Software & Apps Windows 563 563 people found this article helpful Command Prompt: What It Is and How to Use It Command Prompt is available in most Windows operating systems by Tim Fisher General Manager, VP, Lifewire.com Tim Fisher has 30+ years' professional technology support experience. He writes troubleshooting content and is the General Manager of Lifewire. our editorial process Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Tim Fisher Updated on December 02, 2020 Tweet Share Email Windows The Ultimate Laptop Buying Guide Command Prompt is a command line interpreter application available in most Windows operating systems. It's used to execute entered commands. Most of those commands automate tasks via scripts and batch files, perform advanced administrative functions, and troubleshoot or solve certain kinds of Windows issues. Command Prompt is officially called Windows Command Processor, but it's also sometimes referred to as the command shell or cmd prompt, or even by its filename, cmd.exe. Lifewire / Derek Abella Command Prompt is sometimes incorrectly referred to as "the DOS prompt" or as MS-DOS itself. Command Prompt is a Windows program that emulates many of the command line abilities available in MS-DOS, but it's not MS-DOS. Cmd is also an abbreviation for many other technology terms like centralized message distribution, color monitor display, and common management database, but none of them have anything to do with Command Prompt. How to Access Command Prompt There are several ways to open Command Prompt, but the "normal" method is via the Command Prompt shortcut located in the Start menu or on the Apps screen, depending on your version of Windows. Opening Command Prompt in Windows 10. The shortcut is faster for most people, but another way to access Command Prompt is via the cmd Run command. You can also open cmd.exe from its original location: C:\Windows\system32\cmd.exe Yet another method for opening Command Prompt in some versions of Windows is through the Power User Menu. However, you might see PowerShell there instead of Command Prompt depending on how your computer is set up. Many commands can only be executed if you're running the Command Prompt as an administrator. How to Use Command Prompt To use Command Prompt, you enter a valid Command Prompt command along with any optional parameters. Command Prompt then executes the command as entered and performs the task or function it's designed to perform in Windows. For example, executing the following Command Prompt command in your Downloads folder would remove all MP3s from that folder: del *.mp3 Commands must be entered into Command Prompt exactly. The wrong syntax or a misspelling could cause the command to fail or worse; it could execute the wrong command or the right command in the wrong way. A comfort level with reading command syntax is recommended. For example, executing the dir command will show a list of files and folders that exist at any specific location on the computer, but it doesn't actually do anything. However, change just a couple letters and it turns into the del command, which is how you delete files from Command Prompt! Syntax is so important that with some commands, especially the delete command, adding even a single space can mean deleting entirely different data. Here's an example where the space in the command breaks the line into two sections, essentially creating two commands where the files in the root folder (files) are deleted instead of the files in the subfolder (music): del C:\files\ music The proper way to execute that command so as to remove files from the music folder instead is to remove the space so that the whole command is strung together correctly. Don't let this scare you away from using Command Prompt commands, but definitely let it make you cautious. Command Prompt Commands A large number of commands exist in Command Prompt, but their availability differs from operating system to operating system. You can view which Command Prompt commands are compatible with a specific operating system here: Windows 8 CommandsWindows 7 CommandsWindows XP Commands Following those command lists will prove that there are lots and lots of commands you can use in Command Prompt, but not all of them are used as often as others. Here are some of the more commonly used Command Prompt commands that are utilized in a variety of circumstances: chkdsk, copy, ftp, del, format, ping, attrib, net, dir, help, and shutdown. 21 Best Command Prompt Tricks Command Prompt Availability Command Prompt is available on every Windows NT-based operating system which includes Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows 2000, as well as Windows Server 2012, 2008, and 2003. Windows PowerShell, an advanced command line interpreter available in recent Windows versions, supplements the command executing abilities available in Command Prompt. Windows PowerShell may eventually replace the Command Prompt in a future version of Windows. Windows Terminal is another Microsoft-approved way of using Command Prompt and PowerShell within the same tool. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Email Address Sign up There was an error. Please try again. You're in! 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