Active Directory

How to Export All Groups in Active Directory

Groups are the heart of access management in Active Directory, but outdated permissions and misconfigurations can quietly create security risks. Without regular monitoring of groups, these vulnerabilities can go unnoticed. To make tracking easier, exporting all groups in AD will give you a clear view of memberships and enable quick fixes for misconfigurations. In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to export all Active Directory groups to simplify audits and maintain tighter control over access.

List All Active Directory Groups Using Saved Queries

Active Directory Permission Required

Account Operators Least Privilege

Administrators Most Privilege

Open the Active Directory Users and Computers (ADUC) console, right-click Saved Queries in the left pane, and choose New → Query.
Enter a name and an optional description for the query, select the Include subcontainers checkbox, and click Define Query.
Choose Custom Search from the Find drop-down, switch to the Advanced tab, enter the following LDAP filter query, and click OK.
Windows PowerShell
```
 (objectCategory=group)
```
Click OK again to list all groups in the domain. To download all Active Directory groups, click the saved query and then select the Export List option on the toolbar.

List All Active Directory Groups Using Saved Queries

Get All Groups in Active Directory Using PowerShell

Active Directory Permission Required

Account Operators Least Privilege

Administrators Most Privilege

To list all Active Directory groups and export them to a CSV file, replace <FilePath> with your desired file path and run the cmdlet below.

Windows PowerShell

 Get-ADGroup -Filter * -Properties whenCreated, whenChanged |  
Select Name, DistinguishedName, GroupScope, GroupCategory,  
        @{Name='Created';Expression={$_.whenCreated}},  
        @{Name='Modified';Expression={$_.whenChanged}},  
        ObjectGUID | 
Export-Csv -Path <FilePath> -NoTypeInformation

This cmdlet displays all Active Directory groups and exports their key details, such as name, distinguished name, group scope, category, object GUID, created, and modified timestamps to a CSV file.

Get All Groups in Active Directory Using PowerShell

Simple & Quick
Export All Groups in Active Directory Using AdminDroid

AdminDroid Permission Required Delegated

Any user with the report access delegated by the Super Admin.

Log in to the AdminDroid Active Directory Companion.
Navigate to the All Active Directory Groups report under AD Reports » Groups » Group Report » All Groups.
This report provides detailed insights into all groups in Active Directory, such as group name, description, scope, members, OU name, creation time and more.
Download the groups report easily in CSV, HTML, PDF, XLS, and other formats using the Export option for documentation or offline audits.

Export All Groups in Active Directory Using AdminDroid

AdminDroid Active Directory Reporter

Experience Total Transparency Across All Active Directory Groups!

AdminDroid’s Active Directory reporting tool gives you complete visibility into security and distribution groups along with their scopes. Below are some of the key capabilities that uncover valuable insights into every aspect of Active Directory groups, helping you manage memberships, permissions, and security with greater efficiency.

Identify Empty Groups in Active Directory to Optimize Role Management

Spot empty groups in Active Directory and either add members or delete the group to ensure permissions remain meaningful and keep the directory organized.

Monitor All Group Administrative Activities in AD to Maintain Accountability

Keep track of all admin operations on groups to detect unapproved membership or setting changes, and ensure that only authorized users perform critical group management actions.

Monitor Built-in Security Group Membership Changes to Prevent Privilege Escalation

Review built-in security group membership changes to quickly identify unauthorized modifications, prevent attackers from exploiting them for elevated access, and maintain visibility over critical administrative rights.

Manage Universal Group Membership to Prevent Forest-Wide Entitlement Risks

Verify universal group membership to maintain consistent access control and prevent misconfigurations, since changes to these groups can replicate and impact access permissions throughout the entire forest.

Verify Global Distribution Groups in Active Directory to Prevent Data Leaks

Examine global distribution groups to verify membership aligns with organizational communication policies and ensure no unintended recipients have access to sensitive distribution lists.

Uncover Groups With SID History to Detect Legacy Access Risks

Identify groups with SID history to identify old permissions carried over from migration and prevent unauthorized legacy access while ensuring only valid security identifiers are in use.

