How to use the Windows command line (DOS)

This page covers the basics of navigating and using the Microsoft Windows command line. On this page, you learn how to move around in the command line, find files, manipulate files, and other important commands. Keep in mind that there are over 100 different commands used in MS-DOS and the Windows command line. If you are interested in learning about the command line in more detail, see our DOS and command prompt overview, which gives a description and example for every command.

Get into the Windows command line

Open a Windows command line window by following the steps below. If you need additional information or alternative methods for all versions of Windows, see: How to get to an MS-DOS prompt or Windows command line.

1. Click Start.
2. In the Search or Run line, type cmd (short for command), and press Enter .

Understanding the prompt

After following the steps above, the Windows command line should be shown (similar to the example below). Windows often starts you at your user directory. In the example below, the user is Mrhope. So, C:\Users\Mrhope> is our prompt. This prompt shows that we’re in the C: drive (default hard drive letter) and currently in the Mrhope directory, a subdirectory of the Users directory.

Key tips

• MS-DOS and the Windows command line are notcase sensitive.
• The files and directories shown in Windows are also found in the command line.
• When working with a file or directory with a space, surround it in quotes. For example, the directory My Documents would be «My Documents» when typed.
• File names can have a long file name of 255 characters and a three character file extension.
• When a file or directory is deleted in the command line, it is not moved into the Recycle Bin.
• If you need help with any of command, type /? after the command. For example, dir /? would give the options available for the dir command.

Listing the files

Let’s learn your first command. Type dir at the prompt to list files in the current directory. You should get an output similar to the example image below. Without using any dir options, this is how dir output appears. As shown, you are given lots of useful information including the creation date and time, directories ( ), and the name of the directory or file. In the example below, there are 0 files listed and 14 directories, indicated by the status message at the bottom of the output.

Every command in the command line has options, which are additional switches and commands that can be added after the command. For example, with the dir command, you can type dir /p to list the files and directories in the current directory one page at a time. This switch is useful to see all the files and directories in a directory with dozens or hundreds of files. Each of the command options and switches is listed in our DOS command overview. We offer guides for individual commands, as well. For example, if you want to see all the options for the dir command, refer to our dir command overview for a complete option listing.

The dir command can also be used to search for specific files and directories using wildcards. For example, to list files or directories that begin with the letter «A» you could type dir a* to list only the AppData directory, in this above example. See the wildcard definition for other examples and help with using wildcards.

Moving into a directory

Now that we’ve seen a list of directories (shown below) in the current directory, move into one of those directories. To move into a directory, we use the cd command, so to move into the Desktop type cd desktop and press Enter . Once you’ve moved into a new directory, the prompt changes. So, in our example, the prompt is now C:\Users\Mrhope\Desktop>. You can see what files are found in this directory by typing the dir command again.

Understand the files

In the Desktop directory, as shown in the above example, there are 23 files and 7 directories, representing different file types. In Windows, you are familiar with files having icons that help represent the file type. In the command line, the same thing is accomplished by the file extensions. For example, «forum posts.txt» is a text file because it has a .txt file extension. Time.mp3 is an MP3 music file and minecraft.exe is an executable file.

Most users are only concerned with executable files, which as mentioned above, are files ending with .exe, .com, and .bat. When the file name is typed in the command line, the program runs, which is the same as double-clicking a file in Windows. For example, if we wanted to run minecraft.exe, typing minecraft at the prompt runs that program.

Keep in mind that if the executable file you are trying to run is not in the current directory, you get an error. Unless you have set a path for the directory with the executable file, which is how the command line finds external commands.

If you want to view the contents of a file, most versions of the command line use the edit command. For example, if we wanted to look at the log file hijackthis.log, we would type edit hijackthis.log at the prompt. For 64-bit versions of Windows that do not support this command, you can use the start command (e.g., type start notepad hijackthis.log) to open the file in Notepad. Additional information about opening and editing a file from the command line is available on the page linked below.

Moving back a directory

You learned earlier the cd command can move into a directory. This command also allows you to go back a directory by typing cd.. at the prompt. When this command is typed, you’ll be moved out of the Desktop directory and back into the user directory. To move back to the root directory type cd\ to get to the C:\> prompt. If you know the name of the directory you want to move into, you can also type cd\ and the directory name. For example, to move into C:\Windows>, type cd\windows at the prompt.

