Site search settings

What it does

This policy provides a list of sites that users can quickly search using shortcuts in the address bar. Users can initiate a search by typing the shortcut or @shortcut (e.g. @work), followed by Space or Tab, in the address bar. The following fields are required for each site: name, shortcut, url. The name field corresponds to the site or search engine name to be shown to the user in the address bar. The shortcut can include plain words and characters, but cannot include spaces or start with the @ symbol. Shortcuts must also be unique. For each entry, the url field specifies the URL of the search engine used during a search with the corresponding keyword. The URL must include the string '{searchTerms}', replaced in the query by the user's search terms. Invalid entries and entries with duplicate shortcuts are ignored. Site search entries configured as featured are displayed in the address bar when the user types "@". Up to three entries can be selected as featured. For a site search entry where allow_user_override is true, users have the ability to edit or disable that entry. However, featured engines (beginning with "@") can only be disabled. If a user modifies an entry that was initially created by this policy, it will no longer be managed by policy and will be treated like a user-created shortcut. When allow_user_override is false or unspecified for a site search entry, users cannot edit or disable that entry. The setting to allow user override is only supported on M139 and later; earlier versions will default to disabling user override. Users cannot create new site search entries with a shortcut previously created via this policy unless allow_user_override is set to true for the site search entry. In case of a conflict with a shortcut previously created by the user, the user setting takes precedence. However, users can still trigger the option created by the policy by typing "@" in the search bar. For example, if the user already defined "work" as a shortcut to URL1 and the policy defines "work" as a shortcut to URL2, then typing "work" in the search bar will trigger a search to URL1, but typing "@work" in the search bar will trigger a search to URL2. On Microsoft® Windows®, this policy is only available on instances that are joined to a Microsoft® Active Directory® domain, joined to Microsoft® Azure® Active Directory® or enrolled in Chrome Enterprise Core. On macOS, this policy is only available on instances that are managed via MDM, joined to a domain via MCX or enrolled in Chrome Enterprise Core. See https://chromeenterprise.google/policies/?policy=SiteSearchSettings for more information about schema and formatting. Example value: [ { "featured": true, "name": "Google Wikipedia", "shortcut": "wikipedia", "url": "https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Awikipedia.com+%s" }, { "name": "YouTube", "shortcut": "youtube", "url": "https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%s" }, { "name": "Google Drive", "shortcut": "drive", "url": "https://drive.google.com/?q=%s", "allow_user_override": true } ]

What it writes

Hive

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE or HKEY_CURRENT_USER

Registry key

Software\Policies\BraveSoftware\Brave

Options

Configure and deploy

Choose a state and the option values; the output below is generated from the template for exactly that.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\BraveSoftware\Brave]
"SiteSearchSettings"=""

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'

function Set-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $PropertyType,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Value
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        New-Item -Path $Path -Force | Out-Null
    }

    New-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -PropertyType $PropertyType -Value $Value -Force | Out-Null
}

function Remove-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

function Clear-RegistryKeyValues {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return
    }

    foreach ($propertyName in (Get-Item -LiteralPath $Path).Property) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $propertyName -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

# Policy: Site search settings
# Name: SiteSearchSettings
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: brave.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\BraveSoftware\Brave' -Name 'SiteSearchSettings' -PropertyType 'String' -Value ''

./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_brave/SiteSearchSettings

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
$reasons = [System.Collections.Generic.List[string]]::new()

function Test-RegistryValueExists {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return $false
    }

    return $null -ne (Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)
}

function Test-RegistryValueEquals {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Kind,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Expected
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return $false
    }

    $valueObject = Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    if ($null -eq $valueObject) {
        return $false
    }

    $actual = $valueObject.$Name
    switch ($Kind) {
        'String' { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
        'ExpandString' { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
        'DWord' { return [uint32]$actual -eq [uint32]$Expected }
        'QWord' { return [uint64]$actual -eq [uint64]$Expected }
        'MultiString' {
            $actualArray = @($actual)
            $expectedArray = @($Expected)
            if ($actualArray.Count -ne $expectedArray.Count) { return $false }
            for ($index = 0; $index -lt $actualArray.Count; $index++) {
                if ([string]$actualArray[$index] -cne [string]$expectedArray[$index]) { return $false }
            }
            return $true
        }
        'Binary' {
            $actualArray = [byte[]]$actual
            $expectedArray = [byte[]]$Expected
            if ($actualArray.Length -ne $expectedArray.Length) { return $false }
            for ($index = 0; $index -lt $actualArray.Length; $index++) {
                if ($actualArray[$index] -ne $expectedArray[$index]) { return $false }
            }
            return $true
        }
        default { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
    }
}

# Policy: Site search settings
# Name: SiteSearchSettings
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: brave.admx

$isMatch = Test-RegistryValueEquals -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\BraveSoftware\Brave' -Name 'SiteSearchSettings' -Kind 'String' -Expected ''
if (-not $isMatch) {
    $reasons.Add('Value mismatch: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\BraveSoftware\Brave\SiteSearchSettings') | Out-Null
}

if ($reasons.Count -eq 0) {
    Write-Output 'Compliant'
    exit 0
}

$reasons | ForEach-Object { Write-Output $_ }
exit 1

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'

function Set-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $PropertyType,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Value
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        New-Item -Path $Path -Force | Out-Null
    }

    New-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -PropertyType $PropertyType -Value $Value -Force | Out-Null
}

function Remove-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

function Clear-RegistryKeyValues {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return
    }

    foreach ($propertyName in (Get-Item -LiteralPath $Path).Property) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $propertyName -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

