This article presents a list of commands used by

DOS DOS is shorthand for the MS-DOS and IBM PC DOS family of operating systems. DOS may also refer to: Computing * Data over signalling (DoS), multiplexing data onto a signalling channel * Denial-of-service attack (DoS), an attack on a communicat ...

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also in ...

s, especially as used on

x86 x86 (also known as 80x86 or the 8086 family) is a family of complex instruction set computer (CISC) instruction set architectures initially developed by Intel based on the Intel 8086 microprocessor and its 8088 variant. The 8086 was introd ...

-based

IBM PC compatible IBM PC compatible computers are similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT, all from computer giant IBM, that are able to use the same software and expansion cards. Such computers were referred to as PC clones, IBM clones or IBM PC clones. ...

s (PCs). Other DOS operating systems are not part of the scope of this list. In DOS, many standard system commands were provided for common tasks such as listing files on a disk or moving files. Some commands were built into the command interpreter, others existed as external commands on disk. Over the several generations of DOS, commands were added for the additional functions of the operating system. In the current

Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

operating system, a text-mode command prompt window,

cmd.exe Command Prompt, also known as cmd.exe or cmd, is the default command-line interpreter for the OS/2, eComStation, ArcaOS, Microsoft Windows (Windows NT family and Windows CE family), and ReactOS operating systems. On Windows CE .NET 4.2, Windo ...

, can still be used.

Command processing

The command interpreter for DOS runs when no application programs are running. When an application exits, if the transient portion of the command interpreter in memory was overwritten, DOS will reload it from disk. Some commands are internal—built into COMMAND.COM; others are external commands stored on disk. When the user types a line of text at the operating system command prompt, COMMAND.COM will parse the line and attempt to match a command name to a built-in command or to the name of an executable program file or

batch file Batch may refer to: Food and drink * Batch (alcohol), an alcoholic fruit beverage * Batch loaf, a type of bread popular in Ireland * A dialect term for a bread roll used in North Warwickshire, Nuneaton and Coventry, as well as on the Wirral ...

on disk. If no match is found, an error message is printed, and the command prompt is refreshed. External commands were too large to keep in the command processor, or were less frequently used. Such utility programs would be stored on disk and loaded just like regular application programs but were distributed with the operating system. Copies of these utility command programs had to be on an accessible disk, either on the current drive or on the command

path A path is a route for physical travel – see Trail. Path or PATH may also refer to: Physical paths of different types * Bicycle path * Bridle path, used by people on horseback * Course (navigation), the intended path of a vehicle * Desire p ...

set in the command interpreter. In the list below, commands that can accept more than one file name, or a filename including wildcards (* and ?), are said to accept a ''filespec In MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows, filespec is a term meaning a filename identifier that specifies both the name and location of a single file. The filespec differs from the filename in that the filespec includes a complete specification, within a pa ...'' (file specification) parameter. Commands that can accept only a single file name are said to accept a ''filename'' parameter. Additionally, command line switches, or other parameter strings, can be supplied on the command line. Spaces and symbols such as a "/" or a "-" may be used to allow the command processor to parse the command line into filenames, file specifications, and other options. The command interpreter preserves the case of whatever parameters are passed to commands, but the command names themselves and file names are case-insensitive. Many commands are the same across many DOS systems, but some differ in command syntax or name.

DOS commands

A partial list of the most common commands for

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few ope ...

and

IBM PC DOS IBM PC DOS, an acronym for IBM Personal Computer Disk Operating System, is a discontinued disk operating system for IBM PC compatibles. It was manufactured and sold by IBM from the early 1980s into the 2000s. Developed by Microsoft, it was also ...

follows below.

APPEND

Sets the path to be searched for data files or displays the current search path. The APPEND command is similar to the PATH command that tells DOS where to search for program files (files with a .COM, . EXE, or .BAT file name extension). The command is available in MS-DOS versions 3.2 and later.

ASSIGN

The command redirects requests for disk operations on one drive to a different drive. It can also display drive assignments or reset all drive letters to their original assignments. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 3 through 5 and IBM PC DOS releases 2 through 5.

ATMDM

Lists connections and addresses seen by Windows ATM call manager.

ATTRIB

Attrib changes or views the attributes of one or more files. It defaults to display the attributes of all files in the current directory. The file attributes available include read-only, archive, system, and hidden attributes. The command has the capability to process whole folders and subfolders of files and also process all files. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 3 and later.

BACKUP and RESTORE

These are commands to

backup In information technology, a backup, or data backup is a copy of computer data taken and stored elsewhere so that it may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form, referring to the process of doing so, is "back up", w ...

and restore files from an external disk. These appeared in version 2, and continued to

PC DOS PC or pc may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Player character or playable character, a fictional character controlled by a human player, usually in role-playing games or computer games * ''Port Charles'', an American daytime TV soap opera * ...

5 and MS-DOS 6 (PC DOS 7 had a deversioned check). In DOS 6, these were replaced by commercial programs (CPBACKUP, MSBACKUP), which allowed files to be restored to different locations.

