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Questions tagged [command-line]

An interface for interacting with a computer using typed commands in a text-oriented environment, as opposed to a graphical user interface (GUI).

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188 votes
20 answers
771k views

Run a batch file in a completely hidden way

I'm looking for some way to run a batch file (.bat) without anything visible to the user (no window, no taskbar name, .etc..). I don't want to use some program to do that, I'm looking for something ...
Moayad Mardini's user avatar
140 votes
25 answers
389k views

How can I mass rename files?

I've got a bunch of files named with a the pattern 99 - DescriptiveName.txt and I'd like to remove the number from the front so I just have DescriptiveName.txt. How can I do this? Can I do it from ...
509 votes
19 answers
876k views

Is there any 'sudo' command for Windows?

I always work on a non-administrator account on my Windows computer. Sometimes I need to install programs which requires administrator access. As I mostly use the Windows command prompt, is there a ...
ukanth's user avatar
  • 10.7k
104 votes
7 answers
205k views

How does the Windows RENAME command interpret wildcards?

How does the Windows RENAME (REN) command interpret wildcards? The built in HELP facility is of no help - it doesn't address wildcards at all. The Microsoft technet XP online help isn't much better. ...
dbenham's user avatar
  • 11.5k
192 votes
13 answers
725k views

How can I put the computer to sleep from Command Prompt/Run menu?

I know that almost everything on Windows, like opening any sort of application, can be done from the command prompt or from the Run menu. How can I put my computer to sleep or shut it down? What is ...
Lazer's user avatar
  • 17.8k
14 votes
6 answers
41k views

Are the Command Prompt and MS-DOS the same thing?

I argued with my friend that the Command Prompt is just a GUI version of MS-DOS which works in the Windows forms environment. He totally disagrees with me. Who is right?
user978733's user avatar
302 votes
9 answers
1.3m views

Using cd command in Windows command line, can't navigate to D:\

This may be a silly question, and I think I have looked elsewhere to find the answer... Might be a path issue, but when I open the command line and type from the C:\>: cd D:\ I cannot get to the ...
nicorellius's user avatar
  • 6,725
5 votes
1 answer
6k views

Parameter expansion (variable expansion) and quotes within quotes

While working in a (Unix) shell, sometimes I need to double-quote single-quotes or vice versa, i.e. to write something like "foo 'bar baz' moo" or 'foo "bar baz" moo'. This may be because the ...
Kamil Maciorowski's user avatar
18 votes
6 answers
104k views

How to access the Administrator Command Prompt in Windows 8?

When I access the Run dialog in Windows 8 and type cmd, it opens a command prompt but it doesn't have administrative privileges. Looking for cmd at the default start screen does show a command prompt ...
Charles's user avatar
  • 387
36 votes
4 answers
53k views

Assign a shortcut to running a script in OS X

Does OS X provide an easy way to bind key combinations to commands which are typically run on the command line? For example, is there some way to assign ⌘ Cmd+L as a global shortcut to quickly lock ...
Stefan Lasiewski's user avatar
128 votes
8 answers
68k views

Forward SSH traffic through a middle machine

SSH tunneling is very confusing to me. I am wondering if I can do this in Linux. I have 3 machines.. A. My local machine at home. B. Machine at work that I can SSH into (middle man). C. My desktop ...
user avatar
105 votes
6 answers
349k views

Turn off display in Windows on command

Is there a way to turn off the display in Windows (7), preferably without using additional software? Powershell script works fine, but leaves command-line window after turning on the display.
unicoio's user avatar
  • 1,059
259 votes
12 answers
392k views

How do I start Chrome using a specified "user profile"?

I use the new built-in "Users" feature of Chrome to switch between Home/Work accounts easily. However, Chrome remembers the "last" user profile you had selected when launching new windows. This is a ...
Danny Tuppeny's user avatar
599 votes
9 answers
832k views

Using ffmpeg to cut up video

I am using ffmpeg to cut out a section of a large file like this: ffmpeg -i input.wmv -ss 60 -t 60 -acodec copy -vcodec copy output.wmv The -ss part works fine but the -t is ignored. It correctly ...
Neil's user avatar
  • 6,119
71 votes
4 answers
39k views

Which special variables are available when writing a shell command for a context menu

When extending the Windows' shell context menu (e.g. for adding an 'Open command here' prompt on directories), a 'command' key needs to be created in the registry. The value of this 'command' key ...
Gio's user avatar
  • 813
134 votes
17 answers
486k views

Is it possible to download using the Windows command line?

