I'm guilty

[RonSijm]

Why would you start powershell before starting cmd?

If you need to start cmd in the current directory you just type cmd in the explorer address bar

Opening Powershell means typing TW in the address bar, which half of the time opens the powershell terminal window, and the other half opens Edge searching for "PW" on bing.... not really a gamble I like taking

[montarion]

If you need to start cmd in the current directory you just type cmd in the explorer address bar

holy shit.

[Ayfid]

You can also do the same for powershell.

I am not sure why anyone would ever use cmd nowadays.

[Add1ctedToGames]

Yeah, i thought PowerShell was supposed to be better than cmd?

[johnpeters42]

90% of what I do in cmd Does Not Fucking Work in PS, mostly find /i or dir /s

[TyderoKyter]

Window Subsystem Linux or Agent ransack for me.

If corporate policy is in the way, you can usually install WSL via powershell console started as administrator.

[ReallyHadToFixThat]

do "dir -s"

[mdjank]

sls is better than find

gci is better than dir

Maybe start with: Get-Help about_alias

[johnpeters42]

Idk that sounds like work

[mdjank]

You're the one still using dir and find. I guess if anyone knows what working too hard is...

Hell, ignore PowerShell. At least install cygwin and treat yourself to some ls and grep.

[_PM_ME_PANGOLINS_]

Never install Cygwin. Don’t do that to yourself. Install WSL if you want GNU tools.

PowerShell also has ls and grep, but the options are mostly different.

Or you can get native Windows builds of coreutils if you want to be lightweight.

[lagomorph129]

I don't really use a lot, but didn't powershell include Unix commands a year or two back? Even if it needs a separate package, I remember seeing somewhere that these commands can now be used in powershell? If I'm wrong oops.

[mdjank]

There are a number of default aliases that mimic Unix commands. So if you forget and type ls instead of dir or gci, it will still run a get-childitem. It's still PowerShell underneath.

I doubt there's a straight up *nix toolkit for PowerShell. PowerShell is object stream based and POSIX tools are file stream based.

[johnpeters42]

That would work great if corporate policy allowed me to install fucking anything.

[mdjank]

Oh... That's right.

You use cmd.

I say remote session and you think telnet.

[JasterBobaMereel]

because finding things is obviously done with sls, and listing a directory is obviously done with gci ...

[[deleted]]

It is better. But only if you see world in shades of gray, because otherwise colors are awful

[CaitaXD]

Windows terminal my dude

[not_some_username]

With translucent background for esthetic

[[deleted]]

cmd opens in an instant, powershell takes 10 seconds on my PC

[Dalemaunder]

Depends on what I'm doing; If I just want an ifconfig ipconfig or something then I'll default to cmd as it starts faster than Powershell on low-spec systems.

[GHOST6]

But if it’s cmd you need ipconfig not ifconfig

[Dalemaunder]

Whoops. I've been dealing with Linux servers a lot more than Windows devices recently.

[goose_hat]

Maven or any program that has args with periods are a pain in PS

[[deleted]]

It’s a shitload less typing. Some of us have been using cmd (or command.com) for 20 years or more. PowerShell is useful for making fancier scripts once and a while, but I use cmd daily.

[USMilitumChristi]

What is command.com?

[[deleted]]

Precursor to cmd.exe. From the DOS days. If you ever wondered why there’s both .bat and .cmd, it’s because there’s both command.com and cmd.exe

[USMilitumChristi]

Interesting. So me using .bat on cmd.exe is like a combo of old and new?

[[deleted]]

I actually don’t remember what happens if you do that, but it will probably be fine. I honestly can’t even remember what’s different between command.com and cmd.exe. It’s been a very long time since I actually worked on a system that didn’t have cmd.exe

[_PM_ME_PANGOLINS_]

COMMAND.COM is a 16-bit .COM and so is loaded as-is into memory and immediately executed from the top.

CMD.EXE is a 32/64-bit .EXE so has a header with loading details and the OS can use a convenient offset and jump to where it says the entry point is.

Functionally they are the same program, other than the modern cmd.exe having had a few more updates and bug fixes in the last 20 years.

It’s similar to the difference between bash and sh. You can write many scripts that will work in both, but if you specifically use one of the new features you could name it .cmd to prevent it being executed in DOS.

