17 Useful Command Prompt Tricks You Should Know 2024

Try these best command prompt tricks and have fun.

Here is the most dangerous and most useful 17 cmd command prompt tricks with all cmd command list.

Starting the Windows command prompt

It is quite easy to open the windows command prompt. Hit the ‘Windows key’ along with ‘r’ key to get the run dialogue box [windows key + r].

Simply type ‘cmd’ there and hit enter. Now you should see the command prompt window opened. Little jargon buster here – Command line prompt is the prompt that you see in the below window

dow – c:>_

There are some things you can only do from the command line, even on Windows. Some of these tools don’t have graphical equivalents, while others are just plain faster to use than their graphical interfaces.

We can’t possibly cover all the useful commands you can use in the Command Prompt or PowerShell here. We’ll be focusing on commands that should be useful even if you’re not a command-line person.

1. Change the fonts of the color in Command Prompt

Like the below screenshot, you can change your command prompt fonts too. If you want green fonts type COLOR A command in the command prompt. This is my favorite command prompt tricks

2. ipConfig – Quickly Find Your IP Address

This is my other favorite and funny command prompt trick. You can find your IP address from the Control Panel, but this takes quite a few clicks. The ipconfig command is a fast way of determining your computer’s IP address and other information, such as the address of its default gateway — useful if you want to know the IP address of your router’s web interface.

To use the command, just type ipconfig into a Command Prompt window. You’ll see a list of all the network connections your computer is using. Look under Wireless LAN adapter if you’re connected to Wi-Fi or Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection if you’re connected to a wired network.

3. Tree: View Directory Structure

If you’ve created a virtual spiderweb of files and directories on your computer, it can get pretty confusing to remember where everything is. Sometimes it would be nice to have a diagram showing directories and sub-directories. Using the Tree command, you can do just that. This is my other favorite and funny command prompt tricks

First, navigate to the directory you want to get the file structure of, and then type “tree > myfile.txt“. The text file can be called anything you like.

The command writes the entire directory structure, completed with all folders, into the text file, which you can print out for easy viewing.

The formatting may look a little bit funky, but if you look closely you’ll see that the directories are all there, they just might be prefaced with some weird symbols.

4. File Search & Comparison

If you ever have two text files – particularly two very large text files – the file compare (FC) command is all you need to identify and synchronize file differences.

The usage is about as easy as it can get. Just type “FC” followed by the names of the two files.

The system will respond by showing the lines from both files where there are differences. This command can become pretty handy when you’re collaborating with people and trying to sync up differences between files that several people are working on.

If you only need to find a file on your system, and you know the name of the file, the “find” command is far faster than any point and click operation you can do. Just do a “dir” command to the directory you want to search, and then “|” followed by the name of the file.

The system will respond with the directory where the file is stored.

Also, read hack any computers using cmd

5. Flushdns – Flush Your DNS Resolver Cache

If you change your DNS server, the effects won’t necessarily take place immediately. Windows uses a cache that remembers DNS responses it’s received, saving time when you access the same addresses again in the future. This my another favorite and funny command prompt tricks

To ensure Windows is getting addresses from the new DNS servers instead of using old, cached entries, run the ipconfig /flushdns command after changing your DNS server.

6. Ping, Tracert – Troubleshoot Network Connection Issues

If you’re experiencing issues connecting to a website or other network connection issues, Windows and other operating systems have some standard tools you can use to identify problems.

First, there’s the ping command. Type ping google.com and Windows will send packets to Google.com. Google will respond and let you know it’s received them. You’ll be able to see if any packets didn’t make it to Google.com — perhaps you’re experiencing packet loss — and how long it took you to hear back — perhaps the network is saturated and packets are taking a while to reach their destinations.

There’s also the tracert command, which traces the route it takes for a packet to reach a destination. For example, untracert google.com and you’ll see the path your packet takes to reach Google. If you’re having issues connecting to a website, tracert can show you where the problem is occurring.This my another favorite and funny command prompt tricks

7. Shutdown – Create Shutdown Shortcuts on Windows 8

The shutdown command is particularly useful on Windows 8. You can use it to create your own shortcuts and place them on your Start screen or desktop, allowing you to more easily shut down Windows without digging through the charms bar or logging out first.

