Fossbytes Com Complete Windows CMD Commands List Index

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The Ultimate A to Z List Of Windows CMD

Commands You Need To Know
BY ADITYA TIWARI ON NOV 16, 2016 IN LIST
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Short Bytes: Command Prompt or CMD is a command line interpreter in the Windows
family of operating systems created by Microsoft Corporation. In this article, we have tried
to curate an A to Z list of Windows CMD Commands. The list includes both internal and
external commands applicable to the command prompt.
n the case of Windows OS, most users are not even

remotely concerned about the Command Prompt or
cmd.exe. People know that there is some inbuilt software
with a black screen which is used to troubleshoot Windows issues

sometimes. For instance, when a user has to repair a corrupt pen
drive. On the other hand, Linux users are very much familiar with the
command line utility and its a part of their daily computer usage.
CMD is a command line interpreter a program designed to
understand the commands input by a user, from a text file, or any
other medium in Windows NT family. It is the modern version of
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other medium in Windows NT family. It is the modern version of

the COMMAND.COM which was the default shell present in the
DOS operating systems and as a command line interpreter in
Windows 9x family.
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Similar to Linux command line, the Command Prompt in Windows NT

Windows X, 7, 8, 8.1, 10 is quite efficient. Using various commands,
you can ask your Windows OS to perform desired tasks which you
normally do by using the GUI.
How to open Windows CMD?

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You can open the Windows Command Prompt by typing cmd in the
Start Menu search bar. Alternatively, you can press CTRL+R to open
the RUN utility, type cmd, and press Enter.
Are the Commands CaseSensitive?

The commands used in the Windows Command Prompt are not casesensitive, unlike the Linux command line. For example, when you
type dir or DIR, its the same thing. But individual commands may
have various options which can be case-sensitive.
A to Z List of Windows CMD

Commands
Here is an A to Z list of Windows CMD commands which will be
beneficial to you. Once you get the hang of these commands, you
can do most of your work more quickly without using the normal
graphical interface.
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To display help for the commands:

command_name /?
Press Enter.
For example, to see help for the ping command:
ping /?
Note: Some of these commands may require relevant service or
Windows version to work correctly.
A Windows CMD commands

A
Description
addusers
Used to add and l ist users in a CSV fil e
admodcmd
Used for bul k modifying contents in an activ e directory
arp
assoc
Address Resol ution Protocol is used to map IP address to the hardware

address
Used to change associations for fil e extensions
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assoc
Used to change associations for fil e extensions
associat
One step fil e association
at
Run a command at a specific time
atmadm
Displ ay connection info of the ATM adapter
attrib
Used to change fil e attributes
B Windows CMD Commands

B
Description
bcdboot
Used to create and repair a system partition
bcdedit
Used to manage boot configuration data
bitsadmin
Used to manage the Background Intel l igent Transfer Serv ice
bootcfg
Used to edit boot configuration in Windows
break
Enabl e/Disabl e break capabil ity (CTRL+C) in CMD
C Windows CMD Commands

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Description
cacl s
Used to change permissions of fil es
cal l
Used one batch program to cal l another
certreq
Used to request a certificate from a certification authority
certutil
Manage Certification Authority fil es and serv ices
cd
Used to change fol der (directory) or go to a specific one
change
Used to change terminal serv ices
chcp
Displ ays the number of activ e consol e code page
chdir
Same as cd command
chkdsk
Used to check and repair issues in the disk
chkntfs
Used to check the NTFS fil e system
choice
Accept user input (v ia keyboard) to a batch fil e
cipher
Used to encrypt/decrypt fil es and fol der
cl eanmgr
Used cl ean temp fil es and recycl e bin automatical l y
cl ip
Copy resul t of any command (stdin) to Windows cl ipboard
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cl ip
Copy resul t of any command (stdin) to Windows cl ipboard
cl s
Cl ear CMD screen
cmd
Used to start a new CMD shel l
cmdkey
Used to manage stored usernames and passwords
cmstp
Used to instal l or remov e a connection manager serv ice profil e
col or
Change the col or of the CMD shel l using options
comp
Compare contents of two fil es or two sets of fil es
compact
Compress fil es and fol ders on an NTFS partition
compress
Compress one or more fil es
conv ert
Conv ert a FAT partition to NTFS
copy
Copy one or more fil es to another l ocation
coreinfo
Show the mapping between l ogical and physical processors
cprofil e
cscmd
Cl eans specified profil es of wasted space and disabl ed user-specific fil e

associations
Configure offl ine fil es on a cl ient computer
de Try out the HTML to PDF

