Let me show you how God Mode works in Windows 11 and why it matters for reaching your settings faster. Windows 11 splits its settings across the Settings app, the classic Control Panel, and several legacy dialogs. Microsoft’s migration between the two remains incomplete in 2026. The God Mode folder puts those classic settings tasks into one searchable list. It is one of many Windows 11 hidden features that stay out of sight until you know where to look.
Whether you’re looking to open any setting from one searchable window, pin that window to your taskbar with an icon you choose, or build more hidden shell folders with the same trick, you’ll find everything you need in this guide. I’ll walk you through enabling the God Mode folder step by step, pinning it and changing its icon, and creating five more CLSID shell folders that most articles never cover.
You need no administrator rights, no downloads, and under a minute of setup time, and God Mode is a built-in File Explorer behavior rather than a hack. I have verified every step in this guide on my own Windows 11 Pro 25H2 machine.
Table of Contents
What Is the God Mode Folder in Windows 11
God Mode is the community nickname for a hidden view built into File Explorer. You create it by renaming any folder so that the name ends with a specific string wrapped in curly brackets. When you press Enter, File Explorer stops treating the folder as ordinary storage and instead displays a single alphabetized list of the classic settings tasks available on your PC. Nothing gets installed, and nothing gets downloaded. The list already exists inside Windows, and the renamed folder opens it directly.
What you gain is findability. Windows 11 spreads its settings across the Settings app, the classic Control Panel, and several legacy dialogs. God Mode removes the memory work. You open one window, type a word into the search box, and the matching tasks appear.
The key to the trick is the string {ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}. This is a CLSID, a class identifier that Windows uses internally to label its system components. When a folder name ends with a full stop followed by a CLSID in curly brackets, File Explorer renders the component that the identifier points to instead of showing the folder contents (Microsoft Learn).
This particular identifier points to the All Tasks view, the master list of Control Panel tasks. God Mode is not Microsoft terminology. The Windows Registry records this view under the label All Tasks, and it is widely documented as the Windows Master Control Panel shortcut.
God Mode grants no administrator rights and unlocks no restricted features. Every entry opens a settings page or dialog that already exists on your PC, one you could reach through normal navigation with enough clicks. The folder itself is a view rather than a setting, so creating it requires no Registry edits, and deleting it removes nothing except the view. Your settings stay exactly where they were.
The next section covers creating the folder step by step. In a separate article, I will walk through the twelve most useful tools inside the God Mode folder, so you can decide which entries deserve shortcuts of their own.
How to Enable God Mode in Windows 11
Setup takes under a minute and needs no administrator rights, no Registry edits, and no downloads. The desktop is the usual location for the God Mode folder because it keeps the view one double click away, and the same rename works in any folder location. Copy the string rather than typing it, because a single wrong character stops the folder from converting.
- Right-click an empty area of the desktop, select New, and select Folder. A new folder appears with its name highlighted and ready for editing.
- Type GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C} as the folder name and press Enter. If the name is no longer editable, right-click the folder and select Rename before typing.
- Confirm the folder icon changes to the Control Panel icon and the folder name disappears. This confirms Windows has recognized the string and converted the folder into the All Tasks view.
- Double-click the new icon to open the God Mode folder in File Explorer. The window lists the classic settings tasks grouped into collapsible categories, sorted alphabetically.
- Type a word into the search box in the top right corner of the window to filter the full list instantly. Typing power, for example, narrows hundreds of entries down to the power related tasks in one step.
The text ahead of the full stop is your choice. GodMode is only a label, and MasterPanel, AllTasks, or any other name works the same way. Windows reads the full stop and the CLSID string in curly brackets.
If the icon does not change after you press Enter, check the string first. The most common causes are a missing full stop before the opening curly bracket, a missing bracket, or a stray space at the end of the name. After you correct the string, double-click the folder. If the list of settings tasks opens, the folder works.
How to Pin God Mode to the Start Menu or Taskbar
Windows 11 does not allow folders to be pinned to the taskbar, and the God Mode folder is no exception. Right-clicking the folder shows a Pin to Start option that produces no error and no result. The folder is a shell view rather than a real folder.
