Dante's Knowledge Base

A collection of guides and tutorials by Dante.

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Command Prompt & Windows Terminal 🪟

Everything you need for the classic Windows Command Prompt (cmd.exe), best used inside the modern Windows Terminal app.

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1. Opening It

Way	How
Run dialog	Press Win + R, type cmd, press Enter
Start menu	Search “Command Prompt” or “Terminal”
From Explorer	In a folder, click the address bar, type cmd, Enter

Tip: Windows Terminal can host CMD, PowerShell, and even WSL/Bash side by side in tabs. Run wt from a Run dialog or terminal to start it.

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2. Navigation

cd            REM show current directory
cd ..         REM go up one folder
cd /d D:\proj REM change drive AND folder
pushd D:\x    REM save current dir, jump to D:\x
popd          REM return to saved dir

3. Files & Folders

dir                     REM list files
dir /a                  REM include hidden/system files
dir /s                  REM list recursively
tree /f                 REM visual folder tree
mkdir new\folder\name   REM create folders (creates all levels)
copy a.txt b.txt        REM copy file
robocopy src dst /E     REM robust copy of whole folders
move a.txt docs\        REM move file
ren old.txt new.txt     REM rename
del a.txt               REM delete file
rmdir docs              REM remove empty folder
rmdir /s /q docs        REM remove folder + contents (no prompt)

4. Viewing Files

type file.txt    REM print file to screen
more file.txt    REM page through a big file (Space, Q to quit)

5. Networking

ipconfig           REM your IP configuration
ipconfig /all      REM full detail (MAC, DNS, gateway)
ipconfig /flushdns REM clear DNS cache
ping google.com    REM test connectivity
ping -t 8.8.8.8    REM ping forever, Ctrl+C to stop
tracert google.com REM show route hops
nslookup google.com
netstat -ano       REM connections + owning PID
netstat -ano | findstr LISTENING

6. Processes & System

tasklist                  REM list running processes
tasklist | findstr notepad
taskkill /IM notepad.exe /F   REM kill by name, force
taskkill /PID 1234 /F         REM kill by PID
systeminfo                REM hardware + OS info
whoami                    REM current user
ver                       REM Windows version
cls                       REM clear screen

7. Clipboard

dir | clip          REM copy command output to clipboard
clip < file.txt     REM copy file content to clipboard
echo hi | clip

8. Redirects & Pipes

dir > listing.txt   REM save output to file (overwrite)
dir >> listing.txt  REM append to file
command 2> err.txt  REM capture errors
command >nul        REM throw output away
dir | more          REM pipe output through pager
dir | findstr txt   REM pipe into search

Searching text: findstr is the CMD cousin of grep:

findstr /i "error" log.txt
findstr /s /i "TODO" *.java

9. Environment Variables

echo %PATH%                    REM show PATH
set                            REM list all variables
set MYVAR=hello                REM set (session only)
echo %MYVAR%
set PATH=%PATH%;C:\myapp\bin   REM append to PATH

10. Batch Files (.bat)

@echo off
echo Hello %USERNAME%!
echo Your folder: %CD%
pause

A quick loop:

@echo off
for /L %%i in (1,1,5) do echo Count: %%i
pause

• %1, %2 — first/second argument passed to the script
• if exist file.txt echo Found — conditional
• Save as myscript.bat and run with myscript or myscript.bat

11. Handy Keys

Keys	Action
Tab	Autocomplete file/folder names (press repeatedly to cycle)
F7	See command history as a list
↑ / ↓	Previous / next command
Ctrl + C	Interrupt a running command
Ctrl + V / right-click	Paste (in Windows Terminal)
Ctrl + L	Clear screen (Windows Terminal)

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See also: PowerShell, Bash (Linux & macOS), Cross-Shell Cheat Sheet

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