If you searched the registry for a Windows 11 right-click entry and found nothing, the entry is probably a packaged app command: the app declares it in its package manifest and implements it with a COM class called IExplorerCommand, so there is no classic shell key to delete. ContextCleaner lists these Windows 11 modern items next to classic commands, COM add-ons, and the New submenu, names the app or package behind each, and hides them reversibly with a snapshot first. Registry-only tools cannot see this surface at all.
This page explains where these entries come from, so the “why is it still there?” moment makes sense.
See every right-click entry, including packaged app items, with the app behind each one.
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Why can’t I find some context menu entries in the registry?
Because Windows 11 builds the right-click menu from more than one place. Classic entries, the ones you see after Show more options, mostly live in the registry as static verbs or as shell extension handlers. Microsoft documents those in Creating Shortcut Menu Handlers, which describes registering verbs for a file type in the registry.
Windows 11’s new compact menu added a different model. Microsoft’s Windows Developer blog post Extending the Context Menu and Share Dialog in Windows 11 says it plainly: “Apps extend the menu with IExplorerCommand + app identity.” And the Microsoft Learn guide Add a File Explorer context menu command to a packaged desktop app lists the parts:
- “A native DLL implements one or more COM classes that expose IExplorerCommand.”
- The package manifest declares the COM class with a
comServerextension. - The manifest declares a
fileExplorerContextMenusextension that “associates a shell item type with the COM class’s CLSID.”
The command’s title, icon, and visibility come from code at run time, and the registration comes from the installed package. That is why a search for the menu text in Registry Editor often finds nothing.
Which apps use packaged context menu entries?
Any app that has app identity can. Microsoft’s guide says the model “applies to packaged desktop apps and to unpackaged Win32 apps that use a sparse package.” In practice that includes:
| App type | How it registers a right-click command | Where you see it on Windows 11 |
|---|---|---|
| MSIX or Store packaged desktop app | fileExplorerContextMenus in its manifest | Compact menu, often grouped by app |
| Classic Win32 app with a sparse package | Same manifest model, with app identity | Compact menu |
| Classic Win32 app, registry only | Static verb or IContextMenu handler | Show more options |
| Windows built-in commands | Part of Windows | Both menus |
The manifest element dates back further than Windows 11. Microsoft’s schema reference for desktop4:FileExplorerContextMenus gives the minimum version as Windows 10 version 1803.
Why do classic entries only appear under Show more options?
Microsoft’s same 2021 blog post explains the split: “‘Show more options’ loads the Windows 10 context menu as-is for access to low-use Shell verbs and apps still working on porting over,” and “Shift-F10 or the keyboard menu key will also load the Windows 10 context menu.” It also notes the reason for the redesign, including that “many commands run in-process in Explorer, which can cause performance and reliability issues.”
So an app can appear in either menu, or both, depending on how it registered:
- Registry verbs and IContextMenu handlers show in the Windows 10 style menu.
- IExplorerCommand with app identity shows in the Windows 11 compact menu.
- Apps that register both ways show in both places, which is why removing an entry in one place leaves it in the other.
Stage your changes, apply them with one admin prompt, and undo up to 25 steps.
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How do I remove a packaged app’s right-click entry?
You have three honest options:
- Check the app’s own settings. Some apps let you turn off their Explorer integration. This is the cleanest fix when it exists.
- Uninstall the app. Removing the package removes its manifest registrations, and the entry goes with it.
- Hide it with a tool that reads the modern surface. ContextCleaner lists Windows 11 modern menu items, “including entries from packaged and MSIX apps,” and hides them without uninstalling anything.
What does not work: deleting registry keys you guessed at. You can remove the wrong thing, and the packaged entry stays.
How does ContextCleaner handle the four menu surfaces?
ContextCleaner is a Windows 11 and Windows 10 right-click menu editor that scans the four places Windows builds the menu from:
| Surface | What it is | How ContextCleaner removes it |
|---|---|---|
| Classic commands | Traditional verbs, mostly under Show more options | Marked hidden, not deleted |
| App add-ons | COM shell extension handlers from archivers, cloud drives, antivirus, developer tools | Put on a block list, not unregistered |
| Modern menu items | The Windows 11 compact menu, including packaged and MSIX app entries | Hidden reversibly |
| New submenu | Items under New in Explorer | Renamed, not removed |
Every row shows what added it (the app, DLL, or package), where it was found, which file types it covers, and whether it is a built-in Windows entry or something an installer added.
Safety is the main design point:
- Stage, then apply. Changes are pending until you press Apply.
- Snapshot first. A snapshot is written before each apply, and any earlier snapshot can be restored in one click.
- Undo on disk. Up to 25 undo and redo steps, surviving app and PC restarts.
- Protected entries. Entries File Explorer needs to open folders, drives, and network locations cannot be removed, even by a bulk action.
- One admin prompt per apply for machine-wide changes. Per-user entries need no admin rights.
- No network. It works offline.
On Windows 10 you see fewer modern and packaged entries, because that menu surface is a Windows 11 feature.
Step by step: find and hide a packaged entry
- Open ContextCleaner and let it scan.
- Search for the entry text you see in the menu.
- Read the source column. A package name tells you it is a packaged app entry.
- Stage it as hidden and review the pending list.
- Apply. ContextCleaner writes a snapshot first.
- Right-click a file in Explorer to check. If you change your mind, undo.
Frequently asked questions
Why does a right-click item come back after I deleted its registry key?
It may be registered in more than one place, such as a classic verb and a packaged command, or an app update re-registers it. ContextCleaner shows every surface for the same app.
Can I remove Windows 11 compact menu items without third-party software?
For packaged items, the built-in route is the app’s own settings or uninstalling the app. Windows does not include an editor for the compact menu that we know of.
Is hiding an entry the same as uninstalling the app?
No. The app stays installed and works. Only the right-click entry is hidden, and you can restore it.
Does ContextCleaner need administrator rights?
Not to run, and not for per-user entries. Machine-wide changes need one administrator prompt per apply.
Try ContextCleaner
Get ContextCleaner from the Microsoft Store, or read the ContextCleaner product page. Related guides: customize the Windows 11 compact context menu and remove app entries from the context menu.
Clean up every part of the right-click menu, and undo any change.
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Microsoft, Windows, and File Explorer are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. Other product names are trademarks of their owners. ContextCleaner is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them.
Last updated 17 October 2026. Published by Automata Labs, a software company in Canada.