Changes the Cmd.exe command prompt. If used without parameters, prompt resets the command prompt to the default setting, which is the current drive letter and directory followed by the greater than symbol (>).

For examples of how to use this command, see Examples.

Syntax

prompt [<Text>]

Parameters

Parameter Description

<Text>

Specifies the text and information that you want to include in the command prompt.

/?

Displays help at the command prompt.

Remarks

  • You can customize the command prompt to display any text you want, including such information as the name of the current directory, the time and date, and the Microsoft Windows version number.

  • The following table lists the character combinations that you can include instead of, or in addition to, one or more character strings in the Text parameter. The list includes a brief description of the text or information that each character combination adds to your command prompt.

    Character Description

    $q

    = (equal sign)

    $$

    $ (dollar sign)

    $t

    Current time

    $d

    Current date

    $p

    Current drive and path

    $v

    Windows version number

    $n

    Current drive

    $g

    > (greater than sign)

    $l

    < (less than sign)

    $b

    | (pipe)

    $_

    ENTER-LINEFEED

    $e

    ANSI escape code (code 27)

    $h

    Backspace (to delete a character that has been written to the command line)

    $a

    & (ampersand)

    $c

    ( (left parenthesis)

    $f

    ) (right parenthesis)

    $s

    space
  • When command extensions are enabled (that is, the default) the prompt command supports the following formatting characters:

    Character Description

    $+

    Zero or more plus sign (+) characters, depending on the depth of the pushd directory stack (one character for each level pushed).

    $m

    The remote name associated with the current drive letter or the empty string if current drive is not a network drive.
  • If you include the $p character in the text parameter, your disk is read after you enter each command (to determine the current drive and path). This can take extra time, especially for floppy disk drives.

Examples

To set a two-line command prompt with the current time and date on the first line and the greater than sign on the next line, type:

prompt $d$s$s$t$_$g

The prompt is changed as follows, where the date and time are current:

Fri 06/01/2007  13:53:28.91
>

To set the command prompt to display as an arrow (-->), type:

prompt --$g

To manually change the command prompt to the default setting (the current drive and path followed by the greater than sign), type:

prompt $p$g

Additional references

Command-Line Syntax Key


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