en-US chrome computer user

Control where Developer Tools can be used

Verified with Google Chrome — updated on July 10, 2026

Supported on: Microsoft Windows 7 or later

Path in the GPO console

Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Google\Google Chrome

Description

Setting the policy to 0 (the default) means you can access the developer tools and the JavaScript console, but not in the context of extensions installed by enterprise policy or, since version 114 and if this is a managed user, extensions built into the browser. Setting the policy to 1 means you can access the developer tools and the JavaScript console in all contexts, including that of extensions installed by enterprise policy. Setting the policy to 2 means you can't access developer tools, and you can't inspect website elements. This setting also turns off keyboard shortcuts and menu or context menu entries to open developer tools or the JavaScript console. As of Google Chrome version 99, this setting also controls entry points for the 'View page source' feature. If you set this policy to 'DeveloperToolsDisallowed' (value 2), users cannot access source viewing via keyboard shortcut or the context menu. To fully block source viewing, you must also add 'view-source:*' to the URLBlocklist policy. As of Google Chrome version 119, this setting also controls whether developer mode for Isolated Web Apps can be activated and used. As of Google Chrome version 128, this setting will not control developer mode on extensions page if ExtensionDeveloperModeSettings policy is set. The availability of Developer Tools is determined in the following order of precedence: 1. If a URL matches a pattern in the DeveloperToolsAvailabilityAllowlist policy, Developer Tools are allowed. 2. If the DeveloperToolsAvailabilityAllowlist is set and the DeveloperToolsAvailabilityBlocklist is not, any URL not on the allowlist is blocked. 3. If a URL matches a pattern in the DeveloperToolsAvailabilityBlocklist policy, Developer Tools are blocked. 4. If a URL is not covered by the allowlist or blocklist, this policy (DeveloperToolsAvailability) is the fallback.

Registry

HKLM Software\Policies\Google\Chrome
HKCU Software\Policies\Google\Chrome

More options available

Options

Control where Developer Tools can be used
DeveloperToolsAvailability enum
  • Disallow usage of the Developer Tools on apps and extensions installed by enterprise policy or, since version 114 and if this is a managed user, extensions built into the browser. Allow usage of the Developer Tools in other contexts -> 0
  • Allow usage of the Developer Tools -> 1
  • Disallow usage of the Developer Tools -> 2

Export Builder

BETA

Configure the state, scope and options, then generate .reg, PowerShell, Intune and SCCM outputs — or add the setting to a multi-setting collection.

These exports write the registry — this is not a managed GPO.

Scope

.reg file

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

; Exported from gporais.com
; Policy: Control where Developer Tools can be used
; State: Enabled
; Scope: Computer (HKLM)
; Supported on: Microsoft Windows 7 or later

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Google\Chrome]
"DeveloperToolsAvailability"=dword:00000000
More formats (PowerShell, Intune, SCCM)

PowerShell

# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Control where Developer Tools can be used
# State: Enabled
# Scope: Computer (HKLM)
# Supported on: Microsoft Windows 7 or later

$path = 'HKLM:\Software\Policies\Google\Chrome'
New-Item -Path $path -Force | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'DeveloperToolsAvailability' -Value 0 -Type DWord

Building a multi-setting collection? Add this setting and generate combined .reg / PowerShell / GPO scripts.

Open the Builder

Embed this policy on your site

What to embed
Theme

Adds one script line: the theme follows your site’s appearance and the height fits the content. If your site blocks scripts, the embed follows the visitor’s system theme.

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