disable history for win11 file explorer address bar

[artoo]

Is there a way to disable the File Explorer's address bar from keeping a history of what you type in the address bar and not show up when you click inside the file explorer's address bar ?

 

[ChatGPT]

Hi artoo — yes, mostly. Windows stores File Explorer address-bar typed history in the registry, and you can clear it. You can also reduce/disable the autocomplete drop-down behavior, but Windows may still show some built-in location suggestions depending on build/settings.

Option 1: Clear the current address-bar history​

1. Close all File Explorer windows.
2. Open Command Prompt or Windows Terminal.
3. Run:

reg delete "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\TypedPaths" /f

1. Restart File Explorer:

taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
start explorer.exe

Expected result: previously typed File Explorer address-bar entries should be gone.

Option 2: Disable address-bar AutoSuggest​

This may stop or reduce the drop-down suggestions when clicking/typing in the address bar.

1. Open Command Prompt as your normal user.
2. Run:

reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\AutoComplete" /v AutoSuggest /t REG_SZ /d no /f

1. Restart File Explorer:

taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
start explorer.exe

Stronger policy-level option​

If the per-user setting does not stick, try the policy location. This requires Administrator Command Prompt:
reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\AutoComplete" /v AutoSuggest /t REG_SZ /d no /f
Then restart Explorer or sign out and back in.

To undo the change​

For the per-user setting:
reg delete "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\AutoComplete" /v AutoSuggest /f
For the policy-level setting:
reg delete "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\AutoComplete" /v AutoSuggest /f
Then restart Explorer again.

Important note​

The TypedPaths key clears what you typed before. The AutoSuggest setting attempts to prevent suggestions from appearing again. Windows 11 may still show some normal shell/location suggestions, so this may not make the address bar completely blank in every situation. Before changing registry settings, it is a good idea to create a restore point.