The Windows Command Prompt (CMD) is one of the most powerful tools built into Windows. While many users rely on the graphical interface, power users and IT professionals know that CMD provides faster, more detailed, and more powerful ways to manage files, disks, networking, and the system itself.
In this article, we’ll explore all important CMD commands, their flags/parameters, and practical examples that you can try yourself.
📂 File and Directory Commands
ASSOC – File Extension Associations
Shows or changes which program opens a file type.
ASSOC → List all associations
ASSOC .txt → Show what opens .txt files
ASSOC .txt=txtfile → Set .txt files to open as txtfile type
ASSOC .html=htmlfile → Associate .html with browser
FTYPE – File Type Associations
Links file types to actual programs.
FTYPE → Show all file type associations
FTYPE txtfile → Show which program opens txtfile
FTYPE txtfile="%SystemRoot%\System32\NOTEPAD.EXE" %1
ATTRIB – File Attributes
Changes file/folder attributes.
- R → Read-only
- H → Hidden
- S → System
- A → Archive
ATTRIB file.txt → Show attributes
ATTRIB +R file.txt → Make read-only
ATTRIB -R file.txt → Remove read-only
ATTRIB +H +S secret.txt → Make hidden & system
ATTRIB -H -S secret.txt → Make visible
CD / CHDIR – Change Directory
CD → Show current directory
CD \ → Go to root
CD .. → One level up
CD C:\Windows\System32 → Go to System32 folder
CHDIR /D D:\Projects → Switch drive and change folder
COPY – Copy Files
COPY file1.txt D:\Backup\ → Copy file
COPY *.txt D:\Backup\ → Copy all .txt
COPY file1.txt+file2.txt combined.txt → Merge files
COPY /Y file.txt D:\ → Overwrite without asking
DEL / ERASE – Delete Files
DEL file.txt → Delete one file
DEL *.tmp → Delete all .tmp
DEL /S *.log → Delete logs in all subdirs
DEL /Q *.bak → Quiet delete
ERASE file.txt → Same as DEL
DIR – List Files
DIR → List files
DIR /B → Bare format
DIR /S → Include subdirs
DIR /O:N → Sort by name
DIR *.txt /S /P → Search txt files, pause output
MD / MKDIR – Create Directory
MD NewFolder
MKDIR D:\Data\Reports
MD "Project Files"
RD / RMDIR – Remove Directory
RD OldFolder → Remove empty folder
RMDIR /S /Q Test → Delete folder & contents quietly
MOVE – Move or Rename Files
MOVE file.txt D:\Backup\
MOVE *.txt D:\Data\
MOVE oldname.txt newname.txt
REN / RENAME – Rename Files
REN file1.txt file2.txt
REN *.txt *.bak
TREE – Show Directory Tree
TREE → Folder structure
TREE /F → Include filenames
TREE D:\ /F /A → ASCII style
TYPE – Show File Contents
TYPE file.txt
TYPE *.txt
XCOPY – Advanced Copy
XCOPY file.txt D:\Backup\
XCOPY C:\Data D:\Backup /E → Copy entire folder
XCOPY C:\Data D:\Backup /S /Y → Copy subdirs, overwrite
XCOPY C:\Data D:\Backup /D → Copy only newer files
ROBOCOPY – Robust Copy
ROBOCOPY C:\Data D:\Backup /E → Copy all including empty
ROBOCOPY C:\Data D:\Backup /MIR → Mirror folders
ROBOCOPY C:\Data D:\Backup *.txt → Copy txt only
ROBOCOPY C:\Data D:\Backup /MT:8 → Multithreaded (8 threads)
💽 Disk & File System Commands
CHKDSK – Check Disk
CHKDSK C: /F → Fix errors
CHKDSK C: /R → Repair bad sectors