Creating a directory

Now with your basic understanding of navigating the command line, let’s start creating new directories. To create a directory in the current directory, use the mkdir command. For example, create a directory called «test» by typing mkdir test at the prompt. If created successfully, you are returned to the prompt with no error message. After the directory is created, move into that directory with the cd command.

Switching drives

In some circumstances, you may want to copy or list files on another drive. To switch drives in the Windows command line, type the drive letter of the drive followed by a colon. For example, if your CD-ROM drive is the D drive, you would type d: and press Enter . If the drive exists, the prompt changes to that drive letter. If the drive does not exist or is not accessible (e.g., no disc in CD-ROM drive), you get an error.

Creating a new file

You can create a new file from the command line using the edit command, copy con command, or using the start command to open a file.

Creating a new batch file

In the new test directory, let’s create your first file. In most circumstances, you never need to create any file at the command line, but it is still good to understand how files are created. In this example, we are creating a batch file. A batch file is a file that ends with .bat and helps automate frequently used commands in the command line. We are calling this batch file example, so type edit example.bat at the prompt. As mentioned in the document on creating a file, if the edit command does not work, use the start command to open the batch file in Notepad. To perform this action, you type start notepad example.bat into the prompt.

Both of the commands above open a new blank example.bat window. In the file, type the three lines below, which clear the screen with the cls command and run the dir command.

After these three lines are typed into the file, save, and exit the file. If you are in the edit command, click File (or press Alt + F ) and then Save. After the file is saved and you are back at the command prompt, typing dir displays the «example.bat» file in the test directory.

Now, run the batch file to get a better understanding of what a batch file does. To run the batch file, type example at the prompt, which executes the batch file, clears the screen, and runs the dir command.

Moving and copying a file

Now that we’ve created a file, let’s move it into an alternate directory. To help make things easier, create another directory for the files. So, type mkdir dir2 to create a new directory in the test directory called dir2. After the new directory is created, use the move command to move the example.bat file into that directory. To do this, type move example.bat dir2 at the prompt. If done successfully, you get a message indicating the file was moved. You could also substitute the move command for the copy command to copy the file instead of moving it.

Rename a file

After the file is moved into the dir2 directory, move into that directory with the cd command to rename the file. In the dir2 directory, use the rename command to rename the example file into an alternate name. Type rename example.bat first.bat at the prompt to rename the file to «first.bat.» Now, when using the dir command, you see «first.bat» as the only file.

When renaming any file, make sure the file has the same file extension. If you were to rename the .bat file to a .txt file, it is no longer an executable file only a text file. Also, keep in mind that renaming the file to a different file extension does not convert the file. For example, if you renamed the file as an .MP3, it may look like an MP3 in Windows, but it’s not going to play music.

Deleting a file

Now that we’ve had our fun with our new file, delete the file with the del command. Type del first.bat to delete the first.bat file. If successful, you are returned to the prompt with no errors, and the dir command shows no files in the current directory.

When deleting files, you can also use wildcards to delete multiple files at once. For example, if the directory contained several .GIF image files you could type del *.gif to delete all files ending with the .gif file extension.

Renaming a directory

Go back one directory to get back to the test directory using the cd.. command mentioned earlier. Now, rename our dir2 directory to something else using the same rename command we used earlier. At the prompt, type rename dir2 hope to rename the directory to «hope.» After this command is completed, type dir and you see one directory called «hope.»

Removing a directory

While still in the test directory, remove the hope directory using the rmdir command. At the prompt, type rmdir hope to remove the hope directory.

If the directory you are trying to remove contains any files or directories, you’ll receive an error. To prevent this error, use the /s option. For example, if the hope directory still had the first.bat file, you would need to type rmdir /s hope at the prompt.

Running a program

Any executable file can run from the command line by typing the name of the file. For example, if you listed files using the dir command and see a file named «myfile.exe,» typing «myfile» at the command line runs that program.

How to list available commands

After getting a good understanding of using the command line from the steps shown above, you can move on to other available commands by typing help at the command line. Typing «help» displays a list of available commands with a brief description of each command.

