This lists similar commands between Windows and Unix command lines.
To get help on a Windows command, use the /? option, for example date /?.
| ----- | | Windows command | Unix command | Notes |
| arp | [arp][1] | |
| assign | [ln][2] | Create a file link |
| assign | [ln][2] -s | On Unix, a directory may not have multiple links, so instead a symbolic link must be created with ln -s. |
| assoc | [file][3] | |
| at | [at][4] [batch][5] [cron][6] | |
| attrib |
[chown][7] [chmod][8] | Sets ownership on files and directories |
| cd | [cd][9] | On Windows, cd alone prints the current directory, but on Unix cd alone returns the user to his home directory. |
| cd | [pwd][10] | On Windows, cd alone prints the current directory. |
| chkdsk | [fsck][11] | Checks filesystem and repairs filesystem corruption on hard drives. |
| cls | [clear][12] | Clear the terminal screen |
| copy | [cp][13] | |
| datetime | [date][14] | Date on Unix prints the current date and time. Date and time on Windows print the date and time respectively, and prompt for a new
date or time. |
| del | [rm][15] | |
| deltree | [rm][15] -r | Recursively deletes entire directory tree |
| dir | [ls][16] | "dir" also works on some versions of Unix. |
| doskey /h F7 key | [history][17] | The Unix history is part of the Bash shell. |
| edit | viemacsetc. |edit brings up a simple text editor in Windows. On Unix, the environment variable EDITOR should be set to the user's preferred editor. |
| exit | [exit][18] Control-D | On Unix, pressing the control key and D simultaneously logs the user out of the shell. |
| explorer | nautilusetc. | The command explorer brings up the file browser on Windows. |
| fc | [diff][19] | |
| find | [grep][20] | |
| ftp | [ftp][21] | |
| help | [man][22] | "help" by itself prints all the commands |
| hostname | [hostname][23] | |
| ipconfig /all | [ifconfig][24] -a | The /all option lets you get the MAC address of the Windows PC |
| mem | [top][25] | Shows system status |
| mkdir | [mkdir][26] | |
| more | `more
less` | |
| move | [mv][29] | |
| net session | [w][30][who][31] | |
| net statistics | [uptime][32] | |
| nslookup | [nslookup][33] | |
| ping | [ping][34] | |
| print | lpr | Send a file to a printer. |
| reboot shutdown -r | [shutdown][35] -r | |
| regedit | edit /etc/* | The Unix equivalent of the Windows registry are the files under /etc and /usr/local/etc. These are edited with a text editor rather than with a special-purpose editing program. |
| rmdir | [rmdir][36] | |
| rmdir /s | [rm][15] -r | Windows has a y/n prompt. To get the prompt with Unix, use rm -i. The i means "interactive". |
| set | [env][37] |
Set on Windows prints a list of all environment variables. For individual environment variables, set is the same as echo $ on Unix.
|
| set Path | echo $PATH | Print the value of the environment variable using set in Windows. |
| shutdown | [shutdown][35] | Without an option, the Windows version produces a help message |
| shutdown -s | [shutdown][35] -h | Also need -f option to Windows if logged in remotely |
| sort | [sort][38] | |
| start | & | On Unix, to start a job in the background, use command &. On Windows, the equivalent is start command. See How to run a Windows command as a background job like Unix ?. |
| systeminfo | [uname][40] -a | |
| tasklist | [ps][41] | "tasklist" is not available on some versions of Windows. See also this article on getting a list of processes in Windows using Perl |
| title | ? | In Unix, changing the title of the terminal window is possible but complicated. Search for "change title xterm". |
| tracert | [traceroute][43] | |
| tree | [find][44][ls][16] -R | On Windows, use tree | find "string" |
| type | [cat][45] | |
| ver | [uname][40] -a | |
| xcopy | [cp][13] -R | Recursively copy a directory tree |
Links open in a separate window. The links on the Unix commands go to an online version of the FreeBSD manual page.