Batch File Commands List With Examples

In this tutorial, we are going to see a list of batch file commands with examples. Batch files are batch files that allow Windows users to automate system or program processes. For this purpose, these files contain commands, also called “batch commands”, which can be executed via the command prompt. There are hundreds of batch commands that can be used to automate many tasks.
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Batch File Commands List With Examples

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VER

Allows you to display the current version of the operating system.
 
Example:

@echo off 
VER

Output:

Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.18362.1016]

---

 

DIR

Allows you to display the entire contents of a directory.
 
Example:
 
The following example list the contents of c:\example including all files:

@echo off 
DIR /a c:\example

Output:

 Volume in drive C has no label.
 Volume Serial Number is B48B-AA22

 Directory of C:\example

09/14/2021  09:43 AM    <dir>          .
09/14/2021  09:43 AM    <dir>          ..
07/27/2021  05:10 PM           118,622 mcq.png
09/13/2021  08:06 PM                15 script.txt
03/16/2021  01:10 PM           322,374 suprabuilder.js
09/14/2021  09:43 AM    <dir>          tmp
               3 File(s)        441,011 bytes
               3 Dir(s)  10,017,726,464 bytes free

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DEL

Allows you to delete individual files.
 
Example:
 
The following example delete “My File.txt”:

@echo off 
DEL "My File.txt"

---

 

MKDIR

Allows you to create a directory.
 
Example:
 
The following example create a new directory called “MyFolder”:

@echo off 
MKDIR C:\Users\StackHowTo\MyFolder

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RMDIR

Allows you to delete a directory.
 
Example:
 
The following example delete the directory called “MyFolder”:

@echo off 
RMDIR C:\Users\StackHowTo\MyFolder

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RENAME

This command allows you to rename files.
 
Example:
 
The following example rename “example.txt” as “test.txt”:

@echo off 
RENAME example.txt test.txt

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REPLACE

This command allows you to replace or overwrite files.
 
Example:
 
The following example Update the record.mp3 file in all the folders under C:\records :

@echo off 
REPLACE "C:\tmp\record.mp3" C:\records /s

Output:

Replacing C:\records\Jan\record.mp3
Replacing C:\records\Feb\record.mp3
Replacing C:\records\Mar\record.mp3

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MOVE

This command allows you to rename or move files or directories.
 
Example:
 
The following example rename “oldfile.txt” as “newfile.doc” in the current folder:

@echo off 
MOVE oldfile.txt newfile.doc

Output:

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COPY

This command allows you to copy files.
 
Example:
 
The following example copy the content from “source.doc” to “newfile.doc” in the current folder:

@echo off 
COPY source.doc newfile.doc

Output:

1 file(s) copied.

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CD

This command allows you to switch to another directory or folder.
 
Example:
 
The following example switch to the parent directory:

@echo off 
CD ..

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CHDIR

This command is a synonym for CD.
 
Example:
 
The following example switch to the parent directory:

@echo off 
CHDIR ..

---

 

CHKDSK

This command allows you to search for errors on hard disks.
 
Example:
 
The following example scan the C drive:

@echo off 
CHKDSK C:

Output:

The type of the file system is NTFS.

Stage 1: Examining basic file system structure ...
  879872 file records processed.
File verification completed.
  36471 large file records processed.
  0 bad file records processed.

Stage 2: Examining file name linkage ...
  33374 reparse records processed.
  1156752 index entries processed.
Index verification completed.

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CLS

This command allows you to delete all the content on the screen.
 
Example:

@echo off 
CLS

Output:

---

COLOR

This command allows you to change the background color of the current console.
 
Example:
 
The following example change the color to White on Blue:

@echo off 
COLOR 17

Output:

To change back to the default terminal color run this command COLOR 07(white on black).

---

 

COMP

This command allows you to compare the contents of two or more files.
 
Example:
 
The following example compare the contents of file1.txt to file2.txt:

@echo off 
COMP C:\demo\file1.txt C:\demo\file2.txt

Output:

Comparing file1.txt and file2.txt...
Files compare OK

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DATE

This command allows you to display and change the system date/time.
 
