Windows Command Prompt is an often ignored aspect of the modern Windows OSes. The command prompt, also known as cmd.exe or cmd is a command line interpreter available since the NT line of Windows OSes. While the majority reasons for which the command prompt was used for can now be done through a graphical interface, this application has remained with Windows and is still used by many. Although many of us might not have used them, the fact that they still exist in modern day Windows is reason enough for us to be familiar with it.
While the commands in Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP are called CMD commands or Command Prompt commands, the commands in Windows 98/95 and MS-DOS are called DOS commands. In this article, we have listed the most commonly used commands in the Windows operating systems
But before we move further, we will see how to open Command Prompt program in Windows. This can be done in four ways:
Method 1: Open the program in Start Menu
Click the lower-left Start button to open the Start Menu, type cmd in the empty box and tap Command Prompt in the results.
Method 2: Turn on Command Prompt by search.
Tap the Search button on the taskbar, type cmd in the search box and choose Command Prompt on the top.
Method 3: Open Command Prompt from Quick Access Menu.
Press Windows+X, or right-click the bottom-left corner to open the menu, and then select Command Prompt on it.
Method 4: Open the app through Run.
Open the Run dialog using Windows+R hotkeys, enter cmd and tap OK.
Since now we know how to open the Command prompt screen, let’s have a look at the commands along with their description:
Command
| Description |
| append | Allows programs to open data files in specified directories as if they were located in the current directory. |
| assoc | Displays or changes the file type associated with a particular file extension. |
| at | Schedules commands and other programs to run at a specific date and time. |
| atmadm | Displays connection information of the ATM adapter. |
| attrib | Changes the attributes of a single file or a directory. |
| Auditpol | Displays information about or performs functions to manipulate audit policies. |
| bcdboot | Configures the boot files on a PC or device to run the Windows operating system and to create a new system BCD store. |
| bcdedit | Used to view or make changes to Boot Configuration Data. |
| bdehdcfg | Used to prepare a hard drive for BitLocker Drive Encryption. |
| bitsadmin | Used to create, download or upload jobs and monitor their progress. |
| bootcfg | Used to build, modify, or view the contents of the boot.ini file. |
| bootsect | Updates the master boot code for hard disk partitions to switch between BOOTMGR and NTLDR. |
| break | Sets or clears extended CTRL+C checking on DOS systems. |
| cacls | Displays or changes access of the security descriptors on folders and files. |
| call | Used to run a script or batch program from within another script or batch program. |
| cd | Also known as chdir, is used to change the current working drive and/or directory in operating systems. |
| certreq | Used to perform various certification authority (CA) certificate requests, such as submit a request, retrieve a response, create a new request, accept, sign, policy, sign and enrol. |
| certutil | Used to dump and display certification authority (CA) configuration information, configure Certificate Services, backup and restore CA components, and verify certificates, key pairs, and certificate chains. |
| change | Changes various terminal server settings like install modes, COM port mappings, and logons. |
| chcp | Displays or configures the active code page number. |
| chdir | Used to display the drive letter and folder that you are currently in. |
| checknetisolation | Used to test apps that require network capabilities. |
| chglogon | Enables or disables logons from client sessions on an RD Session Host (Remote Desktop Session Host) server, or displays current logon status. |
| chgport | Can be used to display or change COM port mappings to be compatible with MS-DOS applications. |
| chgusr | Used to change the install mode for the RD Session Host server. |
| chkdsk | Verifies the file system integrity of a volume and fixes logical file system errors. |
| chkntfs | Used to display or modify the checking of the disk drive using NTFS at boot time. |
| choice | Allows batch files to prompt the user to select one item from a set of single-character choices and return the value of that choice to the program. |
| cipher | Used to encrypt or decrypt files and folders on NTFS drives. |
