Comparing CMD, Take Command, and TCC

CMD.EXE. is the Windows command processor that runs the commands you enter at the command prompt, and simple batch scripts (files with a .CMD or .BAT extension). CMD hasn’t changed much since its first appearance in Windows NT 3.1 in 1993.

Take Command combines the best features of the GUI and character-mode interfaces. You can have multiple console applications open in tabbed windows, with a Windows Explorer-like interface available for those times when you need a visual look at your folders and files.

Take Command is composed of four pieces which work closely together:

Take Command Environment - A rich development and operations environment that allows you to:

Run multiple console and GUI applications simultaneously in tabbed windows, including our own Take Command Console (TCC), CMD, PowerShell and bash. Take Command will display output much faster (up to 5x) than running the application in a standard Windows console window.
Cut and paste text.
Drag and drop files into tab windows from an Explorer-like environment, other applications, or the desktop.
Create and edit command scripts with a full featured editor, including syntax highlighting.
Debug batch scripts with a sophisticated debugger, including single-stepping and conditional breakpoints.

Take Command Language - A mature scripting language based on and compatible with CMD, but massively enhanced. It includes:

265+ internal commands (CMD in Windows 11 has about 42)
440+ functions (CMD has 0)
340+ variables (CMD has 6)
Hundreds of additional options for CMD commands
Additional underlying capabilities, such as the ability to send email and access FTPS and HTTPS servers

Take Command Console (TCC) - A Windows command processor compatible with CMD (the default command processor in Windows 10 / 11 / 2016 / 2019 / 2022) but substantially enhanced with hundreds of new commands and thousands of additional features. TCC is included with Take Command, and is also available separately if you don't need the Take Command tabbed consoles interface. TCC provides the ability to:

Edit the command line with a powerful editor, tab completion, command history, directory history, and command dialogs.
Interactively run commands, such as DIR, COPY, etc.
Run batch script files, such as .CMD, .BAT or .BTM files.
Run batch scripts as background processes based on timed schedules or operational triggers, such as changes in the system environment.

And an Integrated IDE with tabbed edit windows and a batch file debugger (compatible with TCC or CMD batch files), that provides:

Variable, alias, call stack, breakpoint, environment, and watch windows
Tooltips that display command syntax or the current variable value
Single stepping - step into, step over, step out
Conditional breakpoints
Syntax coloring (commands, variables, aliases, comments, operators, etc.)
Bookmarks

Comparing CMD, TCC, and Take Command Features

Features	CMD	TCC	Take Command
Extensive interactive help	-
Tabbed console windows	-	-
Tabbed configurable toolbar	-	-
Integrated Windows Explorer	-	-
Batch editor & debugger	-
Command dialogs	-
Internal commands	42	268	268
Internal variables	6	780+	780+
Filename wildcards	Limited (* and ?)	*, ?, [], and regular expressions	*, ?, [], and regular expressions
File ranges	-
Command line editing	Limited	Extensive and configurable	Extensive and configurable
Command line syntax coloring	-
Configurable tab completion	-
Directory history	-
Command completion	-
Aliases	Limited command aliases only	Extensive - command, directory, and keystroke aliases	Extensive - command, directory, and keystroke aliases
Scripting	*.CMD only	*.CMD, Python,PowerShell, Lua, Tcl/tk, REXX	*.CMD, Python, PowerShell, Lua, Tcl/tk, REXX
User-defined functions and libraries	-
V File Viewer	-
Internet connectivity	-
Automation (macro recorder, keystack)	-
Logging	-
Support	?	Web forums	Web forums

Comparing CMD and TCC Commands

TCC gives you more than 265 internal commands. (By contrast, Microsoft's Windows 11 CMD has about 42 internal commands.) The best way to learn about commands is to read the extensive TCC help, and experiment with them.

You can replace any internal command with an ALIAS or LIBRARY command or plugin. You can disable an internal command with COMMANDS or OPTION / Commands.

In the list below, commands that also exist in CMD (usually in a much more limited form) are marked with a +. Commands that are internals in TCC but externals in CMD are marked with a *.

Click on any of the command names to display the TCC online help for that command.