Overall, AdminDroid’s Active Directory management tool not only provides powerful group reports but also offers detailed insights into users, computers, organizational units, and permissions. These capabilities help you manage Active Directory efficiently, gain clear operational visibility, and proactively detect anomalies to maintain a well-controlled environment.

Explore a full range of reporting options

Download Live Demo

Important tips

Secure Administrator groups in Active Directory by limiting their membership, tightly restricting logon rights, and auditing all membership changes.

Audit moved group events to ensure they stay in secure OUs, update ACLs, and prevent application or script failures due to changed distinguished names.

Enable group writeback to sync cloud security groups to your Active Directory and ensure consistent access control in hybrid setups.

Common Errors and Resolution Steps

The following are the possible errors and troubleshooting tips when retrieving all groups from Active Directory.

Error New-ADGroup : Directory object not found.

This error occurs when you try to create a new group in an OU or container that does not exist in Active Directory.

Fix The value specified in the -Path parameter must reference a valid organizational unit (OU) or container distinguished name (DN) in Active Directory. To verify that the OU or container exists, run the following cmdlets.

#To list all OUs
Get-ADOrganizationalUnit -Filter * | Select-Object DistinguishedName, Name
 
#To list all containers
Get-ADObject -Filter "ObjectClass -eq 'container'" | Select-Object Name, DistinguishedName

Error New-ADGroup : The specified group already exists.

This error occurs when you try to add a user to a group, but the specified user account doesn’t exist in Active Directory or the user’s identity (such as username, distinguished name, or SAM account name) is entered incorrectly.

Fix Before creating a new group, check if a group with the same name already exists. Run the following cmdlet, replacing <GroupName> with your intended group name, to verify.

Get-ADGroup -Filter "Name -eq '<GroupName>'"

Error Add-ADGroupMember : Cannot find an object with identity: 'JohnDoe' under: 'DC=xyz,DC=com'.

This error occurs when the specified user does not exist in Active Directory or the identity is incorrectly specified.

Fix To resolve this error, verify whether the account exists in Active Directory by running the following cmdlet by replacing <UserName> with the member name.

Get-ADUser -Identity "<UserName>"

Error Object Admins cannot be added to group IT because: A global group cannot have a universal group as a member.

This error occurs when you try to add a universal group inside a global group, which is not allowed due to Active Directory group scope rules.

Fix To resolve this, change the global group’s scope to universal or domain-local, or add users directly instead of nesting the universal group.

Active Directory

Frequently Asked Questions

Enhance Active Directory Group Management to Ensure Efficient Access Control

How to create groups in Active Directory?

What are the differences between scopes in Active Directory groups?

How to manage objects in Active Directory groups?

How to create nested groups in Active Directory?

What are the best practices for Active Directory group management?

1. How to create groups in Active Directory?

Managing user access across multiple departments and roles can quickly become overwhelming, especially as organization grows. Assigning permissions to each user individually increases the risk of inconsistent access and security gaps.

Creating groups in Active Directory simplifies this process by allowing you to organize users based on roles, departments, or responsibilities and assign permissions collectively. This not only strengthens security but also reduces the administrative overhead in access management.

Create a group in AD using ADUC

In the Active Directory Users and Computers (ADUC), right-click the OU (Organizational Unit) where you want to create the group and select New → Group.
Enter a Group Name, select the desired Group Scope and Group Type, then click OK.

Create an Active Directory group using PowerShell

To create a group in the Active Directory, run the cmdlet below.

New-ADGroup -Name "<GroupName>" -SamAccountName "<SamAccountName>" -GroupScope <Scope> -GroupCategory <GroupType> -Path "<Path>"

Note: Replace the placeholders in the cmdlet with appropriate values, such as group name, account name, scopes, type, or path, before executing them.

Set up Active Directory groups effortlessly with AdminDroid’s management actions!

