How to Remove Home from File Explorer in Windows 11

You might want to hide and remove the Home folder in Windows 11 File Explorer if you find no application for this new item. It was introduced in Windows 11 22H2, and now serves as the default startup location for the file manager.

The Home folder is a new name for the good old 'Quick Access' location that is familiar to users of several previous Windows version. Microsoft is using the new name beginning with Windows 11 build 22593. The Quick Access label is now assigned to the group of pinned or frequently used folders visible at the top of the Home pane. Pinned files have been rebranded as Favorites to match Office and OneDrive.

The Home folder can host up to 13 pinned folders and up to 25 files that you have most recently accessed. In addition, you can add several files to the Favorites section.

However, if you are a regular consumer, you may prefer starting your file tasks in the This PC folder. It is classic behavior of the app, so many like it. These users want to remove or hide the Home folder in File Explorer. A Registry tweak allows you to delete it. Here's how.

Remove Home from File Explorer

To remove and hide the File Explorer Home in Windows 11 with the Registry tweak, do the following.

1. In the Start pane, type regedit, and select Open on the right to launch the Registry Editor.
2. Browse the left pane to the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID key.
3. Right-click the CLSID subkey on the left and select New > Key from the menu.
4. Name your new key {f874310e-b6b7-47dc-bc84-b9e6b38f5903}.
5. Now, right-click the newly created key, and select New > Dword (32-bit) value.
6. Finally, enter System.IsPinnedToNameSpaceTree as your new value's name. Don't change its data, leave it as zero.
7. Now, if you have File Explorer running, close it and then open again. The Home folder is now hidden from the left.

This is how you get rid of the Home location in the left pane of File Explorer.

To save your time, I have prepared for you ready-made REG files.

Download REG files

Download the ZIP archive with reg files from this link:

Download Files

Extract the archive to any folder of your choice, and double-click the remove_home_folder_for_current_user.reg file.  Then click on the Run button to allow the file access, click Yes in and User Account Control window, and finally click Yes and OK to approve the modification in the Registry editor.

To undo the change using the REG files, use the add_home_folder_for_current_user.reg file.

This will remove the Home location for the current user only. But you may want to hide it for all users instead. For that, you have to use a different Registry tweak. Let's review it.

Hide the Home Folder for All Users

1. Press Win + R and type regedit.exe to launch the Registry Editor.
2. Navigate to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\{f874310e-b6b7-47dc-bc84-b9e6b38f5903} key.
3. If you have the HiddenByDefault DWORD value on the right, then double-click it and set to 1.
4. Otherwise, right-click the {f874310e-b6b7-47dc-bc84-b9e6b38f5903} key in the left panel, and select New > DWORD (32-bit) value.
5. Name the new value HiddenByDefault.
6. Finally, double-click it and set its value data to 1.

That's it!

Ready-made REG files

To save you time, you can download the ZIP archive with reg files from this link:

Download Files

Extract the archive to any folder of your choice, and double-click the remove_home_folder_for_all_users.reg file.  Then click on the Run button to allow the file access, click Yes in and User Account Control window, and finally click Yes and OK to approve the modification in the Registry editor.

To undo the change using the REG files, use the add_home_folder_for_all_users.reg file.

Finally, you can implement a simple GUI for showing or hiding the Home folder in the navigation pane with ease. For that, you can add the "Show Home" option to Folder Options of Windows 11 Explorer.

Let's review the details.

Add Show Home to Folder Options

1. Download the two REG files ⬇️ from this link. ⬇️
2. Extract them from the ZIP archive to any folder of your choice. E.g. you can put them right on the desktop.
3. Double-click on the add_show_home_to_folder_options.reg to add it to the Registry.
4. Click on the Run button if you see a confirmation dialog with such a button. Then click Yes in the User Account Control, Yes in the Registry editor confirmation, and OK in the last prompt.
5. Now, close File Explorer if you have it open and run it once again.
6. Click on the See more (three dots) button in the toolbar, and select Options.
7. You will find a new entry, Show Home, under the Navigation Pane section on the View tab. Unchecking it will hide Home for the current user. Placing the checkmark back will re-add it.

That's it!

