How to Use Windows Terminal and What It’s Useful For

Look closely at Windows (and macOS) and you’ll find a command-line console — a holdover from the early days of these operating systems as user-friendly graphical overlays built on top of monochromatic text-based interfaces.

If you’re my age, you might remember launching apps and games on your computer by typing text commands instead of pointing and clicking. Modern methods are obviously much easier, but the old ways are still around — and still useful for a lot of tasks, as the list below shows.

Early on, Windows kept the Command Prompt tool as a reminder of its MS-DOS roots. It was later joined by PowerShell (Command Prompt with add-ons), and in the latest versions of Windows 11, Command Prompt and PowerShell are now wrapped up in a tool called Windows Terminal.

Windows Terminal supports all the original command line instructions and can be launched from the Start menu. It’s simple:

• Search Terminal.
• Right-click on the program icon and select Run as administrator to ensure that all features are available to you.

Now that you have the Windows Terminal open, here are some commands that might make it worthwhile. To use them, type the text that appears, then press Enter.

1. Turn off your computer after a certain amount of time

Of course, it’s not hard to shut down your computer via the Start menu, but Terminal gives you a few extra options, like a timed shutdown. The command above tells it to shut down (“/s”) instead of restarting after a timeout (“/t”) of 600 seconds. Just adjust the time as needed.

Another useful option is “shutdown -r -o” (without the quotes), which restarts (“-r”) the computer and starts the Advanced Start Option menu – very useful for troubleshooting. Just type “shutdown” to see the other flags you can use.

2. See a visualization of your folders

Type “tree” and click Enter to see a visual representation of the folders and subfolders on your system – very useful for seeing how your Windows drive is organized. You can include a drive and folder path (e.g. “C:\Programs\”) to focus the list on a specific area of ​​the drive and use the “/f” flag to see the files listed as well as the folders.

3. Network Troubleshooting

The “ipconfig” command is often used to troubleshoot network issues. Use it on its own and you’ll see your router’s current IP address, but add the “/flushdns” flag and the connections between your computer and the websites you visit will be reset (via your DNS server), which can help if websites aren’t loading as they should.

You can also use the “ipconfig /release” command followed by “ipconfig /renew” to get a new IP address for your computer — potentially fixing connection issues between your Windows device and your router, or between your device and the internet.

4. Get more information about your system

The classic “systeminfo” command will tell you almost everything you need to know about your system and more: it will return your Windows 11 version and processor model, the amount of RAM and storage installed, all currently detected active network connections, and even how long it took to boot your computer last time.

5. Check Windows 11 disk for errors

The “chkdsk” command has long been a favorite among IT technicians and can be found in many troubleshooting guides. It basically checks your system drive for errors and can fix some of the most basic ones. For example, if you’re having trouble accessing files and folders or starting your computer, chkdsk can help.

You can also use multiple flags with it. The command itself simply checks for errors, but add a space and “/r” at the end and the tool will attempt to fix those errors while recovering all possible data. Use “chkdsk /?” to see other options.

The “tasklist” command gives you much the same information as Task Manager, showing you which applications are taking up the most of your system. Using the process identification numbers (or PIDS) it shows, you can force-quit applications with “taskkill /pid /f” – which can be useful for problematic software.

7. Analyze your computer’s energy states

This is another classic command line that, with the “/a” flag, will return all the sleep states supported by the computer (such as hibernation and fast startup). You can also get a detailed battery report with “powercfg /batteryreport” – which is saved to the default folder of the current user account.

Look more closely and you’ll find more: “powercfg /devicequery s1_supported” lists all devices connected to the system that can wake it from sleep, for example. Change this to “s1” if you need to analyze a different sleep state – the codes will be displayed when you run the original “powercfg /a” command.

8. Check the integrity of Windows 11

Like many other command prompts, this one is really useful when it comes to troubleshooting. It checks the integrity of key operating system files and applies fixes if necessary. If you’re noticing bugs and crashes throughout Windows 11, this is one of the first steps that many troubleshooting guides recommend.

9. Get advanced network information

Here’s another simple word that packs a ton of useful diagnostic tools into one: Use just the “netstat” command, and you’ll get information about all the devices your computer is connected to, from printers to smart speakers (use Ctrl+C to stop them).

Like many commands, you can modify the command in countless ways (use “netstat /?” for a full list). For example, you can use “netstat -b” to see which applications are currently communicating with the network, which can help you spot programs that are more active online than they perhaps should be.