Windows Command Line Cheatsheet
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The Windows Command Line, or the Windows Command Prompt, is the Command Line Interface (CLI) on Tool - Microsoft Windows machines, analogous to the Terminal in Unix/Linux.
It emulates many command-line abilities in Microsoft’s deprecated text-only operating system MS-DOS (but it’s not MS-DOS).
TIP
Another name for the Windows Command Line is “cmd”.
Scripts containing Windows commands (Batch Scripts) have .bat as the file extension. All cmd commands are case-insensitive, so arp and ARP are the same.
TIP
If you need help using any command, add
/?to it.
Cheatsheet
- Navigation
- File Management
Navigation
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
c: | Change the current drive to the C:\ drive |
d: | Change the current drive to the D:\ drive |
CD c:\path\to\my_folder | Change directory to c:\path\to\my_folder |
CD .. | Navigate to the parent directory of the current working directory |
CD .\new_folder | Navigate to the folder new_folder located in the current working directory |
CD /D d:\videos\ | Change the current drive to D:\ and access the folder videos on it. |
DIR | Display files and folders in the current directory |
DIR /A c:\apps\ | Display files and folders in the directory c:\apps\ |
DIR /A:D | Display only folders (D: directories) |
DIR /A:-D | Display only files (D: directories; -: not) |
DIR /A:H | Display hidden files and folders |
DIR /O | Display files and folders sorted alphabetically |
DIR /O:S | Display files and folders sorted by file size from smallest to largest |
DIR /O:-S | Display files and folders sorted by file size from largest to smallest |
DIR /B | Display only the names of files and folders in the current working directory |
SORT | Take input from a source file/pipeline, sort its contents alphabetically (default: A to Z; in reverse: Z to A), and display the output |
SORT "C:\music\playlist.m3u" | Sort the contents of C:\music\playlist.m3u line by line |
DIR /B | SORT /R /O ZtoA.txt | List all file and folder names in the current working directory, sort them in reverse alphabetical order, and save the sorted output to a file ZtoA.txt:  |
MOVE | Move a file or files |
MOVE c:\f1\text.txt c:\f2 | Move a file text.txt from one folder c:\f1 to another folder c:\f2 |
MD new_folderMAKEDIR new_folder | Create a new folder called new_folder in the current directory |
RD new_folderRMDIR new_folder | Delete the folder called new_folder in the current directory |
TREE | Show the directory structure of a disk/folder |
TREE "C:\Program Files" | Show the directory structure of the folder “Program Files” on the disk C:| |
TREE C:\ /F | Display the names of the files in each folder in the directory structure of the C:\ drive |
ATTRIB | Display/set the attributes of the files in the current directory |
ATTRIB +H +S +R myItem | Hide a file/folder myItem |
ATTRIB -H -S -R myItem | Unhide a file/folder myItem |
File Management
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
COPY text.txt C:\schoolwork | Copy the file text.txt to a folder with the path C:\schoolwork |
DEL text.txtERASE text.txt | Delete the file text.txt |
REN text.txt script.batRENAME text.txt script.bat | Rename a file text.txt to script.bat |
REPLACE .\src\hey.txt .\dest | Overwrite; replace a file named hey.txt in a local folder src with another hey.txt in a local folder dest, both files sharing the same name. Warning: Don’t specify .\dest\hey.txt anywhere here. |
XCOPY | Copy files and directory trees to another folder. XCOPY is similar to COPY but with additional switches to specify the source and destination paths in detail. |
XCOPY /S folder1 folder2 | Copy folders and subfolders of folder1 to folder2 |
ROBOCOPY | Robust copying of files and directories: by default, such copying only occurs if the source and destination differ in time stamps or file sizes. |
EXPAND gameData.cab | Decompresses the compressed .CAB cabinet file gameData.cab |
FC file1.ext file2.ext | Compare the contents of two files (file1.ext, file2.ext) and display non-matching lines |
COMP file1.ext file2.ext | Compare the contents of two files (file1.ext, file2.ext) and display non-matching items |
FIND "python" in run.bat | Output every line that contains a text string (which you must enclose in quotation marks) “python” in the file run.bat |
FIND /C "python" in run.bat | Count every line that contains a text string (which you must enclose in quotation marks) “python” in the file run.bat |
PRINT resume.txt | Print contents of a file resume.txt |
OPENFILES /QUERY | Query/display open files |
OPENFILES /DISCONNECT | Disconnect files opened by network users. |
TYPE test.txt | Displays the contents of the file test.txt |
TYPE playlist.m3u | SORT /unique /o C:\work\unique_play.m3u | Sort a file playlist.m3u and output only the unique values to a file C:\work\unique_play.m3u |
MORE | Display contents of one or more files, one screen at a time. |
ASSOC | Display or change the association between a file extension and a file type |
NOTEPAD | Open the Notepad application from cmd |
NOTEPAD filename.ext | Open a file filename.ext in Notepad |
Disk Management
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
CHKDSK | Check and repair disk problems (local disks only) |
CHKDSK /F A: | Fix errors on A: drive |
CHKDSK /R A: | Recover data on A: drive |
CHKDSK /X A: | Dismount drive A: |
CIPHER /E classified | Encrypt the folder classified |
CIPHER /D secret_recipe.txt | Decrypt the file secret_recipe.txt |
DEFRAG | Disk Defragmentation |
CHKNTFS | Display/modify disk-checking on startup |
COMPACT | Display/change the compression of files in NTFS partitions |
CONVERT | Convert FAT disk volume to NTFS |
DISKPART | Display and adjust disk partition properties |
FORMAT | Format the disk |
FSUTIL | File system management |
LABEL d:x | Rename disk D:\ to X:| |
SUBST p: c:\taxes | Assign drive P:\ to the local folder c:\taxes |
SUBST p: /D | Remove the path represented by P:| |
RECOVER d:\data.dat | Recover a file data.dat from a bad or defective disk D:| |
VOL | Display current disk volume label and serial number |
POWERCFG | Control power settings and configure Hibernate/Standby modes |
SFC /SCANNOW | Scan and update protected system files |