Another file included in the ZIP archive, remove_show_home_to_folder_options.reg, is the undo tweak. It removes the newly added entry from the View tab of the Folder Options dialog.

If you are curious, here's the content of the tweak.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

; Created by Sergey Tkachenko
; Tutorial: How to Remove Home from File Explorer in Windows 11
; URL: https://winaero.com/remove-home-from-file-explorer/ 

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\NavPane\ShowHideHome]
"Text"="Show Home"
"Type"="checkbox"
"ValueName"="System.IsPinnedToNameSpaceTree"
"DefaultValue"=dword:00000001
"CheckedValue"=dword:00000001
"UncheckedValue"=dword:00000000
"HKeyRoot"=dword:80000001
"RegPath"="Software\\Classes\\CLSID\\{f874310e-b6b7-47dc-bc84-b9e6b38f5903}"

Yet another method that can greatly save your time is the Winaero Tweaker app that includes a neat graphical tool for managing items in the navigation pane.

Hide Home from File Explorer with Winaero Tweaker

To disable and hide the File Explorer Home item in Windows 11 with Winaero Tweaker, do the following:

1. Download the Winaero Tweaker app from here.
2. Install and run the app.
3. Launch it, and browse the left pane to File Explorer > Navigation Pane - Default items.
4. Now, remove the check mark from the Home entry. This will immediately remove it from File Explorer!
5. Repeat the above step for any other item you want to hide from the navigation pane.

Done! The best thing about this method is that you can add or remove the items on demand by adding the check mark to the items you want or by unticking them. You don't need to edit the Registry manually.

To quickly restore the default set of items in the left area of File Explorer, click on "Reset this page to defaults". That's all you have to do!

That's it.

A Legacy Method for Windows 11 21H2

The next steps are only applicable to Windows 11 21H2. You should not use it on versions released later.

1. In the Start pane, type regedit, and select Open on the right to launch the Registry Editor.
2. Browse the left pane to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer key. You can copy and paste this path into the regedit address bar, and press Enter to go to it directly.
3. Right-click the Explorer key on the left, and select New > DWORD (32-bit) value from the menu. Name the new value HubMode.
4. In the right panel, double-click it and change its value data to 1. Click OK to save it.
5. Now, go to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace_36354489 key.
6. In the left, right-click the {f874310e-b6b7-47dc-bc84-b9e6b38f5903} subkey under the NameSpace_36354489 key, and select Delete.
7. Now, close File Explorer and open it again. You will no longer have the Home folder in the navigation pane.

You are done! This is how you delete the Home item from the navigation pane of File Explorer. It will now start in This PC.

Restore the Home folder

If you change your mind, and wants to re-add the folder, you need to perform the opposite steps. For that, run regedit, and navigate to the

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer

key.

Here, double-click the HubMode value and change its data from 1 to 0.

Finally, navigate to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace_36354489 key, right-click the NameSpace_36354489 item on the left, and select New > Key from the menu. Name the new key {f874310e-b6b7-47dc-bc84-b9e6b38f5903}.

In the right pane of the {f874310e-b6b7-47dc-bc84-b9e6b38f5903} double-click the default (unnamed) value, and set it to CLSID_MSGraphHomeFolder.

You are done! Opening File Explorer right away will show the Home folder.

REG files

To save you a bit of time, I have created two REG files. So you can show or hide the Home without manual editing of Registry keys and values!

First of all, download this ZIP archive, and extract it to any folder of your choice. You will see two files with the .reg extension.

Next, double-click the Remove_Home_from_File_Explorer.reg file to hide the Home item in the navigation pane. You just need to click Yes in the User Account Control prompt, and then Yes one more time in the Registry editor's merge dialog.

The other file, Add_Home_to_File_Explorer.reg, is the undo tweak that restores the entry.

Extended capabilities of the Home location

It is worth noting that Build 22621.2361 further extended capabilities of the Home location. There are several new features the updated folder offers. In Home, you can quickly find recent meetings, shared files over Teams. Also, for users signed into Windows with an Azure Active Directory (AAD) account, recommended files will be showcased as a carousel and will support file thumbnails. Additionally, you can now search both recent and pinned files from the search box in File Explorer, regardless of whether they are stored locally or they are shared Office files.

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