| DOSKEY | |
|---|---|
 TheReactOS doskey command | |
| Developers | Microsoft,IBM,Novell, ReactOS contributors |
| Initial release | 1991, 34–35 years ago |
| Operating system | MS-DOS,PC DOS,OS/2,eComStation,ArcaOS,Novell DOS 7,DR-DOS,Windows,ReactOS |
| Platform | Cross-platform |
| Type | Command |
| Website | docs |
DOSKEY is acommand inDOS,OS/2,[1]Windows,[2] andReactOS[3] that addscommand history,macro functionality, and improved editing features to theCOMMAND.COM andcmd.execommand-line interpretershells.
The command was included as aterminate-and-stay-resident program withMS-DOS andPC DOS versions 5 and later,[4] thenWindows 9x,[5] and finallyWindows 2000[6] and later.
In early 1989, functionality similar toDOSKEY was introduced withDR-DOS 3.40 with itsHISTORYCONFIG.SYS directive. This enabled a user-configurable console input history buffer and recall as well as pattern search functionality on the console driver level, that is, fully integrated into the operating system and transparent to running applications. In the summer of 1991,DOSKEY was introduced in MS-DOS/PC DOS 5.0 in order to provide some of the same functionality.DOSKEY also added a macro expansion facility, though special support was required before applications such as command line processors could take advantage of it. Starting withNovell DOS 7 in 1993, the macro capabilities were provided by an externalDOSKEY command as well. In order to also emulate theDOSKEY history buffer functionality under DR-DOS, the DR-DOSDOSKEY worked as a front end to the resident history buffer functionality, which remained part of the kernel.
DOSKEY has also been included in IBM OS/2 Version 2.0.[7]
In currentWindows NT-based operating systems, theDOSKEY functionality is built intoCMD.EXE, although theDOSKEY command is still used to change its operation.
TheDOSKEY command is not available inFreeDOS, which has such features built into the command interpreter.[8]
DOSKEY allows the use of severalcommand switches:
DOSKEY [/switch ...] [macroname=[text]]
During a DOSKEY session, the followingkeyboard shortcuts can be used:
DOSKEY implements support for command macros, a simple text-substitution facility which is used somewhat like command linealiases in other environments.
The absence of a command history inCOMMAND.COM was a serious inconvenience ever since the earliest versions of MS-DOS. Numerous third-party programs have been written to address the issue; many were available long before Microsoft supplied DOSKEY. Some of them, includingJP Software's4DOS andNDOS, also provide additional editing capabilities lacking in DOSKEY, such asfilename completion. Some of the better-known DOSKEY alternatives are Jack Gersbach'sDOSEDIT, Chris Dunford'sCED, Sverre Huseby'sDOSED, Ashok Nadkarni'sCMDEDIT, Steven Calwas'sANARKEY, Eric Tauck'sTODDY, and enhanced DOSKEY written by Paul Houle.
Paul Houle's Enhanced DOSKEY[9] is designed to be an enhanced drop-in replacement for the DOSKEY.COM that ships with MS-DOS and Windows 9x/Windows Me. It also has a smaller disk and memory-resident footprint. The primary added feature is command and file "auto-completion" via theTab key. Version 2.5, released in 2014, also adds full support forlong filenames (LFN).