BASIC and BASICA

An implementation of the

BASIC BASIC (Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages designed for ease of use. The original version was created by John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz at Dartmouth College ...

programming language for PCs. Implementing BASIC in this way was very common in operating systems on 8- and 16-bit machines made in the 1980s. IBM computers had BASIC 1.1 in ROM, and IBM's versions of BASIC used code in this ROM-BASIC, which allowed for extra memory in the code area. BASICA last appeared in

5.02, and in

OS/2 OS/2 (Operating System/2) is a series of computer operating systems, initially created by Microsoft and IBM under the leadership of IBM software designer Ed Iacobucci. As a result of a feud between the two companies over how to position OS/2 ...

(2.0 and later), the version had ROM-BASIC moved into the program code. Microsoft released

GW-BASIC GW-BASIC is a dialect of the BASIC programming language developed by Microsoft from IBM BASICA. Functionally identical to BASICA, its BASIC interpreter is a fully self-contained executable and does not need the Cassette BASIC ROM found in the or ...

for machines with no ROM-BASIC. Some OEM releases had basic.com and basica.com as loaders for GW-BASIC.EXE. BASIC was dropped after MS-DOS 4, and PC DOS 5.02. OS/2 (which uses PC DOS 5), has it, while MS-DOS 5 does not.

BREAK

This command is used to instruct DOS to check whether the and keys have been pressed before carrying out a program request. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 2 and later.

CALL

Starts a batch file from within another batch file and returns when that one ends. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 3.3 and later.

CD and CHDIR

The CHDIR (or the alternative name CD) command either displays or changes the current working

directory Directory may refer to: * Directory (computing), or folder, a file system structure in which to store computer files * Directory (OpenVMS command) * Directory service, a software application for organizing information about a computer network's u ...

. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 2 and later.

CHCP

The command either displays or changes the active

code page In computing, a code page is a character encoding and as such it is a specific association of a set of printable characters and control characters with unique numbers. Typically each number represents the binary value in a single byte. (In some co ...

used to display character glyphs in a console window. Similar functionality can be achieved with

MODE 
Mode ( la, modus meaning "manner, tune, measure, due measure, rhythm, melody") may refer to:

  Arts and entertainment 
* '' MO''D''E (magazine)'', a defunct U.S. women's fashion magazine 
* ''Mode'' magazine, a fictional fashion magazine which is  ...
 CON: CP SELECT=

. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 3.3 and later.

CHKDSK

CHKDSK verifies a storage

volume Volume is a measure of occupied three-dimensional space. It is often quantified numerically using SI derived units (such as the cubic metre and litre) or by various imperial or US customary units (such as the gallon, quart, cubic inch). The de ...

(for example, a

hard disk A hard disk drive (HDD), hard disk, hard drive, or fixed disk is an electro-mechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using magnetic storage with one or more rigid rapidly rotating platters coated with magnet ...

disk partition Disk partitioning or disk slicing is the creation of one or more regions on secondary storage, so that each region can be managed separately. These regions are called partitions. It is typically the first step of preparing a newly installed disk ...

floppy disk A floppy disk or floppy diskette (casually referred to as a floppy, or a diskette) is an obsolescent type of disk storage composed of a thin and flexible disk of a magnetic storage medium in a square or nearly square plastic enclosure lined w ...

) for file system integrity. The command has the ability to fix errors on a volume and recover information from defective

disk sector In computer disk storage, a sector is a subdivision of a track on a magnetic disk or optical disc. Each sector stores a fixed amount of user-accessible data, traditionally 512 bytes for hard disk drives (HDDs) and 2048 bytes for CD-ROMs and D ...

s of a volume. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 1 and later.

CHOICE

The CHOICE command is used in batch files to prompt the user to select one item from a set of single-character ''choices''. Choice was introduced as an external command with MS-DOS 6.0;

Novell DOS DR-DOS (written as DR DOS, without a hyphen, in versions up to and including 6.0) is a disk operating system for IBM PC compatibles. Upon its introduction in 1988, it was the first DOS attempting to be compatible with IBM PC DOS and MS-D ...

7 and PC DOS 7.0. Earlier versions of

DR-DOS DR-DOS (written as DR DOS, without a hyphen, in versions up to and including 6.0) is a disk operating system for IBM PC compatibles. Upon its introduction in 1988, it was the first DOS attempting to be compatible with IBM PC DOS and MS-D ...

supported this function with the built-in ''switch'' command (for numeric choices) or by beginning a command with a question mark. This command was formerly called ync (yes-no-cancel).

CLS

The CLS or CLRSCR command clears the terminal screen. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 2 and later.

COMMAND

Start a new instance of the command interpreter. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 1 and later.

COMP

Show differences between any two files, or any two sets of files. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 3.3 through 5 and IBM PC DOS releases 1 through 5.

COPY

Makes copies of existing files. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 1 and later.

CTTY

Defines the

terminal Terminal may refer to: Computing Hardware * Terminal (electronics), a device for joining electrical circuits together * Terminal (telecommunication), a device communicating over a line * Computer terminal, a set of primary input and output devic ...

device (for example, COM1) to use for input and output. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 2 and later.

DATE

Displays the

system date In computer science and computer programming, system time represents a computer system's notion of the passage of time. In this sense, ''time'' also includes the passing of days on the calendar. System time is measured by a ''system clock'', w ...

and prompts the user to enter a new date. Complements the

TIME Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

command. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 1 and later.

DBLBOOT

(Not a command: This is a batch file added to DOS 6.X Supplemental Disks to help create DoubleSpace boot floppies.)

