How to enable Developer Mode in Windows 11/10

Windows OS has introduced a new way for development. You now no longer require a Developer License to develop, install or test your apps. You can just enable your Windows device once for these tasks and you are all set to go. In this post, we will see how to enable Developer Mode in Windows 11 and Windows 10.

Enable Developer Mode in Windows 11

The Developer Mode in Windows 11 is not new. It existed in Windows 10 too. However, it now resides under Privacy & Security settings, unlike Update and Security settings, seen in Windows 10.

Open Windows 11 Settings.
Scroll down to Privacy & security.
Switch to the Security Section.
Expand For Developers menu.
Locate Developer Mode heading.
Toggle the switch to On position.

So, in order to deploy and debug your widget application, you will need to enable Windows developer mode. Do it, if you haven’t already.

If you have Windows 11 installed and running on your system, open Settings.

Scroll down to the Privacy & Security setting under the Left navigation pane.

Switch to the Security section on the right.

Expand For Developers menu by clicking the side arrow.

Locate the Developer Mode entry.

When found, set ‘Install apps from any source, including loose files’ option to On.

When prompted with the warning message, read it.

If you don’t mind bearing the risks, Turn On Developer Mode by hitting the Yes button.

That’s how easy it is to enable the Developer Mode in Windows 11.

Enable Developer Mode in Windows 10

Open the Settings app > Update & Security. Click on For developers on the left side. Now select Developer mode

You will be asked for confirmation – Turn on developer mode? Click Yes, and the developer mode will be enabled.

NOTE: You can also use the Group Policy and the Registry Editor to achieve the same in Windows 11 and Windows 10.

Using GPEDIT

Open Group Policy Editor and navigate to the following setting:

Local Computer Policy > Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > App Package Deployment

You will need to edit and Enable the following two policies:

Allow all trusted apps to install
Allows the development of Windows Store apps and installing them from an integrated development environment (IDE).

Using REGEDIT

Open Registry Editor and navigate to the following keys:

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppModelUnlock\AllowAllTrustedApps

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppModelUnlock\AllowDevelopmentWithoutDevLicense

Now set the value of both the DWORDs to 1.

If you wish to verify whether the developer mode has been enabled, run PowerShell in admin mode, type the following and hit Enter:

show-windowsdeveloperlicenseregistration

You will see the confirmation in the last line – This device is already in developer mode. You will now be able to also sideload applications.

Enjoy developing for Windows 11/10!

What is Microsoft Developer Mode?

Developer Mode is a secret set of options that allow developers to deploy apps from Visual Studio and debug them on the device. Apart from this, it also provides some additional user experience optimizations within certain common Windows features. You do not need a developer license to enable this mode.