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Use this procedure to connect GoGuardian to your Active Directory server and import your OU structure. Completing this setup replaces Google Admin Console or Clever as the OU source for your GoGuardian organization.
GoGuardian supports one active OU provider at a time. Enabling Active Directory OU sync disables Google Admin Console and Clever as OU sources. You cannot run Active Directory sync alongside either of those providers.
Active Directory sync is intended for districts that use Windows and Active Directory exclusively and do not use Google Admin Console. If your district uses Google Admin Console to manage users and devices, continue using Google Admin Console for OU sync. Switching to Active Directory sync removes Google Admin Console as your OU source and cannot be reversed without contacting GoGuardian support.

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Review Before You Start

Before beginning, confirm that:
  • Active Directory OU sync has been enabled for your account by GoGuardian support
  • .NET Framework 4.5 or later is installed on your Domain Controller
  • GoGuardian IP addresses, ports, and domains are permitted through your firewall or proxy

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Configure Active Directory Sync

  1. Go to manage.goguardian.com and select Integrations, then select OU Settings. Step 1 — Open OU Settings in Org Management
  2. Scroll to the Active Directory section and select Link Active Directory. The panel updates to show the application download button, the application token, and the OU list (which populates after the first sync).
  3. Select Download Application and save the file to your Domain Controller. Run the downloaded file and follow the installation wizard to launch the GoGuardian AD Sync application on the server.
  4. In the GoGuardian AD Sync application on the server:
    1. Enter the desired time for the daily automatic sync.
    2. Copy the application token from manage.goguardian.com/integrations/ou-settings and paste it into the token field.
    3. Select Sync Now and wait for the completion confirmation.
  5. After the sync completes, return to manage.goguardian.com/integrations/ou-settings and refresh the page. Select OU List to expand the directory tree. Select the OUs you want to import into GoGuardian.
    Only OUs that contain user accounts are required, but all OUs can be imported. Sub-OUs of a selected parent OU are included automatically.
  6. Select Sync Selected OUs. A confirmation message appears in the upper right corner. Allow a few minutes for the changes to apply. Large OU structures with many user accounts can take up to 10 minutes to fully sync.
  7. Go to admin.goguardian.com/policy/assign/in-school and confirm the imported OUs are available for policy assignment.

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Manage Ongoing Syncs

GoGuardian syncs Active Directory OUs once per night automatically. To trigger a sync immediately, open the GoGuardian AD Sync application on your Domain Controller and select Sync Now. Sync results and timestamps are visible in two places:
  • In the Integrations tab in Org Management: select the dropdown next to the Teachers field to see the most recent sync result
  • In the Org Management Audit Log: filter by Integration source using the cogwheel to see a full history of all previous syncs

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Understand OU Access Behavior

When a synced teacher’s account moves to an OU outside of a Sync Group’s Teacher Directory in Google Admin Console, that teacher loses GoGuardian Teacher access at the next sync. The same applies if a Sync Group’s Teacher Directory is updated to a different OU.

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Resources

Understand Active Directory Sync

Review how Active Directory OU sync works and when to use it instead of Google Admin Console.

Troubleshoot Active Directory Sync

Diagnose and resolve sync failures, token errors, and application issues.
Last modified on July 14, 2026