Registry — a modern Windows Registry Editor

Registry is a native Windows registry editor for browsing, editing, importing, exporting, and checking registry data with a familiar Windows feel. It combines the workflows people expect from regedit with explicit 32-bit and 64-bit views, .reg import previews, export-before-change safeguards, and a Journal of app-originated changes.

Developed and published by Chromatic. Send product feedback to feedback@chromatic.hu.

Caution

The Windows registry controls core system and application behaviour. Export a key before editing it, verify the selected architecture view, and never import an untrusted .reg file. Journal snapshots are a convenience recovery aid, not a replacement for a system backup.

Install

Download the current release from GitHub Releases:

• Registry-Setup-x64.exe for Intel and AMD PCs;
• Registry-Setup-arm64.exe for Windows on ARM;
• Registry-x64.zip and Registry-arm64.zip for portable use.

The installer follows the Windows light or dark mode, registers Registry for .reg files, and provides registry plus registry-cli in the current user's PATH. Open a new terminal after installation. Releases include SHA256SUMS checksums.

Registry is currently unsigned because Chromatic does not use a code-signing certificate. Windows may show a SmartScreen warning; download only from the release page and verify the published checksum before running an installer.

What Registry can do

• Browse local registry hives in a compact WinUI 3 interface.
• Create, edit, rename, copy, and delete keys and values.
• Switch deliberately between 32-bit and 64-bit registry views.
• Find key names, value names, and value data from a chosen root.
• Preview and apply .reg imports; export keys and subtrees back to .reg files.
• Edit string, expandable string, DWORD, QWORD, binary, and multi-string values.
• Save favorites, inspect changes in Journal, and restore app-created snapshots.
• Inspect ownership and access rules where Windows permits it.
• Automate browsing, search, import, export, and supported writes with registry-cli.

Quick start

Open Registry and start under a disposable path such as HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\RegistryPreview. Before changing anything, export the key and check the 32-bit/64-bit view selector.

To import a .reg file, open it with Registry. The app shows an import preview before it applies operations. The installer registers Registry with the Windows Open With and Default Apps surfaces without taking over the user's existing default application.

The CLI uses the same core engine:

registry-cli roots
registry-cli ls HKCU\Software
registry-cli find HKCU\Software Registry --keys --names
registry-cli export-tree HKCU\Environment

Run registry-cli help for the full command reference. Write, import, and hive commands modify machine state; try them only under a disposable HKCU\Software path first.

Documentation

• Registry Wiki — installation, safe editing, imports, Journal recovery, CLI, and architecture.
• Contributing guide — development and pull-request expectations.
• Security policy — report vulnerabilities through private GitHub security advisories, never public issues.
• Support guide — include the affected path, architecture view, and safe reproduction details.

Build from source

Requirements: Windows 10 or Windows 11, the .NET 10 SDK, and Windows App SDK development prerequisites.

dotnet restore Registry.slnx --runtime win-x64
dotnet build Registry.slnx --configuration Release --no-restore
dotnet test tests\Registry.Tests\Registry.Tests.csproj --configuration Release --no-build

For native x64 and ARM64 installer packaging, see installer/README.md. Tagged releases run CI, CodeQL Advanced, native publish, Inno Setup packaging, and SHA-256 checksum generation.

License

Copyright (C) 2026 Chromatic and contributors. Registry is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 or later, SPDX identifier AGPL-3.0-or-later.