Mandatory UserDataDir policy does not override --user-data-dir flag on macOS (Edge 150)

Brian Schack 0 Reputation points
2026-07-12T00:11:43.83+00:00

Environment: Microsoft Edge 150.0.4078.65 (Official build) (arm64), macOS. Reproduced after a full uninstall/reinstall on current stable.

Setup: No MDM available, so UserDataDir was configured via a manually-installed macOS configuration profile (a com.apple.ManagedClient.preferences payload targeting the com.microsoft.Edge domain, installed through System Settings → General → Device Management — confirmed showing there as an installed profile). This writes correctly to /Library/Managed Preferences/com.microsoft.Edge.plist:

<key>UserDataDir</key>
<string>${users}/${user_name}/Library/Application Support/Microsoft Edge</string>

Confirmed via edge://policy: UserDataDir is listed, Level = Mandatory, with the expected value. So the policy is being read and recognized correctly.

Expected behavior (per the UserDataDir policy docs): "If you enable this policy, Microsoft Edge uses the specified directory regardless of whether the user has set the '--user-data-dir' command-line flag."

Actual behavior:

  • Launching normally (no flag): edge://version → Profile path correctly shows the managed directory.
  • Launching with --user-data-dir="CustomEdgeProfile": edge://version → Profile path shows /Users/<user>/CustomEdgeProfile/Default — the command-line flag wins over the Mandatory policy.

So the policy is loaded and enforced for the default case, but the specific "ignore the command-line flag" guarantee described in the docs isn't holding on macOS.

Question: Is this a known limitation/bug in how Edge for macOS handles the early UserDataDir-vs-flag check, or is there an additional configuration step needed (e.g., something specific to profile-based delivery vs. MDM-pushed policy) to get the documented override behavior? Also filed via edge://feedback with diagnostic data attached.

Microsoft Edge | Microsoft Edge development

1 answer

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  1. Tom Tran (WICLOUD CORPORATION) 5,785 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-07-15T03:21:11.9233333+00:00

    Hi @Brian Schack ,

    Thank you for the detailed information.

    On macOS, the UserDataDir value used during startup is read before the normal policy system is fully initialized. Edge therefore checks the managed preference directly when deciding whether it should override --user-data-dir. This is separate from the policy information later displayed in edge://policy, so seeing the policy listed there as Mandatory does not necessarily confirm that the earlier startup check used it. The relevant startup logic is available in the Chromium macOS policy path parser.

    Disclaimer: This is a non-Microsoft website. While the information appears accurate and safe, be cautious of advertisements that may promote potentially unwanted software. Research any advertised products before downloading or installing them.

    One detail worth noting is that your configured policy value resolves to ~/Library/Application Support/Microsoft Edge, which is already the default user-data directory for Edge Stable on macOS. A normal launch would therefore use that location even if the startup override were not applied.

    I would suggest repeating the test with two clearly different absolute locations:

    1. Set the policy to a non-default path, such as: ${users}/${user_name}/EdgeManaged
    2. Restart macOS after installing the updated configuration profile.
    3. Launch Edge with an absolute command-line path: /Applications/Microsoft Edge.app/Contents/MacOS/Microsoft Edge --user-data-dir="/Users/<username>/CustomEdgeProfile"
    4. Check the Profile path in edge://version.

    If the Profile path is under EdgeManaged, the mandatory policy is overriding the flag. If it remains under CustomEdgeProfile, the documented override is not being honored in that configuration.

    I could not find a published Microsoft statement confirming this as a known macOS limitation or bug. Since you have already submitted the behavior through edge://feedback with diagnostics, no additional configuration step is documented beyond applying the mandatory policy and restarting Edge.

    If you found my response helpful, I would greatly appreciate it if you could follow this guidance. Thank you.

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