This command can also be used to restart your computer. On Windows 8, you can even use a special switch to restart your computer in the advanced startup options menu.

Shut Down:shutdown /s /t 0
Restart:shutdown /r /t 0
Restart Into Startup Options:shutdown /r /o

8. recimg – Create Custom Recovery Images

The Refresh Your PC feature on Windows 8 allows you to restore your computer’s system state to its original state — either from a clean Windows install or as the computer came from its manufacturer. You can create your own custom recovery images, but this feature is hidden — you have to do it with the recimg command from a command line. This allows you to remove manufacturer-installed bloatware or add your favorite desktop programs to your recovery image.

9. Dir

This command will list the contents of the current directory you are in. It takes a lot of parameters like /t and /p which will list the files according to a particular criterion. You can get the list of options to use with this command by typing dir /?

Examples: dir /t :lists file according to the time it was created

‘Dir’ command helps to know which directories have been created on a specified disks. It also shows the last modified content date, time, and file size.

10. SystemInfo

This is one of my much-loved and common dos command. It gives you a detailed description of your system components like processor, memory, and much more. You can also use it to check whether your system is 32-bit or 64-bit.

systeminfo is one of the most amazing commands in command prompt. With the help of this command, you can know everything about your computer.

systeminfo : displays a report about your system’s components

11. wbadmin start backup – Create System Recovery Images

Windows 8.1 removes the Windows 7 backup interface, which allowed you to create system backup images. These system images contain a complete snapshot of every single file on the system, so they’re different from Windows 8’s recovery images.

While the graphical interface has been removed, system administrators and geeks can still create system image backups by running the wbadmin start backup cmdlet in a PowerShell window. Unlike all the other commands here, this command-line tool must be run from within PowerShell, not the Command Prompt.

12. SFC /scannow – Scan System Files for Problems

Windows includes a system file checker tool that scans its system files and looks for problems. If system files are missing or corrupted, the system file checker will repair them. This may fix problems with some Windows systems.

To use this tool, open a Command Prompt window as Administrator and run the sfc /scannow command.

13. telnet – Connect to Telnet Servers

The telnet client isn’t installed by default. You’ll have to install it from the Control Panel. Once installed, you can use the telnet command to connect to telnet servers without installing any third-party software.

This my another favorite and funny command prompt tricks

You should avoid using telnet if you can help it, but if you’re connected directly to a device and it requires that you use telnet to set something up — well, that’s what you have to do.

14. cipher – Permanently Delete and Overwrite a Directory

The cipher command is mostly used for managing encryption, but it also has an option that will write garbage data to a drive, clearing its free space and ensuring no deleted file can be recovered. Deleted files normally stick around on disk unless you’re using a solid-state drive. The cipher command effectively allows you to “wipe” a drive without installing any third-party tools.

To use the command, specify the drive you want to wipe like so:

ciper /w:C:

15. Chkdsk

Chkdsk stands for ‘check disk’. It checks your disks drives and finds errors. You can also repair your affected disk drives with this command using the “/f “ options, which will fix your drive.

Before that, you need to have administrative privileges to use this command. For that, run cmd as administrator, by right-clicking it on start and selecting “run as administrator” [windows 7]. Follow the same procedure on Windows 8, i.e. search for cmd and right-click on it.

chkdsk drive name:

Example: chkdsk c: – This will check the C drive for errors and gives you a tiny report.

You may follow another process – From the start menu – search for command prompt, click right and choose the option “ run as administrator”

You will get to see the administrator command prompt, where you can type – chkdsk and enter. By default, chkdsk operates on the current disk if you want to check your D drive type –chkdsk D: and press enter.

If you want chkdsk to also fix the error in a drive – type chkdsk D: /F , ‘F’ here means ‘Fix’ parameter.

Usability of Chkdsk – Primary use of chkdsk command is to check that all the information stored in files, folders on the disk is correct and repair the disk for errors.

16. Netstat -an – List Network Connections and Ports

The netstat command is particularly useful, displaying all sorts of network statistics when used with its various options. One of the most interesting variants of netstat is netstat -an, which will display a list of all open network connections on their computer, along with the port they’re using and the foreign IP address they’re connected to.