DBLSPACE

disk compression A disk compression software utility increases the amount of information that can be stored on a hard disk drive of given size. Unlike a file compression utility, which compresses only specified files—and which requires the user to designate ...

utility supplied with MS-DOS version 6.0 (released in 1993) and version 6.2.

DEBUG

A very primitive assembler and disassembler.

DEFRAG

The command has the ability to analyze the file fragmentation on a disk drive or to

defragment In the maintenance of file systems, defragmentation is a process that reduces the degree of file system fragmentation, fragmentation. It does this by physically organizing the contents of the mass storage device used to store computer file, fi ...

a drive. This command is called DEFRAG in MS-DOS/PC DOS and diskopt in

. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 6 and later.

DEL and ERASE

DEL (or the alternative form ERASE) is used to delete one or more files. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 1 and later.

DELTREE

Deletes a directory along with all of the files and subdirectories that it contains. Normally, it will ask for confirmation of the potentially dangerous action. Since the RD (RMDIR) command can not delete a directory if the directory is not empty (except in Windows NT & 10), the DELTREE command can be used to delete the whole directory. The deltree command is included in certain versions of

and

s. It is specifically available only in versions of

6.0 and higher, and in Microsoft Windows 9x. In Windows NT, the functionality provided exists but is handled by the command or which has slightly different syntax. This command is not present in Windows 7 and 8. In Windows 10, the command switch is or .

DIR

The DIR command displays the contents of a directory. The contents comprise the disk's volume label and serial number; one directory or filename per line, including the filename extension, the file size in bytes, and the date and time the file was last modified; and the total number of files listed, their cumulative size, and the free space (in bytes) remaining on the disk. The command is one of the few commands that exist from the first versions of DOS. The command can display files in subdirectories. The resulting directory listing can be sorted by various criteria and filenames can be displayed in a chosen format.

DISKCOMP

A command for comparing the complete contents of a

to another one. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 3.2 and later and IBM PC DOS releases 1 and later.

DISKCOPY

A command for copying the complete contents of a diskette to another diskette. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 2 and later.

DOSKEY

A command that adds

command history Command history is a feature in many operating system shells, computer algebra programs, and other software that allows the user to recall, edit and rerun previous commands. Command line history was added to Unix in Bill Joy's C shell of 1978 ...

, macro functionality, and improved editing features to the command-line interpreter. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 5 and later.

DOSSIZE

Displays how much memory various DOS components occupy.Multitasking MS-DOS 4.0, Goupil OEM
/ref>

DRVSPACE

utility supplied with MS-DOS version 6.22.

ECHO

The ECHO command prints its own arguments back out to the DOS equivalent of the standard output stream. (Hence the name, ECHO) Usually, this means directly to the screen, but the output of ''echo'' can be redirected, like any other command, to files or devices. Often used in

s to print text out to the user. Another important use of the echo command is to toggle echoing of commands on and off in batch files. Traditionally batch files begin with the @echo off statement. This says to the interpreter that echoing of commands should be off during the whole execution of the batch file, thus resulting in a "tidier" output (the @ symbol declares that this particular command (echo off) should also be executed without echo.) The command is available in MS-DOS versions 2 and later.

EDIT

EDIT is a full-screen

text editor A text editor is a type of computer program that edits plain text. Such programs are sometimes known as "notepad" software (e.g. Windows Notepad). Text editors are provided with operating systems and software development packages, and can be us ...

, included with MS-DOS versions 5 and 6, OS/2 and Windows NT to 4.0 The corresponding program in Windows 95 and later, and Windows 2000 and later is Edit v2.0. PC DOS 6 and later use the DOS ''E'' Editor and DR-DOS used ''editor'' up to version 7.

EDLIN

DOS line-editor. It can be used with a script file, like debug, this makes it of some use even today. The absence of a console editor in MS-DOS/PC DOS 1–4 created an after-market for third-party editors. In DOS 5, an extra command "?" was added to give the user much-needed help. DOS 6 was the last version to contain EDLIN; for MS-DOS 6, it's on the supplemental disks, while PC DOS 6 had it in the base install. Windows NT 32-bit, and OS/2 have Edlin.

EMM386

The EMM386 command enables or disables EMM386 expanded-memory support on a computer with an

80386 The Intel 386, originally released as 80386 and later renamed i386, is a 32-bit microprocessor introduced in 1985. The first versions had 275,000 transistors

ERASE

See: DEL and ERASE

EXE2BIN

Converts an

executable In computing, executable code, an executable file, or an executable program, sometimes simply referred to as an executable or binary, causes a computer "to perform indicated tasks according to encoded instruction (computer science), instructi ...

(

.exe .exe is a common filename extension denoting an executable file (the main execution point of a computer program) for Microsoft Windows, OS/2, and DOS. File formats There are numerous file formats which may be used by a file with a extensi ...

) file into a

binary file A binary file is a computer file that is not a text file. The term "binary file" is often used as a term meaning "non-text file". Many binary file formats contain parts that can be interpreted as text; for example, some computer document fil ...

with the

extension Extension, extend or extended may refer to: Mathematics Logic or set theory * Axiom of extensionality * Extensible cardinal * Extension (model theory) * Extension (predicate logic), the set of tuples of values that satisfy the predicate * E ...

.com The domain name .com is a top-level domain (TLD) in the Domain Name System (DNS) of the Internet. Added at the beginning of 1985, its name is derived from the word ''commercial'', indicating its original intended purpose for domains registere ...

