Here’s how it works. Command Prompt commands. (Image credit: Mauro Huculak) Although Command Prompt has been around for a long time, even before Windows 11, many users still ignore it.

Even today, the Command Prompt is still critical to the everyday use of Windows for IT admins and more technical folks. There are plenty of nifty commands you can use to fix issues with your PC ...

In Windows, just typing “cmd” into the taskbar search box and hitting Enter launches Command Prompt, but for some of these commands you need administrator privileges.

Getting started with Windows Command Prompt? Check out these essential Command Prompt commands to perform operations on your Windows PC more efficiently.

That tradition is still alive and well in both Windows 10 and Windows 11. In addition to running commands at the prompt, you’re able to control and customize the command window itself.

Over time, the need to fire up the Command Prompt has waned—but a handful of its commands remain easier to use than Windows 10's graphical equivalents.