Closing or exiting the command line window

After you are done with the Windows command line, you can type exit to close the window.

In conclusion

Now you have a good understanding of how to navigate the command line, create directories and files, rename directories and files, and delete. As mentioned earlier, there are hundreds of other commands you can use at the command line. If you want to expand your knowledge further, we recommend looking at the options available for each command above and reviewing our commands overview page. You can also use our search to find any command by the name of the command or by the action it performs.

14 ways to open Command Prompt in Windows 10

Geeks and IT professionals love the Command Prompt (CMD), and for good reason: it allows you to do many administrative tasks with ease. We think that it is a good idea to make a list of all the fourteen methods we know for opening Command Prompt, so that you can choose what suits you best. Knowing how to open CMD as an administrator is also important. Therefore, read on and choose your favorite way to open Command Prompt:

NOTE: We wrote this tutorial using Windows 10 with May 2020 Update. If you are using an older version of Windows 10, some things might look different or might not be working as expected.

1. How to open Command Prompt from the Start Menu

On your Windows 10 PC, open the Start Menu and go to the Windows System shortcuts folder. There, you’re going to find a Command Prompt shortcut: click or tap on it to open CMD.

If you want to run Command Prompt as an administrator, right-click or press and hold on its shortcut, then open the More sub-menu and finally, click or tap “Run as administrator.” Alternatively, you can also hold the Ctrl and Shift keys pressed and click or tap on the Command Prompt shortcut to launch CMD as admin.

2. Open Command Prompt using search

In Windows 10, one of the fastest ways to open Command Prompt is to use search. Inside the search field from your taskbar, enter command or cmd. Then, click or tap on the Command Prompt result.

If you want to launch Command Prompt as administrator, use the “Run as administrator” link from the right side of the search panel. Alternatively, you can also right-click (or press and hold, if you use a touchscreen) on the Command Prompt search result, and then choose “Run as administrator.”

3. How to open Command Prompt from the Run box

One of the quickest ways to open Command Prompt in Windows 10 is via the Run window. Press the Win + R keys on your keyboard, then type cmd, and press Enter on your keyboard or click/tap OK.

4. Create a Command Prompt shortcut on your desktop or in any folder you want

If you prefer using shortcuts, then you should create a shortcut to the Command Prompt. This guide shows you how to do it: How to create shortcuts for apps, files, folders, and web pages in Windows. Basically, you have to right-click or press and hold on an empty space on your desktop or in any other folder, then go to New in the contextual menu, and click or tap on Shortcut.

Next, in the Create Shortcut wizard, point your new shortcut to cmd, give it a name (like Command Prompt, or Old-School Terminal :), and save it.

5. Use our already-made Command Prompt shortcut

Alternatively, you can download our collection of shortcuts and use what we have created: Download the biggest library of Windows shortcuts. In this pack, there are also plenty of other useful shortcuts to download and use. If you want to run the shortcut as administrator, right-click (or press and hold on it, if you use a touchscreen), and then click or tap the “Run as administrator” option from the contextual menu.

6. Pin Command Prompt to your taskbar or Start Menu

If you would rather have a clean desktop, you might prefer to pin the Command Prompt to the taskbar or to the Start Menu. To find and open Command Prompt in the Windows 10 Start Menu, click or tap Start, scroll down the list of apps, and open the Windows System folder. Right-click or press and hold on the Command Prompt shortcut. In the menu that opens, you have options to Pin to Start for the Start Menu and More. When you choose More, the menu extends with the first option to “Pin to taskbar.”

From now on, use the shortcut that you have pinned to open Command Prompt. Also, if you want to run Command Prompt as administrator, use the right-click menu on the shortcut pinned on your Start Menu or taskbar, and click/tap the “Run as administrator” option from it.

7. Launch the Command Prompt using the WinX menu

Windows 10 includes a hidden menu for power users, which you can access from the desktop. The quickest way to launch it is to press the Win + X keys on your keyboard, but you can also do it with right-click (or press and hold) on the Windows logo from the bottom-left corner of your desktop. In early versions of Windows 10 (before Creators Update), this menu includes two shortcuts for the Command Prompt: one to run it as a regular user and one to run it as an administrator.

