DIR

(from Directory)

Lists files and subdirectories inside a directory.

DIR [drive:][path][filename] [/A[[:][-]attr1 [[-]attr2 [...]]]] [/B] [/[-]C] [/D] [/L] [/N] [/O[[:][-]order]] [/P] [/Q] [/S] [/T[[:]date_field]] [/W] [/X] [/4]

Where:

  • [drive:][path][filename] - Specifies drives, directories, and/or files to list.
  • /A[[:][-]attr1 [[-]attr2 [...]]] - Displays files with the specified attributes (see ATTRIBATTRIB and DEL or ERASEDEL or ERASE). The - sign in front of the specified attribute hides elements with that attribute. Replace attr1, attr2, etc… with:
    • D - Directories.
    • R - Read-only files.
    • A - Archive files.
    • S - System files.
    • H - Hidden files.
    • I - Not indexed files.
    • T - Temporary files.
    • O - Offline files.
    • L - Symbolic links.
    • C - Compressed files.
    • E - Encrypted files.
    • X - Clean files.
    • V - On ReFS volumes (introduced in Windows 8): Healthy files; on FAT volumes: Deprecated.
    • P - Since Windows 10 v1703: pinned files (always available on OneDrive); before Windows 10 v1703: sparse files (disk allocation only for non-null data).
    • U - Unpinned files (online only on OneDrive, introduced in Windows 10 v1703).
    • M - Strictly sequential files (introduced in Windows 10 v1703).
    • B - Recall on data access files (introduced in Windows 10).
  • /B - Lists files without header or summary information.
  • /C - Displays thousands separator in file sizes (default).
  • /-C - Disables /C.
  • /D - Displays in wide format, files are sorted by column.
  • /L - Uses lowercase characters.
  • /N - New long format, with file names on the right.
  • /O[[:][-]order] - Lists files in sort order. The - sign in front of the sort order reverses the sort order (e.g. -N). Replace sort with:
    • N - By name, from A to Z.
    • S - By size, from smallest to largest.
    • E - By extension, from A to Z.
    • D - By date and time, oldest to newest.
    • G - Shows directories first.
  • /P - Shows the list one screen at a time.
  • /Q - Shows the owner of the file.
  • /S - Shows files in the directory and its subdirectories.
  • /T[[:]date_field] - Checks displayed date field. Replace date_field with:
    • C - Creation.
    • A - Last access.
    • W - Last writing.
  • /W - Displays in wide format.
  • /X - Shows generated contracted names for long format names.
  • /4 - Shows the year in four digits.

By setting the DIRCMD environment variable you can specify default options, which can be disabled with a - sign in front, for example (see SETSET):

rem Display the list of files and directories in standard format for the current directory
dir
set dircmd=/w
rem View in wide format (/W option is preset by DIRCMD)
dir
rem Display in standard format again (by turning off /W)
dir /-w

Examples:

1. Display files in the directory C:\1001 directories sorted by name from Z to A, not displaying hidden ones, showing the creation date:

dir "C:\1001 directories" /a:-d -h /o:-n /t:c

 

2. View subdirectories of the directory C:\1001 directories sorted by column size from smallest to largest, with last access date:

dir "C:\1001 directories" /a:d /c /o:s /t:a

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