The working method is a shortcut. A standard Windows shortcut can point at the same All Tasks view through a shell command, and shortcuts accept pinning. Set it up with the steps below.
- Right-click an empty area of the desktop, select New, and select Shortcut. The Create Shortcut wizard opens with a location field.
- Copy explorer shell:::{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C} into the Type the location of the item field and select Next.
- Type God Mode as the shortcut name and select Finish. A shortcut with an Explorer style icon appears on the desktop.
- Right-click the shortcut and select Pin to taskbar. If the option is not visible in the first menu, select Show more options and pick it from the full menu.
- Right-click the shortcut and select Pin to Start to place the same shortcut in the Start menu pinned area instead of, or as well as, the taskbar.
One behavior difference applies to the pinned icon. Windows marks a running app with a small line under its taskbar icon. When you click the pinned God Mode icon, the view opens, but the pinned icon never gets this running mark, which is a limitation of the taskbar
How to Pin God Mode to Quick Access
Quick access is the pinned area at the top of the File Explorer navigation pane. Unlike the taskbar, it accepts the God Mode folder directly, so this method needs no shortcut. If you work inside File Explorer windows for most of the day, this placement keeps God Mode one click away in every window you open.
- Right-click the God Mode folder on the desktop and select Pin to Quick access.
- Open any File Explorer window and confirm God Mode appears in the sidebar. The pinned entry shows in every window you open.
How to Change the God Mode Folder Icon
The God Mode folder automatically assigns the Control Panel icon the moment Windows recognizes the CLSID string, and the folder offers no option to change it. The customization route available on a normal folder does not apply here, because Windows renders a shell view rather than reading folder properties.
A standard shortcut accepts any icon, so the shortcut you created in the pinning section is the working route. If you skipped that section, create the shortcut there first and come back. Then follow these steps.
- Right-click the God Mode shortcut and select Properties. The dialog opens on the Shortcut tab.
- Select Change Icon. A dialog appears showing the icons available in the shortcut’s current source file.
- Copy %SystemRoot%\System32\imageres.dll into the file field and press Enter to load the main Windows icon library, or use %SystemRoot%\System32\shell32.dll for the classic set. Both files ship with Windows, so there is nothing to download.
- Select an icon from the grid and select OK, then select Apply and OK to close Properties. The shortcut on the desktop updates immediately.
- Select Browse in the Change Icon dialog instead, if you prefer your own .ico file, and pick the file from your PC.
The imageres.dll library holds the modern Windows icon set including the gear and toolbox designs, which suit a settings launcher and stay readable at taskbar size. Test your choice at the smallest size you will use it, because detailed icons lose clarity at taskbar size.
Other Hidden Shell Folders Worth Creating
The CLSID that built your God Mode folder is one identifier among many. Windows assigns these identifiers to a whole set of shell views, and the same rename pattern works for the others too. Below are five worth creating, each with a short introduction, its own steps, and the exact folder name to copy. If any of them opens as a plain empty folder instead of the view described, right-click it, select Rename, and check the string for a missing full stop, bracket, or character.
Network
This view lists the devices and computers visible on your network in one window. If you manage shared drives, a NAS, or network printers across a home or office network, this folder replaces the navigation through File Explorer each time you need to reach another machine.
- Right-click an empty area of the desktop, select New, and select Folder.
- Copy Network.{F02C1A0D-BE21-4350-88B0-7367FC96EF3C} as the folder name and press Enter.
- Double-click the folder to open the network view and confirm your network devices appear.
- Click the notification banner below the toolbar and select Turn on network discovery and file sharing if the view shows empty and you want network devices visible.
- Select No, make the network that I am connected to a private network in the Network discovery and file sharing dialog that opens. This turns on discovery for private networks such as homes and workplaces, and leaves public networks unchanged.
Important. Turn on network discovery only on networks you trust, such as your own home or office network. On café, hotel, airport, or coworking Wi-Fi, or on a connection shared with other flats in a building, leave the profile public, because marking an untrusted network private makes your PC visible to everyone else on that network. Your internet connection works the same either way, so there is no reason to change the profile on a network you do not control
Troubleshooting
This view opens the classic troubleshooting surface from the Control Panel era. Microsoft has been retiring the legacy troubleshooters in favor of the Get Help app, so what appears here depends on your build, and this folder shows what your machine still carries.
