Command Line List and Reference

The complete list of possible commands is quite large. Collected here is a selection of those that I believe are likely to be the most applicable to home PC use.

Many of the commands listed below are also discussed in more detail elsewhere on this site as is indicated by the link "details here". Most commands have switches that are not given in the table. For more information, open a command prompt and enter "commandname /?" (without quotes). Detailed information about these commands and a larger list is available at this Microsoft reference.

Selected list of commands

Command	Description	Example
assoc	Displays or modifies file name extension associations. Used alone, displays a list of all the current file name associations	details here
at	Schedules commands and programs to run on a computer at a specified time and date. Requires the Schedule service. Superseded by schtasks
attrib	Configures file attributes read only, hidden, system	details here
bootcfg	Used to repair or edit the boot.ini file	details here
cd or chdir	Displays the name of the current directory or changes the current folder	cd folderpath
chkdsk	Checks hard drives for errors. With switches,does repairs.	details here
cls	Clears the screen	cls
copy	Copies a file from one location to another	copy somefile somefolder
del	Deletes one or more files	details here
dir	Displays a list of a folder's files and subfolders	details here
echo	Used to display a message or to turn off/on messages in batch scripts	echo message
exit	Exits batch script or current command control	exit
fc	Compares two files and displays the differences between them	fc file1 file2
for	Runs a specified command for each item in a set	details here
fsutil	Displays and configures certain file system properties. A suite of various commands	details here
ftype	Displays or modifies file types used in file name extension associations	details here
getmac	Returns the media access control (MAC) address for your network card	getmac
goto	Directs the Windows command interpreter to a labeled line in a batch program	details here
if	Performs conditional processing in batch programs	details here
ipconfig	Displays all current TCP/IP network configuration values and refreshes Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and Domain Name System (DNS) settings	details here
md or mkdir	Creates a directory (folder) or subdirectory (subfolder)	details here
more	Displays one screen of output at a time. Used with another command that has extensive output	command |more
move	Moves a file from one folder to another	details here
net	A suite of various networking and service commands	details here
netsh	Network services shell . Complex suite of commands.	details here
netstat	Displays active TCP connections, ports on which the computer is listening, Ethernet statistics, the IP routing table, statistics for the IP, ICMP, TCP, and UDP protocols	details here
path	Sets the command path in the PATH environment variable, which is the set of directories used to search for executable files	details here
pathping	Provides information about network performance and conditions at intermediate hops between a source and destination	details here
pause	Used in batch scripts	pause
ping	Checks connectivity to other networked computers, routers, or Internet sites	details here
popd, pushd	Changes the directory being referenced in a command prompt. Pushd changes the directory and stores the previous directory. Popd changes the current directory to the directory stored by the pushd command	pushd somefolder popd
powercfg	Manages the power settings such as hibernation. Has numerous switches
reg	Adds, changes, and displays registry entries. A suite of various commands	details here
rd or rmdir	Deletes a directory (folder)	details here
ren or rename	Changes the name of a file or a set of files	details here
sc	Used to obtain information about services and to configure them. A suite of various commands	details here
schtasks	Schedules commands and programs to run periodically or at a specific time
set	Displays, sets, or removes environment variables	details here and also here
sfc	System file checker scans and verifies the versions of all protected system files	sfc /scannow
shutdown	Shuts down or restarts a computer	details here
start	Starts an application or opens a new command window	details here
subst	Associates a folder with a drive letter	details here
systeminfo	Displays detailed configuration information about a computer and its operating system	systeminfo | more
taskkill	Ends one or more tasks or processes	details here
tasklist	Displays a list of applications and services with their Process ID (PID) for all tasks running	details here
tree	Graphically displays the directory structure of a folder or drive	tree somefolder
type	Displays the contents of a text file	type somefile.txt
xcopy	Powerful command with many switches for copying and backing up files and folders	details here