Command Prompt Commands

Anyone who's familiar with the Command Prompt in Windows knows that there are a huge number of available commands... and many more than what that helpful help command will tell you about.

I did some research and it turns out there are over 270 commands available from the Command Prompt. That's a lot. There are a few more in Windows 7 than in Windows Vista and a few more there than in Windows XP:

List of Command Prompt Commands

Command Prompt commands are also sometimes called cmd commands - either is correct. You'll also see Command Prompt commands referred to as DOS commands but the Command Prompt is not MS-DOS. MS-DOS is an operating system in and of itself and is not part of Windows 7, Vista, or XP in any way.

Here are some operating system specific lists as well:

• Command Prompt Commands in Windows 7
• Command Prompt Commands in Windows Vista
• Command Prompt Commands in Windows XP

I've included a brief description of each command so hopefully this proves to be more of a resource than a simple listing. I'll be linking to more in depth guides for each command as time permits.

If you don't care about what the commands do, I've also created a handy one-page table here that you might find helpful. Be sure to let me know if I missed a command!

You might also like my Command Prompt Tricks & Hacks article with all kinds of useful tips for using the Command Prompt.

Update: Apparently there is still some interest in actual DOS commands so here's an accurate list of what was available in the final version of MS-DOS, version 6.22: List of DOS Commands.