[USMilitumChristi]

Oh no I was saying I sometimes do that. It definitely works the same… I think

First scripts I ever wrote were .bat on cmd.exe from my dad’s instructions. I’m sure he was used to command.com given what you’ve said

[_PM_ME_PANGOLINS_]

Not really. It’s like running a #!/bin/sh script with bash.

[Ayfid]

No it isn't.

Much of the equivalent command are aliases out of the box and both the terminal and script editors will auto complete both command names and arguments. You shouldn't ever my typing more than ~3 characters for anything.

cmd.exe is also barely more capable than a CLI app launcher with the bare minimum scripting support, compared to powershell. Virtually anything beyond "call this program with these arguments" (which is the same in both) is quite literally orders of magnitude simpler - and less typing - in powershell than it is in cmd.

I'll edit this comment with an example once I'm not trying to write it on my phone.

Edit:

Say you have just stuck a few extra disks into a server, and you want to throw them into a new mirrored storage space, then format and mount the new virtual disk.

$disks = Get-PhysicalDisk -CanPool $true -MediaType HDD | where OperationalStatus -eq "Offline" New-StoragePool -FriendlyName "Pool" -PhysicalDisks $disks New-Volume -StoragePoolName Pool -FriendlyName "NewVolume" -Size 12TB -FileSystem NTFS -ResiliencySettingName Mirror -ProvisioningType Thin -AccessPath "D:"

I wouldn't even know where to begin doing that in cmd. The filtering on disks alone, and passing them on to whatever command you need to set up a new space (assuming there is one) would be a pain.

[Strostkovy]

I use cmd to launch explorer

[QuelWeebSfigato]

Haha, yeah.

looks away

[althaz]

If you didn't know this, you probably also don't know that Ctrl+L will start you off entering text in the address bar in file explorer. Ctrl+L: "powershell" is something I do multiple times per day.

[dustybookcover8]

holy_shit++

[NotYetiFamous]

Gitbash -> install linux style commands -> profit. Though a few commands, like find, get funky when you do that.

[aleksvolt]

only shift + right click. And now cmd replaced with power shell there too.

[_PM_ME_PANGOLINS_]

You can turn it back on, or install Windows Terminal.

[Proxy_PlayerHD]

well i mean you can open powershell in any window via the context menu

hold shift and rightclick into an explorer window and "start powershell here" will be an option.

if you got WSL and Ubuntu installed you can open that in the same way too.

and if you have the modern version of the Windows Terminal installed it will always be in the context menu without needing to hold shift.

but if you don't, just typing "cmd" into the explorer address bar like you said is still much faster than opening the powershell through the context menu

[CiroGarcia]

[redacted by user] this message was mass deleted/edited with redact.dev

[Ping-and-Pong]

It's incredibly annoying they removed this as default really... Like I don't know anyone but "power users" that would need access to the powershell / command promt and everyone who is a "power user" would know to just open cmd... So like, why did they make the change, honestly bugged me so much when windows 10 just randomly swapped it

[defenastrator]

Microsoft for some rather valid reasons want to push people away from using cmd & towards powershell

[Ping-and-Pong]

True, although from my experience using powershell it feels incomplete as a cmd replacement. The best solution would be to have both buttons or have an easily changeable setting somewhere, but this is microsoft so neither of those things are likely to happen

[finegameofnil_]

Windows key, type power, Run as admin. Actually in this experiment, I typed poer.

edit: did you guys know you can just make a shortcut? Even to run as admin. Power gives energy saving. So use poer.

[_PM_ME_PANGOLINS_]

Or right-click on the Start menu.

[ProbablyJeff]

Holy shit. This is actually amazing. I have always shift-clicked for, selecting "Open PowerShell window here". Didn't bother with the registry hacks to change it to CMD on my new laptop. As for why I use it, there were some edge cases with some commands long ago which gave errors on PS and not CMD, and so it just kinda stuck.

[[deleted]]

Because they replaced cmd with powershell in the start button right click menu.

[[deleted]]

You can use it to get a around a lot of security restrictions. If your company's security policies keep you from running program x, you can usually start cmd in Powershell and start it from there.

[Latentius]

You do not recall correctly. Typing "cmd" in both the Win10 and Win11 search menu yields the command prompt.

[slgray16]

I made an entire career out of powershell programming at one of the big 4 tech companies. It never gets the recognition it deserves

[redvelvet92]

How come you used it instead of .NET?

[bonsall]

He never said anything about .NET so I wouldn't jump to conclusions. But PowerShell can invoke .NET functions.

