Equivalent to ^D (in bash) for cmd.exe?

Question

Is there an equivalent key-stroke for exiting a command prompt on Windows (launched via Start->Run : cmd) to the bash standby of Ctrl-d to prevent needing to type exit to leave the shell?

Answer 1

No. CtrlD on *nix generates a EOF, which various shells interpret as running exit. The equivalent for EOF on Windows is CtrlZ, but cmd.exe does not interpret this specially when typed at the prompt.

Answer 2

Alt-Space. Then, C.

• (Well, that works on my system, where "C" chooses the option called "close". Some variation may be needed, as discussed further, later in this answer.)

Yeah, it's a bit slower than Ctrl-D. But this is the answer to exactly what you're asking for: the built-in equivalent key stroke sequence that lets you exit the prompt without needing to type the exit command. No third party software needed.

This may not work absolutely identical to bash: bash will only logout on an empty command line. In Windows, this can close the window, even if you've already typed a partial command on it.

Some more notes about variations:

• Note that a variation might be Alt-Space (pop up Windows context menu), then up arrow (choose bottom option, which might often be Close/Exit), and then Enter (to choose the highlighted menu option).
  • Naturally, whether a specific keystroke sequence works with a specific program is a detail that can potentially vary between different software programs and, as noted by Richard's comment, different variations (such as different-language release versions). However, something like that is likely to be an available option for many programs.
• The information mentioned here will work with many pieces of software designed to run in Microsoft Windows (including software bundled in with the operating system, and third party software), but, even so, surely carefully proceeding and testing is recommended before counting on very specific behavior.
  • That said, I accept Richard Neumann's helpful feedback (in a comment to this answer), which is why this answer has been edited to include some information about potential variations.

Answer 3

Fixed autohotkey approach. (I cannot add a comment.)

#IfWinActive, ahk_class ConsoleWindowClass
  ^d::
    ; First send ESC, in case we're in select mode.
    Send {Esc}{Esc}exit{Enter}
#IfWinActive

Update 2022-10-04

@RichardNeumann wrote it does not work, so checked my own files, it still does. But I do have another code example:

#IfWinActive ahk_class ConsoleWindowClass

^d::Send, exit {Enter}

#IfWinActive

Works as for cmd.exe and for powershell.

Answer 4

You can use DOSKEY to create macros in CMD.exe.

To create a macro type:

DOSKEY [macroname]=[command(s)]

That way you can bind a key to another command.

Example:

DOSKEY e=exit

would bind e to the exit command, so when you input an e to the prompt it would be like you input an exit

I'm not sure if you can use CTRL-$n combinations as macros though

Answer 5

In Windows 10 using the old conhost.exe terminal the equivalent is Alt+F4! The option is controlled by the registry key AllowAltF4Close and is enabled by default. See Command prompt in Windows 10 can be closed by Alt+F4 for how to disable it (which is what you don't want)

In case of Windows Terminal it's even easier, just press Ctrl+Shift+W to close the current tab/pane. It'll work for any shells like cmd, powershell, bash... Windows Terminal is vastly better, faster, more performant, supports Unicode and POSIX ANSI sequences fully, and completely configurable so there's no reason to use the old conhost.exe terminal anymore. Even Windows 11 made Windows Terminal the default console

Answer 6

There is now an open source project called clink at http://code.google.com/p/clink/ (edit: it moved to http://mridgers.github.io/clink/) - it brings Unix readline functionality to the Windows command prompt.

It supports most functionality including command-line editing, history search, tab completion along with completion scripts, etc. Well worth checking out, makes cmd suck much less. ;]

Answer 7

Windows Terminal now lets you choose what keyboard shortcut you want for "close tab".

I'd recommend switching to that.

Answer 8

You can get the same effect with this AutoHotKey snippet:

; Close Command Prompt when pressing Ctrl+D
#IfWinActive, Command Prompt$
  ^d::
    ; First send ESC, in case we're in select mode.
    Send {Esc}{Esc}exit{Enter}
#IfWinActive