Microsoft Releases Windows Command Reference – A PDF With 250 Console Commands

On April 18th 2018 Microsoft released a 948 page PDF titled the “Windows Command Reference” that contains documentation on over 250 Windows console commands.

For each command listed Microsoft has included a detailed description of the command, their command line arguments, and for some commands, what operating system the documentation applies.

Along with the commands the PDF also has some useful information such as how to customize the Command prompt window.

Download the PDF here – https://download.microsoft.com/download/5/8/9/58911986-D4AD-4695-BF63-F734CD4DF8F2/ws-commands.pdf

The command shell is a software program that provides direct communication between the user and the operating system. The non-graphical, command shell user interface provides the environment in which you run character based applications and utilities. The command shell executes programs and displays their output on the screen by using individual characters similar to the MS-DOS command interpreter, Command.com. The command shell in
the Windows  Server operating system uses the command interpreter, Cmd.exe. Cmd.exe loads applications, directs the flow of information between applications, and translates user input into a form that the operating system understands.

You can use the command shell to create and edit scripts to automate routine tasks. For example, you can create simple scripts in batch (.bat) files to automate the management of user accounts or nightly backups. You can also use the command-line version of Windows Script Host to run more sophisticated scripts in the command shell. For more information, see cscript or wscript. You can perform operations more efficiently by using scripts than you can by using the user interface. Scripts accept all commands that are available at the command line.