| clip | Copies the result of any command (stdin) to the clipboard in Windows. |
| cls | Used to clear the screen or console window of all previously entered commands and any output generated by them. |
| cmd | Starts a new instance of the cmd.exe command interpreter. |
| cmdkey | Used to create, list and delete stored user names or credentials. |
| cmstp | Used to install or uninstall a Connection Manager service profile. |
| color | Changes the colors of the text and background within the Command Prompt window. |
| command | Starts a new instance of the command.com command interpreter. |
| comp | Performs a binary comparison of two set of files or multiple files and shows the differences between them. |
| compact | Displays and changes the compression state of files or directories on NTFS partitions. |
| convert | Used to convert volumes using the FAT or FAT32 formatted file systems to NTFS. |
| copy | Copies one or more files from one directory to another. |
| cscript | Provides command-line options for setting and executing script properties via Microsoft Script Host. |
| ctty | Used to change the default input and output devices for the system. |
| date | Used to show or change the current date. |
| driveSpace | Initially known as DoubleSpace can be used to create or configure DoubleSpace compressed drives. |
| debug | Starts Debug, a command line application used to test and edit programs. |
| defrag | Used to defragment a drive you specify. |
| del | Used to delete one or more files. |
| deltree | Used to delete a directory and all the files and subdirectories within it. |
| dir | Displays a list of files and folders contained inside the folder that you are currently working in. |
| diskcomp | Used to compare contents of two floppy disks. |
| diskcopy | Copies the entire contents of one floppy disk to another. |
| diskpart | Prevents creating multi-partition layout for removable media such as flash drives and also used for partitioning internal hard drives.. |
| diskperf | Used to remotely enable or disable physical or logical disk performance counters on computers running Windows 2000. |
| diskraid | Starts the DiskRAID command-line tool that allows to configure and manage redundant array of independent (or inexpensive) disks (RAID) storage subsystems. |
| dism | Starts the Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) tool. |
| dispdiag | Used to output a log of information about the display system. |
| djoin | Used to create a new computer account in a domain. |
| doskey | Used to edit command lines, create macros, and recall previously entered commands. |
| dosshell | Starts DOS Shell, a graphical file management tool for MS-DOS. |
| dosx | Used to start DOS Protected Mode Interface (DPMI), a special mode designed to give MS-DOS applications access to more than the normally allowed 640 KB. |
| driverquery | Displays a list of all installed device drivers and their properties. |
| drvspace | Used to create or configure DriveSpace compressed drives. |
| echo | Used in shell scripts and batch files to output status text to the screen or a file and also to turn the echoing feature on or off. |
| edit | Starts the MS-DOS Editor tool that is used to create and modify text files. |
| edlin | Starts the Edlin tool that is used to create and modify text files from the command line. |
| emm386 | Used to give MS-DOS access to more than 640 KB of memory. |
| endlocal | Ends localization of environment changes inside a batch or script file, restoring environment variables to their values before the matching setlocal command. |
| erase | Used to delete one or more files. |
| esentutl | Provides database utilities for the Extensible Storage Engine (ESE) for Windows Vista. |
| eventcreate | Creates a custom event in an event log. |
| eventtriggers | Displays and configures event triggers on local or remote machines. |
| exe2bin | Converts a file of the EXE file type (executable file) to a binary file. |
| exit | Used to end the cmd.exe (Windows) or command.com (MS-DOS) session that you’re currently working in. |
| expand | Used to extract the files and folders contained in Microsoft Cabinet (CAB) files. |
| extrac32 | This command is actually a CAB extraction program for use by Internet Explorer but can be used to extract any Microsoft Cabinet file. |
| extract | Used to extract the files and folders contained in Microsoft Cabinet (CAB) files. |
| fasthelp | This command provides more detailed information on any of the other MS-DOS commands. |
| fastopen | Used to add a program’s hard drive location to a special list stored in memory. |