17. Windows Utilities

This my other favorite and funny command prompt trick Finally, there is a multitude of DOS commands that are invaluable as system troubleshooting tools. For example, to view a list of active processes, just open up a command prompt and type “tasklist“.

If you see any process you want to kill, just type “taskkill” followed by the image name.

Nervous about whether a particular system file became corrupted after a recent virus infection? Just type “sfc /VERIFYFILE=” followed by the full path of the file.

Windows will check to be sure it is the original. You can also scan all system files like this at once by typing “sfc /scannow”

Finally, probably one of the most useful DOS commands available – the AT command. With “AT”, you have the ability to schedule tasks to run on a regular routine, all from a simple command prompt.

Setting up the AT commands can be a little tricky, so type “at help” if you need parameter help. In the command above I set up the computer to automatically archive all files in the temp directory to the archive folder. You could do similar jobs to routinely back up important files on your computer to a mapped external drive.

As you can see, there’s still plenty that you can do with the command prompt. Having these resources at your fingertips can really make it a lot easier to troubleshoot, maintain and repair computer systems.

Were any of these commands new to you? Do you know of any other useful DOS tips? Share your insights in the comments section below.

This isn’t a comprehensive list of all the commands you might find useful, but we hope it’s given you some idea of the many powerful tools lurking under the surface. Linux isn’t the only operating system where users can benefit from learning some commands.

An A-Z Index of the Windows CMD command line

ARP Address Resolution Protocol

ASSOC Change file extension associations•

ASSOCIAT One step file association

AT Schedule a command to run at a specific time

Add Hardware hdwwiz.cpl Add / Remove Programs appwiz.cpl Accessibility Options access .cpl Administrative Tools control admintools Automatic Updates wuaucpl.cpl AC3 Filter (if installed) ac3filter.cpl

ADDUSERS Add or list users to/from a CSV file

ADmodcmd Active Directory Bulk Modify

BCDBOOT Create or repair a system partition

BCDEDIT Manage Boot Configuration Data

BITSADMIN Background Intelligent Transfer Service

BOOTCFG Edit Windows boot settings

BROWSTAT Get domain, browser and PDC info

Calculator calc

CHDIR – Displays the name of or changes the current directory.

CHKDSK – Checks a disk and displays a status report.

CLS – Clears the screen.

COMP – Compares two groups of files to find information that does not match.

COPY – Copies and appends files.

CACLS Change file permissions

CALL Call one batch program from another•

CERTREQ Request certificate from a certification authority

CERTUTIL Utility for certification authority (CA) files and services

CD Change Directory – move to a specific Folder•

CHANGE Change Terminal Server Session properties

CHKDSK Check Disk – check and repair disk problems

CHKNTFS Check the NTFS file system

CHOICE Accept keyboard input to a batch file

CIPHER Encrypt or Decrypt files/folders

CleanMgr Automated cleanup of Temp files, recycle bin

CLIP Copy STDIN to the Windows clipboard

CLS Clear the screen•

CMD Start a new CMD shell

CMDKEY Manage stored usernames/passwords

COLOR Change colors of the CMD window•

COMP Compare the contents of two files or sets of files

COMPACT Compress files or folders on an NTFS partition

COMPRESS Compress one or more files

CONVERT Convert a FAT drive to NTFS

COPY Copy one or more files to another location•

Coreinfo Show the mapping between logical & physical processors

CSCcmd Client-side caching (Offline Files)

CSVDE Import or Export Active Directory data

DATE Display or set the date•

DEFRAG Defragment hard drive

DELPROF Delete user profiles

DELTREE Delete a folder and all subfolders

DevCon Device Manager Command Line Utility

DIR Display a list of files and folders•

DIRQUOTA File Server Resource Manager Disk quotas

DIRUSE Display disk usage

DISKPART Disk Administration

DEL – Deletes files from disk.

DELTREE – Deletes a directory including all files and subdirectories that are in it.

DIR – Displays directory of files and directories stored on disk.

DISKCOMP – Compares the contents of two diskettes.

