domain C:\Windows\SYSVOL\domain

Actual content of a domain controller's SYSVOL share: Group Policy (Policies) and logon scripts, replicated between controllers.

Updated on 12 November 2026 By AltF4 Formation

What it’s for

SYSVOL\domain holds the files that the domain distributes to all clients: Group Policy templates (the Policies folder) and logon scripts (the scripts folder, exposed by the NETLOGON share). The SYSVOL share is published on the neighboring SYSVOL\sysvol folder, which points to this content through a junction named after the domain.

What it contains

Policies: one subfolder per Group Policy object, named after its GUID ({31B2F340-016D-11D2-945F-00C04FB984F9} for the Default Domain Policy), with computer and user settings, scripts and the GPT.INI file.
scripts: logon and logoff scripts supplied by the administrator.
Technical replication folders, such as the hidden DfsrPrivate, maintained by the DFS Replication service.

The content is replicated between all domain controllers. It exists only on a domain controller.

Risks and best practices

A file edited by hand on a single controller is not replicated cleanly, and a deleted GUID folder leaves policies inconsistent between controllers. Edit policies with the Group Policy Management console, not on disk.
Any authenticated user can read SYSVOL, so never store passwords there, even in a script.
Keep the default permissions, which limit changes to the intended groups.
For missing shares or out-of-sync content, follow the Microsoft troubleshooting and rebuild procedures.

Useful commands

# Folder content (read-only)
Get-ChildItem "$env:windir\SYSVOL\domain" -Force

# Published SYSVOL and NETLOGON shares
Get-SmbShare -Name SYSVOL, NETLOGON | Select-Object Name, Path

# FRS to DFSR migration state (older domains)
dfsrmig /getglobalstate

# SYSVOL checks and controller advertising
dcdiag /test:sysvolcheck /test:advertising

Folder contents

Folders 2

Report a mistake