After the Creators Update was released, Windows 10 replaced the Command Prompt shortcuts with Powershell shortcuts. However, you can configure Windows 10 to go back to showing Command Prompt shortcuts in its power user menu. You can find out how to do that in this tutorial: Add the Control Panel and the Command Prompt to the WinX menu in Windows 10.

8. How to open Command Prompt from File Explorer’s address bar

You can also open Command Prompt using the address bar from File Explorer. All you have to do is type cmd in the address bar and press Enter. Then, a Command Prompt instance opens immediately, using the path of the current folder.

For more details, read this tutorial: How to run commands from Windows 10’s File Explorer. Unfortunately, you cannot open Command Prompt as an administrator using this method.

9. Open Command Prompt using its cmd.exe executable file

You can also open Command Prompt using its cmd.exe file. Open File Explorer, navigate to the partition where Windows is installed, open the Windows folder, and then enter System32. There, you’re going to find cmd.exe – the executable file used by Command Prompt.

Also, the easiest way to open it as an administrator is to right-click (or press and hold it, if you have a touchscreen) and then click/tap on the “Run as administrator” option from the contextual menu.

10. How to open the Command Prompt from the old Microsoft Edge or Internet Explorer

A somewhat cumbersome, but workable method to launch Command Prompt in Windows is to use one of Microsoft’s older web browsers to do it. Launch Internet Explorer or the old Microsoft Edge (not the one based on Chromium) and enter this command in the address bar: file://C:/Windows/System32/cmd.exe. Press Enter and then, in the dialog that opens, click or tap the Run button.

This method only opens Command Prompt windows with standard user rights, not administrative privileges.

11. Open Command Prompt from the Task Manager

You can open Command Prompt using the Task Manager. Launch Task Manager (a quick way is by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc). If you get the compact view of the Task Manager, first press More details in the bottom-left corner of the window. Open the File menu, select “Run new task,” and then type cmd in the “Create new task” window. Hit Enter on your keyboard or press the OK button and Command Prompt opens.

Also, if you want to run Command Prompt as administrator, mark the checkbox “Create this task with administrative privileges” before you press Enter or the OK button.

12. Ask Cortana to open Command Prompt

If you have a microphone installed on your Windows 10 computer or device, you can also tell Cortana what you want to do. Say “Hey Cortana” if you enabled her to answer you anytime you call for her, or click/tap on her icon next to the search field on your taskbar. Then, ask Cortana to “open Command Prompt.”

In just a moment, Cortana understands what you want and immediately launches the Command Prompt. Unfortunately, there is no command you could use to ask Cortana to launch Command Prompt as administrator.

13. How to open Command Prompt when you boot Windows 10 using the Advanced Startup Options

If you need to run advanced commands in Command Prompt and your Windows 10 PC no longer works properly, you might need a way to open CMD at boot, before Windows 10 loads itself completely. To do that, you can use the Recovery options. Here’s how:

Open the Settings app and navigate to Update & Security. Select Recovery on the left side of the window, and click or tap on Restart now in the Advanced startup section from the right.

On the Choose an option screen, press Troubleshoot.

Then, click or tap on Advanced options.

This brings you to the Advanced options screen. Here, you should get an entry called Command Prompt. Click or tap on it.

Your Windows 10 computer or device reboots and then asks you to choose a user account from the list of administrators configured on the PC. Select it and enter your password if asked.

Finally, Windows 10 opens the Command Prompt as administrator.

You can now use CMD to do anything you want, including performing advanced tasks such as boot repairs or partition management with diskpart, for instance.

14. How to open Command Prompt while installing Windows 10

We have another neat method of opening Command Prompt even when Windows 10 is not installed on your computer. It also works when your Windows 10 is corrupted that it can’t boot properly. Use a Windows 10 installation media to boot your computer or device. When the Windows 10 setup wizard shows up, simultaneously press the Shift + F10 keys on your keyboard to open Command Prompt.

It’s as simple as that! 🙂

How do you like to open the Command Prompt?

These are all the ways we know for launching Command Prompt in Windows 10. It can help you find the right way to open it, depending on what you are doing on your Windows 10 PC. If you know other methods, do not hesitate to share them in a comment below. Also, if you are looking for some good articles on how to use the Command Prompt, don’t hesitate to read our recommendations below.