Windows command start command

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start

MS-DOS and Windows command line start command

 

 

Starts a separate Command Prompt window to run a specified program or command.

Syntax

start [<title>] [/d <path>] [/i] [{/min | /max}] [{/separate | /shared}] [{/low | /normal | /high | /realtime | /abovenormal | belownormal}] [/affinity <hexaffinity>] [/wait] [/elevate] [/b] [<command> [<parameter>... ] | <program> [<parameter>... ]]

Parameters

Parameter Description
<title> Specifies the title to display in the Command Prompt window title bar.
/d <path> Specifies the startup directory.
/i Passes the Cmd.exe startup environment to the new Command Prompt window. If /i is not specified, the current environment is used.
{/min | /max} Specifies to minimize (/min) or maximize (/max) the new Command Prompt window.
{/separate | /shared} Starts 16-bit programs in a separate memory space (/separate) or shared memory space (/shared). These options are not supported on 64-bit platforms.
{/low | /normal | /high | /realtime | /abovenormal | belownormal} Starts an application in the specified priority class.
/affinity <hexaffinity> Applies the specified processor affinity mask (expressed as a hexadecimal number) to the new application.
/wait Starts an application and waits for it to end.
/elevate Runs application as administrator.
/b Starts an application without opening a new Command Prompt window. CTRL+C handling is ignored unless the application enables CTRL+C processing. Use CTRL+BREAK to interrupt the application.
[<command> [<parameter>... ] | <program> [<parameter>... ]] Specifies the command or program to start.
<parameter> Specifies parameters to pass to either the command or the program.
/? Displays help at the command prompt.

Remarks

  • You can run non-executable files through their file association by typing the name of the file as a command.
  • If you run a command that contains the string CMD as the first token without an extension or path qualifier, CMD is replaced with the value of the COMSPEC variable. This prevents users from picking up cmd from the current directory.
  • If you run a 32-bit graphical user interface (GUI) application, cmd does not wait for the application to quit before returning to the command prompt. This behavior does not occur if you run the application from a command script.
  • If you run a command that uses a first token that does not contain an extension, Cmd.exe uses the value of the PATHEXT environment variable to determine which extensions to look for and in what order. The default value for the PATHEXT variable is: 
    .COM;.EXE;.BAT;.CMD;.VBS;.VBE;.JS;.JSE;.WSF;.WSH;.MSC

    Note that the syntax is the same as the PATH variable, with semicolons (;) separating each extension.

  • start searches for a specified executable file, and if found the executable will launch regardless of the current working directory. When searching for an executable file, if there is no match on any extension, start checks to see if the name matches a directory name. If it does, start opens Explorer.exe on that path.

Examples

To start the Myapp program at the command prompt and retain use of the current Command Prompt window, type:

start Myapp

To view the start command-line help topic in a separate maximized Command Prompt window, type:

start /max start /?