Skip to content

🔥🔥🔥 You are viewing a development version of the website. Things will blow up. 🔥🔥🔥

Regular users, please follow the exit signs.

# DOS commands

DOSBox Staging provides a comprehensive set of commands available at the DOS prompt. Most are clean-room reimplementations of classic MS-DOS commands, designed to be compatible with their original counterparts but not derived from MS-DOS source code. A number of additional commands are specific to DOSBox Staging and provide emulator management features like mounting drives and controlling the audio mixer.

Tip

Type `HELP` at the DOS prompt to see the most commonly used commands, or `HELP /ALL` for the complete list. Every command supports the `/?` flag for detailed usage help — for example, `MOUNT /?` or `DIR /?`.

## DOSBox Staging commands

These commands are specific to DOSBox Staging and have no MS-DOS equivalent.

Command | Description
--- | ---
`AUTOTYPE` | Perform scripted keyboard entry into a running DOS game
`BOOT` | Boot DOSBox Staging from a DOS drive or disk image
`CLIP` | Copy text to the clipboard or retrieve the clipboard’s content
`CONFIG` | Perform configuration management and other miscellaneous actions
`LOADROM` | Load a ROM image of the video BIOS or IBM BASIC
`MAKEIMG` | Create a new empty disk image
`MIXER` | Display or change the sound mixer settings
`MOUNT` | Mount a directory or an image file to a drive letter
`MOUSECTL` | Manage physical and logical mice
`RESCAN` | Scan for changes on mounted DOS drives
`SERIAL` | Manage the serial ports
`SHOWPIC` | Display an image file

Note

`IMGMOUNT` is still accepted as an alias for `MOUNT`.

## File & directory commands

Command | Aliases | Description
--- | --- | ---
`ATTRIB` |  | Display or change file attributes
`CD` | `CHDIR` | Display or change the current directory
`COPY` |  | Copy one or more files
`DEL` | `DELETE`, `ERASE` | Remove one or more files
`DIR` |  | Display a list of files and subdirectories in a directory
`LS` |  | Display directory contents in wide list format
`MD` | `MKDIR` | Create a directory
`MORE` |  | Display command output or text file one screen at a time
`MOVE` |  | Move files and rename files and directories
`RD` | `RMDIR` | Remove a directory
`REN` | `RENAME` | Rename one or more files
`SUBST` |  | Assign an internal directory to a drive
`TREE` |  | Display directory tree in a graphical form

## Batch file commands

Command | Description
--- | ---
`CALL` | Start a batch program from within another batch program
`CHOICE` | Wait for a keypress and set an ERRORLEVEL value
`ECHO` | Display messages and enable/disable command echoing
`FOR` | Run a specified command for each string in a set
`GOTO` | Jump to a labeled line in a batch program
`IF` | Perform conditional processing in batch programs
`PAUSE` | Wait for a keystroke to continue
`REM` | Add comments in a batch program
`SHIFT` | Left-shift command-line parameters in a batch program

## Miscellaneous commands

Command | Aliases | Description
--- | --- | ---
`CLS` |  | Clear the DOS screen
`DATE` |  | Display or change the internal date
`EXIT` |  | Exit from the DOS shell
`HELP` |  | Display help information for DOS commands
`KEYB` |  | Configure a keyboard layout and screen font
`LH` | `LOADHIGH` | Load a DOS program into upper memory
`LOADFIX` |  | Load a program in a specific memory region and then run it
`MEM` |  | Display the amount of used and free memory
`MODE` |  | Set the display mode or the keyboard’s typematic rate
`MOUSE` |  | Load the built-in mouse driver
`PATH` |  | Display or set a search path for executable files
`SET` |  | Display or change environment variables
`SETVER` |  | Display or set the DOS version reported to applications
`TIME` |  | Display or change the internal time
`TYPE` |  | Display the contents of a text file
`VER` |  | Display the DOS version
`VOL` |  | Display the disk volume and serial number, if they exist

## Bundled third-party programs

DOSBox Staging ships a small number of FreeDOS utilities as pre-compiled binaries on the Y: drive. When the Y: drive is automounted (enabled by default), the `Y:\DOS` directory is added to the PATH automatically, making these commands available from any drive.

These are not DOSBox Staging reimplementations — they are third-party open-source programs included for convenience.

Command | Description | Origin
--- | --- | ---
`DEBUG` | Interactive DOS debugger | DOS-debug
`DELTREE` | Delete a directory tree including all files and subdirectories | FreeDOS
`XCOPY` | Extended file copy with subdirectory support | FreeDOS