Technical notes: registry and command-line

IT & power users

These snippets describe typical locations and switches seen on Windows installs. Your build, bitness (x64 vs x86), and installer type can change exact keys—verify on a test machine before mass deployment.

Disclaimer: Editing the registry or running silent installers can affect the system. Back up the registry and test in a non-production environment first.

Common registry roots

7-Zip usually stores per-user preferences and File Manager state under the current user hive, and the install location under the machine hive when installed for all users.

Registry · user settings (typical) 
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\7-Zip
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\7-Zip\FM
Registry · install path (per-machine, typical) 
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\7-Zip
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\7-Zip

Explorer context menu (shell)

Shell extensions often register under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT for files, folders, and drives. Names can include “7-Zip” in the handler key. On 64-bit Windows, some handlers also appear under Wow6432Node depending on how the extension was registered.

Registry · example context-handler paths 
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\7-Zip
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\7-Zip
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Background\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\7-Zip
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\7-Zip

Commands to inspect keys

Use elevated or standard cmd.exe / PowerShell as appropriate for the hive you query.

Command Prompt · reg.exe 
reg query "HKCU\Software\7-Zip" /s
reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\7-Zip" /s
PowerShell · read install path value (if present) 
Get-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\7-Zip" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Get-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\7-Zip" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

Silent installation (example)

Many official Windows executables for 7-Zip support NSIS-style silent mode. Replace the file name with the installer you actually distribute.

Silent install · example (cmd) 
"7z.exe-installer-rename-me.exe" /S

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