What Active Directory group am I in?

To determine which Active Directory groups you or another user belong to, you can leverage several built-in Windows tools and commands, ranging from graphical interfaces to command-line utilities. Understanding your group memberships is crucial as they dictate your permissions and access to resources within an Active Directory environment.

How to Find What Active Directory Groups You Are In

Finding your Active Directory group memberships can be done quickly through various methods, depending on your access level and the tools available.

1. Using Active Directory Users and Computers (ADUC)

For administrators or users with appropriate permissions, Active Directory Users and Computers (ADUC) provides a straightforward graphical interface to view user properties, including group memberships.

• Access ADUC: Open Server Manager, navigate to Tools, and select Active Directory Users and Computers.
• Locate the User: In the ADUC console, browse to the domain and organizational unit (OU) that contains the user account you wish to inspect. This is often within the "Users" container or a custom OU.
• View Properties: Right-click on the desired user account and select Properties.
• Check Group Membership: In the Properties window, click on the "Member Of" tab. This tab lists all the Active Directory groups that the selected user account is a direct member of.

This method provides a clear, organized list of all groups the user is explicitly added to.

2. Using the whoami /groups Command (Command Prompt)

If you want to quickly see the groups for the currently logged-in user without needing administrative tools, the whoami command is an excellent choice.

• Open Command Prompt: Press Win + R, type cmd, and press Enter.
• Execute the Command: Type whoami /groups and press Enter.

This command displays all security groups the current user is a member of, including universal, global, and domain local groups, as well as special groups like "Everyone" or "Authenticated Users." It shows both directly assigned groups and groups inherited through nested group memberships. For more details on this command, refer to the Microsoft Learn documentation for whoami.

3. Using PowerShell

For more detailed information, automation, or querying remote users, PowerShell offers robust cmdlets. The Get-ADPrincipalGroupMembership cmdlet is specifically designed for this purpose.

• Open PowerShell: Press Win + R, type powershell, and press Enter.

• For the Current User:
  To find the groups for the currently logged-in user, you can combine Get-ADUser with Get-ADPrincipalGroupMembership:

  (Get-ADUser $env:USERNAME).MemberOf | Get-ADGroup | Select-Object Name

  Alternatively, and more directly for the current user's security context:

  Get-ADPrincipalGroupMembership -Identity $env:USERNAME | Select-Object Name

• For Another User:
  To find the groups for a specific user (e.g., 'johndoe'), replace johndoe with the user's username or distinguished name:

  Get-ADPrincipalGroupMembership -Identity "johndoe" | Select-Object Name

  Note: These PowerShell commands require the Active Directory module for PowerShell to be installed and that your user account has permissions to query Active Directory.

  For more information on this cmdlet, consult the Microsoft Learn documentation for Get-ADPrincipalGroupMembership.

Comparison of Methods

Knowing your Active Directory group memberships is fundamental for troubleshooting access issues, understanding security contexts, and managing permissions effectively within an enterprise network.