| fc | Used to compare two individual or sets of files and then show the differences between them. |
| fdisk | Used to create, manage, and delete hard drive partitions. |
| find | Used to search for a specified text string in one or more files. |
| findstr | Used to find specific text string patterns in one or more files. |
| finger | Used to find information about computer users. |
| fltmc | Used to load, unload, list, and otherwise manage Filter drivers. |
| fondue | The fondue (Features on Demand User Experience) tool is used to install any of the several optional Windows features from the command line. |
| for | Used to run a specified command for each file in a set of files. |
| forcedos | Used to start the specified program in the MS-DOS subsystem. |
| forfiles | Selects one or more files and runs a command on them. |
| format | Used to format a drive in the file system that you specify. |
| fsutil | Performs tasks that are related to file allocation table (FAT) and NTFS file system, such as managing reparse points and sparse files, dismounting a volume, and extending a volume. |
| ftp | Transfers files to and from another computer. |
| ftype | Defines a default program to open a specified file type. |
| getmac | Used to display the Media Access Control (MAC) address of all the network adapters in the computer. |
| goto | Used in a batch or script file to direct the command process to a labelled line in the script. |
| gpresult | Used to display group policy settings and resultant set of policy for a user. |
| gpupdate | Refreshes local and Active Directory-based Group Policy settings, including security settings. |
| graftabl | Used to enable the ability of Windows to display an extended character set in graphics mode. |
| graphics | Used to load a program that can print graphics. |
| help | Provides help information for Windows commands. |
| hostname | Displays the host name portion of the full computer name of the computer. |
| hwrcomp | Used to compile custom dictionaries for handwriting recognition. |
| hwrreg | Used to install a previously compiled custom dictionary for handwriting recognition. |
| icacls | Display, modify, backup, or restore ACLs for files and directories. |
| if | Performs conditional functions in batch programs. |
| interlnk | Connects two computers via a serial or parallel connection to share files and printers. |
| intersvr | Starts interlnk server and to copy interlnk files from one computer to another. |
| ipconfig | Displays all current TCP/IP network configuration values and can modify Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and Domain Name System (DNS) settings. |
| ipxroute | Used to display and change information about IPX routing tables. |
| irftp | Used to transmit files over an infrared link. |
| iscsicli | Starts the Microsoft iSCSI Initiator, used to manage iSCSI. |
| kb16 | Used to support MS-DOS files that need to configure a keyboard for a specific language. |
| keyb | Used to configure a keyboard for a specific language. |
| klist | Used to list service tickets of Kerberos. |
| ksetup | Used to configure connections to a Kerberos server. |
| ktmutil | Starts the Kernel Transaction Manager utility. |
| label | Used to manage the volume label of a disk. |
| lh | Shorthand version of the loadhigh command. |
| licensingdiag | Used to generate a text-based log and other data files that contain product activation and other Windows licensing information. |
| loadfix | Used to load the specified program in the first 64K of memory and then runs the program. |
| loadhigh | Used to load a program into high memory and is usually used from within the autoexec.bat file. |
| lock | Used to lock a drive, enabling direct disk access for a program. |
| lodctr | This is used to update registry values related to performance counters. |
| logman | Used to create and manage Event Trace Session and Performance logs. |
| logoff | Used to terminate a session. |
| lpq | Displays the status of a print queue on a computer running Line Printer Daemon (LPD). |
| lpr | Used to send a file to a computer running Line Printer Daemon (LPD). |
| makecab | Used to create .cab files. |
| Manage-bde | Used to configure BitLocker Drive Encryption from the command line. |
| Md | Shorthand version of the mkdir command. |
| Mem | Shows information about used and free memory areas and programs that are currently loaded into memory in the MS-DOS subsystem. |
| Memmaker | Used to start MemMaker, a memory optimization tool. |
| Mkdir | Used to create a new folder. |
| Mklink | Creates a symbolic link. |
| Mode | Used to configure system devices, most often COM and LPT ports. |
