How to Open Command Prompt in Windows 11 – 7 Ways Explained

You may have heard about Command Prompt (or CMD) if you have used Windows for a long time. The Command Prompt is one of the most often used command-line tools in Windows OS to run system commands to manage and edit settings. Command Prompt allows you to automate various administrative operations but for that, you should know how to open a command prompt and how to use it.

7 Ways to open Command Prompt in Windows 11

Here is how you can open a command prompt in Windows 11. We will share all possible ways to access the CMD tool in Windows.

1. Open Command Prompt in Windows Terminal

Microsoft has launched a new Windows terminal tool with Windows 11 that allows you to run custom commands in your Windows. It is just like a Linux terminal. You can use the Windows terminal to access the command prompt tool in Windows 11. Here is how:

Step 1: First you have to open the Windows terminal in your Windows 11. So press the Windows key on your keyboard to open the start menu and then search for Windows terminal.

Step 2: From the result, find and right-click on the Windows terminal and choose run as administrator. You can also click on the Run as Administrator option in the right sidebar of the search results.

Step 3: Click on the yes button to open the app with administrator access.

Step 4: Once the Windows terminal opens, click on the arrow > select Command Prompt from the menu to open CMD. You can also press CTRL + , key combination to open terminal settings.

Step 5: Then in the Terminal settings, click on the drop-down menu under Default Profile > choose command prompt. Then click on save.

2. Open Command Prompt using Start Menu

This is one of the easiest way to open a command prompt in Windows 11. Here are the steps:

Step 1: First open the start menu with the Windows button on your Windows 11. Alternatively, you can press the start button in the taskbar using your mouse.

Step 2: Then find the Command Prompt icon in the pinned app section.

If the command prompt is not pinned in the start menu pinned section then search for cmd in start menu > right-click on it and choose pin to start menu.

Step 3: Click on the command prompt to open it. If you want to open CMD as admin then right-click on the pinned cmd icon and then choose Run as administrator.

Step 4: Then click on yes to allow.

Alternatively, open the start menu and then search for Windows Tools or Windows system.

Find CMD and open it.

You can also run CMD as admin by right-clicking on it.

3. Open CMD using Windows Search

You can also open the command prompt tool using Windows search. Follow these steps:

Step 1: First press the Windows + S button to open Windows Search.

Step 2: Then in the Windows search, search for cmd or command prompt.

Step 3: Click on the command prompt icon to open it. If you want to open CMD as admin then right-click on the pinned cmd icon and then choose Run as administrator.

4. Open Command Prompt from Run Tool

You can open the command prompt tool using the Run command tool in Windows 11. It is also a very easy way to access cmd in Windows 11.

Step 1: First of all press Windows + R button on your keyboard to open the RUN command box. You can also open the Start menu with the Windows button and then search for RUN to open it.

Step 2: Then in the RUN tool, type cmd in the text field and then press enter.

This will open the cmd tool.

5. Create a Desktop Shortcut for Command Prompt

If you use Command Prompt regularly, then we suggest creating a Command Prompt shortcut on your Desktop. To do this, follow these steps:

Step 1. Search for cmd in Windows search or Start Menu.

Step 2. On the right side, select “Open file location.”

Step 3. This step will open a new window called “System Tools.”

Step 4. Select Command Prompt > Right Click on it > Choose “Send to“. And then select create a shortcut on Desktop.

Alternatively, you can follow these steps:

Step 1. Right-click on your desktop and then choose new.

Step 2. Then select the shortcut and then enter cmd in the text field.

Step 3. Then click on next and then enter a new name for this new shortcut and it’s done. You will see a new shortcut on your desktop.

Step 4. To open CMD, just double-click on the new shortcut.

Step 5. If you want to open a command prompt as admin then right-click on the shortcut and choose run as admin from the list.

6. Open Command Prompt using Taskbar

You can use the taskbar to access many Windows tools like CMD and task manager. Here is how you can access the command prompt tool using the taskbar. First, you have to pin the command prompt tool in the taskbar.

Step 1: Open Windows search with Windows + S button on your keyboard.

Step 2: In the Windows search, search for cmd or command prompt.

Step 3: From the results, find and right-click on the CMD.

Step 4: Select Pin to taskbar from the list.

Step 5: Once done, you will see a new cmd icon in the taskbar.

Step 6: You can directly click on it to access the command prompt.

7. Open Command Prompt from File Explorer

Just like the control panel, you can access the command prompt using the file explorer. Here are the steps:

Step 1: First open the file explorer with the Windows + E button on your keyboard.

Step 2: Then in the navigation or address bar, type cmd and then press enter. This will open the command prompt directly.

You can also open the command prompt using the original cmd directory.

Step 1: First, open the file explorer and then navigate to this location.

C:\Windows\System32

Step 2: In the System32 folder, find executable cmd file > double click on it or press enter to open it.

If you want to open CMD as admin then right-click on it and choose Run as administrator.

Related Posts:

• How to Open Settings on Windows 11
• How to Open Task Manager in Windows 11
• How to Use Snipping Tool in Windows 11

Final Words

The Control panel is a very useful tool in Windows OS that allows users to manage different settings of Windows OS. We have shared all working methods to access the control panel on Windows 10 and 11.