Windows Commands Reference - 200+ Command Documentation

Command Categories

File Management

attribcdwherechdirpushdpopdcopydel+23 more

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Networking

ipconfigpingnetstattracertnslookuparproutepathping+6 more

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Process Management

tasklisttaskkillwmicscschtasksatstart

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System Information

systeminfoverdatetimehostnamewhoamichkdsksfc+16 more

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Disk Management

chkdskdefragdiskpartconvertlabelfsutilsubst

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File System

assocattribciphercompactftypefsutilmklink

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User Management

net usernet localgroupwhoamirunastakeownicacls

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Advanced System Tools

powershellsfcdismbcdeditdiskpartrobocopywmicreg+6 more

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Help and Documentation

help

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File Management

attrib

Displays or changes file attributes (read-only, archive, system, and hidden).

Example:

attrib +r +h filename.txt

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cd

Changes the current directory or displays the current directory path.

Example:

cd C:\Users\Username\Documents

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where

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

where /?

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chdir

Changes the current directory or displays the current directory path (same as CD).

Example:

chdir C:\Program Files

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pushd

Saves the current directory and changes to the specified path for use with POPD.

Example:

pushd C:\Windows\System32

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popd

Restores the previous directory saved by the most recent PUSHD command.

Example:

popd

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copy

Copies one or more files to another location.

Example:

copy source.txt destination.txt

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del

Deletes one or more files.

Example:

del filename.txt

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dir

Displays a list of files and subdirectories in a directory.

Example:

dir /a /s

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erase

Deletes one or more files (same as DEL).

Example:

erase oldfile.txt

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mkdir

Creates a directory or subdirectory.

Example:

mkdir new_directory

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move

Moves one or more files from one directory to another.

Example:

move file.txt C:\Destination

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rename

Renames a file or files.

Example:

rename oldname.txt newname.txt

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rmdir

Removes a directory.

Example:

rmdir /s /q directory_name

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type

Displays the contents of a text file.

Example:

type readme.txt

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robocopy

Robust file copy utility for reliable copying of files and directories.

Example:

robocopy C:\Source D:\Destination /E

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xcopy

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

xcopy /?

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comp

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

comp /?

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compact

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

compact /?

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fc

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

fc /?

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find

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

find /?

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findstr

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

findstr /?

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Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

more /?

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echo

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

echo /?

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ren

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

ren /?

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tree

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

tree /?

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vol

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

vol /?

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sort

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

sort /?

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forfiles

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

forfiles /?

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replace

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

replace /?

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expand

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

expand /?

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Networking

ipconfig

Displays all current TCP/IP network configuration values.

Example:

ipconfig /all

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ping

Tests a network connection by sending ICMP echo request packets.

Example:

ping www.example.com -t

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netstat

Displays active TCP connections, ports, and network statistics.

Example:

netstat -ano

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tracert

Traces the route taken by packets to reach a destination.

Example:

tracert www.example.com

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nslookup

Queries DNS servers for domain name or IP address mapping information.

Example:

nslookup example.com

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arp

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

arp /?

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route

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

route /?

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pathping

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

pathping /?

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nbtstat

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

nbtstat /?

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netsh

Network shell for configuration and monitoring of Windows networking components.

Example:

netsh wlan show networks

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getmac

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

getmac /?

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hostname

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

hostname /?

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net share

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

net share /?

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net view

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

net view /?

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Process Management

tasklist

Displays a list of currently running processes.

Example:

tasklist | findstr chrome

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taskkill

Terminates one or more running processes.

Example:

taskkill /IM notepad.exe /F

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wmic

Windows Management Instrumentation Command-line for system management.

Example:

wmic os get version

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sc

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

sc /?

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schtasks

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

schtasks /?

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at

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

at /?

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start

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

start /?

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System Information

systeminfo

Displays detailed configuration information about the computer and operating system.

Example:

systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"

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ver

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

ver /?

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date

Displays or sets the system date.

Example:

date /t

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time

Displays or sets the system time.

Example:

time /t

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hostname

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

hostname /?

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whoami

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

whoami /?

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chkdsk

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

chkdsk /?

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sfc

System File Checker - scans and verifies the integrity of all protected system files.

Example:

sfc /scannow

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dism

Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool for Windows images.

Example:

dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

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config

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

config /?

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cls

Clears the command prompt window.

Example:

cls

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path

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

path /?

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exit

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

exit /?

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timeout

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

timeout /?

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shutdown

Shuts down or restarts the computer.

Example:

shutdown /s /t 60

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color

Sets the console foreground and background colors using hex color codes.

Example:

color 0A

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title

Sets the title for the command prompt window.

Example:

title Backup Script

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set

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

set /?

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clip

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

clip /?

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driverquery

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

driverquery /?

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prompt

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

prompt /?

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choice

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

choice /?

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doskey

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

doskey /?

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verify

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

verify /?

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Disk Management

chkdsk

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

chkdsk /?

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defrag

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

defrag /?

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diskpart

Disk partition management tool for managing disks, partitions, and volumes.

Example:

diskpart (then: list disk)

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convert

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

convert /?

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label

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

label /?

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fsutil

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

fsutil /?

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subst

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

subst /?

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File System

assoc

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

assoc /?

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attrib

Displays or changes file attributes (read-only, archive, system, and hidden).

Example:

attrib +r +h filename.txt

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cipher

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

cipher /?

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compact

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

compact /?

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ftype

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

ftype /?

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fsutil

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

fsutil /?

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mklink

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

mklink /?

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User Management

net user

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

net user /?

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net localgroup

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

net localgroup /?

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whoami

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

whoami /?

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runas

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

runas /?

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takeown

Takes ownership of a file or directory, allowing administrators to access protected files.

Example:

takeown /f C:\important-file.txt

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icacls

Displays or modifies Access Control Lists (ACLs) for files and folders.

Example:

icacls C:\Data /grant User:F

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Advanced System Tools

powershell

Starts Windows PowerShell, a powerful scripting environment and command-line shell.

Example:

powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass

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sfc

System File Checker - scans and verifies the integrity of all protected system files.

Example:

sfc /scannow

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dism

Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool for Windows images.

Example:

dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

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bcdedit

Boot Configuration Data store editor for managing boot options.

Example:

bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy legacy

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diskpart

Disk partition management tool for managing disks, partitions, and volumes.

Example:

diskpart (then: list disk)

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robocopy

Robust file copy utility for reliable copying of files and directories.

Example:

robocopy C:\Source D:\Destination /E

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wmic

Windows Management Instrumentation Command-line for system management.

Example:

wmic os get version

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reg

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

reg /?

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netsh

Network shell for configuration and monitoring of Windows networking components.

Example:

netsh wlan show networks

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takeown

Takes ownership of a file or directory, allowing administrators to access protected files.

Example:

takeown /f C:\important-file.txt

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icacls

Displays or modifies Access Control Lists (ACLs) for files and folders.

Example:

icacls C:\Data /grant User:F

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mklink

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

mklink /?

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gpupdate

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

gpupdate /?

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gpresult

Windows command line tool. Use with appropriate parameters for specific operations.

Example:

gpresult /?

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Help and Documentation

help

Provides help information for Windows commands.

Example:

help dir

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