Create AD groups in a single step with AdminDroid’s Active Directory management actions, streamlining your workflow and boosting administrative efficiency.

create-active-directory-group-with-admindroid

2. What are the differences between scopes in Active Directory groups?

Scopes in Active Directory define how groups can be used within and across domains. Understanding the different scopes helps you assign permissions correctly, control access effectively, and manage groups efficiently.

Here are some key differences between types of scopes in Active Directory groups.

3. How to manage objects in Active Directory groups?

In Active Directory, groups serve as containers for users, computers, service accounts, and even other groups, making them essential for efficient access management. By adding multiple users to a group at once, you can simplify permission handling across your organization.

Likewise, removing user from group instantly revokes their access to sensitive resources, minimizing delays and maintaining a secure environment.

Add an object to a group in Active Directory

Open Active Directory Users and Computers (ADUC) and right-click the target group.
Select Properties → Members → Add to include new members in the group.
Enter the object name you want to add, click OK, and confirm the action by clicking Apply and OK in the window.

Remove an object from a group in Active Directory

Open the group's Properties window in ADUC by right-clicking the group, then go to the Members tab.
Select the required object, click Remove, and confirm the action by clicking Yes.
Click Apply, and then OK to save the changes.

remove-object-from-group-in-active-directory

Manage objects in Active Directory group using PowerShell

To add objects to a group, run the cmdlet below, replacing <GroupName> with the group's name and <Members> with a comma-separated list of objects you want to add.

Add-ADGroupMember -Identity "<GroupName>" -Members “<Member1>”, “<Member2>”

To remove group members from an Active Directory group, run the following cmdlet.

Remove-ADGroupMember -Identity "<GroupName>" -Members “<Member1>” “<Member2>” -Confirm:$false

4. How to create nested groups in Active Directory?

Nesting one group inside another helps streamline permission delegation across multiple teams or departments. Instead of assigning permissions to each group individually, you can grant access to the parent group, automatically extending those permissions to all nested groups. This approach reduces redundancy, simplifies administration, and ensures consistent access control throughout the organization.

Create nested groups in Active Directory

In ADUC, right-click the child group you want to nest, and then select Properties.
In the Member Of tab, click Add, enter the parent group name, and click OK to confirm.

Nest Active Directory groups Using PowerShell

Use the following PowerShell cmdlet, replacing <ParentGroupName> with the parent group and <ChildGroupName> with the child group you want to nest.

Add-ADGroupMember -Identity "<ParentGroupName>" -Members "<ChildGroupName>"

After creating nested groups in AD, consistent auditing is essential. Relying solely on standard tools can make it challenging to gain a comprehensive, multi-level view of all group memberships. This limited visibility often leads to users gaining unintended permissions through deeply inherited access, which risks "shadow IT" access paths and results in non-compliance.

Manage complex nesting with AdminDroid's comprehensive hierarchy reports!

With AdminDroid’s nested group membership report, you can set the Member Type filter to Group to view all nested groups, helping you easily identify group-to-group relationships and inherited permissions.
This helps you quickly detect circular nesting, review group hierarchies, and ensure permissions remain transparent and manageable.

track-nested-group-membership-via-admindroid

5. What are the best practices for Active Directory group management?

Effective group management keeps your AD environment secure, organized, and free from misconfigurations or excessive permissions. Here are the key best practices to help you manage Active Directory groups more efficiently and securely.

Follow Principle of Least Privilege (POLP) To adhere to the Principle of Least Privilege (RBAC), assign only the necessary minimum rights to groups instead of individual users, to maintain centralized control.
Use standard naming conventions Implement descriptive names that make the purpose, scope, and permissions of a group easily identifiable. This reduces confusion and improves administration.
Review privileged group membership Prioritize monitoring high-privilege groups and track its changes to prevent security breach.
Implement a recovery and backup plan Maintain regular backups of AD and have a disaster recovery plan to quickly restore group configurations in case of accidental changes, corruption, or cyberattacks.
Conduct periodic group audits Regularly review all groups to validate its purpose, membership, and relevance. This ensures outdated groups are decommissioned, prevents excessive access, and keeps security aligned with organization needs.