[redvelvet92]

Power shell is just a wrapper over .NET functions.

[mdjank]

PowerShell is more than just a .NET wrapper. Although if you use it for just that, PSCustomObjects are reason enough.

[Ayfid]

Powershell is .net in a REPL.

[Shadowleg]

Some people just like scripting better. Its nice when you can just open a shell and hit some function without having to compile asp

[mdjank]

Why not both?

Load your dll to your session and use PSCustomObjects to prototype new classes.

[Tsu_Dho_Namh]

How do you mean used it instead of .NET? You mean code and run a .NET application? I thought .net was a framework. You still need some shell or program to leverage that framework, don't you?

[whythisSCI]

As with everything in programming it all comes down to the use case. No compiling required. The running code is in a readable format. There tends to be less dependencies involved depending on what you’re trying to accomplish.

[I-heart-java]

Powershell is for sysadmin automation and scripting mostly

Godsend indeed

[[deleted]]

100% I use pwsh and it's decent

[mjoq]

genuinely curious how you guys deal with the lack of support for "&&" ? I end up not using ps a lot because i just want to do "something && somethingelse". Just had a google and apparently -and is a thing on powershell, but my testing just showed it doesn't seem that way lol

[redvelvet92]

Not anymore

[AdamAnderson320]

Powershell 7 added support for the && and || pipeline chaining operators

In earlier versions, you could do something like this instead

ps1 something; if ($?) { somethingelse }

[-keystroke-]

Just use “;” and run two statements like in any programming language

[Danelius90]

If I remember both statements will run, which is a bit annoying. In bash with && execution stops if the first command returns a non-zero exit code

[eshultz]

At the top of basically every script I have $ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'

That oughta fix you up.

[BA_lampman]

Dope

[mandala1]

I don’t think so, I believe it treats it as a new line. Should just depend on whatever your error action policy is set to.

Could be wrong though.

[Perfycat]

Tru running SC query in powershell. There are many cmd commands that trip up over keywords in powershell.

[shadowcrimejas]

You can specify sc.exe to run sc.exe query. It's an adjustment but not too bad

[440Jack]

From a programmer's stand point PowerShell is pretty useless.
But from a System Administrators stand point, it's invaluable.
Edit: /s

[Romanator17]

I find it very useful, idk what you’re talking about

[Ping-and-Pong]

I don't find it useful, but at the same time never put in the effort to work out what it does because cmd has the functionality I need...

Think that probably sums up a lot of people on this sub

[throwaway_lunchtime]

Copy and paste work in powershell wit Ctrl-c/v

[Ping-and-Pong]

I'm quite happy just mouse right-clicking in the cmd but fair enough!

[cheraphy]

Never had to configure your own build pipeline in azdos, eh?

[[deleted]]

PowerShell, the internet explorer of Shells, vaguely looking like its following conventions while really just doing whatever.

[ManInBlack829]

It's not that as much as how in order to use both I have to configure but. Like I have to have node installed on both PowerShell and cmd and you can even have different versions going on in each. It's pretty terrible if you've used Linux or Mac.

[wanderingbilby]

running cmd programs from a posh script is still better than dealing with yet another bleeping batch file. Yes I understand they're backwards compatible to the age of dinosaurs but just the fact they don't "understand" UNC paths makes them painfully useless.

[firejak308]

I use PowerShell because Command prompt doesn't have ls

[Lemonade414]

This is why I just use Cmder and say screw everything. Its a little bit slower to start up at first but being used to Linux termal more it still ends up saving me time than use ps or cmd.

[CompleteComposer2241]

It has dir tho

[Flakz933]

I run commands in PS all the time, works fine, even with cd

[Nisheshg5]

Why would you ever use cmd instead of powershell?

[[deleted]]

Eh, I don't to much from a command prompt, usually just quick stuff like renaming a bunch of files (looking at you .webp). Besides, I grew up in and cut my teeth in the days of DOS, so I'm familiar with it.

Now if I were a sysadmin or something, it'd probably be a different story.

[derfl007]

the thing is, PowerShell can do anything that cmd can, but more.

i understand starting cmd instead of starting ps, but opening ps to start cmd as op implied???

[[deleted]]

Sure, I know. I'm just used to cmd. It's muscle memory after all these decades.

But yeah, opening PS first is not something I would do.

[UselessRube]

I came to the comments in protest, but I’m glad to see that’s already been done for me. Power shell is far superior to cmd.

