Tired of pressing F3 over and over in RegEdit's search? NirSoft's free RegScanner shows every matching Registry key and value in one list. It searches selected parts of the Windows Registry and lets you open a result in RegEdit or export it for later use.
Choose which Registry keys to scan
Set a base key to limit the search to a particular branch, or specify multiple base keys. RegScanner can search across the standard Registry hives, including HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, HKEY_CURRENT_USER, HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT, HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG and HKEY_USERS. Exclusion fields let you skip selected keys, such as branches that would add unrelated results.
The search-options window also controls what counts as a match. Search for text in key names, value names, or data, and choose exact matching, case sensitivity, wildcards, or regular-expression options where appropriate.
Filter matches by Registry value details
Search criteria can target value types such as REG_SZ or REG_DWORD, data length, and the time a key was modified. RegScanner can also find Unicode text embedded in binary values. These filters narrow the results when a plain text search returns too many entries.
During a scan, the status area displays the key currently being checked. Once the scan finishes, the matching entries appear together in the results list, where columns can show details such as the key path, value name, data, data length, and key modification time.
Open or export selected results
Double-click a result to jump to its Registry location in RegEdit. Select matching entries and export them as a .reg file, which can then be opened in RegEdit. The program also provides exports in formats such as CSV, tab-delimited text, and HTML; command-line scanning can write results to these report formats.
RegScanner can scan a remote computer's Registry, with an option to start that computer's remote Registry service when needed. A refresh command repeats the last search using its saved criteria.
Pros
- Shows the full set of matches in one results list
- Filters by value type, data length, and key modification time
- Finds Unicode text inside binary values
- Exports selected results as a .reg file
System requirements: Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, Windows 11 · 32-bit and 64-bit
Can RegScanner search inside binary Registry values?
Yes. It can find Unicode text embedded in binary values, as well as search by value type and data length.
How do I open a matching entry in the Registry Editor?
Double-click the result in RegScanner to open its Registry location in RegEdit.
Can I save search results for use in another tool?
Yes. Selected entries can be exported as a .reg file, and scan results can also be saved in CSV, tab-delimited, or HTML format.