Windows CMD – File & Directory Management

Windows CMD – File & Directory Management

1️⃣ Directory Basics (dir)

Show files and folders

dir

Important entries

• . → current directory
• .. → parent directory
• <DIR> → folder
• File size shown in bytes

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2️⃣ Creating Files with echo

Create a file with text

echo "sajjad" > samina.txt

Read file content

type samina.txt

Output

"sajjad"

⚠ Why quotes appear?

Because quotes are literal characters inside echo.

✔ To avoid quotes:

echo sajjad > samina.txt

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3️⃣ Creating an Empty (Blank) File – IMPORTANT CONCEPT

Command used

echo 2>err.txt

❓ Why is 2 used here?

This is error stream redirection.

Stream	Meaning
0	Standard Input
1	Standard Output
2	Standard Error

What actually happens?

• echo produces no error
• Error stream (2) is empty
• Empty stream redirected → file created with 0 bytes

✔ This is a CMD trick to create an empty file.

Better & common methods

type nul > file.txt

or

echo. > file.txt

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4️⃣ Deleting Files (del)

del na.txt

Check after deletion

type na.txt

Output

The system cannot find the file specified.

✔ File deleted successfully

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5️⃣ Renaming Files (rename)

rename err.txt error.txt

✔ File name changes only, content remains same

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6️⃣ Creating & Moving Directories

Create directory

mkdir samsaj

Move file into directory

move samina.txt samsaj

Change directory

cd samsaj

Go back

cd ..

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7️⃣ Path Symbols Explained

Symbol	Meaning
.	Current directory
..	Parent directory
\	Windows path separator

Example:

move samina.txt .\samsaj

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8️⃣ Copying Files (copy)

copy samina.txt sajjad.txt

✔ Creates duplicate file with same content

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9️⃣ Removing Directories (rmdir) – VERY IMPORTANT

Delete empty directory

rmdir sam

❌ If directory is NOT empty

The directory is not empty.

✔ Correct way to delete directory with files

rmdir /S sam

• /S → deletes all files + subdirectories
• Confirmation required

❌ Wrong commands (do not work):

rmdir -S sam
rmdir \S sam

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🔟 Comparing Files (fc)

fc sajjad.txt samina.txt

Output meaning

• Shows line-by-line differences
• Useful for file integrity checking

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1️⃣1️⃣ Symbolic Links (Soft Links) – mklink

⚠ CMD must be Run as Administrator

Create symbolic link

mklink linkfile file3.txt

Verify

dir

Output

<SYMLINK> linkfile [file3.txt]

✔ Both files point to same data
✔ Reading/writing link affects original file

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1️⃣2️⃣ Searching Files with dir

Search specific file recursively

dir /s torjan.txt

Search all .txt files

dir /s *.txt

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1️⃣3️⃣ Finding Files using forfiles

Command

forfiles /P I:\ /S /M torjan.txt /C "cmd /c echo @PATH"

Flags explained

Flag	Meaning
/P	Starting directory
/S	Recursive search
/M	Filename or pattern
/C	Command to run
@PATH	Full file path

❗ Access denied errors?

Normal behavior — system protected folders ($RECYCLE.BIN, System Volume Information)

✔ File still found successfully.

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1️⃣4️⃣ Finding Text Inside Files – find

❌ Wrong usage

find "pass" I:

✔ Correct usage

find "pass" filename.txt

Example:

find "pass" I:\ethical-test\samsaj\s299\s299.txt

Output

pass : s299
pass : s265

⚠ find is case-sensitive and basic

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1️⃣5️⃣ Advanced Text Search – findstr (Recommended)

Search word

findstr "pass" s299.txt

Output

pass : s299
pass : s265
sam pass samina password
sajjad password pass

Why findstr is better?

✔ Case-insensitive (by default)
✔ Supports patterns
✔ Searches multiple lines cleanly

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✅ Key Takeaways (Revision Summary)

• echo > file → creates file with content
• echo 2> file → creates empty file via error redirection
• type → read file
• del → delete file
• rename → rename file
• mkdir / rmdir → directory management
• /S is mandatory to delete non-empty folders
• fc → compare files
• mklink → symbolic link (admin required)
• dir /s → recursive file search
• forfiles → powerful file finder + executor
• findstr → best for searching text inside files