| Mofcomp | This command properly displays the data within a Managed Object Format (MOF) file. |
| More | Used to display the information contained in a text file. |
| Mount | Used to mount Network File System (NFS) network shares. |
| Mountvol | Used to display, create, or remove volume mount points. |
| Move | Used to move one or files from one folder to another. |
| Mrinfo | Used to provide information about a router’s interfaces and neighbors. |
| Msav | This command starts Microsoft Antivirus. |
| Msbackup | This command starts Microsoft Backup, a tool used to back up and restore one or more files. |
| Mscdex | Used to provide CD-ROM access to MS-DOS. |
| Msd | Starts Microsoft Diagnostics. |
| Msg | Used to send a message to a user. |
| Msiexec | Used to start Windows Installer, a tool used to install and configure software. |
| Muiunattend | This command starts the Multilanguage User Interface unattended setup process. |
| Nbtstat | This command is used to show TCP/IP information and other statistical information about a remote computer. |
| Net | Used to display, configure, and correct a wide variety of network settings. |
| Net1 | Used to display, configure, and correct a wide variety of network settings. |
| Netcfg | Used to install the Windows Preinstallation Environment (WinPE), |
| Netsh | Used to start Network Shell, a command-line utility used to manage the network configuration of the local, or a remote, computer. |
| Netstat | This command is most commonly used to display all open network connections and listening ports. |
| Nfsadmin | This command is used to manage Server for NFS or Client for NFS from the command line. |
| Nlsfunc | Used to load information specific to a particular country or region. |
| Nltest | Used to test secure channels between Windows computers in a domain and between domain controllers that are trusting other domains. |
| Nslookup | The command is most commonly used to display the hostname of an entered IP address. |
| Ntbackup | Used to perform various backup functions from the Command. |
| Ntsd | Used to perform certain command line debugging tasks. |
| Ocsetup | This command starts the Windows Optional Component Setup tool, used to install additional Windows features. |
| Openfiles | Used to display and disconnect open files and folders on a system. |
| Path | Used to display or set a specific path available to executable files. |
| Pathping | Functions much like the tracert command, will also report information about network latency and loss at each hop. |
| Pause | Used within a batch or script file to pause the processing of the file. |
| Pentnt | Used to detect floating point division errors in the Intel Pentium chip. |
| Ping | The command sends an Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) Echo Request message to a specified remote computer to verify IP-level connectivity. |
| Pkgmgr | Used to start the Windows Package Manager from the Command Prompt. |
| Pnpunattend | Used to automate the installation of hardware device drivers. |
| Pnputil | Used to start the Microsoft PnP Utility, a tool used to install a Plug and Play device from the command line. |
| Popd | This command is used to change the current directory to the one most recently stored by the pushd command. |
| Power | Used to reduce the power consumed by a computer by monitoring software and hardware devices. |
| Powercfg | Used to manage the Windows power management settings from the command line. |
| Used to print a specified text file to a specified printing device. | |
| Prompt | Used to customize the appearance of the prompt text in Command Prompt or MS-DOS. |
| Pushd | Used to store a directory for use, most commonly from within a batch or script program. |
| Pwlauncher | Used to enable, disable, or show the status of your Windows To Go start-up options. |
| Qappsrv | Used to display all Remote Desktop Session Host servers available on the network. |
| Qbasic | This command starts QBasic, the MS-DOS based programming environment for the BASIC programming language. |
| Qprocess | Used to display information about running processes. |
| Query | Used to display the status of a specified service. |
| Quser | Used to display information about users currently logged on to the system. |
| Qwinsta | Used to display information about open Remote Desktop Sessions. |
| Rasautou | Used to manage Remote Access Dialer AutoDial addresses. |
| Rasdial | Used to start or end a network connection for a Microsoft client. |
| Rcp | Used to copy files between a Windows computer and a system running the rshd daemon. |
| Rd | Shorthand version of the rmdir command. |
