Executing multiple commands from a Windows cmd script

Question

I'm trying to write a Windows cmd script to perform several tasks in series. However, it always stops after the first command in the script.

The command it stops after is a maven build (not sure if that's relevant).

How do I make it carry on and run each task in turn please?

Installing any software or configuring the registry etc is completely out of the question - it has to work on a vanilla Windows XP installation I'm afraid.

Ideally I'd like the script to abort if any of the commands failed, but that's a "nice to have", not essential.

Thanks.

Probably you trying to start a bat file. Check this -> stackoverflow.com/a/64720570/388389 — npocmaka
– npocmaka, Commented Nov 9, 2020 at 22:57

Gulzar Nazim · Accepted Answer · 2008-10-13 15:53:05Z

145

When you call another .bat file, I think you need "call" in front of the call:

call otherCommand.bat

edited Oct 13, 2008 at 15:53

Gulzar Nazim

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answered Oct 13, 2008 at 15:31

Lou Franco

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6 Comments

Darren Greaves Over a year ago

Hi, in the original script I wasn't calling other .cmd files, but I have since split it into separate files so I could run each in turn. So, putting call in front of each command seems to have done the trick, thanks!

jfpoilpret Over a year ago

As a matter of fact, on Windows, mvn is a .bat file by itself, thus you need to use call for it as in call mvn install; normally you don't need to create an extra cmd file.

Pushkar Over a year ago

Note that you don't need semicolons in batch files. And the reason why you need to use call is that mvn itself is a batch file and batch files need to call each other with call, otherwise control does not return to the caller.

Ng2-Fun Over a year ago

@Gulzar Nazim - Do you know if I can put all the commands in a single batch file with if-else statement as I don't want to maintain it in different batch files?

joshden Over a year ago

I was trying to do something similar with npm updates and protractor tests. I didn't think this answer applied to me until I realized npm and protractor are .cmd files on Windows.

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Steve · Accepted Answer · 2008-10-13 15:35:29Z

45

You can use the && symbol between commands to execute the second command only if the first succeeds. More info here http://commandwindows.com/command1.htm

answered Oct 13, 2008 at 15:35

Steve

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7 Comments

Darren Greaves Over a year ago

Thanks, I'll give that a try in conjunction with the accepted answer above.

Varun Achar Over a year ago

Will this stop the execution of the second script if maven build fails?

Kevin Ji Over a year ago

That link is broken: "Backend server did not respond in time. App server is too busy and cannot handle requests in time."

coderforlife Over a year ago

@TheM Windows distinguishes between GUI-based and command-based applications (there is a flag in near the beginning of the EXE file). If you start a GUI-based application from the command line it always appears to end immediately since it is completely detached from the command-line. If you start a command-based program from a GUI program (like Explorer) it will always show a new command line. POSIX systems make no such distinction thus the behavior is more consistent.

coderforlife Over a year ago

@TheM To get around this you can use start /B /WAIT calc

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Gulzar Nazim · Accepted Answer · 2008-10-13 15:44:42Z

25

Not sure why the first command is stopping. If you can make it parallel, you can try something like

start cmd.exe /C 1.bat      
start cmd.exe /C 2.bat

answered Oct 13, 2008 at 15:44

Gulzar Nazim

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2 Comments

Jellicle Over a year ago

Use /K instead of /C if you want the shell to remain open after your command has executed.

user66001 Over a year ago

No need to use cmd.exe and start, just start x.bat1 will do.

mhollander38 · Accepted Answer · 2011-10-21 10:21:16Z

23

I have just been doing the exact same(ish) task of creating a batch script to run maven test scripts. The problem is that calling maven scrips with mvn clean install ... is itself a script and so needs to be done with call mvn clean install.

Code that will work

rem run a maven clean install
cd C:\rbe-ui-test-suite 
call mvn clean install
rem now run through all the test scripts
call mvn clean install -Prun-integration-tests -Dpattern=tc-login
call mvn clean install -Prun-integration-tests -Dpattern=login-1

Note rather the use of call. This will allow the use of consecutive maven scripts in the batch file.

answered Oct 21, 2011 at 10:21

mhollander38

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Comments

JSON C11 · Accepted Answer · 2017-09-23 22:57:16Z

6

Using double ampersands will run the second command, only if the first one succeeds:

cd Desktop/project-directory && atom .

Where as, using only one ampersand will attempt to run both commands, even if the first fails:

cd Desktop/project-directory & atom .

answered Sep 23, 2017 at 22:57

JSON C11

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Comments

Anton K · Accepted Answer · 2014-08-14 22:01:07Z

1

If you are running in Windows you can use the following command.

Drive:

cd "Script location"
schtasks /run /tn "TASK1"
schtasks /run /tn "TASK2"
schtasks /run /tn "TASK3"
exit

edited Aug 14, 2014 at 22:01

Anton K

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answered Dec 14, 2010 at 7:55

Pulendar Vadde

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Comments

Mr Fooz · Accepted Answer · 2015-01-06 16:18:30Z

1

I don't know the direct answer to your question, but if you do a lot of these scripts, it might be worth learning a more powerful language like perl. Free implementations exist for Windows (e.g. activestate, cygwin). I've found it worth the initial effort for my own tasks.

Edit:

As suggested by @Ferruccio, if you can't install extra software, consider vbscript and/or javascript. They're built into the Windows scripting host.

edited Jan 6, 2015 at 16:18

answered Oct 13, 2008 at 15:32

Mr Fooz

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2 Comments

Darren Greaves Over a year ago

Thanks but I am unable to install any software. I wish I had access to something more powerful than the crappy Windows scripting language. :-(

Ferruccio Over a year ago

You can always use vbscript or javascript. They're built into the Windows scripting host.

Pushkar · Accepted Answer · 2014-07-25 08:32:48Z

0

Note that you don't need semicolons in batch files. And the reason why you need to use call is that mvn itself is a batch file and batch files need to call each other with call, otherwise control does not return to the caller.

answered Jul 25, 2014 at 8:32

Pushkar

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