How to Add or Delete a Registy entry by Command Line Script

If you need to add a registry entry to a Windows PC most often techs will simply export the key and entries they want and then use the REGEDIT /S command to push that entry onto another PC.

For example if you want to disable the Cortana bar (but not Windows Search), you save the following into a file named DISABLE-CORTANA.REG

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search]
"AllowCortana"=dword:00000000

Then you simply put that file on one of your servers and push it out to your PC’s using something like:

regedit /s "\\<Your-Server>\<Your-Share>\Scripts\disable-cortana.reg"

HOW TO ADD A REGISTRY KEY USING COMMAND LINE SCRIPT

if you have a simple registry change you want to make you can avoid the .REG file and simply use REG ADD command to make your change.  For instance:

reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search" /v AllowCortana /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

The switches mean:

/v <ValueName>	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.
/t <Type>	Specifies the type for the registry entry. Type must be one of the following: REG_SZ REG_MULTI_SZ REG_DWORD_BIG_ENDIAN REG_DWORD REG_BINARY REG_DWORD_LITTLE_ENDIAN REG_LINK REG_FULL_RESOURCE_DESCRIPTOR REG_EXPAND_SZ
/s <Separator>	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.
/d <Data>	Specifies the data for the new registry entry.
/f	Adds the registry entry without prompting for confirmation.

Here are some more examples you may find useful:

• REG ADD HKCU\Software\SS64 /v Sample /d "some test data"
• reg  add  HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Environment  /v  userpath /t  REG_EXPAND_SZ  /d  C:\Windows
• REG ADD HKLM\Software\MyCo /v Data /t REG_BINARY /d fe340ea
• reg add HKLM\Software\sav /v test /t REG_SZ /d "\"%userprofile%\""

---

HOW TO ADD A REGISTRY KEY USING COMMAND LINE SCRIPT:

Deleting a registry key using command line is simple, using the syntax:

Reg delete <KeyName> [{/v ValueName | /ve | /va}] [/f]

The switches for REG DELETE are:

<KeyName>	Specifies the full path of the subkey or entry to be deleted. To specify a remote computer, 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 for the local computer are: HKLM, HKCU, HKCR, HKU, and HKCC. If a remote computer is specified, valid root keys are: HKLM and HKU.
/v <ValueName>	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.
/f	Deletes the existing registry subkey or entry without asking for confirmation.

For example:

reg delete "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search" /f

---

DETAILS ON ALL THE REG COMMANDS:

Here are all of the REG commands in Windows 10, with links to their respective Microsoft support pages:

• Reg add

• Reg compare
• Reg copy
• Reg delete
• Reg export
• Reg import
• Reg load
• Reg query
• Reg restore
• Reg save

• Reg unload