, which is a memory image of the program. The size of the resident

code In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communication ...

and data sections combined in the input .exe file must be less than 64 KB. The file must also have no stack segment. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 1 through 5. It is available separately for version 6 on the Supplemental Disk.

EXIT

Exits the current command processor. If the exit is used at the primary command, it has no effect unless in a DOS window under Microsoft Windows, in which case the window is closed and the user returns to the desktop. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 2 and later.

EXPAND

The Microsoft File Expansion Utility is used to uncompress one or more compressed cabinet files (.CAB). The command dates back to 1990 and was supplied on floppy disc for MS-DOS versions 5 and later.

FAKEMOUS

FAKEMOUS is an IBM PS/2 mouse utility used with AccessDOS. It is included on the MS-DOS 6 Supplemental Disk. AccessDOS assists persons with disabilities.

FASTHELP

Provides information for MS-DOS commands.

FASTOPEN

A command that provides accelerated access to frequently-used files and directories. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 3.3 and later.

FC

Show differences between any two files, or any two sets of files. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 2 and later – primarily non-IBM releases.

FDISK

The FDISK command manipulates hard disk

partition table Disk partitioning or disk slicing is the creation of one or more regions on secondary storage, so that each region can be managed separately. These regions are called partitions. It is typically the first step of preparing a newly installed disk, ...

s. The name derives from IBM's habit of calling hard drives ''fixed disks''. FDISK has the ability to display information about, create, and delete DOS partitions or logical DOS drive. It can also install a standard

master boot record A master boot record (MBR) is a special type of boot sector at the very beginning of partitioned computer mass storage devices like fixed disks or removable drives intended for use with IBM PC-compatible systems and beyond. The concept of MBR ...

on the hard drive. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 3.2 and later and IBM PC DOS 2.0 releases and later.

FIND

The FIND command is a

filter Filter, filtering or filters may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Filter (higher-order function), in functional programming * Filter (software), a computer program to process a data stream * Filter (video), a software component tha ...

to find lines in the input

data stream In connection-oriented communication, a data stream is the transmission of a sequence of digitally encoded coherent signals to convey information. Typically, the transmitted symbols are grouped into a series of packets. Data streaming has bec ...

that contain or don't contain a specified

string String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

and send these to the output data stream. It may also be used as a

pipe Pipe(s), PIPE(S) or piping may refer to: Objects * Pipe (fluid conveyance), a hollow cylinder following certain dimension rules ** Piping, the use of pipes in industry * Smoking pipe ** Tobacco pipe * Half-pipe and quarter pipe, semi-circula ...

. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 2 and later.

FINDSTR

The FINDSTR command is a GREP-oriented ''FIND''-like utility. Among its uses is the logical-OR lacking in FIND. ::would find all TXT files with one or more of the above-listed words YES, NO, MAYBE.

FOR

Iteration: repeats a command for each out of a specified set of files. The FOR loop can be used to

parse Parsing, syntax analysis, or syntactic analysis is the process of analyzing a string of symbols, either in natural language, computer languages or data structures, conforming to the rules of a formal grammar. The term ''parsing'' comes from Lati ...

a file or the output of a command. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 2 and later.

FORMAT

Deletes the

FAT In nutrition science, nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such chemical compound, compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers spec ...

entries and the

root directory In a computer file system, and primarily used in the Unix and Unix-like operating systems, the root directory is the first or top-most directory in a hierarchy. It can be likened to the trunk of a tree, as the starting point where all branches ...

of the drive/partition, and reformats it for MS-DOS. In most cases, this should only be used on floppy drives or other

removable media Expandable storage is a form of computer storage that is designed to be inserted and removed from a system. Some forms of removable media, such as optical discs, require a reader to be installed in the computer, while others, such as USB flash dri ...

. This command can potentially erase everything on a computer's drive. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 1 and later.

GOTO

The ''Goto'' command transfers execution to a specified label. Labels are specified at the beginning of a line, with a colon (). The command is available in MS-DOS versions 2 and later. Used in

Batch file Batch may refer to: Food and drink * Batch (alcohol), an alcoholic fruit beverage * Batch loaf, a type of bread popular in Ireland * A dialect term for a bread roll used in North Warwickshire, Nuneaton and Coventry, as well as on the Wirral ...

GRAFTABL

The GRAFTABL command enables the display of an extended character set in graphics mode. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 3 through 5.

GRAPHICS

A TSR program to enable the sending of graphical screen dump to printer by pressing . The command is available in MS-DOS versions 3.2 and later and IBM PC DOS releases 2 and later.

HELP

Gives help about DOS commands. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 5 thru Windows XP. Full-screen command help is available in MS-DOS versions 6 and later. Beginning with Windows XP, the command processor "DOS" offers builtin-help for commands by using (e.g. )

IF

IF is a conditional statement, that allows branching of the program execution. It evaluates the specified condition, and only if it is true, then it executes the remainder of the command line. Otherwise, it skips the remainder of the line and continues with next command line. Used in

s. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 2 and later.

INTERSVR and INTERLNK

In MS-DOS; filelink in DR-DOS. Network PCs using a

null modem Null modem is a communication method to directly connect two DTEs (computer, terminal, printer, etc.) using an RS-232 serial cable. The name stems from the historical use of RS-232 cables to connect two teleprinter devices or two modems in orde ...

cable or

LapLink cable A Laplink Cable, also known as ''null-printer'' cable, allows the connection of two computers via the parallel port to establish a direct cable connection. The cable was introduced in 1983 with the Laplink software package, from Traveling Software ...

