subkeys and entries located
under a specified subkey in the registry.
Syntax
reg query KeyName [{/v ValueName |
/ve}] [/s] [/se Separator] [/f
Data] [{/k | /d}] [/c] [/e]
[/t Type] [/z]
Parameters
KeyName
Specifies the full path of the subkey. For
specifying remote computers, include the computer
name (in the format \\ComputerName\) as part
of the KeyName. Omitting \\ComputerName\
causes the operation to default to the local
computer. The KeyName must include a valid
root key. Valid root keys are HKLM, HKCU,
HKCR, HKU, and HKCC. If a
remote computer is specified, valid root keys are
HKLM and HKU.
/vValueName
Specifies the registry value name to be queried. If
omitted, all value names for KeyName are
returned. ValueName for this parameter is
optional if the /f option is also used.
/ve
Queries for value names that are empty.
/s
Specifies to query all subkeys and value names
recursively.
/seSeparator
Specifies the single value separator for which to
search in value names of type REG_MULTI_SZ. If
Separator is not specified, "\0" is used.
/fData
Specifies the data or pattern for which to search.
Use double quotes if a string contains spaces. If
not specified, a wildcard ("*") is used as the
search pattern.
/k
Specifies to search in key names only.
/d
Specifies to search in data only.
/c
Specifies that the query is case sensitive. By
default, queries are not case sensitive.
/e
Specifies to return only exact matches. By default,
all the matches are returned.
/tType
Specifies registry types to search. Valid types are:
REG_SZ, REG_MULTI_SZ, REG_EXPAND_SZ,
REG_DWORD, REG_BINARY, REG_NONE.
If not specified, all types are searched.
/z
Specifies to include the numeric equivalent for the
registry type in search results.
/?
Displays help for reg query at the command
prompt.
Remarks
-
The following table lists the return values for the reg query operation.
Value Description 0 Success 1 Failure
Examples
To display the value of the name value Version in the
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\ResKit key, type:
REG QUERY HKLM\Software\Microsoft\ResKit /v Version
To display all subkeys and values under the key HKLM\Software\Microsoft\ResKit\Nt\Setup on remote machine ABC, type:
REG QUERY \\ABC\HKLM\Software\Microsoft\ResKit\Nt\Setup /s
To display all the subkeys and values of type REG_MULTI_SZ using "#" as the separator, type:
REG QUERY HKLM\Software\Microsoft\ ResKit\Nt\Setup /se #
To display the key, value and data for exact and case sensitive matches of "SYSTEM" under the HKLM root of data type REG_SZ, type:
REG QUERY HKLM /f SYSTEM /t REG_SZ /c /e
To display the key, value and data for matches of "0F" in data under the HKCU root key of data type REG_BINARY.
REG QUERY HKCU /f 0F /d /t REG_BINARY
TO display the value and data for value names of null (Default) under HKLM\SOFTWARE, type:
REG QUERY HKLM\SOFTWARE /ve
reg restore
Writes saved subkeys and entries back to the registry.
Syntax
Reg restore KeyName FileName
Parameters
KeyName
Specifies the full path of the subkey to be
restored. The restore operation works only
with the local computer. The KeyName must
include a valid root key. Valid root keys are
HKLM, HKCU, HKCR, HKU, and
HKCC.
FileName
Specifies the name and path of the file that whose
contents be written into the registry. This file
must be created beforehand with the reg save
operation using a .hiv extension.
/?
Displays help for reg restore at the command
prompt.
Remarks
- Before editing any registry entries, save the parent subkey with the reg save operation. If the edit fails, restore the original subkey with the reg restore operation.
-
The following table lists the return values for the reg restore operation.
Value Description 0 Success 1 Failure
Examples
To restore the file named NTRKBkUp.hiv into the key
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\ResKit, overwriting the
existing contents of the key, type:
REG RESTORE HKLM\Software\Microsoft\ResKit NTRKBkUp.hiv
reg save
Saves a copy of specified subkeys, entries, and values of
the registry in a specified file.
Syntax
reg save KeyName FileName [/y]
Parameters
KeyName
Specifies the full path of the subkey. For
specifying remote computers, include the
computer name (in the format \\ComputerName\)
as part of the KeyName. Omitting \\ComputerName\
causes the operation to default to the local
computer. The KeyName must include a
valid root key. Valid root keys are HKLM,
HKCU, HKCR, HKU, and
HKCC. If a remote computer is specified,
valid root keys are HKLM and HKU.
FileName
Specifies the name and path of the file that is
created. If no path is specified, then the
current path is used.
/y
Overwrite any existing file with a name of
FileName without prompting for confirmation.
/?
Displays help for reg save at the command
prompt.
Remarks
-
The following table lists the return values for the reg save operation.
Value Description 0 Success 1 Failure - Before editing any registry entries, save the parent subkey with the reg save operation. If the edit fails, restore the original subkey with the reg restore operation.
Examples
To save the hiveMyApp into the current folder as a file
named AppBkUp.hiv, type:
REG SAVE HKLM\Software\MyCo\MyApp AppBkUp.hiv
reg unload
Removes a section of the registry that was loaded using the
reg load operation.
Syntax
reg unload KeyName
Parameters
KeyName
Specifies the full path of the subkey to be
unloaded. For specifying remote computers, include
the computer name (in the format \\ComputerName\)
as part of the KeyName. Omitting \\ComputerName\
causes the operation to default to the local
computer. The KeyName must include a valid
root key. Valid root keys are HKLM, HKCU,
HKCR, HKU, and HKCC. If a
remote computer is specified, valid root keys are
HKLM and HKU.
/?
Displays help for reg unload at the command
prompt.
Remarks
-
The following table lists the return values for the reg unload operation.
Value Description 0 Success 1 Failure
Examples
To unload the hive TempHive in HKLM, type:
REG UNLOAD HKLM\TempHive
Caution
- Do not edit the registry directly unless you have no alternative. The registry editor bypasses standard safeguards, allowing settings that can degrade performance, damage your system, or even require you to reinstall Windows. You can safely alter most registry settings by using the programs in Control Panel or Microsoft Management Console (MMC). If you must edit the registry directly, back it up first. For more information, see Related Topics.
Remarks
- Some operations allow the viewing or configuration of registry entries on local or remote computers, while others allow only the configuration of local computers. Also, using reg to configure the registry of remote computer limits the parameters that you can use in some operations. Check the syntax and parameters for each operation to verify that they can be used on remote computers.
Formatting legend
| Format | Meaning |
| Italic | Information that the user must supply |
| Bold | Elements that the user must type exactly as shown |
| Ellipsis (...) | Parameter that can be repeated several times in a command line |
| Between brackets ([]) | Optional items |
| Between braces ({}); choices separated by pipe (|). Example: {even|odd} | Set of choices from which the user must choose only one |
| Courier font | Code or program output |