- Right-click an empty area of the desktop, select New, and select Folder.
- Copy Troubleshooting.{C58C4893-3BE0-4B45-ABB5-A63E4B8C8651} as the folder name and press Enter.
- Double-click the folder to open the troubleshooting view and note which entries your build still offers.
This PC
This view shows your drives and connected devices, the same screen the This PC entry in File Explorer opens. It suits a desktop where you have removed the standard icons but still want one double click to your drives.
- Right-click an empty area of the desktop, select New, and select Folder.
- Copy ThisPC.{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D} as the folder name and press Enter.
- Double-click the folder to open the drives and devices view.
Recycle Bin
This one opens the Recycle Bin from wherever you place it. The desktop already has a bin, so the practical use is placing a second one inside a working folder, which keeps deleted file recovery one click away without minimizing your open windows.
- Right-click an empty area of the desktop, select New, and select Folder.
- Copy RecycleBin.{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E} as the folder name and press Enter.
- Double-click the folder to open the Recycle Bin and confirm your deleted files appear.
User Folder
This view opens your user profile with Documents, Downloads, Pictures, Music, and the rest gathered in one window. It suits anyone who works across several personal folders and wants a single entry point instead of separate File Explorer pins.
- Right-click an empty area of the desktop, select New, and select Folder.
- Copy UserFolder.{59031A47-3F72-44A7-89C5-5595FE6B30EE} as the folder name and press Enter.
- Double-click the folder to open your profile view.
Is God Mode Safe to Use
Yes, God Mode is safe to use. It is a built-in Windows Shell feature, and the behavior is documented across Windows 7, Windows 10, and Windows 11. It installs nothing, requires no Registry edits, changes none of your files, and grants no administrator rights. Any task that needs administrator approval still raises a User Account Control prompt when you open it from God Mode (Windows Forum). Two situations need your judgment.
- The settings, not the folder. A careless change to a storage, security, or recovery setting causes the same problems from God Mode as from the standard menus. Change only the settings you understand, and on a shared PC place the folder somewhere less visible than the desktop.
- Managed PCs. On corporate machines under Group Policy or Intune, some God Mode entries can be restricted or absent. Use God Mode on your own PC, and manage company machines with your standard administration tools.
Removing God Mode takes one step. Right-click the folder, select Delete, and only the view disappears. Every setting stays where it lives, and the same applies to every shell folder in this article.
Conclusion
You now have the complete setup. One rename gives you a searchable index of the classic settings tasks in Windows 11, the shortcut method adds taskbar pinning and a custom icon, and the same CLSID pattern builds the Network, Troubleshooting, This PC, Recycle Bin, and User Folder views. None of it needs administrator rights, and deleting any folder removes only the view.
The migration from Control Panel to the Settings app remains incomplete in 2026, so the classic settings tasks stay spread across menus and dialogs. God Mode collects those tasks into one searchable window. I create the God Mode folder on every machine I set up.
Which God Mode entry do you open most? Tell me in the comments, and I will cover the most mentioned tools in my next article on the twelve most useful tools inside the God Mode folder.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Yes. God Mode works on all mainstream editions of Windows 11, including Home, Pro, Education, and Enterprise.
Yes. The All Tasks view dates back to Windows Vista, the God Mode CLSID has worked in every Windows release from Windows 7 onwards, and I verified every step in this article on my own Windows 11 Pro 25H2 machine.
Yes. The folder behavior has worked across Windows 7, Windows 10, and Windows 11, and the steps in this article apply to Windows 10 without changes.
Yes. The folder name has two parts, the label before the full stop and the CLSID string after it. Windows reads only the string, so the label is your choice. Naming the folder MasterPanel.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C} creates the same view as GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}.
No. The rename works in any folder location. The desktop is the usual choice because it keeps the view one double click away.
Yes. Type a word into the search box in the top right corner of the window to filter the full list instantly. Typing power, for example, narrows hundreds of entries down to the power related tasks.
