System-Wide Policies for Enterprise Deployments

NETworkManager now supports system-wide policies, giving administrators centralized control over application settings across all users on a machine. This feature is available since the pre-release version 2026.02.19.0 and can now be tested.

What Are System-Wide Policies?

System-wide policies allow administrators to enforce specific settings for all users on a machine. These policies override user-specific settings and provide centralized control over application behavior in enterprise environments.

When a policy is active, the corresponding setting is locked in the UI and displays a shield icon along with a message indicating that the setting is managed by an administrator. Users can see the enforced value but cannot change it.

How to Configure Policies

Policies are defined in a config.json file placed in the application installation directory (the same folder as NETworkManager.exe). When this file exists, the application loads the policies at startup and applies them with precedence over user settings. An example file (config.json.example) is included in the application installation directory for reference.

File location:

• Installed version: C:\Program Files\NETworkManager\config.json (or your custom installation path)
• Portable version: Same directory as NETworkManager.exe

File format:

{
  "Policy_Name": true
}

Property names follow the pattern Section_SettingName. You can find the available policy names and values in the corresponding setting's documentation.

Example Policy

For example, the Update_CheckForUpdatesAtStartup policy controls whether the application checks for new program versions on GitHub when the application is launched. The Profiles_FolderLocation and Settings_FolderLocation policies allow administrators to redirect profile and settings storage to a centralized location, such as a network share or a custom local path.

Values:

• Update_CheckForUpdatesAtStartup:
  • true — Force enable automatic update checks at startup for all users
  • false — Force disable automatic update checks at startup for all users
  • Omit the property — Allow users to control this setting themselves
• Profiles_FolderLocation / Settings_FolderLocation:
  • Absolute path (e.g., C:\\Path\\To\\Profiles)
  • Path with environment variables (e.g., %UserProfile%\\NETworkManager\\Settings)
  • UNC path (e.g., \\\\Server\\Shared\\NETworkManager\\Profiles)
  • Omit the property — Allow the default location logic to apply

Example config.json:

{
  "Update_CheckForUpdatesAtStartup": false,
  "Profiles_FolderLocation": "\\\\Server\\Shared\\NETworkManager\\Profiles",
  "Settings_FolderLocation": "%UserProfile%\\NETworkManager\\Settings"
}

:::note

• The file must be named exactly config.json
• The file must contain valid JSON syntax
• Changes to the file require restarting the application to take effect
• If the file doesn't exist or contains invalid JSON, it will be ignored and user settings will apply

:::

Deploying Policies

1. Create the configuration file — Use the config.json.example as a template, rename it to config.json, and set your desired policy values.

2. Deploy to installation directory — Place the config.json file in the same directory as NETworkManager.exe. For MSI installations, this is typically C:\Program Files\NETworkManager\.

3. Deploy methods:

   • Group Policy — copy the file to the installation directory (use Group Policy preferences or a startup script)
   • Configuration management tools — SCCM/ConfigMgr, Microsoft Intune, Ansible, etc.
   • Scripts and deployment toolkits — PowerShell scripts, PSAppDeployToolkit
   • Manual deployment — hand-copy for small-scale rollouts

4. Verification:

   • Launch the application
   • Navigate to Settings > Update (e.g., "Check for updates at startup")
   • Verify the shield icon and the administrator message appear and that the control is disabled

:::warning

Ensure the config.json file has appropriate permissions so that regular users cannot modify it. On standard installations in Program Files, this is automatically enforced by Windows file permissions.

:::

Request More Policies

Additional policy options will be added in future releases to provide more granular control over application behavior. If you have specific requirements for system-wide policies in your organization, please submit a feature request via the GitHub issue tracker to help us prioritize.

More information is available in the official documentation.

If you find any issues or have suggestions for improvement, please open an issue on GitHub.