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So I want to use the windows tree's command to display the a hierarchy graphical representation of all the files present in a directory.

But when I run the command,

Process cmd=Runtime.getRuntime().exec("tree \"path\" /f /a");

I get this error,

java.io.IOException: Cannot run program "tree": CreateProcess error=2, The system cannot find the file specified

Does java.lang.Runtime.exec(String command) only work for certain commands?

pha1don
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1 Answers1

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The program you're trying to execute is called tree.com.

It is the command-line interpreter cmd.exe that uses the PATHEXT environment variable to search the path for programs with various extensions. Java's API doesn't.

So you have 2 choices:

  • Add the extension:

    Process cmd = Runtime.getRuntime().exec("tree.com \"path\" /f /a");

  • Run it using cmd.exe:

    Process cmd = Runtime.getRuntime().exec("cmd.exe /c tree \"path\" /f /a");

The .exe extension is optional, e.g. "cmd /c tree \"path\" /f /a" works too, but any other extension (e.g. .com) is required, and scripts (.bat, .cmd) must be run with cmd.exe.

Andreas
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