# Policy: Site search settings
# Name: SiteSearchSettings
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: brave.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\BraveSoftware\Brave' -Name 'SiteSearchSettings' -PropertyType 'String' -Value ''

History 44 retained releases

1. 1.92.1342 Jul 2026
   • Description … to a domain via MCX or enrolled in Chrome Enterprise Core. See https://c[removed: loud.google.com/docs/chrome-enterpris][added: hromeenterprise.googl]e/policies/?policy=SiteSearchSettings for more information about schema and formatting. Example value: [ { "featured": …
     Whole description, marked

     This policy provides a list of sites that users can quickly search using shortcuts in the address bar. Users can initiate a search by typing the shortcut or @shortcut (e.g. @work), followed by Space or Tab, in the address bar. The following fields are required for each site: name, shortcut, url. The name field corresponds to the site or search engine name to be shown to the user in the address bar. The shortcut can include plain words and characters, but cannot include spaces or start with the @ symbol. Shortcuts must also be unique. For each entry, the url field specifies the URL of the search engine used during a search with the corresponding keyword. The URL must include the string '{searchTerms}', replaced in the query by the user's search terms. Invalid entries and entries with duplicate shortcuts are ignored. Site search entries configured as featured are displayed in the address bar when the user types "@". Up to three entries can be selected as featured. For a site search entry where allow_user_override is true, users have the ability to edit or disable that entry. However, featured engines (beginning with "@") can only be disabled. If a user modifies an entry that was initially created by this policy, it will no longer be managed by policy and will be treated like a user-created shortcut. When allow_user_override is false or unspecified for a site search entry, users cannot edit or disable that entry. The setting to allow user override is only supported on M139 and later; earlier versions will default to disabling user override. Users cannot create new site search entries with a shortcut previously created via this policy unless allow_user_override is set to true for the site search entry. In case of a conflict with a shortcut previously created by the user, the user setting takes precedence. However, users can still trigger the option created by the policy by typing "@" in the search bar. For example, if the user already defined "work" as a shortcut to URL1 and the policy defines "work" as a shortcut to URL2, then typing "work" in the search bar will trigger a search to URL1, but typing "@work" in the search bar will trigger a search to URL2. On Microsoft® Windows®, this policy is only available on instances that are joined to a Microsoft® Active Directory® domain, joined to Microsoft® Azure® Active Directory® or enrolled in Chrome Enterprise Core. On macOS, this policy is only available on instances that are managed via MDM, joined to a domain via MCX or enrolled in Chrome Enterprise Core. See https://c[removed: loud.google.com/docs/chrome-enterpris][added: hromeenterprise.googl]e/policies/?policy=SiteSearchSettings for more information about schema and formatting. Example value: [ { "featured": true, "name": "Google Wikipedia", "shortcut": "wikipedia", "url": "https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Awikipedia.com+%s" }, { "name": "YouTube", "shortcut": "youtube", "url": "https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%s" }, { "name": "Google Drive", "shortcut": "drive", "url": "https://drive.google.com/?q=%s", "allow_user_override": true } ]

2. 1.88.13214 Mar 2026
   • Already present in the first release ChangeIntel keeps.

42 later releases left it unchanged.

Template

Internal name

SiteSearchSettings

Namespace

BraveSoftware.Policies.Brave

Template file

brave.admx

Release

Brave Browser 1.97.59 · file set d6401efd8c1937d9…

<policy class="Both" displayName="$(string.SiteSearchSettings)" explainText="$(string.SiteSearchSettings_Explain)" key="Software\Policies\BraveSoftware\Brave" name="SiteSearchSettings" presentation="$(presentation.SiteSearchSettings)" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="BraveSoftware.Policies.Brave:brave" />
      <supportedOn ref="BraveSoftware.Policies.Brave:SUPPORTED_WIN7" />
      <elements>
        <text id="SiteSearchSettings" maxLength="1000000" valueName="SiteSearchSettings" />
      </elements>
    </policy>

<presentation id="SiteSearchSettings" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions"><textBox refId="SiteSearchSettings"><label>Site search settings</label></textBox></presentation>

BraveSoftware.Policies.Brave:category:Cat_Brave
<category displayName="$(string.Cat_Brave)" name="Cat_Brave" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
BraveSoftware.Policies.Brave:category:brave
<category displayName="$(string.brave)" name="brave" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="BraveSoftware.Policies.Brave:Cat_Brave" />
    </category>
BraveSoftware.Policies.Brave:definition:SUPPORTED_WIN7
<definition displayName="$(string.SUPPORTED_WIN7)" name="SUPPORTED_WIN7" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
BraveSoftware.Policies.Brave:category:Cat_Brave
<category displayName="$(string.Cat_Brave)" name="Cat_Brave" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
<strings><string id="BraveSoftware.Policies.Brave:Cat_Brave">Brave Software</string></strings>
BraveSoftware.Policies.Brave:category:brave
<category displayName="$(string.brave)" name="brave" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="BraveSoftware.Policies.Brave:Cat_Brave" />
    </category>
<strings><string id="BraveSoftware.Policies.Brave:brave">Brave</string></strings>
BraveSoftware.Policies.Brave:definition:SUPPORTED_WIN7
<definition displayName="$(string.SUPPORTED_WIN7)" name="SUPPORTED_WIN7" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
<strings><string id="BraveSoftware.Policies.Brave:SUPPORTED_WIN7">Microsoft Windows 7 or later</string></strings>