The complete list of possible commands is quite large.

Collected here is a selection of those that

I believe are likely to be the most applicable to home PC use.
Many of the commands listed below are also discussed in more detail elsewhere on this site as is
indicated by the link "details here". Most commands have switches that are not given in the table.
For more information, open a command prompt and enter "commandname /?" (without quotes).
Detailed information about these commands and a larger list is available at this Microsoft
reference.
Selected list of commands
Command

Description

Example

assoc

Displays or modifies file name extension associations. Used

alone, displays a list of all the current file name associations

at

Schedules commands and programs to run on a computer at a

specified time and date. Requires the Schedule service.
Superseded by schtasks

attrib

Configures file attributes read only, hidden, system

details here

bootcfg

Used to repair or edit the boot.ini file

details here

cd or chdir

Displays the name of the current directory or changes the current

cd folderpath
folder

chkdsk

Checks hard drives for errors. With switches,does repairs.

details here

cls

Clears the screen

cls

copy

Copies a file from one location to another

copy somefile
somefolder

del

Deletes one or more files

details here

dir

Displays a list of a folder's files and subfolders

details here

echo

Used to display a message or to turn off/on messages in batch

scripts

echo message

exit

Exits batch script or current command control

exit

fc

Compares two files and displays the differences between them

fc file1 file2

for

Runs a specified command for each item in a set

details here

fsutil

Displays and configures certain file system properties. A suite of

various commands

details here

ftype

Displays or modifies file types used in file name extension

associations

details here

getmac

Returns the media access control (MAC) address for your

network card

getmac

details here

goto

Directs the Windows command interpreter to a labeled line in a

batch program

details here

if

Performs conditional processing in batch programs

details here

ipconfig

Displays all current TCP/IP network configuration values and

refreshes Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and
Domain Name System (DNS) settings

details here

md or
mkdir

Creates a directory (folder) or subdirectory (subfolder)

details here

more

Displays one screen of output at a time. Used with another

command that has extensive output

command |more

move

Moves a file from one folder to another

details here

net

A suite of various networking and service commands

details here

netsh

Network services shell . Complex suite of commands.

details here

netstat

Displays active TCP connections, ports on which the computer is

listening, Ethernet statistics, the IP routing table, statistics for the details here
IP, ICMP, TCP, and UDP protocols

path

Sets the command path in the PATH environment variable, which

details here
is the set of directories used to search for executable files

pathping

Provides information about network performance and conditions

details here
at intermediate hops between a source and destination

pause

Used in batch scripts

pause

ping

Checks connectivity to other networked computers, routers, or

Internet sites

details here

Changes the directory being referenced in a command prompt.

Pushd changes the directory and stores the previous directory.
popd, pushd
Popd changes the current directory to the directory stored by the
pushd command
reg

Adds, changes, and displays registry entries. A suite of various

commands

pushd
somefolder
popd
details here

rd or rmdir Deletes a directory (folder)

details here

ren or
rename

Changes the name of a file or a set of files

details here

sc

Used to obtain information about services and to configure them.

details here
A suite of various commands

schtasks

Schedules commands and programs to run periodically or at a

specific time

set

Displays, sets, or removes environment variables

details here and

also here

sfc

System file checker scans and verifies the versions of all

protected system files

sfc /scannow

shutdown

Shuts down or restarts a computer

details here

start

Starts an application or opens a new command window

details here

subst

Associates a folder with a drive letter

details here

systeminfo

Displays detailed configuration information about a computer and systeminfo |

its operating system
more

taskkill

Ends one or more tasks or processes

details here

tasklist

Displays a list of applications and services with their Process ID

(PID) for all tasks running

details here

tree

Graphically displays the directory structure of a folder or drive

tree somefolder

type

Displays the contents of a text file

type
somefile.txt

xcopy

Powerful command with many switches for copying and backing

details here
up files and folders

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