Import
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Export the data of an activ e directory
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csv de
Import or Export the data of an activ e directory
D Windows CMD Commands

D
date
defrag
Used to displ ay the date or

change it.
Used to defragment system hard
driv e.
del
Used to del ete a fil e(s).
del prof
Used to del ete user profil e(s).
del tree
dev con
dir
Description
Used to del ete a fol der and its

sub-fol ders.
Access the command l ine dev ice
manager util ity.
Used to displ ay fil es and fol ders
l ist.
Fil eAPI
Serv er
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dirquota
diruse
diskcomp
diskcopy
diskshadow
diskuse
Manage Fil e Serv er Resource

Manager quotas.
Used to displ ay disk usage.
Compare contents of two fl oppy
disks.
Copy data of one fl oppy disk to

another.
Make changes to partitions

diskpart of storage, both internal and
connected.
Access the Disk Shadow Copy

Serv ice.
V iew used space in fol der(s).
Used to edit command l ine,
doskey
recal l commands, and create

macros.
driv erquery
Displ ay a l ist of instal l ed dev ice

driv ers.
V iew and edit access control
dsacl s
entries for objects in activ e
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dsacl s
entries for objects in activ e

directory.
dsadd
dsget
dsquery
dsmod
dsmov e
dsrm
dsmgmt
Used to add objects to activ e

directory.
V iew objects in activ e directory.
Find objects in an activ e
directory.
Used to modify objects in an
activ e directory.
Rename or mov e an activ e
directory object.
Remov e objects from an activ e
directory.
Manage Activ e Directory
Lightweight Directory Serv ices
E Windows CMD Commands

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echo
Description
Turn command-echoing feature on/off, displ ay a message on
the screen.
endl ocal
End l ocal ization env ironment changes in a batch fil e.
erase
Used to del ete on or more fil e(s).
ev entcreate
Add custom ev ent to Windows ev ent l og (Admin rights required).
ev entquerry
Displ ay l ist of ev ents and their properties from ev ent l ogs.
ev enttriggers
Displ ay and configure ev ent triggers on l ocal and remote machines.
exit
Exit the command l ine (Quit current batch script).
expand
Uncompress one or more .CAB fil e(s)
expl orer
Open Windows Expl orer.
extract
Uncompress one or more Windows cabinet fil e(s)
F Windows CMD Commands

F
Description
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fc
Used to compare two fil es.
find
Used to search a specified text string in a fil e.
findstr
Used to find string patterns in fil es.
finger
Displ ay information about user(s) on a specified remote computer.
fl attemp
Used to enabl e/disabl e fl at temporary fol ders.
For
Run a command in a l oop for a fil e(s) for defined parameter.
forfil es
Used for batch processing of sel ected fil e(s)
format
Used to format a disk.
freedisk
Used to check free space on a disk.
fsutil
Fil e system util ity to manage fil e and driv e properties.
ftp
Use FTP serv ice to transfer fil es from one PC to another.
ftype
Displ ay/ Modify fil e extension type associations.
G Windows CMD Commands

G
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Description
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Description
getmac
Used to displ ay the MAC address of your network adapter.
goto
Used to direct a batch program to a l ine identified by a l abel .
gpresul t
Displ ay Group Pol icy Settings and Resul tant Set of Pol icy for a user.
gpupdate
Update l ocal and activ e directory based on group pol icy settings.
graftabl
Turn on the abil ity to displ ay an extended character in graphics mode.
H Windows CMD Commands