Example:
 
The following example display the system date/time:

@echo off 
echo %DATE%
echo %TIME%

Output:

Tue 09/14/2021
13:33:43.63

---

ECHO

This command allows you to display messages in the console and activation/deactivation of the command display.
 
Example:
 
The following example display the department variable:

@echo off 
Set _department = 'Tech'
ECHO %_department%

Output:

'Tech'

---

 

EXIST

This command allows you to check if a file exists.
 
Example:
 
The following example check if “filename” exists:

@echo off 

IF EXIST "filename" (
    echo 'File EXIST!'
) ELSE (
    echo 'File missing!'
)

---

EXIT

This command allows you to ends a batch file or command prompt.
 
Example:
 
The following example exit if the required file “myFile.txt” is missing:

@Echo Off
IF NOT EXIST myFile.txt EXIT /b
Echo "File Exists!"

---

FOR

This command allows you to creates a for() loop that polls the commands one after the other at the frequency indicated in parentheses.
 
Example:

@Echo Off
FOR /L %%A IN (1,1,10) DO (
  ECHO %%A
)

1,1,10 means:

• Start = 1
• Increment per step = 1
• End = 10

Output:

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

---

 

IF

This command allows you to integrate conditions within batch files, similar to JavaScript for example.
 
Example:
 
The following example exit if the required file “myFile.txt” is missing:

@Echo Off
IF NOT EXIST myFile.txt EXIT /b
Echo "File Exists!"

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REM

All commands coming after REM or :: are considered as comments by the console.
 
Example:
 
The following example exit if the required file “myFile.txt” is missing:

@Echo Off
:: First comment
REM Second comment

---

 

GOTO

This command allows you to go directly to a specific location in a batch file.
 
Example:
 
The following example jump to ‘next_message’ label and display “Next Message”:

@Echo Off
GOTO next_message
   Echo "This will not display"
goto:eof

:next_message
   Echo "Next Message"

Output:

Next Message

---

PAUSE

The executed batch file is stopped and the console displays the message Press any key to continue….
 
Example:

@Echo Off
PAUSE

Output:

Press any key to continue . . .

---

 

CALL

This command allows you to call a batch file from another batch file.
 
Example:
 
The following example call SecondScript.bat from the current script.

@Echo Off
CALL SecondScript

---

SET

This command allows you to read and delete variables in the command prompt.
 
Example:
 
The /P option allows you to set a variable equal to the value entered by the user.

@echo off
Set /P _department=Please enter Department: 

If /i "%_department%"=="finance" goto finance
If /i "%_department%"=="hr" goto hr
goto:eof

:finance
echo You have chosen the Finance department
goto:eof

:hr
echo You have chosen the HR department
goto:eof

Output:

---

 

TITLE

This command allows you to change the title of the command prompt window.
 
Example:
 
The following example change the title of the command prompt to “Welcome to StackHowTo!”.

@Echo Off
TITLE "Welcome to StackHowTo!"

Output:

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START

This command allows you to start some programs or some commands.
 
Example:
 
The following example will start two programs called Notepad and Calculator.

@Echo Off
START notepad.exe
START calc.exe

Output:

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SHUTDOWN

This command allows you to closes the session, restarts the computer, or shuts it down.
 
Example:
 
The following example will shut down your computer in 60 seconds.

@Echo Off
SHUTDOWN /s /t 60 /c

---

 

FIND

This command allows you to search for one or more files by using character input.
 
Example:
 
The following example will search for “hello” in myFile.txt.

@Echo Off
FIND "hello" myFile.txt

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MORE

This command allows you to display data page by page on the screen.
 
Example:
 
The following example will display the content of myFile.txt page by page on the screen.

@Echo Off
MORE myFile.txt

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TYPE

This command allows you to display the contents of text files.
 
Example:
 
The following example will display the content of myFile.txt.

@Echo Off
TYPE myFile.txt

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PING

This command allows you to test the connection with another device.
 
Example:
 
The following example will ping a website(example.com) 5 times.

@Echo Off
PING -n 5 www.example.com

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HOSTNAME

This command allows you to display the computer’s name.
 
Example:

@Echo Off
HOSTNAME