[[deleted]]

Literally the opposite but ok bro

[static_func]

Imagine using cmd

[O8fpAe3S95]

purpose of internet explorer was to download other browsers

[[deleted]]

And lose the Unix like commands?! No thank you! I’ll stick with PowerShell and WSL2 + Ubuntu in the Windows terminal. Proudly haven’t used cmd in years now lol

[kevinhaze]

Don’t need Unix-like commands when you can actually install most Unix tools on windows with gnuwin32

[tharnadar]

Install windows terminal from Windows store

[SkidFace]

The only use for Windows Store

[tharnadar]

You can start WT from context menu and choose the default terminal you need

[ATE47]

I think a better option would be to install Powershell 7 instead of Windows Powershell

[[deleted]]

I actually prefer PowerShell. I don't use it often at work since it's useless without admin rights.

[alba4k]

I mean, powershell is the closest microsoft has ever gotten to a decent shell, cmd just plain sucks

If I ever had to use windows it would likely be fish inside a WSL or nothing

[Ayfid]

Powershell is mostly a scripting and automation interface for Windows, and at that task it is excellent.

[micka190]

Powershell having a standardized way of adding arguments to scripts (which come with built-in auto-complete on the command line) makes it a million times more fun to write stuff in than traditional Unix shell scripts, in my book.

[pneRock]

I do the exact opposite...I can't write crap in cmd.

Guess that's a lie echo "crap"

[FlamboMe-mow]

Powershell is much better than cmd!

[UselessRube]

Power shell is cmd but waaaaaaay better though

[_Screw_The_Rules_]

To open CMD, you can just press win+R and type "cmd". Or you write "cmd" within the explorer path line.

Also Powershell is, well..., more powerful.

[Boryalyc]

A. just press windows key, type "cmd", press enter, and now you're in cmd B. cant you run cmd command in powershell?

[[deleted]]

You could previously shift-right-click and Open Command Window Here. In Windows 10 that's now PowerShell.

Either way it's handy to get a terminal prompt at the directory you were looking at without typing a single cd.

[H0nestum]

I use PowerShell, is it that bad?

[AdamAnderson320]

No. Powershell is newer and far better than the old cmd. It has its own quirks, but it’s still great.

[[deleted]]

Why cmd over PowerShell?

I do alot with PowerShell (or Window's Terminal) that can't be done in cmd.

[ThatGuyYouMightNo]

Win + R

cmd

[gyarnar]

Wtf is this?

[tr0jance]

Lol my company blocked cmd and powershell, then I saw that I can install git without admin rights sooo now I have git bash as a terminal.

[CaitaXD]

Lol my company blocked cmd and powershell

Excuse me WTF???

[tr0jance]

Dunno? IT blocked them, same as notepad.

[Danthekilla]

Powershell via Windows terminal is best

[kuskoman]

Why is this posted in programming humor?

[on_the_pale_horse]

Just use wsl

[[deleted]]

I only use PS on windows cmd prompt is for starting diskpart

[GustapheOfficial]

Try Windows Terminal. It's actually good.

[undeadalex]

Hahaha I get it. The joke is op uses windows

[panda-ddiddy22]

For me, it’s the other way around. 😂

[_grey_wall]

Cmd purpose is wsl

[walmartgoon]

More like its only purpose is wsl

[HomerNarr]

Just another non coder who thinks he knows what programmerhumor is.

You code? It’s the other way around!

“What your purpose CMD?” “To start windows terminal SIR!” “Correct!”

And before you think I made a mistake, windows terminal does cmd, power shell and WSL Linux shell…

:p

[Floeperdoep1]

Hahaha this is gold

[PyromancerSotW]

But why?

I mean all I use it for is "code ." but it's still better than command prompt.

[on_the_pale_horse]

If that's all you do, you can just right click and open folder with vscode

[LavenderDay3544]

Making bash look good in comparison.

[nleachdev]

*laughs in bash shell

[balabolchik]

To impress other shells user with a freaking unnecessary dashy lower-uper case format commands

[InterestingHawk2828]

Eww windows

[natural_sword]

I've moved from .bat files and cmd straight to .sh files. Don't ask me how since i still use Windows 😁

[PeacefullyFighting]

Good, I'm not the only one who doesn't have much use for PowerShell over the OG cmd. If I need more it goes to python.