H
Description
hel p
Displ ay a l ist of commands and see onl ine information for them.
hostname
Used to displ ay hostname of the computer.
I Windows CMD Commands
Description
icacl s
Used to change permissions of fil es and fol ders.
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icacl s
Used to change permissions of fil es and fol ders.
iexpress
Used to create a sel f-extracting zip archiv e.
if
Used for conditional processing in batch programs.
ifmember
Displ ay the group(s) an activ e user bel ongs to.
inuse
Repl ace the fil es which the OS is currentl y using (restart required).
ipconfig
Displ ay and change Windows IP configuration.
ipseccmd
Used to configure IP Security pol icies.
ipxroute
Displ ay and modify routing tabl e information used by IPX protocol .
irftp
Used to send fil es ov er an infrared l ink (infrared functional ity required).
L Windows CMD Commands
Description
l abel
Used to change the name of a disk.
l odctr
Update registry v al ues with l atest performance counters.
l ogman
Used to manage performance monitor l ogs.
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l ogoff
Log a user off.
l ogtime
Add the date, time, and a message to a text fil e.
l pq
Displ ays print queue status.
l pr
Used to send a fil e to a computer running the Line Printer Daemon serv ice.
M Windows CMD Commands
Description
macfil e
Manage fil es serv er for Mackintosh.
makecab
Used to create .cab fil es.
mapisend
Used to send email from command l ine.
mbsacl i
Microsoft Basel ine Security Anal yser.
mem
Used to show memory usage.
md
Used to create directories and sub-directories.
mkdir
Used to create directories and sub-directories.
mkl ink
Used to create symbol ic l ink to a directory.
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mkl ink
Used to create symbol ic l ink to a directory.
mmc
Access Microsoft Management Consol e.
mode
Configure COM, LPT, CON system dev ies.
more
Displ ay one screen of output at time.
mountv ol
Create, l ist, or del ete a v ol ume mount point.
mov e
Used to mov e fil es from one fol der to another.
mov euser
Mov e user account to a domain or between machines.
msg
Used to send a pop-up message to a user.
msiexec
Instal l , modify, consfigure using Windows Instal l er.
msinfo32
Displ ay system information.
mstsc
Create a remote desktop connection.
N Windows CMD Commands
Description
nbstat
Displ ay NetBIOS ov er TCP/IP information.
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net
Used to manage network resources and serv ices.
netdom
Network Domain Manager util ity
netsh
Displ ay or modify network configuration
netstat
Displ ay activ e TCP/IP connections.
nl sinfo
Used to displ ay l ocal e information
nl test
List domain control l ers, force remote shutdown, etc.
now
Displ ay date and time.
nsl ookup
Check IP address on a Name Serv er.
ntbackup
Backup data to tape using CMD or batch fil e.
ntcmdprompt
Runs cmd.exe instead of command.exe in an MS-DOS appl ication.
ntdsutil
Manage Activ e Directory Domain Serv ices
ntrights
Used to edit user account priv il eges.
ntsd
Onl y for system dev el opers.
nv spbind
Used to modify network bindings.
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O Windows CMD Commands

O
Description
openfil es
Queries or displ ays open fil es.
P Windows CMD Commands
Description
pagefil econfig
Displ ay and configure V irtual memory settings.
path
Set PATH env ironment v ariabl e for executabl e fil es.
pathping
Latency and Packet l oss info for each node in the network path.
pause
Used to stop processing of a batch fil e.
pbadmin
Starts Phone Book Administrator
pentnt
Detect Fl oating Point Div ision error in the Pentium chip.
perfmon
Access performance monitor in CMD
perms
Displ ay a user\s ACL permissions for a fil e.
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ping
Test network connection to a computer.
popd
Go to the l atest path/fol der stored by PUSHD command
portqry
Displ ay TCP and UDP port status.
powercfg
Used to configure power settings and know battery heal th.
print
Used to print a text fil e(s) from CMD.
printbrm
For backup/recov ery/migration of the print queue.
prncnfg
Used to configure/rename a printing dev ice.
prndrv r
List/add/del ete printer driv ers.
prnjobs
List/pause/resume/cancel print jobs.
prnmngr
List/add/del ete printers, displ ay/set defaul t printer.
prnport
List/create/del ete TCP printer ports, displ ay/change port

configuration.
prnqctl
Cl ear printer queue, print a test page.
procdump
Monitor system for CPU spikes, generate a crash report during a spike.
prompt
Used to change the Prompt in CMD.
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psexec
Run a CMD process on a remote computer.
psfil e
Displ ay remotel y opened fil es, cl ose an open fil e.
psinfo
List system information about a l ocal /remote machine.
pskil l
Kil l a process(es) using its name or process ID.
psl ist
Displ ay process status and info about activ e processes.
psl oggedon
See activ e users on machine.
psl ogl ist
Displ ay ev ent l og records.
pspasswd
Used to change account password.
psping
Used to measure network performance.
psserv ice
Displ ay and control serv ices on a machine.
psshutdown
Shutdown/restart/l ogoff/l ock a l ocal or remote machine.
pssuspend
Used to suspend a process on a l ocal or remote computer.
pushd
Change current fol der and store prev ious fol der for use by POPD.
Q Windows CMD Commands