CHKDSK D: /X → Force dismount then check
CHKNTFS – Boot-Time Disk Check
CHKNTFS C: → Show status
CHKNTFS /X C: → Exclude drive from boot check
CHKNTFS /D → Restore default
CONVERT – FAT → NTFS
CONVERT D: /FS:NTFS
FORMAT – Format Drive
FORMAT D: /FS:NTFS /Q /V:Data
FORMAT E: /FS:FAT32 /X /V:USB
DISKPART – Partition Manager
DISKPART
LIST DISK
SELECT DISK 0
CREATE PARTITION PRIMARY
FORMAT FS=NTFS QUICK
ASSIGN LETTER=E
EXIT
FSUTIL – File System Utility
FSUTIL FSINFO DRIVES
FSUTIL FSINFO VOLUMEINFO C:
FSUTIL DIRTY QUERY C:
VOL – Volume Info
VOL C:
LABEL – Change Volume Label
LABEL C: MyDrive
⚙️ Batch File & Scripting
CALL – Run Another Batch
CALL backup.bat
CALL :myLabel
FOR – Loop
FOR %i IN (*.txt) DO TYPE %i
FOR /R C:\ %i IN (*.log) DO @ECHO %i
FOR /L %i IN (1,1,5) DO @ECHO %i
IF – Conditional
IF EXIST file.txt ECHO File found
IF NOT EXIST file.txt ECHO Missing
IF "%USERNAME%"=="Admin" ECHO Hello Admin
GOTO – Jump to Label
:Start
ECHO Welcome
GOTO End
:End
SHIFT – Shift Parameters
SHIFT
SET / SETLOCAL / ENDLOCAL
SET VAR=Hello
ECHO %VAR%
SETLOCAL
SET VAR=Inside
ENDLOCAL
PAUSE – Wait for Key
PAUSE
REM – Comment
REM This is a comment
🖥️ System & Boot Commands
BCDEDIT – Boot Config
BCDEDIT /enum
BCDEDIT /set {current} safeboot minimal
BREAK – Ctrl+C Check
BREAK ON
BREAK OFF
CMD – New Interpreter
CMD /K DIR
CMD /C DIR
COLOR – Change Colors
COLOR 0A → Black bg, Green text
COLOR 1F → Blue bg, White text
CLS – Clear Screen
CLS
ECHO – Print
ECHO Hello World
ECHO OFF
EXIT – Exit CMD
EXIT
EXIT /B 1
PROMPT – Change Prompt
PROMPT $P$G
PROMPT MyCMD$G
TITLE – Change Title
TITLE My Custom CMD
SYSTEMINFO – System Info
SYSTEMINFO | MORE
VER – Windows Version
VER
VERIFY – Verify Writes
VERIFY ON
VERIFY OFF
TIME & DATE
TIME
DATE
SHUTDOWN – Power Control
SHUTDOWN /S /F /T 0
SHUTDOWN /R /T 60
SHUTDOWN /L
SHUTDOWN /A
🔎 Search & Compare
COMP – Compare Files
COMP file1.txt file2.txt
FC – File Compare
FC file1.txt file2.txt /C /L
FIND / FINDSTR – Search
FIND "error" log.txt
FINDSTR /I "warning error" *.log
SORT – Sort Input
SORT file.txt > sorted.txt
👥 User, Tasks & Permissions
CACLS / ICACLS – Permissions
ICACLS file.txt /grant User:F
ICACLS file.txt /deny User:W
OPENFILES – Show Open Files
OPENFILES /query /v
TASKLIST – Show Tasks
TASKLIST
TASKLIST /FI "IMAGENAME eq notepad.exe"
TASKKILL – Kill Task
TASKKILL /IM notepad.exe /F
TASKKILL /PID 1234 /T
SC – Manage Services
SC QUERY
SC START Spooler
SC STOP Spooler
SCHTASKS – Scheduler
SCHTASKS /Create /SC DAILY /TN Backup /TR "notepad.exe"
SCHTASKS /Run /TN Backup
DRIVERQUERY – Drivers
DRIVERQUERY /V /FO LIST
GPRESULT – Group Policy
GPRESULT /R
GPRESULT /H report.html
🖨️ Devices & Printing
MODE – Configure Device
MODE COM1: 9600,N,8,1
PRINT – Print File
PRINT file.txt
MORE – Page Output
DIR /S | MORE
SUBST – Map Folder to Drive
SUBST X: C:\Data
SUBST X: /D
GRAFTABL – Extended Characters
GRAFTABL 936
🛠️ WMI & Advanced
WMIC – System Info via WMI
WMIC OS GET Caption,Version
WMIC CPU GET Name,MaxClockSpeed
WMIC MEMORYCHIP GET Capacity,Speed
){kind=link}
0 comments :
Post a Comment
Post your valuable comments.