. The server-side version of InterLnk, it also immobilizes the machine it's running on as it is an active app (As opposed to a TSR app) which must be running for any transfer to take place. DR-DOS' filelink is executed on both the client and server. New in PC DOS 5.02, MS-DOS 6.0.

JOIN

The JOIN command attaches a drive letter to a specified directory on another drive.EasyDOS Command Index
/ref> The opposite can be achieved via the

SUBST In computing, SUBST is a command on the DOS, IBM OS/2, Microsoft Windows and ReactOS operating systems used for substituting paths on physical and logical drives as virtual drives. Overview In MS-DOS, the SUBST command was added with the rele ...

command. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 3 through 5. It is available separately for versions 6.2 and later on the Supplemental Disk.

KEYB

The KEYB command is used to select a keyboard layout. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 3.3 and later. From DOS 3.0 through 3.21, there are instead per-country commands, namely KEYBFR, KEYBGR, KEYBIT, KEYBSP and KEYBUK.

LABEL

Changes the label on a logical drive, such as a hard disk partition or a floppy disk. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 3.1 and later and IBM PC DOS releases 3 and later.

LINK4

Microsoft 8086 Object Linker

LOADFIX

Loads a program above the first 64K of memory, and runs the program. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 5 and later. It is included only in MS-DOS/PC DOS. DR-DOS used memmax, which opened or closed lower, upper, and video memory access, to block the lower 64K of memory.

LOADHIGH and LH

A command that loads a program into the upper memory area. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 5 and later. It is called ''hiload'' in DR-DOS.

MD or MKDIR

Makes a new

. The parent of the directory specified will be created if it does not already exist. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 2 and later.

MEM

Displays memory usage. It is capable of displaying program size and status, memory in use, and internal drivers. It is an external command. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 4 and later and DR DOS releases 5.0 and later. On earlier DOS versions the memory usage could be shown by running CHKDSK. In DR DOS the parameter /A could be used to only show the memory usage.

MEMMAKER

Starting with version 6, MS-DOS included the external program MemMaker which was used to free system memory (especially

Conventional memory In DOS memory management, conventional memory, also called base memory, is the first 640 kilobytes of the memory on IBM PC or compatible systems. It is the read-write memory directly addressable by the processor for use by the operating system ...

) by automatically reconfiguring the

AUTOEXEC.BAT AUTOEXEC.BAT is a system file that was originally on DOS-type operating systems. It is a plain-text batch file in the root directory of the boot device. The name of the file is an abbreviation of "automatic execution", which describes its funct ...

and

CONFIG.SYS CONFIG.SYS is the primary configuration file for the DOS and OS/2 operating systems. It is a special ASCII text file that contains user-accessible setup or configuration directives evaluated by the operating system's DOS BIOS (typically residing ...

files. This was usually done by moving TSR programs and

device driver In computing, a device driver is a computer program that operates or controls a particular type of device that is attached to a computer or automaton. A driver provides a software interface to hardware devices, enabling operating systems and ot ...

s to the

upper memory In DOS memory management, the upper memory area (UMA) refers to memory between the addresses of 640 KB and 1024 KB ( 0xA0000–0xFFFFF) in an IBM PC or compatible. IBM reserved the uppermost 384 KB of the 8088 CPU's 1024 KB ...

. The whole process required two system restarts. Before the first restart the user was asked whether to enable

EMS Memory In DOS memory management, expanded memory is a system of bank switching that provided additional memory to DOS programs beyond the limit of conventional memory (640 KiB). ''Expanded memory'' is an umbrella term for several incompatible tech ...

, since use of expanded memory required a reserved 64KiB region in upper memory. The first restart inserted the SIZER.EXE program which gauged the memory needed by each TSR or Driver. MemMaker would then calculate the optimal Driver and TSR placement in upper memory and modify the AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS accordingly, and reboot the second time. MEMMAKER.EXE and SIZER.EXE were developed for Microsoft by Helix Software Company and were eliminated starting in

MS-DOS 7 MS-DOS 7 is a real mode operating system for IBM PC compatibles. Unlike earlier versions of MS-DOS it was not released separately by Microsoft, but included in the Windows 9x family of operating systems. Windows 95 RTM reports to be MS-DOS 7.0, ...

(

Windows 95 Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented operating system developed by Microsoft as part of its Windows 9x family of operating systems. The first operating system in the 9x family, it is the successor to Windows 3.1x, and was released to manufacturin ...

); however, they could be obtained from Microsoft's FTP server as part of the OLDDOS.EXE package, alongside other tools. PC DOS uses another program called RamBoost to optimize memory, working either with PC DOS's

HIMEM HIMEM.SYS is a DOS device driver which allows DOS programs to store data in extended memory according to the Extended Memory Specification (XMS). The memory beyond the first 1 MB of address space is required by Windows 9x/ Me in order to load ...

