List of DOS commands: Difference between revisions

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This article lists notable [[command (computing)|commands]] provided by the [[MS-DOS]] [[disk operating system]] (DOS), especially as used on an [[IBM PC compatible]] [[computer]]. Other DOS variants as well as the legacy [[Windows]] [[shell (computing)|shell]], [[Command Prompt]] (cmd.exe), provide many of these commands. Many other DOS variants [[List of disk operating systems called DOS|are informally called ''DOS'']], but are not included in the scope of the list. The highly related variant, [[IBM PC DOS]], is included. The list is not intended to be exhaustive, but does include commands covering the various releases.

Each command is implemented either as [[shell builtin|built-in]] to the [[command-line interpreter|command interpreter]], [[COMMAND.COM]], or as an external [[computer program|program]]. Although prevailing style is to write command names in all caps, the interpreter matches ignoring case.

A command that accepts more than one [[file name]] or includes a wildcard character ({{code|*}} and {{code|?}}) is said to accept a <code>[[filespec]]</code> parameter. A command that accepts a single file name is said to accept a <code>filename</code> parameter. 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.

Each command is implemented either as [[shell builtin|built-in]] to the [[command-line interpreter|command interpreter]], [[COMMAND.COM]], or as an external [[computer program|program]].

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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 <code>deltree</code> command is included in certain versions of [[Microsoft Windows]] and [[MS-DOS]] [[operating system]]s. It is specifically available only in versions of [[MS-DOS]] 6.0 and higher,<ref name="RUNNINGMSDOS" /> and in [[Windows 9x|Microsoft Windows 9x]]. In Windows NT, the functionality provided exists but is handled by the command {{mono|rd}} or {{mono|rmdir}} which has slightly different syntax. This command is not present in Windows 7 and 8. In Windows 10, the command switch is {{kbd|RD /S}} or {{kbd|RMDIR /S}}.

===DIR===

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{{See also|Prompt (computing)}}

The {{mono|PROMPT}} command allows the user to change the prompt in the command screen. The default prompt is {{mono|$p$g}} (i.e. {{kbd|PROMPT $p$g}}), which displays the drive, andthe current path, and a greater than sign ">" as the prompt, but can be changed to anything. {{kbd|PROMPT $d}}, displays the current system date as the prompt. Type {{kbd|PROMPT /?}} 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.<ref name="RUNNINGMSDOS" />