Smart Quick Access Navigation Pane cleaner for Windows Explorer — dual GUI + CLI, self-contained, and fast.
When you open File Explorer, the left sidebar shows a list of folders — things like OneDrive, Desktop, Downloads, and entries left behind by apps you've already uninstalled. Windows gives you no easy built-in way to remove these leftovers.
QuickA-Cleanup scans for those entries and lets you remove them in a few clicks. It backs everything up automatically before touching anything, and restarts Explorer when done — available as both a modern GUI app and a command-line tool.
1. Download
Go to the Latest Release and grab the right file for your PC:
| I have a... | GUI | CLI |
|---|---|---|
| Normal Windows PC (most people) | QuickA-Cleanup-GUI-VX.X.X-win-x64.exe |
QuickA-Cleanup-CLI-VX.X.X-win-x64.exe |
| Older 32-bit PC | QuickA-Cleanup-GUI-VX.X.X-win-x86.exe |
QuickA-Cleanup-CLI-VX.X.X-win-x86.exe |
| Windows on ARM | QuickA-Cleanup-GUI-VX.X.X-win-arm64.exe |
QuickA-Cleanup-CLI-VX.X.X-win-arm64.exe |
Not sure? Grab win-x64 — it works on most Windows PCs. Use the GUI unless you prefer the terminal.
2. Run it
Double-click the .exe. If Windows shows a SmartScreen warning click More info → Run anyway.
The app will ask for Administrator permission — required to read and modify registry entries.
3. Clean up
- Click Scan to find navigation pane entries
- Tick the ones you want to remove
- Click Remove Selected and confirm
Explorer restarts automatically and the entries will be gone. ✅
Note
Changed your mind? A backup file named QuickA-Backup-<timestamp>.reg is automatically saved next to the .exe every time you remove something. Double-click it and click Yes to restore everything instantly. You can also create a manual backup anytime via Settings → Backup.
QuickA-Cleanup recognises these common entries and highlights them as Bloatware in the item list:
| Name | Added by |
|---|---|
| OneDrive — Personal | Microsoft OneDrive |
| OneDrive for Business | Microsoft 365 / work accounts |
| SharePoint | Microsoft 365 |
Everything else shows as Unknown — typically entries left by third-party apps.
Tip
Essential system folders (Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Pictures, Music, Videos) are always hidden from the list and cannot be accidentally removed.
Is this safe to use?
Yes. Before removing anything the tool saves a .reg backup automatically. If you want to undo changes, double-click the backup file and click Yes. You can also use Dry Run mode to preview everything before committing.
Will this delete my actual files or folders?
No. It only removes the shortcut entries from the navigation pane. Your files and folders on disk are never touched.
Why does it need Administrator permission?
Navigation pane entries are stored in the Windows Registry. Reading and writing registry keys requires elevated permissions — the same as installing or uninstalling software.
File Explorer looks wrong after running it — what do I do?
The tool restarts Explorer automatically. If something still looks off, restart it manually:
- Press
Ctrl + Shift + Esc→ Task Manager - Find Windows Explorer → Right-click → Restart
To restore removed entries, find the QuickA-Backup-*.reg file next to the .exe, double-click it, and click Yes.
SmartScreen is blocking the app — is it a virus?
No. SmartScreen warns about any .exe without a paid code-signing certificate. QuickA-Cleanup is fully open source — every line of code is in this repository. Click More info → Run anyway.
How do I test it without risking anything?
Use Settings → Testing in the GUI — download and install dummy test entries with one click, scan to see them appear, then remove them. Or use the testpins.reg file from this repo directly: double-click to import, then use QuickA-Cleanup to remove them.