Without using any non-standard (Windows included) utilities, is it possible to download using the Windows command line? The preferred version is Windows XP, but it's also interesting to know for ...
Robert Massa's user avatar
  • 1,635
46 votes
10 answers
170k views

Turn on/off Bluetooth radio/adapter from cmd/powershell in Windows 10

Such a simple task, one would say, and I haven't found a satisfiable solution. What I've tried (with music playing through a Bluetooth-connected speaker to really know the state of the radio): using ...
Martin Pecka's user avatar
31 votes
6 answers
169k views

Change Windows sound volume via the command line

Is it possible to change the volume in Windows XP via the command line?
underskor's user avatar
  • 564
247 votes
11 answers
205k views

Windows equivalent of whereis?

Is there an equivalent of the Unix whereis command in Windows? So that I could figure out where commands I can run actually is.
Svish's user avatar
  • 39.9k
84 votes
9 answers
257k views

Remove USB device from command line

I'm constructing a backup script for Windows 7, and the last action I want it to perform is to safely "remove" the USB drive that it is backing up to. I am under the impression that plugging the drive ...
Canadian Luke's user avatar
4 votes
5 answers
2k views

WinXP dir command: 3 and 4 char extensions are the same?

I'm trying to recursively search a directory tree to find all of the .asp files using the following command: dir *.asp /s For some reason, this returns not only the asp files, but also the aspx ...
chris's user avatar
  • 9,425
228 votes
8 answers
169k views

Typing “python” on Windows 10 (version 1903) command prompt opens Microsoft store

This is strange issue I have observed. I installed Active Python 2.7 on Windows 10 (version 1903). On typing “python” from search, opens the Python 2.7 prompt but when I type from command prompt ...
Dr. Essen's user avatar
  • 2,552
144 votes
6 answers
66k views

Does bash have a hook that is run before executing a command?

In bash, can I arrange for a function to be executed just before running a command? There is $PROMPT_COMMAND, which is executed before showing a prompt, i.e., just after running a command. Bash's $...
130 votes
12 answers
301k views

How can I open a command prompt in current folder with a keyboard shortcut?

How can I open a command prompt in current folder with a keyboard shortcut in Windows 7? Is there any way to implement this? I think Autohotkey could do this, but don't know how.
Gemili's user avatar
  • 1,403
126 votes
6 answers
631k views

A command-line or batch cmd to concatenate multiple files

I have 50 text files in one directory. Is there a Windows command-line method to concatenate those files into a single file? I am using Windows Vista. I don't want to type the name of all files.
Mirage's user avatar
  • 3,233
110 votes
10 answers
450k views

How to make a shortcut from CMD?

How can I create a shortcut file (.lnk) to another file or executable, using command line utilities?
Shantanu's user avatar
  • 1,375
101 votes
5 answers
103k views

How do I access MTP devices on the command line in Windows?

Most MTP (Media Transfer Protocol) devices show up in Windows File Explorer under their device name or a GUID, but they don't have a drive letter assigned. How can I access the files on such devices ...
Peter Hahndorf's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
4k views

How can I single-quote or escape the whole command line in Bash conveniently?

Introduction Consider a tool like watch that can take another command (e.g. ls -l) like this: watch ls -l # or equivalently watch 'ls -l' If the command is more complicated, it's all about quoting/...
Kamil Maciorowski's user avatar
216 votes
9 answers
412k views

How do I find out what version of Linux I'm running?

Is there a way to determine what version (distribution & kernel version, I suppose) of Linux is running (from the command-line), that works on any Linux system?
Daryl Spitzer's user avatar
89 votes
6 answers
168k views

Variables in batch file not being set when inside IF?

I have two examples of very simple batch files: Assigning a value to a variable: @echo off set FOO=1 echo FOO: %FOO% pause echo on Which, as expected, results in: FOO: 1 Press any key to continue ...
Brown's user avatar
  • 1,652
53 votes
5 answers
62k views

Create permanent DOSKEY in Windows cmd

I think the title is pretty self explanatory. The question is how can I create an alias in a Windows cmd that will also work after I close and then reopen it. For example I would like an alias ...
nick zoum's user avatar
  • 605
63 votes
9 answers
210k views

What is the command to use to put your computer to sleep (not hibernate)?

I want to put my Windows PC (Windows 7) into a sleep state via command line (so I can bind to macro button on keyboard). The power button on the PC is setup to but the computer to sleep (but it's ...
Eric L's user avatar
  • 1,452
7 votes
2 answers
1k views

What does ">> file command" do, and how does it differ from "command >> file"?

Picking up from this highly voted comment to What does `>>` mean in terminal command?: "program before" What does that mean? Command obviously, but redirections can also be written prepended, ...
Greenonline's user avatar
  • 2,333
307 votes
5 answers
960k views

Setting and getting Windows environment variables from the command prompt?