| Rdpsign | Used to sign a Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) file. |
| Reagentc | Used to configure the Windows Recovery Environment (RE). |
| Recimg | Used to create a custom refresh image. |
| Recover | Used to recover readable data from a bad or defective disk. |
| Reg | Used to manage the Windows Registryfrom the command line. |
| Regini | Used to set or change registry permissions and registry values from the command line. |
| Register-cimprovider | Used to register a Common Information Model (CIM) Provider in Windows. |
| Regsvr32 | Used to register a DLL file as a command component in the Windows Registry. |
| Relog | Used to create new performance logs from data in existing performance logs. |
| Rem | Used to record comments or remarks in a batch or script file. |
| Ren | The shorthand version of the rename command. |
| Rename | Used to change the name of the individual file that you specify. |
| Repair-bde | Used to repair or decrypt a damaged drive that’s been encrypted using BitLocker. |
| Replace | Used to replace one or more files with one or more other files. |
| Reset | This command, executed as reset session, is used to reset the session subsystem software and hardware to known initial values. |
| Restore | Used to restore files that were backed up using the backup command. |
| Rexec | Used to run commands on remote computers running the rexec daemon. |
| Rmdir | Used to delete an existing or completely empty folder. |
| Robocopy | Used to copy files and directories from one location to another. |
| Route | Used to manipulate network routing tables. |
| Rpcinfo | This command makes a remote procedure call (RPC) to an RPC server and reports what it finds. |
| Rpcping | Used to ping a server using RPC. |
| Rsh | Used to run commands on remote computers running the rsh daemon. |
| Rsm | Used to manage media resources using Removable Storage. |
| Runas | Used to execute a program using another user’s credentials. |
| Rwinsta | Shorthand version of the reset session command. |
| Sc | Used to configure information about services. |
| Scandisk | Used to start Microsoft ScanDisk, a disk repair program. |
| Scanreg | This command starts Windows Registry Checker, a basic registry repair program and backup utility. |
| Schtasks | Used to schedule specified programs or commands to run a certain times. |
| Sdbinst | Used to deploy customized SDB database files. |
| Secedit | Used to configure and analyze system security by comparing the current security configuration to a template. |
| Set | Used to display, enable, or disable environment variables in MS-DOS or from the Command Prompt. |
| Setlocal | Used to start the localization of environment changes inside a batch or script file. |
| Setspn | Used to manage the Service Principal Names (SPN) for an Active Directory (AD) service account. |
| Setver | Used to set the MS-DOS version number that MS-DOS reports to a program. |
| Setx | Used to create or change environment variables in the user environment or the system environment. |
| Sfc | Used to verify and replace important Windows system files. |
| Shadow | Used to monitor another Remote Desktop Services session. |
| Share | Used to install file locking and file sharing functions in MS-DOS. |
| Shift | Used to change the position of replaceable parameters in a batch or script file. |
| Showmount | Used to display information about NFS mounted file systems. |
| Shutdown | Used to shut down, restart, or log off the current system or a remote computer. |
| Smartdrv | This command installs and configures SMARTDrive, a disk caching utility for MS-DOS. |
| Sort | Used to read data from a specified input, sort that data, and return the results of that sort to the Command Prompt screen, a file, or another output device. |
| Start | Used to open a new command line window to run a specified program or command. |
| Subst | Used to associate a local path with a drive letter. |
| Sxstrace | Used to start the WinSxs Tracing Utility, a programming diagnostic tool. |
| Sys | Used to copy the MS-DOS system files and command interpreter to a disk. |
| Systeminfo | Used to display basic Windows configuration information for the local or a remote computer. |
| Takeown | Used to regain access to a file that that an administrator was denied access to when reassigning ownership of the file. |
| Taskkill | Used to terminate a running task. |
| Tasklist | Displays a list of applications, services, and the Process ID (PID) currently running on either a local or a remote computer. |
| Tcmsetup | Used to setup or disable the Telephony Application Programming Interface (TAPI) client. |
