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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
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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
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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
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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
or
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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

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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

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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
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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Description

nbstat

Displ ay NetBIOS ov er TCP/IP information.

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open in browser PRO version

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

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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

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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

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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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open in browser PRO version

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.

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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

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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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open in browser PRO version

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

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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

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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.

Did you find this helpful? Tell us in the comments below.

Also Read: 32-Bit Vs 64-Bit Windows OS: What Is The Difference?

How To Choose?

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likes house music. Feel free to connect, aditya.tiwari@fossbytes.com

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2 Comments

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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.
Like Reply 3 hrs
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