DIR Command – List Files in Windows Command Prompt

The dir command is used to list files and folders in the Windows command prompt (CMD).

dir

The dir command without a path will display a list of files and folders in the current working directory.

You can provide a path to see the listing for a different directory:

dir C:\Windows

By default, the dir command does not show hidden files and folders. To include hidden files, run the dir command as follows:

dir /a

You can use the /B switch to show the file names only without heading information or summary.

dir /b C:\Windows

The /s option lists all files in a specified directory and all subdirectories.

dir /s

List Files Using Patterns

The dir command supports wildcard character (*) that you can use to describe a pattern to match.

For example, the following command lists all files that begin with the letter A:

dir a*

Here is another example that lists all files that have a .doc extension:

dir /b *.doc

The /A switch is used to list files and folders with specified attributes. For example, the letter H represents the hidden attribute.

dir /a:h

The following table describes each of the values that you can use for Attributes.

D	Folders.
H	Hidden files and Folders.
S	System files.
L	Reparse Points.
R	Read-only files.
A	Files ready for archiving.
I	Not content indexed files.
O	Offline files.
-	Prefix meaning not (See examples).

List Files and folders in C:\Windows\System32 directory:

dir C:\Windows\System32

Obtain a listing of all files in C:\Windows\System32 that ends with the .txt extension:

dir C:\Windows\System32\*.txt

Search for files with .dll extension in C:\Windows\System32 and all subdirectories:

dir /s C:\Windows\System32\*.dll

Returns the listing for the parent directory of the current working directory:

dir ..

List all files and folders, including hidden files:

dir /a

Show hidden files only:

dir /a:h

List only folders:

dir /a:d

Don't list folders:

dir /a:-d

Show only hidden folders:

dir /a:dh

List read only files:

dir /a:r

Sort the result by name:

dir /o:n

This will sort the result set by size:

dir /o:s

Sort the result set by size (largest first):

dir /o:-s

Sort the result by date:

dir /o:d

Includes the name of the owner for each file:

dir /q

Show creation time:

dir /t:c

Show last access time:

dir /t:a

Show the last written time:

dir /t:w

Run the dir /? command to see a list of all the available command-line options.