📋 Full Feature List
GUI:
- Modern WPF dark-theme window with custom title bar, drag, minimize, close
- Three always-visible status indicator dots (Bloat / Test pins / Errors) with ease-in-out pulse animation on the testpin dot when entries are detected
- Item list with subtle amber left-border accent on bloatware rows, green on testpin rows
- Row fade-out animation on removal
- Progress bar + live sub-text during scan and removal
- Dry Run and Backup toggles in the scan bar
- Settings modal — frosted glass overlay centered to the main window
Settings modal:
- Testing section — download + install + remove testpins with live status dot (green/red)
- Backup section — manual
.regbackup of all current Quick Access entries - Log section — TRACE/DEV/WARN/ERROR level filter, expandable log viewer with error dot, auto-scroll, clear button, writes to
QuickA-Cleanup.log
Core:
- Parallel registry scanning via
Parallel.ForEach+ConcurrentBag - Known bloatware tagging (OneDrive, OneDrive for Business, SharePoint)
- Testpin detection on startup with status bar warning
- Protected system folder blacklist (Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Pictures, Music, Videos)
- User-defined custom folder protection list in
ItemFilter.cs - Automatic
.regbackup before any deletion - Explorer restart after removal
- Custom app icon (
explorer_clean_x64x64.ico)
CLI:
- Same scan/remove/backup/dry-run/restore logic as GUI
--dry-run,--no-backup,--helpflags- Color-coded table output with bloatware tagging
- Trimmed, self-contained single-file publish
🗂️ How It Works — Registry Internals
Windows stores navigation pane entries under:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace
Each sub-key is a GUID. The (Default) value is the display name shown in File Explorer. QuickA-Cleanup enumerates these sub-keys, filters out protected GUIDs and user-defined custom folder names, then presents the remainder as removable.
Removal is done via Registry.CurrentUser.OpenSubKey(..., writable: true) → DeleteSubKeyTree. The backup step serialises the keys into a valid .reg file using Unicode encoding before any deletion.
Explorer is restarted by calling Process.Kill() on all explorer.exe instances, sleeping 800ms, then Process.Start("explorer.exe").
🛠️ Customisation Guide
All filtering logic lives in Core/Services/ItemFilter.cs.
Add a GUID to the protected blacklist (never shown, never removable):
private static readonly HashSet<string> Blacklist =
new(StringComparer.OrdinalIgnoreCase)
{
"{YOUR-GUID-HERE}", // description
// ...
};Register a known bloatware entry (shown with amber highlight and "Bloatware" tag):
private static readonly Dictionary<string, string> KnownItems =
new(StringComparer.OrdinalIgnoreCase)
{
{ "{YOUR-GUID-HERE}", "Friendly Display Name" },
// ...
};Protect a custom folder by name (case-insensitive, uses Contains):
private static readonly string[] CustomFolders =
{
"My Folder Name",
// ...
};Finding a GUID: open regedit.exe and navigate to:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace
Each sub-key is a GUID. The (Default) value is the display name.
📦 Build Instructions
Requires .NET SDK 9.0.
GUI — win-x64:
dotnet publish QuickA-Cleanup-GUI\QuickA-Cleanup-GUI.csproj -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained true -p:PublishSingleFile=true -p:IncludeNativeLibrariesForSelfExtract=true -p:DebugType=None -p:DebugSymbols=falseCLI — win-x64:
dotnet publish QuickA-Cleanup-CLI\QuickA-Cleanup-CLI.csproj -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained true -p:PublishSingleFile=true -p:IncludeNativeLibrariesForSelfExtract=true -p:PublishTrimmed=true -p:DebugType=None -p:DebugSymbols=falseReplace -r win-x64 with -r win-x86 or -r win-arm64 for other targets.
⚠️ WPF requires the-windowstarget framework suffix — the.csprojfiles already handle this. Do not changenet9.0-windowstonet9.0.
Triggering an automated release via commit message:
Release V2.0.0
Commits containing Testing, Dev, or Development are skipped automatically.
🚀 CLI Flags
QuickA-Cleanup-CLI.exe [options]| Flag | Description |
|---|---|
--dry-run |
Preview all changes — nothing written to registry |
--no-backup |
Skip the automatic .reg backup |
--help / -h |
Show usage and exit |
Found a bug? Have a suggestion?
This project is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0.
- ✅ Commercial use, distribution, and modification allowed
⚠️ Must disclose source and changes⚠️ Derivative works must be open-source under the same license
Read the full license here.
By using, editing, or publishing this tool you acknowledge that you have read and understood the license terms and agree to be bound by them.
Modifying the Windows Registry carries inherent risk. Always use the built-in backup feature before making changes. Use at your own discretion.
If you find this tool useful, please consider giving it a ⭐!
Made with 💜 by @Ash1421
