Executing multiple commands from a Windows cmd script

Question

I'm trying to write a Windows cmd script to perform several tasks in series. However, it always stops after the first command in the script.

The command it stops after is a maven build (not sure if that's relevant).

How do I make it carry on and run each task in turn please?

Installing any software or configuring the registry etc is completely out of the question - it has to work on a vanilla Windows XP installation I'm afraid.

Ideally I'd like the script to abort if any of the commands failed, but that's a "nice to have", not essential.

Thanks.

Probably you trying to start a bat file. Check this -> https://stackoverflow.com/a/64720570/388389 — npocmaka, Nov 09 '20 at 22:57

score 142 · Accepted Answer · edited Oct 13 '08 at 15:53

142

When you call another .bat file, I think you need "call" in front of the call:

call otherCommand.bat

edited Oct 13 '08 at 15:53

Gulzar Nazim

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answered Oct 13 '08 at 15:31

Lou Franco

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Hi, in the original script I wasn't calling other .cmd files, but I have since split it into separate files so I could run each in turn. So, putting call in front of each command seems to have done the trick, thanks! – Darren Greaves Oct 13 '08 at 15:48
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As a matter of fact, on Windows, `mvn` is a .bat file by itself, thus you need to use `call` for it as in `call mvn install`; normally you don't need to create an extra cmd file. – jfpoilpret Sep 13 '12 at 08:17
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Note that you don't need semicolons in batch files. And the reason why you need to use call is that mvn itself is a batch file and batch files need to call each other with call, otherwise control does not return to the caller. – Pushkar Jul 25 '14 at 08:31
@Gulzar Nazim - Do you know if I can put all the commands in a single batch file with if-else statement as I don't want to maintain it in different batch files? – Ng2-Fun Aug 26 '16 at 19:49
The irony here is the answer is pointing in the opposite direction of the question and still it gets 120 upvotes – Giridhar Karnik Apr 20 '17 at 14:05
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I was trying to do something similar with `npm` updates and `protractor` tests. I didn't think this answer applied to me until I realized `npm` and `protractor` are `.cmd` files on Windows. – joshden Apr 20 '17 at 20:32

score 45 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 13 '08 at 15:35

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You can use the && symbol between commands to execute the second command only if the first succeeds. More info here http://commandwindows.com/command1.htm

answered Oct 13 '08 at 15:35

Steve

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Thanks, I'll give that a try in conjunction with the accepted answer above. – Darren Greaves Oct 13 '08 at 15:49
Will this stop the execution of the second script if maven build fails? – Varun Achar May 14 '13 at 07:07
That link is broken: "Backend server did not respond in time. App server is too busy and cannot handle requests in time." – Kevin Ji Jul 16 '13 at 19:17
Can someone explain to me why `calc && echo foo` results in the calculator being started and "foo" being printed immediately? How can I start `calc` in a way that it blocks the windows shell like the bash does without `&`? – Mitja Jun 25 '14 at 00:02
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@TheM Windows distinguishes between GUI-based and command-based applications (there is a flag in near the beginning of the EXE file). If you start a GUI-based application from the command line it always appears to end immediately since it is completely detached from the command-line. If you start a command-based program from a GUI program (like Explorer) it will always show a new command line. POSIX systems make no such distinction thus the behavior is more consistent. – coderforlife Jul 02 '14 at 17:48
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@TheM To get around this you can use `start /B /WAIT calc` – coderforlife Jul 02 '14 at 17:56
@coderforlife I agree that this behavior is somewhat inconsistent but at least there is a way to do it. Thank you! – Mitja Jul 04 '14 at 02:18

score 25 · Answer 3 · answered Oct 13 '08 at 15:44

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Not sure why the first command is stopping. If you can make it parallel, you can try something like

start cmd.exe /C 1.bat      
start cmd.exe /C 2.bat

answered Oct 13 '08 at 15:44

Gulzar Nazim

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Use `/K` instead of `/C` if you want the shell to remain open after your command has executed. – JellicleCat Apr 26 '11 at 18:18
No need to use `cmd.exe` and `start`, just `start x.bat1` will do. – user66001 Dec 13 '13 at 22:42

score 23 · Answer 4 · answered Oct 21 '11 at 10:21

I have just been doing the exact same(ish) task of creating a batch script to run maven test scripts. The problem is that calling maven scrips with mvn clean install ... is itself a script and so needs to be done with call mvn clean install.

Code that will work

rem run a maven clean install
cd C:\rbe-ui-test-suite 
call mvn clean install
rem now run through all the test scripts
call mvn clean install -Prun-integration-tests -Dpattern=tc-login
call mvn clean install -Prun-integration-tests -Dpattern=login-1

Note rather the use of call. This will allow the use of consecutive maven scripts in the batch file.

score 6 · Answer 5 · answered Sep 23 '17 at 22:57

Using double ampersands will run the second command, only if the first one succeeds:

cd Desktop/project-directory && atom .

Where as, using only one ampersand will attempt to run both commands, even if the first fails:

cd Desktop/project-directory & atom .

Mr Fooz · Answer 6 · 2015-01-06T16:18:30.137

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I don't know the direct answer to your question, but if you do a lot of these scripts, it might be worth learning a more powerful language like perl. Free implementations exist for Windows (e.g. activestate, cygwin). I've found it worth the initial effort for my own tasks.

Edit:

As suggested by @Ferruccio, if you can't install extra software, consider vbscript and/or javascript. They're built into the Windows scripting host.

edited Jan 06 '15 at 16:18

answered Oct 13 '08 at 15:32

Mr Fooz

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Thanks but I am unable to install any software. I wish I had access to something more powerful than the crappy Windows scripting language. :-( – Darren Greaves Oct 13 '08 at 15:34
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You can always use vbscript or javascript. They're built into the Windows scripting host. – Ferruccio Oct 13 '08 at 15:42

score 1 · Answer 7 · edited Aug 14 '14 at 22:01

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If you are running in Windows you can use the following command.

Drive:

cd "Script location"
schtasks /run /tn "TASK1"
schtasks /run /tn "TASK2"
schtasks /run /tn "TASK3"
exit

edited Aug 14 '14 at 22:01

Anton K

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answered Dec 14 '10 at 07:55

Pulendar Vadde

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score 0 · Answer 8 · answered Jul 25 '14 at 08:32

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Note that you don't need semicolons in batch files. And the reason why you need to use call is that mvn itself is a batch file and batch files need to call each other with call, otherwise control does not return to the caller.

answered Jul 25 '14 at 08:32

Pushkar

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Executing multiple commands from a Windows cmd script

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