?	Display a list of internal and plugin commands
ACTIVATE	Activate a window, set its state, or change its title
ALIAS	Define or display command and keystroke aliases
ASSOC +	Windows file associations
ASSOCIATE	Combines ASSOC and FTYPE
ATTRIB *	Change or display file attributes
BATCOMP	Batch file compression
BDEBUGGER	Batch file editor and debugger
BEEP	Beep the speaker
BREAK +	Define or display Ctrl-C state
BREAKPOINT	Set a batch debugger breakpoint
BTMONITOR	Monitor Bluetooth connections
BZIP2	Create bz2 archives
CALL +	Call another batch file
CANCEL	End batch file processing
CAPTURE	Video and/or audio capture
CD / CHDIR +	Display or change directory
CDD	Change drive and directory
CHCP +	Display or change code page
CHRONIC	Run command and hide STDOUT & STDERR
CLIP	Display or modify TCC clipboards
CLIPMONITOR	Monitor Windows clipboard
CLS +	Clear the display window
COLOR +	Change the display colors
COMMANDS	Enable, disable, or display internal commands
COMMENT	Enter multiline comments
COPY +	Copy files and/or directories
COPYDIR	Copy directory tree
DATE +	Display or change date
DATEMONITOR	Monitor the current date and time
DEBUGMONITOR	Monitor OutputDebugString calls
DEBUGSTRING	Send text to system debugger
DEDUPE	Search for duplicate files
DEFER	Defer a command until batch file exit
DEL / ERASE +	Delete files and/or directories
DELAY	Wait for specified time
DESCRIBE	Display or change descriptions
DESKTOP	Create or switch desktops
DETACH	Start app detached
DIFFER	Show directory differences
DIR +	Display files and/or directories
DIRENV	Configure environment per directory
DIRHISTORY	Display directory history list
DIRS	Display directory stack
DISKMONITOR	Monitor disk usage
DNS	Display DNS records
DO	Create batch file loops
DRAWBOX	Draw a box
DRAWHLINE	Draw a horizontal line
DRAWVLINE	Draw a vertical line
ECHO +	Echo a message
ECHOERR	Echo a message to STDERR
ECHOS	Echo a message with no CR/LF
ECHOSERR	Echo with no CR/LF to STDERR
ECHOX	Echo with no expansion to STDOUT
ECHOXERR	Echo with no expansion to STDERR
EJECTMEDIA	Eject a removable drive
ENDLOCAL +	Restore from a SETLOCAL
ENUMPROCESSES	Enumerate child processes
ENUMSERVERS	Enumerate network servers
ENUMSHARES	Enumerate network sharenames
ESET	Edit variables or aliases
EVENTLOG	Write Windows event log
EVENTMONITOR	Monitor event log
EVERYTHING	Search for files and/or directories
EXCEPT	Exclude files from a command
EXIT +	Exit TCC
EXPR	Evaluate expressions
FFIND	Search for files or text
FILELOCK	Show file locks
FIREWIREMONITOR	Monitor FireWire devices
FOLDERMONITOR	Monitor folders and/or files
FONT	Change console font
FOR +	Repeat a command
FREE	Display disk space
FTYPE +	Display or edit file types
FUNCTION	Create or edit user variable functions
GLOBAL	Run command in subdirectories
GOSUB	Call batch subroutines
GOTO +	Branch in a batch file
GZIP	Compress files to .gz archive
HASH	Display file hash values
HEAD	Display beginning of file
HELP *	Help for internal commands
HISTORY	Display or change history
IDE	Batch editor / debugger
IF +	Conditional command execution
IFF	Conditional command execution
IFTP	Open FTP connection
INKEY	Get a single keystroke
INPUT	Get a text string
INSTALLED	Show installed applications
JABBER	Send an IM
JAR	Create Java JAR archive
JOBMONITOR	Monitor Windows job activity
JOBS	Create Windows jobs and attach processes
JOINDOMAIN	Join a computer to a domain or workgroup
JUMPLIST	Create taskbar jumplists
KEYBD	Set keyboard toggles
KEYS +	Enable or disable history list
KEYSTACK	Send keystrokes to app
LIBRARY	Load, display, or delete library functions
LINKS	Display the hard links for the specified file(s)
LIST	Display content of files
LOADBTM	Load batch file as .BTM
LOADMEDIA	Close CD-ROM / DVD drive door
LOCAL	Local variables for batch files & library functions
LOCKMONITOR	Monitor session locking / unlocking
LOG	Save log of commands
LUA	Call the internal Lua interpreter
MD / MKDIR +	Create subdirectories
MEMORY	Display memory statistics
MKLINK +	Create NTFS symbolic links
MKLNK	Create NTFS hard or soft link
MONITOR	Get / set monitor settings
MOUNTISO	Mount ISO disk
MOUNTVHD	Mount VHD or VHDX disk
MOVE +	Move files or directories
MOVEDIR	Move directory tree
MSGBOX	Popup message box
NETMONITOR	Monitor networks
ODBC	SQL database query
ON	Batch file error trapping
OPTION	Configure the TCC console