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query session or qwinstaDisplay user session info on Terminal server

or RD session host.query termserver or qappsrvList all terminal
servers and RD Session host servers on the network.query user or
quserDisplay user session info on a terminal server or RD session
host server.
Q
Description
qgrep
Search fil e(s) for a giv en string pattern.
query process or qprocess
Displ ay information about processes.
R Windows CMD Commands
Description
rasdial
Displ ay Remote Access Serv ice Status.
rasphone
Manage RAS connections.
rcp
Copy fil es to a computer running remote shel l serv ice.
recov er
Recov er readabl e data from a defectiv e disk.
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reg
Displ ay/add/change registry keys and v al ues in Windows registry.
regedit
Import/export/del ete settings from a .reg text fil e.
regsv r32
Used to register/unregister a DLL fil e.
regini
Used to change registry permissions.
rel og
Export performance counters to other formats l ike TSV , CSV , SQL.
rem
Add comments in batch fil e.
ren
Used to rename a fil e(s).
repl ace
Used to repl ace a fil e with another fil e of same name.
reset session
Used to reset a remote desktop session.
rexec
Run commands on remote machines running Rexec serv ice.
rd
Used to del ete a fol der(s).
rmdir
Used to del ete a fol der(s).
rmtshare
Manage fil e and printer shares l ocal or remote serv ers.
robocopy
Used to copy fil es and fol ders that hav e changed.
route Try out the HTML to PDF API

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Displ ay/change the l ocal IP routing tabl e.
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route
Displ ay/change the l ocal IP routing tabl e.
rsh
Run commands on remote serv ers running RSH serv ice.
rsm
Manage media resources using Remov abl e storage.
runas
Run a program as a different user.
rundl l 32
Used to run a DLL program.
S Windows CMD Commands
Description
sc
Use Serv ice Control l er to manage Windows serv ices.
schtasks
Schedul e command(s) to run at a specific time.
secedit
Configure system security.
set
Displ ay/set/remov e env ironment v ariabl es in CMD.
setl ocal
Control v isibil ity of env ironment v ariabl es in a batch fil e.
setspn
Manage Serv ice Principal Names for an Activ e Directory serv ice account.
setx
Set Env ironment V ariabl es permanentl y.
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sfc
System Fil e Checker
share
List/edit a fil e share or print on any computer.
shel l runas
Used to run a command as a different user.
shift
Change the position of the batch parameters in a batch fil e.
shortcut
Create a Windows shortcut.
shutdown
Shutdown the computer.
sl eep
Put computer to sl eep for specified number of seconds.
sl mgr
Software Licensing Management tool for activ ation and KMS.
sort
Used to sort and displ ay a redirected or piped input.
start
Start a program, command, or batch fil e.
strings
Find ANSI and UNICODE strings in binary fil es.
subinacl
Displ ay/modify ACEs for fil e and fol der permissions.
subst
Associate a path with a driv e l etter.
sysmon
Monitor and l og system activ ity to Windows ev ent l og.
systeminfo
Displ ay detail ed configuration information about the computer.
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systeminfo
Displ ay detail ed configuration information about the computer.
T Windows CMD Commands
Description
takeown
Used to take the ownership of a fil e.
taskkil l
Used to terminate on or more running processes.
taskl ist
Displ ay a l ist of running apps and serv ices.
tcmsetup
Enabl e/disabl e TAPI cl ient.
tel net
Communicate with a remote machine using TELNET protocol .
tftp
Transfer fil es to and from a remote machine running TFTP protocol .
time
Displ ay/change system time.
timeout
Del ay a batch fil e execution for specified seconds.
titl e
Change
touch
Change fil e timestamps.
tracerpt
Process ev ent trace l ogs and generate trace anal ysis report.
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tracert
Trace route to a remote host by sending ICMP request messages.
tree
Displ ay a fol der structure in the form of a graphical tree.
tsdiscon
Terminate a remote desktop connection.
tskil l
Terminate a running process on a RD Session Host serv er.
tssutdn
Shutdown/reboot a terminal serv er remotel y.
type
Show contents of a text fil e.
typeperf
Write performance data to a CMD window or a l og fil e.
tzutil
Time Zone Util ity.
U Windows CMD Commands

