How to automatically close cmd window after batch file execution

batch-filecmd

I'm running a batch file that has these two lines:

start C:\Users\Yiwei\Downloads\putty.exe -load "MathCS-labMachine1"
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Xming\Xming.exe" :0 -clipboard -multiwindow

This batch file is used to run the Xming application and then the PuTTY app so I can SSH into my university's computer lab.

However, if I run this and Xming is not already open, once I exit from the PuTTY terminal the cmd window remains open. Only if I have already run Xming does the cmd window close when I close the PuTTY terminal. I've tried adding exit to the last line of the batch file, but to no avail.

Best Answer

Modify the batch file to START both programs, instead of STARTing one and CALLing another

start C:\Users\Yiwei\Downloads\putty.exe -load "MathCS-labMachine1"
start "" "C:\Program Files (x86)\Xming\Xming.exe" :0 -clipboard -multiwindow

If you run it like this, no CMD window will stay open after starting the program.

Related Solutions

How to pass arguments to a batch file

Another useful tip is to use %* to mean "all". For example:

echo off
set arg1=%1
set arg2=%2
shift
shift
fake-command /u %arg1% /p %arg2% %*

When you run:

test-command admin password foo bar

the above batch file will run:

fake-command /u admin /p password admin password foo bar

I may have the syntax slightly wrong, but this is the general idea.

Windows – Batch file to delete files older than N days

Enjoy:

forfiles -p "C:\what\ever" -s -m *.* -d <number of days> -c "cmd /c del @path"

See forfiles documentation for more details.

For more goodies, refer to An A-Z Index of the Windows XP command line.

If you don't have forfiles installed on your machine, copy it from any Windows Server 2003 to your Windows XP machine at %WinDir%\system32\. This is possible since the EXE is fully compatible between Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP.

Later versions of Windows and Windows Server have it installed by default.

For Windows 7 and newer (including Windows 10):

The syntax has changed a little. Therefore the updated command is:

forfiles /p "C:\what\ever" /s /m *.* /D -<number of days> /C "cmd /c del @path"

Best Answer

Related Solutions

How to pass arguments to a batch file

Windows – Batch file to delete files older than N days

Related Topic