OSD	Display floating text
PATH +	Set or display PATH
PAUSE +	Wait for input
PDIR	User-formatted DIR
PEE	Redirect STDOUT to multiple pipes
PLAYAVI	Display an .AVI file
PLAYSOUND	Play a sound file
PLUGIN	Load or unload plugin DLL
POPD +	Restore from directory stack
POSTMSG	Send a message to a Window
POWERMONITOR	Monitor system power
PRINT	Print a file
PRINTF	Formatted output
PRIORITY	Set process priority
PROCESSMONITOR	Monitor processes
PROMPT +	Change command line prompt
PSHELL	Execute Powershell script or command
PSUBST	Persistent SUBST
PUSHD +	Save directory to stack
QUERYBOX	Popup input box
QUIT	Exit batch file
RD / RMDIR +	Remove subdirectory
REBOOT	Reboot system
RECORDER	Macro recorder / playback
RECYCLE	Display or empty recycle bin
REGDIR	Display the specified Windows Registry tree
REGMONITOR	Monitor Windows Registry keys
REM +	Remark
REN / RENAME +	Rename files or directories
RESOLUTION	Change the resolution of the specified display
RESTOREPOINT	Create, remove, or list Windows system restore points
RETURN	Return from GOSUB
REXEC	Remotely execute commands
RSHELL	Remotely execute commands
SAVECONSOLE	Save console screen buffer to file
SCREEN	Position cursor
SCREENMONITOR	Monitor screen saver
SCRIPT	Run a script using an Active Scripting engine
SCRPUT	Write directly to screen
SELECT	Select files for a command
SENDHTML	Send HTML email
SENDMAIL	Send email
SERVICEMONITOR	Monitor Windows services
SERVICES	Display, stop, or start system services
SET +	Set or display environment variables
SETARRAY	Define array variable
SETDOS	Set or display console options
SETERROR	Set the ERRORLEVEL value
SETLOCAL +	Save environment, aliases & functions
SETP	Set environment variable in another process
SHIFT +	Shift batch file parameters
SHORTCUT	Create a Windows shortcut
SHRALIAS	Share aliases
SMPP	Simple message transfer
SNMP	Send SNMP traps
SNPP	Send message to pager
SPONGE	Read STDIN and write to file
SREPLACE	Search and replace in files
SSHEXEC	SSH to remote host & run shell
START +	Start a new session
STATUSBAR	Display text on status bar
SWITCH	Batch file switch / case
SYNC	Synchronize directories
TABCOMPLETE	TCC tab completion scripts
TAIL	Display end of file
TAR	Add files to .tar archive
TASKBAR	Call Windows Taskbar functions
TASKDIALOG	Popup Windows task dialog
TASKEND	End a task
TASKLIST	Display Windows task list
TCDIALOG	Display command dialogs
TCFILTER	Filter Take Command File Explorer window
TCFONT	Set font in Take Command tab window
TCTOOLBAR	Edit Toolbar
TEE	Pipe "tee-fitting"
TEXT	Display text in batch file
THREAD	Run command in a separate thread
TIME +	Set or display time
TIMER	Stopwatch
TITLE +	Set window title
TOAST	Display Windows Toast notification
TOUCH	Change file timestamps
TPIPE	Text filtering and substitution
TRANSIENT	Toggle shell transient mode
TREE +	Display directory tree
TRUENAME	Display true pathname
TS	Timestamp pipe output
TYPE +	Display files
UNALIAS	Remove aliases
UNBZIP2	Uncompress bz2 archives
UNFUNCTION	Remove user-defined functions
UNGZIP	Extract files from .gz archive
UNLIBRARY	Remove library functions
UNMOUNTISO	Unmount ISO
UNMOUNTVHD	Unmount VHD or VHDX
UNQLITE	NoSQL database
UNSET	Remove environment variable
UNSETARRAY	Remove array variable
UNSETP	Remove environment variable in another process
UNTAR	Extract files from .tar archive
UNZIP	Unzip files from zip archive
UPTIME	Display the time since startup and the active time
USBMONITOR	Monitor USB devices
UUID	Create UUIDs in different formats
VBEEP	Flash the screen and beep
VDESKTOP	Manage Windows 10 / 11 virtual desktops
VER +	Display version
VERIFY +	Display or set disk verification
VIEW	Display file contents
VOL +	Display or set disk volume label
VSCRPUT	Write text vertically
WAITFOR	Wait for app exit or input idle
WAKEONLAN	Send "Wake-On-LAN" packet
WEBFORM	Post data to web forms
WEBSOCKET	Connect to Websocket and send string
WEBUPLOAD	Upload files to web servers
WHICH	Display command information
WINDOW	Window management
WINSTATION	Show the window stations and desktops on your system
WMIQUERY	WMI queries
WMIRUN	Run WMI methods
WSETTINGS	Display a Windows settings dialog
WSHELL	Open a Windows Explorer window
WSHORTCUT	Call a Windows Explorer shortcut
Y	Pipe "y-fitting"
ZIP	Zip files to zip archive
ZIPSFX	Create self-extracting executable
7UNZIP	Extract files from 7Zip archive
7ZIP	Compress files to 7Zip archive