Windows Shell

cmd.exe or Windows Command Line is the Microsoft equivalent of the Linux Bash Shell.
Its usual location is C:\Windows\system32\cmd.exe.
CMD relies mainly on built-in commands.
Some of the are: dir, cls, move or del.

In Windows 10: Control Panel > System and Security > System > Advanced System Settings.

There are System variables (for all users) and for current user.
Windows does have a PATH variable too, where the executable directories are separated through the ; symbol.

Windows CMD supports more built-in commands than the Linux one.
If you would like to make your newly installed software executable from the command line, syou should place it within any of your PATH locations or change the PATH variable to contain its location.

Windows CMD is a less flexible scripting env than Bash.
PowerShell is better to create advanced scripts in Windows.
In order to access Windows' env variables: %varname%.
You can print env variables using echo, as in: echo %PATH%.
set allows you to view variables.
You can also create your own variables or temporarily modify existing ones.
Any modifications will not be permanent and will only exist in the current cmd.exe window.
Two different cmd.exe windows will not affect each other.
Output redirection also works in Windows, as in echo aaa > file.txt or the append version: echo bbb >> file.txt.
View files with type command: type file.txt.
Some ways of command chaining:
- command1 & command2: execute both regardless of the result.
- command1 && command2: execute the 2nd one if the 1st one's execution succeeded.
- command1 | command2: send output from the first command to the second one.
- command1 || command2: execute the 1st command, and if ti fails, execute the second one.

SET x=123
if %x%==123 (echo true) # true
if %x%==xyz (echo true) # nothing is output
if %x%==xyz (echo true) else (echo "does not contain xyz")

For loop:

for %i in (*.*) do @echo FILE: %i

@: hides the command prompt and just display the output

Last updated 3 years ago