DISKSHADOW Volume Shadow Copy Service

DISKUSE Show the space used in folders

DOSKEY Edit command line, recall commands, and create macros

DriverQuery Display installed device drivers

DSACLs Active Directory ACLs

DSAdd Add items to active directory (user group computer)

DSGet View items in active directory (user group computer)

DSQuery Search for items in active directory (user group computer)

DSMod Modify items in active directory (user group computer)

DSMove Move an Active Directory Object

ECHO – Displays messages or turns on or off the display of commands in a batch file.

EDIT – Starts the MS-DOS editor, a text editor used to create and edit ASCII text files.

EXIT – Exits a secondary command processor.

EXPAND – Expands a compressed file.

FASTHELP – Displays a list of DOS commands with a brief explanation of each.

ENDLOCAL End localization of environment changes in a batch file•

ERASE Delete one or more files•

EVENTCREATE Add a message to the Windows event log

EXPAND Uncompress CAB files

EXPLORER Open Windows Explorer

EXTRACT Uncompress CAB files

FIND – Finds and reports the location of a specific string of text characters in one or more files.

FOR – Performs repeated execution of commands (for both batch processing and interactive processing).

FORMAT – Formats a disk to accept DOS files.

FC Compare two files

FIND Search for a text string in a file

FINDSTR Search for strings in files

FOR /F Loop command: against a set of files•

FOR /F Loop command: against the results of another command•

FOR Loop command: all options Files, Directory, List•

FORFILES Batch process multiple files

FORMAT Format a disk

FREEDISK Check free disk space

FSUTIL File and Volume utilities

FTP File Transfer Protocol

FTYPE File extension file type associations•

GRAPHICS – Provides a way to print contents of a graphics screen display.

GETMAC Display the Media Access Control (MAC) address

GOTO Direct a batch program to jump to a labeled line•

GPRESULT Display Resultant Set of Policy information

GPUPDATE Update Group Policy settings

HELP Online Help

HOSTNAME Display the hostname of the computer

IF – Allows for conditional operations in batch processing.

IFMEMBER Is the current user a member of a group

IPCONFIG Configure IP

INUSE Replace files that are in use by the OS

LODCTR Load PerfMon performance counters

LOGMAN Manage Performance Monitor logs

LOGOFF Log a user off

LOGTIME Log the date and time in a file

LABEL – Creates or changes or deletes a volume label for a disk.

MEM – Displays the amount of installed and available memory, including extended, expanded, and upper memory.

MKDIR – Creates a new subdirectory.

MORE – Sends output to console, one screen at a time.

MOVE – Moves one or more files to the location you specify. It can also be used to rename directories.

MAKECAB Create .CAB files

MAPISEND Send email from the command line

MBSAcli Baseline Security Analyzer

MEM Display memory usage

MD Create new folders•

MKLINK Create a symbolic link (link) •

MODE Configure a system device COM/LPT/CON

MORE Display output, one screen at a time

MOUNTVOL Manage a volume mount point

MOVE Move files from one folder to another•

MOVEUSER Move a user from one domain to another

MSG Send a message

MSIEXEC Microsoft Windows Installer

MSINFO32 System Information

MSTSC Terminal Server Connection (Remote Desktop Protocol)

NET Manage network resources

NETDOM Domain Manager

NETSH Configure Network Interfaces, Windows Firewall & Remote access

NBTSTAT Display networking statistics (NetBIOS over TCP/IP)

NETSTAT Display networking statistics (TCP/IP)

NLSINFO Display locale information (reskit).

NLTEST Network Location Test (AD)

NOW Display the current Date and Time

NSLOOKUP Name server lookup

NTBACKUP Backup folders to tape

NTDSUtil Active Directory Domain Services management

NTRIGHTS Edit user account rights

NVSPBIND Modify network bindings

OPENFILES Query or display open files

PATHPING Trace route plus network latency and packet loss

PAUSE Suspends processing of a batch file and display a message•

PERMS Show permissions for a user

PERFMON Performance Monitor

PING Test a network connection

PATH – Sets or displays directories that will be searched for programs not in the current directory.