| Telnet | Used to communicate with remote computers that use the Telnet protocol. |
| Tftp | Used to transfer files to and from a remote computer that’s running the Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) service or daemon. |
| Time | Used to show or change the current time. |
| Timeout | Used in a batch or script file to provide a specified timeout value during a procedure. |
| Title | Used to set the Command Prompt window title. |
| Tlntadmn | Used to administer a local or remote computer running Telnet Server. |
| Tpmvscmgr | Used to create and destroy TPM virtual smart cards. |
| Tracerpt | Used to process event trace logs or real-time data from instrumented event trace providers. |
| Tracert | This command sends Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) Echo Request messages to a specified remote computer with increasing Time to Live (TTL) field values and displays the IP address and hostname, of the router interfaces between the source and destination. |
| Tree | Used to graphically display the folder structure of a specified drive or path. |
| Tscon | Used to attach a user session to a Remote Desktop session. |
| Tsdiscon | Used to disconnect a Remote Desktop session. |
| Tskill | Used to end the specified process. |
| Tsshutdn | Used to remotely shut down or restart a terminal server. |
| Type | Used to display the information contained in a text file. |
| Typeperf | This command displays performance data in the Command Prompt window or writes the data to specified log file. |
| Tzutil | Used to display or configure the current system’s time zone. |
| Umount | Used to remove Network File System (NFS) mounted network shares. |
| Undelete | Used to undo a deletion performed with the MS-DOS delete command. |
| Unformat | Used to undo the formatting on a drive performed by the MS-DOS format command. |
| Unlock | Used to unlock a drive, disabling direct disk access for a program. |
| Unlodctr | Removes Explain text and Performance counter names for a service or device driver from the Windows Registry. |
| Vaultcmd | Used to create, remove, and show stored credentials. |
| Ver | Used to display the current Windows or MS-DOS version number. |
| Verify | Used to enable or disable the ability of Command Prompt, or MS-DOS, to verify that files are written correctly to a disk. |
| Vol | Shows the volume label and serial number of a specified disk, assuming this information exists. |
| Vsafe | Used to start VSafe, a basic virus protection system for MS-DOS. |
| Vssadmin | This command starts the Volume Shadow Copy Service administrative command line tool which displays current volume shadow copy backups and all installed shadow copy writers and providers. |
| W32tm | Used to diagnose issues with Windows Time. |
| Waitfor | Used to send or wait for a signal on a system. |
| Wbadmin | Used start and stop backup jobs, display details about a previous backup, list the items within a backup, and report on the status of a currently running backup. |
| Wecutil | Used to manage subscriptions to events that are forwarded from WS-Management supported computers. |
| Wevtutil | This command starts the Windows Events Command Line Utility which is used to manage event logs and publishers. |
| Where | Used to search for files that match a specified pattern. |
| Whoami | Used to retrieve user name and group information on a network. |
| Winmgmt | Starts the command line version of WMI, a scripting tool in Windows. |
| Winrm | Used to start the command line version of Windows Remote Management, used to manage secure communications with local and remote computers using web services. |
| Winrs | Used to open a secure command window with a remote host. |
| Winsat | Starts the Windows System Assessment Tool, a program that assesses various features, attributes, and capabilities of a computer running Windows. |
| Wmic | Starts the Windows Management Instrumentation Command line (WMIC), a scripting interface that simplifies the use of Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) and systems managed via WMI. |
| Wsmanhttpconfig | Used to manage aspects of the Windows Remote Management (WinRM) service. |
| Xcopy | Used to copy one or more files or directory trees from one location to another. The xcopy command is generally considered a more “powerful” version of the copy command though the robocopy command trumps even xcopy. |
| Xwizard | This command, short for Extensible Wizard, is used to register data in Windows, often from a preconfigured XML file. |
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