start (original) (raw)

Starts a separate Command Prompt window to run a specified program or command.

Syntax

start <"title"> [/d <path>] [/i] [{/min | /max}] [{/separate | /shared}] [{/low | /normal | /high | /realtime | /abovenormal | /belownormal}] [/node <NUMA node>] [/affinity <hexaffinity>] [/wait] [/b] [/machine <x86|amd64|arm|arm64>] [<command> [<parameter>... ] | <program> [<parameter>... ]]

Note

The machine parameter is currently in PREVIEW for Windows 11 only. The parameter is available beginning with the Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22557. This information relates to a prerelease product that may be substantially modified before it's released. Microsoft makes no warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to the information provided here.

Parameters

Parameter Description
"title" Specifies the title to display in the Command Prompt window title bar.
/d Specifies the startup directory.
/i Passes the Cmd.exe startup environment to the new Command Prompt window. If /i isn't specified, the current environment is used.
{/min | /max} Specifies to minimize (/min) or maximize (/max) the new Command Prompt window.
{/separate | /shared} Starts 16-bit programs in a separate memory space (/separate) or shared memory space (/shared). These options aren't supported on 64-bit platforms.
{/low | /normal /high /realtime /abovenormal /belownormal} Starts an application in the specified priority class.
/node Leverages memory locality on NUMA (Non-Uniform Memory Architecture) nodes as a decimal integer. Two processes that communicate with each other through shared memory on the preferred NUMA node can minimize memory latencies while allocating memory from the same NUMA node when possible. They're free to run on processors outside the specified node.
/affinity Applies the specified processor affinity mask (expressed as a hexadecimal number) to the new application. Two programs are able to run on specific processor cores within the same NUMA node. This number can be changed to the processor-specific supported amount without having to change the affinity mask.
/wait Starts an application and waits for it to end.
/b Starts an application without opening a new Command Prompt window. CTRL+C handling is ignored unless the application enables CTRL+C processing. Use CTRL+BREAK to interrupt the application.
/machine <x86 | amd64 arm arm64> Specifies the machine architecture of the application process.
[ [... ] | [... ]] Specifies the command or program to start.
Specifies parameters to pass to either the command or the program.
/? Displays help at the command prompt.

Examples

To start the Myapp program at the command prompt and retain use of the current Command Prompt window, type:

start Myapp

To view the start command-line help information in a separate maximized Command Prompt window, type:

start /max start /?