Prompt command

Updated: 11/12/2023 by Computer Hope

The prompt command lets you adjust how much information is shown in MS-DOS.

Availability

Prompt is an internal command that is available in the following Microsoft operating systems.

PROMPT [text]

[text] Specifies a new command prompt.

The prompt can be made up of normal characters and the below special codes:

$A	& (ampersand).
$B	\| (pipe).
$C	( (left parenthesis).
$D	Current date.
$E	Escape code (ASCII code 27).
$F	) (right parenthesis).
$G	> (greater than sign).
$H	Backspace (erases the previous character).
$L	< (less than sign).
$N	Current drive.
$P	Current drive and path.
$Q	= (equal sign).
$S	(space).
$T	Current time.
$V	Windows version number.
$_	Carriage return and line feed.
$$	$ (dollar sign).

If Command Extensions are enabled, the PROMPT command supports the following additional formatting characters:

$+	Zero or more plus sign (+) characters depending on the depth of the PUSHD directory stack, one character for each level pushed.
$M	Displays the remote name associated with the current drive letter or the empty string if the current drive is not a network drive.

PROMPT [text]

[text] specifies a new command prompt.

The prompt can be made up of normal characters and the below special codes:

$Q	= (equal sign).
$$	$ (dollar sign).
$T	Current time.
$D	Current date.
$P	Current drive and path.
$V	Windows version number.
$N	Current drive.
$G	> (greater than sign).
$L	& (less than sign).
$B	\| (pipe).
$H	Backspace (erases the previous character).
$E	Escape code (ASCII code 27).
$_	Carriage return and line feed.

Type prompt without parameters to reset the prompt to the default setting.

prompt $t $d$_$p$g

Display the time and the date above your prompt when in DOS.