Command

Description

Allows programs to open data files in specified directories as if they were

append
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
Configures the boot files on a PC or device to run the Windows operating
bcdboot
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.
Updates the master boot code for hard disk partitions to switch between
bootsect
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.
Used to run a script or batch program from within another script or batch
call
program.
Also known as chdir, is used to change the current working drive and/or
cd
directory in operating systems.
Used to perform various certification authority (CA) certificate requests, such
certreq submit a request, retrieve a response, create a new request, accept, sign, policy
sign and enrol.
Used to dump and display certification authority (CA) configuration informati
certutil configure Certificate Services, backup and restore CA components, and verify
certificates, key pairs, and certificate chains.
Changes various terminal server settings like install modes, COM port mappin
change
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 (Remo
 Desktop Session Host) server, or displays current logon status.
Can be used to display or change COM port mappings to be compatible with
chgport
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 erro
Used to display or modify the checking of the disk drive using NTFS at boot
chkntfs
time.
Allows batch files to prompt the user to select one item from a set of single-
choice
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.
Used to clear the screen or console window of all previously entered
cls
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.
Changes the colors of the text and background within the Command Prompt
color
window.
command Starts a new instance of the command.com command interpreter.
Performs a binary comparison of two set of files or multiple files and shows th
comp
differences between them.
Displays and changes the compression state of files or directories on NTFS
compact
partitions.
Used to convert volumes using the FAT or FAT32 formatted file systems to
convert
NTFS.
copy Copies one or more files from one directory to another.
Provides command-line options for setting and executing script properties via
cscript
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.
Initially known as DoubleSpace can be used to create or configure DoubleSpa
driveSpace
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.
Displays a list of files and folders contained inside the folder that you are
dir
currently working in.
diskcomp Used to compare contents of two floppy disks.
diskcopy Copies the entire contents of one floppy disk to another.
Prevents creating multi-partition layout for removable media such as flash driv
diskpart
and also used for partitioning internal hard drives..
Used to remotely enable or disable physical or logical disk performance count
diskperf
on computers running Windows 2000.
Starts the DiskRAID command-line tool that allows to configure and manage
diskraid 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.
Used to edit command lines, create macros, and recall previously entered
doskey
commands.
dosshell Starts DOS Shell, a graphical file management tool for MS-DOS.
Used to start DOS Protected Mode Interface (DPMI), a special mode designe
dosx
to give MS-DOS applications access to more than the normally allowed 640 K
driverquery Displays a list of all installed device drivers and their properties.
drvspace Used to create or configure DriveSpace compressed drives.
Used in shell scripts and batch files to output status text to the screen or a file
echo
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.
Starts the Edlin tool that is used to create and modify text files from the
edlin
command line.
emm386 Used to give MS-DOS access to more than 640 KB of memory.
Ends localization of environment changes inside a batch or script file, restorin
endlocal
environment variables to their values before the matching setlocal command.
erase Used to delete one or more files.
Provides database utilities for the Extensible Storage Engine (ESE) for Windo
esentutl
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.
Used to end the cmd.exe (Windows) or command.com (MS-DOS) session tha
exit
you’re currently working in.
expand Used to extract the files and folders contained in Microsoft Cabinet (CAB) file
This command is actually a CAB extraction program for use by Internet Explo
extrac32
but can be used to extract any Microsoft Cabinet file.
extract Used to extract the files and folders contained in Microsoft Cabinet (CAB) file
This command provides more detailed information on any of the other MS-DO
fasthelp
commands.
fastopen Used to add a program’s hard drive location to a special list stored in memory
Used to compare two individual or sets of files and then show the differences
fc
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.
The fondue (Features on Demand User Experience) tool is used to install any
fondue
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.
Performs tasks that are related to file allocation table (FAT) and NTFS file
fsutil system, such as managing reparse points and sparse files, dismounting a volum
and extending a volume.
ftp Transfers files to and from another computer.
ftype Defines a default program to open a specified file type.
Used to display the Media Access Control (MAC) address of all the network
getmac
adapters in the computer.
Used in a batch or script file to direct the command process to a labelled line i
goto
the script.
gpresult Used to display group policy settings and resultant set of policy for a user.
Refreshes local and Active Directory-based Group Policy settings, including
gpupdate
security settings.
 Used to enable the ability of Windows to display an extended character set in
graftabl
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.
Used to install a previously compiled custom dictionary for handwriting
hwrreg
recognition.
icacls Display, modify, backup, or restore ACLs for files and directories.
if Performs conditional functions in batch programs.
Connects two computers via a serial or parallel connection to share files and
interlnk
printers.
intersvr Starts interlnk server and to copy interlnk files from one computer to another.
Displays all current TCP/IP network configuration values and can
ipconfig 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.
Used to support MS-DOS files that need to configure a keyboard for a specific
kb16
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.
Used to generate a text-based log and other data files that contain product
licensingdiag
activation and other Windows licensing information.
Used to load the specified program in the first 64K of memory and then runs t
loadfix
program.
Used to load a program into high memory and is usually used from within the
loadhigh
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.
Displays the status of a print queue on a computer running Line Printer Daem
lpq
(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.
Shows information about used and free memory areas and programs that are
Mem
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.
This command properly displays the data within a Managed Object Format
Mofcomp
(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.
This command starts Microsoft Backup, a tool used to back up and restore one
Msbackup
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 proce
This command is used to show TCP/IP information and other statistical
Nbtstat
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),