U
unl odctr
Description
Remov e performance counter names and expl ain text for a serv ice from the
registry.
V Windows CMD Commands

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Descrption
v er
Show v ersion number of instal l ed OS.
v erify
V erify whether fil es are sav ed correctl y on the disk.
v ol
Show disk v ol ume l abel and serial number.
v ssadmin
Show shadow copy backups, instal l ed shadow copy writers and prov iders.
W Windows CMD Commands
Description
w32tm
Access Windows Time Serv ice Util ity
waitfor
Used to synchronise ev ents between networked computer(s).
wev tutil
Retriev e information about ev ent l ogs and publ ishers.
where
Find and displ ay fil e(s) in the current directory.
whoami
Displ ay information about the activ e user.
windiff
Compare contents of two fil es or sets of fil es.
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winrm
Windows Remote Management.
winrs
Windows Remote Shel l .
wmic
Windows Management Instrumentation Command.
wuaucl t
Windows Update Agent to downl oad new update fil es.
X Windows CMD Commands

X
Description
xcal cs
Change ACLs for fil es and fol ders.
xcopy
Copy fil es or directory trees to another fol der.
This was the ultimate A-Z List of Windows CMD Commands which
has been created with the inputs from SS64 and TechNet. A lot of
attention has been paid while preparing it but if you find any
discrepancy, feel free to notify.
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discrepancy, feel free to notify.

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Byron Smith
If I'm not mistaken, the "associat" command should be "assoc" (at least it is on Windows 10).
Like Reply 11 hrs
Norbs Ha Graz, Austria

It's helpful but it would be more valuable if you could tag it with the supported OS ... qgrep for instance doesn't get
recognized on my win7 machine.
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The Ultimate A to Z List Of Windows CMD

BY ADITYA TIWARI ON NOV 16, 2016 IN LIST

open in browser PRO version

Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API

n the case of Windows OS, most users are not even

with a black screen which is used to troubleshoot Windows issues

other medium in Windows NT family. It is the modern version of

Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API

other medium in Windows NT family. It is the modern version of

Similar to Linux command line, the Command Prompt in Windows NT

How to open Windows CMD?

Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API

Are the Commands CaseSensitive?

A to Z List of Windows CMD

Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API

To display help for the commands:

A Windows CMD commands

Used to add and l ist users in a CSV fil e

Used for bul k modifying contents in an activ e directory

Address Resol ution Protocol is used to map IP address to the hardware

Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API

Used to change associations for fil e extensions

One step fil e association

Run a command at a specific time

Displ ay connection info of the ATM adapter

Used to change fil e attributes

B Windows CMD Commands

Used to create and repair a system partition

Used to manage boot configuration data

Used to manage the Background Intel l igent Transfer Serv ice

Used to edit boot configuration in Windows

Enabl e/Disabl e break capabil ity (CTRL+C) in CMD

C Windows CMD Commands

Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API

open in browser PRO version

Used to change permissions of fil es

Used one batch program to cal l another

Used to request a certificate from a certification authority

Manage Certification Authority fil es and serv ices

Used to change fol der (directory) or go to a specific one

Used to change terminal serv ices

Displ ays the number of activ e consol e code page

Used to check and repair issues in the disk

Used to check the NTFS fil e system

Accept user input (v ia keyboard) to a batch fil e

Used to encrypt/decrypt fil es and fol der

Used cl ean temp fil es and recycl e bin automatical l y

Copy resul t of any command (stdin) to Windows cl ipboard

Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API

Copy resul t of any command (stdin) to Windows cl ipboard

Cl ear CMD screen

Used to start a new CMD shel l

Used to manage stored usernames and passwords

Used to instal l or remov e a connection manager serv ice profil e

Change the col or of the CMD shel l using options

Compare contents of two fil es or two sets of fil es

Compress fil es and fol ders on an NTFS partition