In
computing
Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and development of both hardware and software. Computing has scientific, ...
,
title
is a
command
Command may refer to:
Computing
* Command (computing), a statement in a computer language
* COMMAND.COM, the default operating system shell and command-line interpreter for DOS
* Command key, a modifier key on Apple Macintosh computer keyboards
...
in various
command-line interpreter
A command-line interpreter or command-line processor uses a command-line interface (CLI) to receive command (computing), commands from a user in the form of lines of text. This provides a means of setting parameters for the environment, invokin ...
s (
shells) on
Microsoft Windows and
ReactOS
ReactOS is a free and open-source operating system for amd64/ i686 personal computers intended to be binary-compatible with computer programs and device drivers made for Windows Server 2003 and later versions of Windows. ReactOS has been noted ...
that changes the title for the graphical
terminal emulator
A terminal emulator, or terminal application, is a computer program that emulates a video terminal within some other display architecture. Though typically synonymous with a shell or text terminal, the term ''terminal'' covers all remote ter ...
window. The command is also used within
DFS DFS may refer to:
Brands and enterprises
* Dancer Fitzgerald Sample, advertising agency, now Saatchi & Saatchi
* DFS Furniture, a furniture retailer in the United Kingdom and Ireland
* DFS Group (Duty Free Shoppers), Hong Kong
* DFS Program Excha ...
and
ADFS to change the title of the disc in the current
drive.
Overview

In case of Microsoft Windows it is a
shell builtin
In computing, a shell builtin is a command or a function, called from a shell, that is executed directly in the shell itself, instead of an external executable program which the shell would load and execute.
Shell builtins work significantly f ...
of the command-line interpreter
cmd.exe
. The command is available in
Windows 2000
Windows 2000 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft and oriented towards businesses. It was the direct successor to Windows NT 4.0, and was released to manufacturing on December 15, 1999, and was official ...
and later.
It is compatible with
Windows Console
Windows Console is the infrastructure for console applications in Microsoft Windows. An instance of a Windows Console has a screen buffer and an input buffer. It allows console apps to run inside a window or in hardware text mode (so as to occ ...
and
Windows Terminal
Windows Terminal is a Tabbed, multi-tabbed terminal emulator that Microsoft has developed for Windows 10 and later as a replacement for Windows Console. It can run any command-line app in a separate tab. It is preconfigured to run Windows Comma ...
.
The default window title is defined in the
%COMSPEC% environment variable
An environment variable is a dynamic-named value that can affect the way running processes will behave on a computer. They are part of the environment in which a process runs. For example, a running process can query the value of the TEMP env ...
. However, since the
Windows Console
Windows Console is the infrastructure for console applications in Microsoft Windows. An instance of a Windows Console has a screen buffer and an input buffer. It allows console apps to run inside a window or in hardware text mode (so as to occ ...
title can also be defined in the program
shortcut
Shortcut may refer to:
Navigation
* Rat running or shortcut, a minor-road alternative to a signposted route
* File shortcut, a handle which allows the user to find a file or resource located in a different directory or folder on a computer
* ...
, the title is usually set to "Command Prompt".
The command is also available in the Command Processor Shell of
Windows Embedded
Windows IoT, formerly Windows Embedded, is a family of operating systems from Microsoft designed for use in embedded systems. Microsoft currently has three different subfamilies of operating systems for embedded devices targeting a wide market, ...
CE and in the
Take Command Console
Take Command Console (TCC), formerly known as ''4DOS for Windows NT'' (''4NT''), is a command-line interpreter by JP Software, designed as a substitute for the default command interpreter in Microsoft Windows, CMD.EXE.
Take Command was the name ...
.
Although the
OS/2
OS/2 (Operating System/2) is a series of computer operating systems, initially created by Microsoft and IBM under the leadership of IBM software designer Ed Iacobucci. As a result of a feud between the two companies over how to position OS/2 ...
command shell is closely related to the Windows Command Prompt, the
title
command is not available in the OS/2 version of
cmd.exe
. The default title of the OS/2 shell window is "OS/2 Window". It can be changed using the
start
Start can refer to multiple topics:
*Takeoff, the phase of flight where an aircraft transitions from moving along the ground to flying through the air
* Starting lineup in sports
* Standing start, and rolling start, in an auto race
Acronyms
* ...
command.
The
ReactOS
ReactOS is a free and open-source operating system for amd64/ i686 personal computers intended to be binary-compatible with computer programs and device drivers made for Windows Server 2003 and later versions of Windows. ReactOS has been noted ...
Command Prompt also includes the
title
command to set the
window title for the command prompt window.
The command also is not available in the
macOS
macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. Within the market of ...
Terminal
Terminal may refer to:
Computing Hardware
* Terminal (electronics), a device for joining electrical circuits together
* Terminal (telecommunication), a device communicating over a line
* Computer terminal, a set of primary input and output devic ...
. Instead, the
echo
In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct sound. The delay is directly proportional to the distance of the reflecting surface from the source and the li ...
command can be used in combination with special
escape sequence
In computer science, an escape sequence is a combination of characters that has a meaning other than the literal characters contained therein; it is marked by one or more preceding (and possibly terminating) characters.
Examples
* In C and ma ...
s.
Within the
GNU GRUB
GNU GRUB (short for GNU GRand Unified Bootloader, commonly referred to as GRUB) is a boot loader package from the GNU Project. GRUB is the reference implementation of the Free Software Foundation's Multiboot Specification, which provides a us ...
command processor
title
is one of several menu-specific commands. It is used to start a new
boot entry.
Syntax
title ">String>
Arguments:
*
Specifies the title of the Command Prompt window.
Example
The following batch file
Batch may refer to:
Food and drink
* Batch (alcohol), an alcoholic fruit beverage
* Batch loaf, a type of bread popular in Ireland
* A dialect term for a bread roll used in North Warwickshire, Nuneaton and Coventry, as well as on the Wirra ...
changes the title of the Command Prompt window to "Updating files" while the copy
command is being executed. After the command is executed, the text "Files updated" is displayed using the echo
In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct sound. The delay is directly proportional to the distance of the reflecting surface from the source and the li ...
command, and the title of the Command Prompt window is changed back to "Command Prompt".
@echo off
title Updating files
copy \\server\share\*.txt c:\documents\*.txt
echo Files updated
title Command Prompt
See also
*Windows Console
Windows Console is the infrastructure for console applications in Microsoft Windows. An instance of a Windows Console has a screen buffer and an input buffer. It allows console apps to run inside a window or in hardware text mode (so as to occ ...
*Linux console
The Linux console is a system console internal to the Linux kernel. A system console is the device which receives all kernel messages and warnings and which allows logins in single user mode. The Linux console provides a way for the kernel and ...
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
title , Microsoft Docs
{{Windows commands
Microcomputer software
ReactOS commands
Windows administration