Simple Windows Batch File

A very quick tutorial for opening multiple command prompt actions with a .cmd file

This is a basic way to use a .cmd file to perform multiple Windows command line activities at once.

I am using this particular script to start mongod in one command prompt, open a second in which to run nodemon for a specific set of project files.

1. Open notepad
2. Save a new document as a .cmd file.
   • Make sure the name doesn't overlap with any other executable programs
   • I named mine projectNameRun.cmd so it does what it says on the box
   • This should be saved as type - All Files (*.*)
3. Enter your commands (see below)
4. Save your .cmd file to a place you can find it - I just threw mine on the desktop as it's only temporarily being used for this project.
5. Double-click on the file to run

Here is the full text of the file (your paths will be different):

@echo off

cd "C:\Users\Erica Andrew\Desktop\Mongo\bin"
start mongod --dbpath ./data/db

cd "C:\Users\Erica Andrew\Desktop\NewClassProjects\ecommerce\server"
start nodemon

And what each part does:

@echo off

• Tells the program not to display any of the following lines. "echo off" itself will be displayed unless preceeded by the @ symbol.

cd "C:\Users\Erica Andrew\Desktop\Mongo\bin"
start mongod --dbpath ./data/db

• Follow the file path in quotes, 'start' opens a command prompt and initiates the following command.

• (You may have a different command to run mongod.)

cd "C:\Users\Erica Andrew\Desktop\NewClassProjects\ecommerce\server"
start nodemon

• Follow the file path in quotes, opens a second command prompt and initiates nodemon in that location.

Update 04/26/16:

If you need to ensure that one command finishes executing prior to others running add /wait. For instance, I need webpack to finish its operation prior to running other things, so:

cd "C:\Users\Erica\Desktop\AfterHoursProjects\react-blog"
start /wait webpack