I want to set an environment variable from the command prompt and then be able to access it globally (for instance, I should see it by going to System -> Environment Variables). When I use the set ...
Shane's user avatar
  • 3,670
253 votes
8 answers
24k views

What do the parentheses and number after a Unix command or C function mean?

I keep seeing parentheses and a number after a command in Unix or Linux or C function. For example: man(8), ftok(2), mount(8), etc. What do these mean? I see them in man too.
Malfist's user avatar
  • 3,059
45 votes
7 answers
65k views

crossfade between 2 videos using ffmpeg

I've been trying to achieve a crossfade transition between 2 video clips using ffmpeg but have failed so far. I'm new to ffmpeg and am mostly relying on tweaking what I can find in the documentation ...
user avatar
39 votes
10 answers
147k views

On Windows 7, is there a command prompt line that can start cmd as an administrator? [duplicate]

On Linux, we can use sudo bash to run a shell as the superuser. On Windows 7, we can use Start menu -> (in search box, type) cmd -> Right click on search result and choose Run as Administrator ...
nonopolarity's user avatar
  • 9,696
17 votes
8 answers
168k views

How to change keyboard layout via command line cmd.exe on Windows XP/7?

Is is possible to change the keyboard layout via command line on Windows XP/7?
JohnnyFromBF's user avatar
  • 4,968
14 votes
3 answers
51k views

Completely disable UAC in Windows 10

When I was running Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit, I had UAC disabled and everything was working smoothly for me. Now I've updated to Windows 10 Pro 32-bit (and recently also the 2015-11 update), I'm ...
Klitos Kyriacou's user avatar
13 votes
6 answers
134k views

Command-line FTP function does not work

I am using Windows 7 and have multiple FTP client applications working without any problem. However, when I use command-line FTP, I can get connected, log in (after entering user name and password), ...
Hong's user avatar
  • 539
171 votes
9 answers
596k views

How to run a batch file without launching a "command window"? [duplicate]

On Windows XP, can I run a batch (.bat or .cmd) file, via a shortcut, without a "black window"?
dugres's user avatar
  • 1,865
111 votes
16 answers
110k views

How can I trigger a notification when a job/process ends?

The place I work at has commands that take a long time to execute. Is there a command/utility that I can use to notify me when the command execution is over? It could be a popup window or maybe a ...
Utkarsh Sinha's user avatar
90 votes
15 answers
363k views

Windows command that returns external IP

Is there a command by which I can find my external IP of my router or my NAT\DSL Router, etc., eliminating the need to visit whatsmyip.net or similar.
Junaid Saeed's user avatar
  • 1,264
65 votes
12 answers
378k views

How to prevent the command prompt from closing after execution?

My problem is that in Windows, there are command line windows that close immediately after execution. To solve this, I want the default behavior to be that the window is kept open. Normally, this ...
Sk8erPeter's user avatar
  • 1,120
65 votes
13 answers
257k views

Take a screen shot from command line in Windows

I am looking for a way to take a screenshot of the entire screen from the command line. Operating system is Windows. Something like this: C:\>screenshot.exe screen1.png
Željko Filipin's user avatar
58 votes
4 answers
164k views

How to cut at exact frames using ffmpeg?

I'm trying to use ffmpeg to cut video files at precise times. The ffmpeg help shows an option -timecode_frame_start to specify the starting frame but I am unable to get this command to work. The ...
curmil's user avatar
  • 1,065
53 votes
17 answers
270k views

How do you open the command prompt in Windows 7 with a shortcut key?

Is it possible to open the command prompt with Windows 7 with a shortcut key, and if it is, how do you do it? I know that I can assign a shortcut key to it, but does Windows come with a shortcut key ...
Dozer789's user avatar
  • 633
45 votes
10 answers
92k views

Windows 7 Administrator Command Prompt "Start in" Path

So, I know you can create a shortcut to an administrator-level command prompt (as described in this question), but what I'm seeing is that whenever I use such a shortcut, it always drops me into c:\...
Alex Beynenson's user avatar
222 votes
7 answers
470k views

Browse an UNC path using Windows CMD without mapping it to a network drive

C:\> cd \\somewhere '\\somewhere' CMD does not support UNC paths as current directories. What I usually do to get around this is to map that directory to a network drive and then I could easily ...
Andreas Grech's user avatar
145 votes
8 answers
172k views

Where does $PATH get set in OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard?

I type echo $PATH on the command line and get /opt/local/bin:/opt/local/sbin:/Users/andrew/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/local/mysql/bin:/usr/local/pear/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/...
Andrew's user avatar
  • 15.1k

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