The Windows command prompt, also known as cmd.exe, has more than 280 commands. We have compiled the 20 most important ones here. The Windows command prompt can be a very useful and above all powerful tool – if you know how to use it.
There are so many commands, it’s impossible to remember them all. That’s why we’ve put together the 20 most important commands for you in our tips+tricks article.
The 20 most important CMD commands in Windows
To be able to enter commands, you must first open the command prompt. To do this, simply press the [Windows] + [R] keys at the same time and enter ” cmd “. Then press [Enter] and you’re good to go.
List of 20 CMD Commands
| /? | The help command contains a list of all commands. You can also type it after a command to get more information about that command. |
| && | This allows you to type multiple commands at once. Type && between two commands to run them one after the other. |
| colour | This command allows you to change the colors of the text and background in the Command Prompt window. |
| clip | The clip command copies the output of any command to the clipboard. |
| doskey /history | Once entered, you’ll see all the commands you’ve used in the current Command Prompt session. |
| task list | tasklist shows a list of applications, services and the process ID currently running on your computer. |
| task kill | This command terminates a running task. It’s the equivalent of ending a process in Task Manager. |
| associate | The assoc command displays or changes the file type associated with a specific file extension. |
| driverquery | The driverquery command displays a list of all installed drivers. |
| ipconfig | The ipconfig command displays detailed IP information for each network adapter using TCP/IP. It can also be used to release and renew IP addresses on systems configured to receive from a DHCP server. |
| ping | Once entered, an ICMMP Echo Request packet is sent to a specified remote desktop to verify IP-level connectivity. |
| netstat | The netstat command is used to display all open network connections. |
| system info | The systeminfo command displays basic Windows configuration information for the local computer or a remote desktop. |
| powercfg | The powercfg command is used to manage Windows power settings from the command line. |
| sfc | The sfc command scans and replaces critical Windows system files. The sfc command is also known as the “System File Checker” depending on the operating system. |
| chkdsk | The chkdsk command , often referred to as “check disk,” is used to detect and fix certain hard drive errors. |
| regedit | This command opens the registry, which you can then edit and change. |
| schtasks | The schtasks command runs specified programs or commands at specified times. In addition, scheduled tasks can be created, deleted, queried, modified, executed, and terminated. |
| del /q /f /s %temp%\* | After entering all temporary files of the current user will be deleted. |
| exit | This command ends the command prompt. |