How to list all the users on a Windows computer (7 ways)

Sometimes, you may need to extract a list of all the user accounts on a Windows computer. What if you want to see all the hidden user accounts that exist alongside your user account? Can you use graphical tools in Windows to learn all that? Can you list all users with Windows’ CMD? Moreover, which Windows PowerShell CLI command can be used to list the users within local groups on a given computer? These are all answers you might need, so to help you out, here are seven methods you can use to see all the users in Windows: NOTE: This guide covers Windows 11 and Windows 10. Most instructions are the same in both operating systems, so I’m mainly using screenshots from Windows 11. When things differ, you’ll find separate sections for Windows 11 and Windows 10.

1. How to list all users in Windows’ CMD (or PowerShell)

This method works both in the Command Prompt and PowerShell. Open the command-line app that you prefer, and run this command: After you press Enter on your keyboard, the net user command lists the users that have accounts configured on a Windows PC, including hidden ones or disabled user accounts. The user accounts are listed by their internal names that Windows uses behind the scenes, not by their full display name, seen when you sign in to Windows. Run net user to make Windows CMD show users You can also ask the net user command to store the list of users in a text file that opens in Notepad or any other text editor. To do that, specify the file name after the command, like this: Then, a file with the name you provided is created under “C:\Users\Your User Name.” Save the net list of users to a file using net user If you want to export the CMD list of users to a text file that’s saved in a location you choose, run the net user command like this: Export the CMD list of users to a file at a specified location A neat trick is using this command to find information about a specific user account. You can do it using the command like this: Once you press Enter, Windows displays helpful information about that user account, like the date its password was last set, when it expires (if it’s set to expire), and the groups it’s a part of. Getting details about a user account in CMD, using the net user command If you want to know more about this command and all its parameters, access this documentation page: Net user command.

2. How to use PowerShell to get all users on a computer

PowerShell offers an alternative way of finding all the users on your computer. If this is your favorite CLI (command-line interface), you might prefer using the next commands:

2.1. Which Windows PowerShell CLI command can be used to list the users on a given computer?

While you can also use the net user command in PowerShell, the best command to view all users in Windows 11 and Windows 10 in this CLI is: Using PowerShell to get all users on a computer Another alternative is to use this command: An alternative way to list all users in PowerShell However, if you have many user accounts configured on your computer, this command is slower than the get-localuser one.

2.2. Which Windows PowerShell CLI command can be used to list the users within local groups on a given computer?

In addition to the get-localuser command, PowerShell also offers another command that I think you might find useful: Get-LocalGroupMember. This command allows you to list all the users from a local group on your PC. For instance, if you’d like to see what other users are administrators on your Windows computer, you can run the command like this: List local group members in PowerShell Replace the Administrators group in my example with any other group to list its users. And by the way, if you need to see the local user groups configured on your PC, you can run this command: Command to see local groups Now that we’ve seen the PowerShell CLI commands for listing users let’s move on to the easier methods. And by easier, I mean graphical. 🙂

3. How to see the list of all user accounts in Computer Management

A click-or-tap method that displays all user accounts, including hidden users or disabled ones, involves using Computer Management. Open Computer Management, and go to Local Users and Groups > Users. On the right side, you get to see all the user accounts, their names as used by Windows behind the scenes, their full names (or their display names), and, in some cases, a description as well. Windows list of users displayed in Computer Management Double-click or double-tap on a user account to learn more about its properties and settings, including the user groups that it is part of.

4. How to see the list of active user accounts in Windows 11’s Settings

If all you want is to find out who are the active users of your Windows 11 PC, you don’t actually need to use the command-line or advanced snap-ins like Computer Management. You can simply see them in the Settings app. Press Win + I on the keyboard to launch it, select Accounts on the left sidebar and click or tap Other users on the right side of the app. Head to Other users in Settings' Accounts section Then, you can see the list of users with access to your Windows 11 computer beside you. See the list of active users in Windows 11 The drawback of this method is that it doesn’t tell you anything about hidden or disabled user accounts.

5. How to see the list of active user accounts in Windows 10’s Settings

Windows 10 also lets you find the active user accounts on your computer without having to run commands or use the advanced Computer Management application. You can simply use Settings for that. Open the Settings app (a quick way is to click on its Start Menu button), and head to Accounts. Go to Accounts in Windows 10's Settings Select Family & other users on the left sidebar and check the list of active users on your PC on the right. You’ll find all of them listed under Other users. See the list of active users in Windows 10 The disadvantage of using this method is that it doesn’t show you hidden or disabled user accounts.

6. How to see the list of active user accounts using the Control Panel

An old-fashioned method that you can use to get the list of active user accounts involves opening the Control Panel. After launching it, go to User Accounts. The User Accounts entry from the Control Panel Then, click or tap on User Accounts. Opening the User Accounts settings You now see your user account, information about it, and several links. Click or tap the “Manage another account” link. Manage another account Now you see the active, not-hidden user accounts in Windows, whether they are local accounts, administrators, etc. Control Panel shows the list of users on a Windows computer With this method, you cannot see hidden or disabled user accounts either.

7. How to see the list of active user accounts on the Windows sign-in screen

The obvious and most straightforward method is to look at the sign-in screen before logging into Windows. On this screen, you should see all the active (not hidden) user accounts that exist in Windows. Both in Windows 11 and Windows 10, this list is shown in the bottom-left corner of the sign-in screen. Windows list of users shown on the sign-in screen The downside of this method is that you cannot see hidden or disabled user accounts.

Did you find many hidden user accounts on your Windows PC?

We highly recommend trying the first three methods for identifying all the user accounts that exist on your Windows computer or device. You may be surprised to see that some of your apps created hidden user accounts that you had no idea existed. Before closing this tutorial, share in a comment whether you found hidden user accounts on your PC and how many of them were there. We are curious to know, so tell us your story.