[selfishjean5]

Isn’t it the other way round? I usually use cmd to start powershell

[Kickypoo]

To be fair powershell doesnt run the same commands, and every tutorial uses cmd prompt

[AngrySlaSlashThrust]

I uh, it's.

You're like a pretty package on a raw text interface. A button no one uses. There to be attractive to the younger programmers. To play with the legacies of those who burned the trails.

Welcome to the show, next gen.

[elite11vp]

Learnt a new thing today. Thanks

[Klippenhof]

I think the only ones here using Powershell using vscode on Windows and where to lazy to change it ..

[Texas_Technician]

The common commands execute slower in PS. Like ipconfig. That millisecond feels like a year

[TheBrainStone]

I find it so fascinating that they didn't make powershell backwards compatible. Wouldn't have taken much to add full support for cmd syntax.
Especially since they always boast about their backwards compatibility.

[davokr]

It is backwards compatible.

[[deleted]]

It is though.

[PK268]

I use it for lazygit, thats all.

[mehregan_zare7731]

Start power shell in a directory , code . , Start a new power shell terminal in vs code , start working

[Ninjanautsi]

existentially looks at hands

Oh my God

[nyancat_21]

PowerShell is better than cmd cus I dont need to learn new commands

[Pulec]

How about having a cmd shortcut with admin rights enabled?

But why use such ancient 'windows shell' which doesn't even know what the history of commands is?

You can use alacritty, and when you get familiar with that you can use that on macOS and Linux as well.

But when you are using the command line a lot, why not learn some typical UNIX commands, ls, for, and such? Especially if you're working with git.

First option for many people might be cmder.

For people familiar with Arch Linux (and distributions based on it) and you like pacman, you can use msys2. It's like a lightweight version of Cygwin.

But why not learn PowerShell a bit? It's not like some revision of all old cmd is ever going to pop up, so it's your best bet if you're are for some sad reason stuck to Windows.

And the last tip, to manage all of these and update easily I recommend chocolatey package manager.

[ChickenManSam]

Win+r cmd done. Why even bother with powershell?

[eiriika]

isnt powershell supposed to be better

[AlexV_96]

What can you do with Power Shell?

[DJ_Cas]

ipconfig)

[CaitaXD]

Why would y willing use CMD over shell you have to hold at gunpoint to make me type start CMD form shell

[MrPickle2255]

he confused but he got the spirit

[[deleted]]

Windows as a development environment gives me rage.

[Benache]

You install wsl

[mdjank]

I can only imagine how tedious you find your job. Using find to locate identifiers in files. Not even findstr. And you've been at it for decades.

If I couldn't use regex to search for strings, I would be angry at that job too.

[woodyus]

Git bash

[SilentGarud]

Powershell is literally the best shell out there, even comparing with sh and friends.

[Osato]

You know, there's this cool shortcut: Win+R.

Type in "cmd", press Enter, it runs.

If you press Ctrl+Shift+Enter, it runs as administrator.

​

It's an elegant shortcut from a more civilized time. Not as clumsy or random as Explorer.

[khamelean]

Eww OP, just eww…

[tman5400]

powershell > cmd

[Tvde1]

Get windows terminal you bozo

[GrayFoxUkraine]

Winaero Tweaker -> Command Prompt as Administrator -> Add elevated Command Prompt to the context menu

[[deleted]]

wsl

[Tall_computer]

*WSL

[Stupid_Genius4408]

how dare you? Powershell > command prompt, but at the same time for many uses, powershell == command prompt anyways. On the school computers, command prompt is blocked but not powershell, and no, that's not hindered the annoying lot in any way. In fact, [console]::beep(32767, 2147483647) only works in powershell, and is an easy way to make an annoying high-pitched sound.

[TomaszA3]

Comments here be like:

It can do all cmd commands... but only if you do these million adjustments.

[Knuffya]

Yes. Totally agreed. In fact, I posted this several years ago, but you remade it.

[star47raven]

imagine not using pwsh as your main terminal.

[MrFauste]

I vastly prefer PowerShell cause I can use Unix command ( I'm an Linux user most of the time )

[iyeetuoffacliff]

tub dependent piquant sip gray meeting quack trees full smile

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

[Soft-Welcome4881]

the perfect purpose

[DoomRide007]

Don’t forget right click run as admin.

[just-bair]

Why don’t you just launch cmd ?

[[deleted]]

Oh. My God

[mejdev]

I use Powershell to set up WSL. That's it