EMM386 EMM386 is the expanded memory manager of Microsoft's MS-DOS, IBM's PC DOS, Digital Research's DR-DOS, and Datalight's ROM-DOS which is used to create expanded memory using extended memory on Intel 80386 CPUs. There also is an EMM386.EXE available ...

or a third-party memory manager. RamBoost was licensed to IBM by

Central Point Software Central Point Software, Inc. (CP, CPS, Central Point) was a leading software utilities maker for the personal computer, PC market, supplying utilities software for the DOS and Microsoft Windows markets. It also made Apple II copy programs. Throu ...

MIRROR

The MIRROR command saves disk storage information that can be used to recover accidentally erased files. The command is available in MS-DOS version 5. It is available separately for versions 6.2 and later on Supplemental Disk.

MODE

Configures system devices. Changes graphics modes, adjusts keyboard settings, prepares

s, and sets up port redirection. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 3.2 and later and IBM PC DOS releases 1 and later.

The MORE command paginates text, so that one can view files containing more than one screen of text. ''More'' may also be used as a

. While viewing MORE text, the return key displays the next line, the space bar displays the next page. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 2 and later.

MOVE

Moves files or renames directories. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 6 and later. DR-DOS used a separate command for renaming directories, rendir.

MSAV

A command that scans the computer for known viruses. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 6 and later.

MSBACKUP

The MSBACKUP command is used to backup or restore one or more files from one disk to another. The ''New York Times'' said that ''MSBACKUP'' "is much better and faster than the old BACKUP command used in earlier versions of DOS, but it does lack some of the advanced features found in backup software packages that are sold separately. There is another offering, named MWBACKUP, that is

GUI The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, inste ...

-oriented. It was introduced for Windows for Workgroups (3.11). The MSBACKUP command is available in MS-DOS versions 6 and later.

MSCDEX

MSCDEX is a driver executable which allows

programs to recognize, read, and control

CD-ROM A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains data. Computers can read—but not write or erase—CD-ROMs. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold both comput ...

s. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 6 and later.

MSD

The MSD command provides detailed technical information about the computer's hardware and software. MSD was new in MS-DOS 6; the PC DOS version of this command is QCONFIG. The command appeared first in Word2, and then in Windows 3.10.

MSHERC

The MSHERC.COM (also QBHERC.COM) was a TSR (Terminate and Stay Resident) graphics driver supplied with Microsoft QuickC, QuickBASIC, and the C Compiler, to allow use of the Hercules adapter high-resolution graphics capability (720 x 348, 2 colors).

NLSFUNC

Loads extended Nationalization and Localization Support from COUNTRY.SYS, and changed the codepage of drivers and system modules resident in RAM. In later versions of DR-DOS 6, NLSFUNC relocated itself into the HiMem area, thereby freeing a portion of the nearly invaluable lower 640KiB that constituted the ”conventional” memory available to software. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 3.3 and later.

PATH

Displays or sets a search

for executable files. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 2 and later.

PAUSE

Suspends processing of a batch program and displays the message , if not given other text to display. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 1 and later.

PING

Allows the user to test the availability of a network connection to a specified host. Hostnames are usually resolved to IP addresses. It is not included in many DOS versions; typically ones with network stacks will have it as a diagnostic tool.

POWER

The POWER command is used to turn power management on and off, report the status of power management, and set levels of power conservation. It is an external command implemented as POWER.EXE. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 6 and later.

PRINT

The PRINT command adds or removes files in the

print queue In computing, a print job is a file or set of files that has been submitted to be printed with a printer. Jobs are typically identified by a unique number, and are assigned to a particular destination, usually a printer. Jobs can also have options ...

. This command was introduced in MS-DOS version 2. Before that there was no built-in support for background printing files. The user would usually use the copy command to copy files to LPT1.

PRINTFIX

PROMPT

The command allows the user to change the prompt in the command screen. The default prompt is (i.e. ), which displays the drive and current path as the prompt, but can be changed to anything. , displays the current system date as the prompt. Type in the cmd screen for help on this function. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 2 and later and IBM PC DOS releases 2.1 and later.

PS

A utility inspired by the UNIX/XENIX ps command. It also provides a full-screen mode, similar to the

top A spinning top, or simply a top, is a toy with a squat body and a sharp point at the bottom, designed to be spun on its vertical axis, balancing on the tip due to the gyroscopic effect. Once set in motion, a top will usually wobble for a few ...

utility on UNIX systems.

QBASIC

integrated development environment An integrated development environment (IDE) is a software application that provides comprehensive facilities to computer programmers for software development. An IDE normally consists of at least a source code editor, build automation tools a ...

and

interpreter. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 5 and later.

RD or RMDIR

Remove a directory (delete a directory); by default the directories must be empty of files for the command to succeed. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 2 and later. The

deltree In computing, DELTREE (short for ''delete tree'') is a command line command in some Microsoft operating systems, SpartaDOS X and FreeDOS that recursively deletes an entire subdirectory of files. Overview When IBM and Microsoft introduced PC DOS 1 ...

command in some versions of MS-DOS and all versions of

Windows 9x Windows 9x is a generic term referring to a series of Microsoft Windows computer operating systems produced from 1995 to 2000, which were based on the Windows 95 kernel and its underlying foundation of MS-DOS, both of which were updated in subs ...

removes non-empty directories.

RECOVER

A primitive

filesystem In computing, file system or filesystem (often abbreviated to fs) is a method and data structure that the operating system uses to control how data is stored and retrieved. Without a file system, data placed in a storage medium would be one larg ...

error recovery utility included in MS-DOS / IBM PC DOS. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 2 through 5.

