The Ultimate Windows CMD Replacement Shell - Reinventing CMD Commands

Take Command is a comprehensive interactive GUI and CMD replacement that makes your Windows command prompt easier to use and far more powerful. Take Command allows you to run Windows console applications in multiple tabbed windows, with an optional Explorer-like interface for those times when you need a visual look at your folders. Windows batch scripting is easier and much more efficient, with tools to debug your scripts and automate your processes.

Take Command is a superset of the Windows CMD shell (and syntax), so you're immediately more productive. Take Command includes hundreds of enhancements to CMD commands such as COPY, DEL, DIR, and START. Take Command then adds more than 140 new internal commands, 450 internal variables and functions, a superior command line editor, and thousands of other features to upgrade your CMD windows.

Combine the power of the command line with the ease of use of Explorer. Manipulate files at the command prompt and graphically see the results. Drag and drop files into tab windows (even console apps that don't support drag & drop), other applications, or the desktop.
Take Command includes a command processor that is compatible with your existing CMD commands and batch files, while adding thousands of new features. You're immediately more productive, and you can learn and add Take Command's new features at your own pace.
Create and debug your batch scripts in a fraction of the time with the integrated editor and batch file debugger.
It's fast - 20-200% faster at displaying output than the standard CMD windows.
The integrated and familiar environment means you are immediately more productive with your interactive command prompt and batch file development tasks.
The consistent syntax reduces your learning and development time.
The comprehensive help (including context-sensitive popup help for command line syntax), speeds your development time and reduces syntax errors.
Take Command is fully customizable, including themes, colors, menus, toolbars, and windows.
The user interface is available in English, French, German, Italian, Russian, and Spanish. (Online help is currently in English only.)

You can run multiple Windows console and GUI applications simultaneously in tabbed windows, including all Windows command processors (such as our own Take Command Console (TCC), CMD, bash and PowerShell).
The integrated file explorer allows you to examine directories and drag and drop files to the tabbed windows.
Create and debug your batch scripts with the integrated graphical IDE. The IDE includes tabbed edit windows and a sophisticated debugger with single stepping, breakpoints, syntax coloring, tooltips, bookmarks, tabbed variable and watch windows. Windows batch file programming has never been easier or more powerful!
The built-in scrollback buffer lets you review or print command line output from past commands, and find text in any tabbed window.
The tabbed toolbar lets you create up to 20 tabs with up to 50 toolbar buttons on each. Toolbar buttons can start new tabs or windows, or send commands or text to existing tabbed console windows.
The command processor in Take Command (TCC) is a complete replacement for the CMD shell.
The TCC scripting language is a massive superset of the Windows CMD shell, with 174 internal commands, 280 internal functions, and 174 system variables. Almost all of the CMD command line commands (e.g. DIR, COPY, DEL, START, etc.) are enhanced with hundreds of additional options. And TCC adds more than 140 new commands. Take Command can usually do in one or two lines what requires dozens CMD commands (when CMD can do it at all).
The scripting language includes a complete set of extended flow control structures including IF-Then-Else, DO and FOR loops, SWITCH, subroutines, batch libraries, and more.
Most interactive commands (such as COPY, DEL, DIR, MOVE, REN, START, etc.) have command dialogs that allow you to select filenames and options and see your command line before executing it. The most powerful Windows command processor is also the easiest to use!
Monitor your system's hardware and software events, and execute commands when an event is triggered. You can monitor directory changes, the clipboard, event logs, Ethernet and WiFi connections, services, processes, and USB and Firewire connections.
You can redefine your commands with aliasing, create new commands and functions for your regular tasks, and assign frequently used commands to a single keystroke.
Environment variable substitution is greatly enhanced, including nested variables, delayed expansion, indirect variables, multidimensional array variables, and direct access to the system, user, and volatile variables in the registry.
Select or exclude files by date, time, size, owner, and extended wildcards or regular expressions for extraordinary flexibility in file management.
Specify multiple filenames for most file processing commands (i.e., COPY, DEL, DIR, MOVE, etc.), or optionally the name of a file that contains the filename arguments. (COPY even supports multiple targets as well as multiple sources.)
Multiple types of I/O redirection are available to your command line applications, including redirecting and piping to STDERR, "in-process" pipes, "here-document" and "here-string" redirection, and Tee and Y pipe fittings.
Browse your command line and directory history, filename and directory completion, and use numerous cut and paste options with the advanced line editor.
Customize filename completion for any internal or external command. This allows Take Command to intelligently select and display filenames based on the command you are entering.
The optional input window (with full undo / redo) allows you to create and edit commands before sending them to the active tabbed windows.
Send keystrokes to any application (tabbed window, console or GUI).
Take Command includes the best text and binary file viewer available for Windows, including bidirectional scrolling, hex listings, rulers, grid lines, extensive searching and printing features, and much more.
Find any directory on your system by entering only part of its name with extended directory searches.
Take Command includes internal compression and extraction commands for ZIP, TAR, and GZIP files.
You can access FTP, TFTP and HTTP (including SSL and SSH) directories and files in all command processor file-handling commands (COPY, DEL, MOVE, etc.).
Create your own command processor variables or commands with plugins, or use the many third-party plugin libraries.
Internal support is included for Perl, Ruby, REXX, Python, Tcl/tk, and any Windows Active Scripting language. You can even combine multiple languages in your batch scripts.
And many thousands more -- see our online help for details.

For more information, see the TCC tutorials, Windows Command Line, Windows BAT Files, Batch File Programming, Windows Command Prompt, and Tabbed Windows.

Compare Take Command with other tabbed windows applications.

Take Command is compatible with any version of Microsoft Windows XP (SP2 or later), 2003, Vista, 2008, and Windows 7, including 64-bit Windows. Take Command is available in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions.

There are two editions of Take Command, so you can use the version that's perfect for your needs. See Comparing Command Processors: Take Command, TCC/LE, and the CMD Command Line.

The command prompt is essential for programmers, systems administrators and advanced users. The command line offers many advantages to any user wanting to save time, expand their control and/or to automate their tasks.

The default Windows command processor (also called the command shell or Windows CMD shell) is CMD.EXE. It is a console application that executes the commands you enter at the prompt and runs simple batch files (text files with a .BAT or .CMD extension). Unfortunately, the CMD shell has always been seriously lacking in even the most basic features compared to the command processors available in other operating systems (such as Linux, which has bash, csh, tcsh, zsh, etc.). And the CMD shell hasn't changed significantly since its first appearance in Windows NT 3.1 (which was released in 1993). Because of the limitations inherent in the Windows CMD Shell, users have often been forced to use the GUI for inappropriate tasks, or to write programs (for example, using C++ or Visual Basic) to perform simple tasks that the CMD shell should have been able to handle.

Take Command is our flagship product. For over 20 years, JP Software has been helping developers, system administrators, technical support professionals, and advanced users save time and money, and cure their Windows CMD shell frustrations. Take Command offers a new approach to working in Windows, bringing users the power of the command line and the ease of use of the Windows GUI. Take Command includes a complete CMD replacement command shell that provides you with a vastly better UI and thousands of features that are not available in the Windows CMD shell (or even in those Linux shells).

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What Our Users Say

"I have been using a JP Software command prompt for more than twenty years of software development. Across many employers and many client projects, it has been in use on almost every project I have worked on. For Windows software development, though my editors, compilers, and interpreters may vary, my JP Software command prompt is a constant. I cannot imagine starting a Windows project without it. It is essential software."

Tim Butterfield, Sr. Software Developer