POPD Return to a previous directory saved by PUSHD•

PORTQRY Display the status of ports and services

POWERCFG Configure power settings

PRINT Print a text file

PRINTBRM Print queue Backup/Recovery

PRNCNFG Configure or rename a printer

PRNMNGR Add, delete, list printers and printer connections

ProcDump Monitor an application for CPU spikes

PROMPT Change the command prompt•

PsExec Execute process remotely

PsFile Show files opened remotely

PsGetSid Display the SID of a computer or a user

PsInfo List information about a system

PsKill Kill processes by name or process ID

PsList List detailed information about processes

PsLoggedOn Who’s logged on (locally or via resource sharing)

PsLogList Event log records

PsPasswd Change account password

PsPing Measure network performance

PsService View and control services

PsShutdown Shutdown or reboot a computer

PsSuspend Suspend processes

PUSHD Save and then change the current directory•

QGREP Search file(s) for lines that match a given pattern

Query Process / QPROCESS Display processes

Query Session / QWinsta Display all sessions (TS/Remote Desktop)

Query TermServer /QAppSrv List all servers (TS/Remote Desktop)

Query User / QUSER Display user sessions (TS/Remote Desktop)

RENAME – Changes the filename under which a file is stored.

RMDIR – Removes a subdirectory.

RASDIAL Manage RAS connections

RASPHONE Manage RAS connections

RECOVER Recover a damaged file from a defective disk

REG Registry: Read, Set, Export, Delete keys and values

REGEDIT Import or export registry settings

REGSVR32 Register or unregister a DLL

REGINI Change Registry Permissions

REM Record comments (remarks) in a batch file•

REN Rename a file or files•

REPLACE Replace or update one file with another

Reset Session Delete a Remote Desktop Session

RD Delete folder(s)•

RMTSHARE Share a folder or a printer

ROBOCOPY Robust File and Folder Copy

ROUTE Manipulate network routing tables

RUN Start | RUN commands

RUNAS Execute a program under a different user account

SORT – Sorts the input and sends it to the screen or to a file.

SC Service Control

SCHTASKS Schedule a command to run at a specific time

SET Display, set, or remove session environment variables•

SETLOCAL Control the visibility of environment variables•

SetSPN Edit Service Principal Names

SETX Set environment variables

SFC System File Checker

SHARE List or edit a file share or print share

ShellRunAs Run a command under a different user account

SHIFT Shift the position of batch file parameters•

SHORTCUT Create a windows shortcut (.LNK file)

SHUTDOWN Shutdown the computer

SLEEP Wait for x seconds

SLMGR Software Licensing Management (Vista/2008)

SORT Sort input

START Start a program, command or batch file•

STRINGS Search for ANSI and UNICODE strings in binary files

SUBINACL Edit file and folder Permissions, Ownership and Domain

SUBST Associate a path with a drive letter

SYSMON Monitor and log system activity to the Windows event log

SYSTEMINFO List system configuration

TAKEOWN Take ownership of a file

TASKLIST List running applications and services

TASKKILL End a running process

TELNET Communicate with another host using the TELNET protocol

TIME Display or set the system time•

TIMEOUT Delay processing of a batch file

TITLE Set the window title for a CMD.EXE session•

TLIST Task list with full path

TOUCH Change file timestamps

TRACERT Trace route to a remote host

TREE Graphical display of folder structure

TSDISCON Disconnect a Remote Desktop Session

TSKILL End a running process

TSSHUTDN Remotely shut down or reboot a terminal server

TYPE Display the contents of a text file•

TypePerf Write performance data to a log file

TZUTIL Time Zone Utility

VER Display version information•

VERIFY Verify that files have been saved•

VOL Display a disk label•

W32TM Time Service

WAITFOR Wait for or send a signal

WEVTUTIL Clear event logs, enable/disable/query logs

WHERE Locate and display files in a directory tree

WHOAMI Output the current UserName and domain

WINDIFF Compare the contents of two files or sets of files

WINRM Windows Remote Management

WINRS Windows Remote Shell

WMIC WMI Commands

WUAUCLT Windows Update

XCOPY – Copies directories, subdirectories, and file

:: Comment / Remark•

Commands marked • are Internal commands only available within the CMD shell.

All other commands (not marked with •) are external commands.

External commands may be used under the CMD shell, PowerShell, or directly from START-RUN.

Final Words About Most Useful Command Prompt Tricks :

Share your experience with this most important command prompt trick to be a smart tech guy. You must use all the above tricks if you want to be a programmer, ethical hacker, or cybersecurity expert.