REM

Remark (

comment Comment may refer to: * Comment (linguistics) or rheme, that which is said about the topic (theme) of a sentence * Bernard Comment (born 1960), Swiss writer and publisher Computing * Comment (computer programming), explanatory text or informat ...

) command, normally used within a

, and for DR-DOS, PC/MS-DOS 6 and above, in CONFIG.SYS. This command is processed by the command processor. Thus, its output can be redirected to create a zero-byte file. REM is useful in logged sessions or screen-captures. One might add comments by way of labels, usually starting with double-colon (::). These are not processed by the command processor.

REN

The REN command renames a file. Unlike the move command, this command cannot be used to rename subdirectories, or rename files across drives. Mass renames can be accomplished by the use of the wildcards characters asterisk (*) and question mark (?). The command is available in MS-DOS versions 1 and later.

REPLACE

A command that is used to replace one or more existing

computer file A computer file is a computer resource for recording data in a computer storage device, primarily identified by its file name. Just as words can be written to paper, so can data be written to a computer file. Files can be shared with and transfe ...

s or add new files to a target

. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 3.2 and later.

RESTORE

See:

BACKUP and RESTORE Backup and Restore (formerly Backup and Restore Center) is the primary backup component of Windows Vista and Windows 7. It can create file and folder backups, as well as system images backups, to be used for recovery in the event of data corrup ...

SCANDISK

Disk diagnostic utility. Scandisk was a replacement for the chkdsk utility, starting with MS-DOS version 6.2 and later. Its primary advantages over chkdsk is that it is more reliable and has the ability to run a surface scan which finds and marks bad clusters on the disk. It also provided mouse point-and-click TUI, allowing for interactive session to complement command-line batch run. chkdsk had surface scan and bad cluster detection functionality included, and was used again on Windows NT-based operating systems.

SELECT

The SELECT command formats a disk and installs country-specific information and keyboard codes. It was initially only available with IBM PC DOS. The version included with PC DOS 3.0 and 3.1 is hard-coded to transfer the operating system from A: to B:, while from PC DOS 3.2 onward you can specify the source and destination, and can be used to install DOS to the harddisk. The version included with MS-DOS 4 and PC DOS 4 is no longer a simple command-line utility, but a full-fledged installer. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 3.3 and 4 and IBM PC DOS releases 3 through 4. This command is no longer included in DOS Version 5 and later, where it has been replaced by SETUP.

SET

Sets

environment variable An environment variable is a dynamic-named value that can affect the way running processes will behave on a computer. They are part of the environment in which a process runs. For example, a running process can query the value of the TEMP env ...

s. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 2 and later.

in Windows NT 2000, 4DOS, 4OS2, 4NT, and a number of third-party solutions allow direct entry of environment variables from the command prompt. From at least Windows 2000, the set command allows for the evaluation of strings into variables, thus providing ''inter alia'' a means of performing integer arithmetic.

SETUP

The command is available in MS-DOS versions 5 and later. This command does a computer setup. With all computers running DOS versions 5 and later, it runs the computer setup, such as Windows 95 setup and Windows 98 setup.

SETVER

SetVer is a TSR program designed to return a different value to the version of DOS that is running. This allows programs that look for a specific version of DOS to run under a different DOS. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 5 and later.

Installs support for file sharing and locking capabilities. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 3 and later.

SHIFT

The SHIFT command increases number of replaceable parameters to more than the standard ten for use in

s. This is done by changing the position of replaceable parameters. It replaces each of the replacement parameters with the subsequent one (e.g. with , with , etc.). The command is available in MS-DOS versions 2 and later.

SIZER

The external command SIZER.EXE is not intended to be started directly from the command prompt. Is used by

MemMaker This article presents a list of commands used by DOS operating systems, especially as used on x86-based IBM PC compatibles (PCs). Other DOS operating systems are not part of the scope of this list. In DOS, many standard system commands were pro ...

during the memory-optimization process.

SMARTDRV

The command is available in MS-DOS versions 6 and later.

SORT

to sort lines in the input data stream and send them to the output data stream. Similar to the Unix command

sort 
Sort may refer to:
* Sorting, any process of arranging items in sequence or in sets
** Sorting algorithm, any algorithm for arranging elements in lists
** Sort (Unix), a Unix utility which sorts the lines of a file
**  Sort (C++), a function in the ...

. Handles files up to 64k. This sort is always case insensitive. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 2 and later.

SUBST

A utility to map a subdirectory to a drive letter. The opposite can be achieved via the

JOIN Join may refer to: * Join (law), to include additional counts or additional defendants on an indictment *In mathematics: ** Join (mathematics), a least upper bound of sets orders in lattice theory ** Join (topology), an operation combining two top ...

command. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 3.1 and later.

SYS

A utility to make a volume bootable. Sys rewrites the Volume Boot Code (the first sector of the partition that SYS is acting on) so that the code, when executed, will look for

IO.SYS is an essential part of MS-DOS and Windows 9x. It contains the default MS-DOS device drivers (hardware interfacing routines) and the DOS initialization program. Boot sequence In the PC bootup sequence, the first sector of the boot disk is ...

. SYS also copies the core DOS system files, IO.SYS,

MSDOS.SYS MSDOS.SYS is a system file in MS-DOS and Windows 9x operating systems. In versions of MS-DOS from 1.1x through 6.22, the file comprises the MS-DOS kernel and is responsible for file access and program management. MSDOS.SYS is loaded by the DOS BI ...