 Used to start Network Shell, a command-line utility used to manage the netwo
Netsh
configuration of the local, or a remote, computer.
This command is most commonly used to display all open network connection
Netstat
and listening ports.
This command is used to manage Server for NFS or Client for NFS from the
Nfsadmin
command line.
Nlsfunc Used to load information specific to a particular country or region.
Used to test secure channels between Windows computers in a domain and
Nltest
between domain controllers that are trusting other domains.
The command is most commonly used to display the hostname of an entered I
Nslookup
address.
Ntbackup Used to perform various backup functions from the Command.
Ntsd Used to perform certain command line debugging tasks.
This command starts the Windows Optional Component Setup tool, used to
Ocsetup
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.
Functions much like the tracert command, will also report information about
Pathping
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.
The command sends an Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) Echo
Ping
Request message to a specified remote computer to verify IP-level connectivit
Pkgmgr Used to start the Windows Package Manager from the Command Prompt.
Pnpunattend Used to automate the installation of hardware device drivers.
Used to start the Microsoft PnP Utility, a tool used to install a Plug and Play
Pnputil
device from the command line.
This command is used to change the current directory to the one most recently
Popd
stored by the pushd command.
Used to reduce the power consumed by a computer by monitoring software an
Power
hardware devices.
Used to manage the Windows power management settings from the command
Powercfg
line.
Print Used to print a specified text file to a specified printing device.
Used to customize the appearance of the prompt text in Command Prompt or
Prompt
MS-DOS.
 Used to store a directory for use, most commonly from within a batch or scrip
Pushd
program.
Used to enable, disable, or show the status of your Windows To Go start-up
Pwlauncher
options.
Used to display all Remote Desktop Session Host servers available on the
Qappsrv
network.
This command starts QBasic, the MS-DOS based programming environment f
Qbasic
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.
Used to copy files between a Windows computer and a system running the rsh
Rcp
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.
Used to set or change registry permissions and registry values from the
Regini
command line.
Register-
Used to register a Common Information Model (CIM) Provider in Windows.
cimprovider
Regsvr32 Used to register a DLL file as a command component in the Windows Registr
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.
Used to repair or decrypt a damaged drive that’s been encrypted using
Repair-bde
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.
This command makes a remote procedure call (RPC) to an RPC server and
Rpcinfo
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.
This command starts Windows Registry Checker, a basic registry repair progr
Scanreg
and backup utility.
Schtasks Used to schedule specified programs or commands to run a certain times.
Sdbinst Used to deploy customized SDB database files.
Used to configure and analyze system security by comparing the current secur
Secedit
configuration to a template.
Used to display, enable, or disable environment variables in MS-DOS or from
Set
the Command Prompt.
Setlocal Used to start the localization of environment changes inside a batch or script f
Used to manage the Service Principal Names (SPN) for an Active Directory
Setspn
(AD) service account.
Setver Used to set the MS-DOS version number that MS-DOS reports to a program.
Used to create or change environment variables in the user environment or the
Setx
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
This command installs and configures SMARTDrive, a disk caching utility fo
Smartdrv
MS-DOS.
Used to read data from a specified input, sort that data, and return the results o
Sort
that sort to the Command Prompt screen, a file, or another output device.
Used to open a new command line window to run a specified program or
Start
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.
Used to display basic Windows configuration information for the local or a
Systeminfo
remote computer.
Used to regain access to a file that that an administrator was denied access to
Takeown
when reassigning ownership of the file.
Taskkill Used to terminate a running task.
Displays a list of applications, services, and the Process ID (PID) currently
Tasklist
running on either a local or a remote computer.
Used to setup or disable the Telephony Application Programming Interface
Tcmsetup
(TAPI) client.
Telnet Used to communicate with remote computers that use the Telnet protocol.
Used to transfer files to and from a remote computer that’s running the Trivial
Tftp
File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) service or daemon.
Time Used to show or change the current time.
Used in a batch or script file to provide a specified timeout value during a
Timeout
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.
Used to process event trace logs or real-time data from instrumented event tra
Tracerpt
providers.
This command sends Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) Echo Reques
messages to a specified remote computer with increasing Time to Live (TTL)
Tracert
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.
This command displays performance data in the Command Prompt window or
Typeperf
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.
Used to undo the formatting on a drive performed by the MS-DOS format
Unformat
command.
Unlock Used to unlock a drive, disabling direct disk access for a program.
Removes Explain text and Performance counter names for a service or device
Unlodctr
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.
Used to enable or disable the ability of Command Prompt, or MS-DOS, to ver
Verify
that files are written correctly to a disk.
Shows the volume label and serial number of a specified disk, assuming this
Vol
information exists.
Vsafe Used to start VSafe, a basic virus protection system for MS-DOS.
This command starts the Volume Shadow Copy Service administrative
Vssadmin command line tool which displays current volume shadow copy backups and a
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.
Used start and stop backup jobs, display details about a previous backup, list t
Wbadmin
items within a backup, and report on the status of a currently running backup.
Used to manage subscriptions to events that are forwarded from WS-
Wecutil
Management supported computers.
This command starts the Windows Events Command Line Utility which is use
Wevtutil
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.
 Used to start the command line version of Windows Remote Management, use
Winrm to manage secure communications with local and remote computers using web
services.
Winrs Used to open a secure command window with a remote host.
Starts the Windows System Assessment Tool, a program that assesses various
Winsat
features, attributes, and capabilities of a computer running Windows.
Starts the Windows Management Instrumentation Command line (WMIC), a
Wmic 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) serv
Used to copy one or more files or directory trees from one location to another.
Xcopy The xcopy command is generally considered a more “powerful” version of the
copy command though the robocopy command trumps even xcopy.
This command, short for Extensible Wizard, is used to register data in Window
Xwizard
often from a preconfigured XML file.