, and

COMMAND.COM COMMAND.COM is the default command-line interpreter for MS-DOS, Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows Me. In the case of DOS, it is the default user interface as well. It has an additional role as the usual first program run after boot (init proc ...

, to the volume. SYS does ''not'' rewrite the Master Boot Record, contrary to widely held belief. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 1 and later.

TELNET

The Telnet Client is a tool for developers and administrators to help manage and test network connectivity.

TIME

Display the

system time In computer science and computer programming, system time represents a computer system's notion of the passage of time. In this sense, ''time'' also includes the passing of days on the calendar. System time is measured by a ''system clock'', w ...

and waits for the user to enter a new time. Complements the

DATE Date or dates may refer to: *Date (fruit), the fruit of the date palm (''Phoenix dactylifera'') Social activity *Dating, a form of courtship involving social activity, with the aim of assessing a potential partner ** Group dating *Play date, a ...

command. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 1 and later.

TITLE

Enables a user to change the title of their MS-DOS window.

TREE

It is an external command, graphically displays the path of each directory and sub-directories on the specified drive. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 3.2 and later and IBM PC DOS releases 2 and later.

TRUENAME

Internal command that expands the name of a file, directory, or drive, and display its absolute pathname as the result. It will expand relative pathnames, SUBST drives, and JOIN directories, to find the actual directory. For example, in DOS 7.1, if the current directory is C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM, then The argument does not need to refer to an existing file or directory: TRUENAME will output the absolute pathname as if it did. Also TRUENAME does not search in the PATH.
For example, in DOS 5, if the current directory is C:\TEMP, then TRUENAME command.com will display C:\TEMP\COMMAND.COM (which does not exist), not C:\DOS\COMMAND.COM (which does and is in the PATH). This command displays the

UNC path A path is a string of characters used to uniquely identify a location in a directory structure. It is composed by following the directory tree hierarchy in which components, separated by a delimiting character, represent each directory. The del ...

names of mapped network or local CD drives. This command is an undocumented DOS command. The help switch "/?" defines it as a "Reserved command name". It is available in MS-DOS version 5.00 and later, including the DOS 7 and 8 in Windows 95/98/ME. The C library function realpath performs this function. The Microsoft Windows NT command processors do not support this command, including the versions of command.com for NT.

TYPE

Displays a file. The

more 
More or Mores may refer to:

 Computing
* MORE (application), outline software for Mac OS
* more (command), a shell command
* MORE protocol, a routing protocol
* Missouri Research and Education Network
 Music Albums
*  ''More!'' (album), by Booka S ...

command is frequently used in conjunction with this command, e.g. type ''long-text-file'' , more. TYPE can be used to concatenate files (); however this won't work for large files—use copy command instead. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 1 and later.

UNDELETE

Restores file previously deleted with del. By default all recoverable files in the working directory are restored; options are used to change this behavior. If the MS-DOS mirror TSR program is used, then deletion tracking files are created and can be used by undelete. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 5 and later.

UNFORMAT

MS-DOS version 5 introduced the quick format option (Format /Q) which removes the disk's file table without deleting any of the data. The same version also introduced the UNFORMAT command to undo the effects of a quick format, restoring the file table and making all the files accessible again. It is important to note that UNFORMAT only works if invoked before any further changes have overwritten the drive's contents.

VER

An internal DOS command, that reports the DOS version presently running, and since MS-DOS 5, whether DOS is loaded high. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 2 and later.

VERIFY

Enables or disables the feature to determine if files have been correctly written to disk. If no parameter is provided, the command will display the current setting. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 2 and later.

VOL

An internal command that displays the disk volume label and serial number. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 2 and later.

VSAFE

A TSR program that continuously monitors the computer for viruses. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 6 and later.

XCOPY

Copy entire directory trees. Xcopy is a version of the copy command that can move files and directories from one location to another. XCOPY usage and attributes can be obtained by typing in the DOS Command line. The command is available in MS-DOS versions 3.2 and later.

References

External links

Command-Line Reference
: Microsoft TechNet Database "Command-Line Reference"
The MS-DOS 6 Technical Reference on TechNet
contains the official Microsoft MS-DOS 6 command reference documention.
DR-DOS 7.03 online manual

There are several guides to DOS commands available that are licensed under the

GNU Free Documentation License The GNU Free Documentation License (GNU FDL or simply GFDL) is a copyleft license for free documentation, designed by the Free Software Foundation (FSF) for the GNU Project. It is similar to the GNU General Public License, giving readers the r ...

:
The FreeDOS Spec
at SourceForge is a

plaintext In cryptography, plaintext usually means unencrypted information pending input into cryptographic algorithms, usually encryption algorithms. This usually refers to data that is transmitted or stored unencrypted. Overview With the advent of comp ...

specification, written in 1999, for how DOS commands should work in FreeDOS
MS-DOS commandsReference for windows commands with examplesA Collection of Undocumented and Obscure Features in Various MS-DOS Versions
{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Dos Commands DOS commands

DOS commands DOS is shorthand for the MS-DOS and IBM PC DOS family of operating systems. DOS may also refer to: Computing * Data over signalling (DoS), multiplexing data onto a signalling channel * Denial-of-service attack (DoS), an attack on a communicatio ...