Start (command)

start

The ReactOS start command
Developer(s)	IBM, Microsoft, ReactOS Contributors
Operating system	OS/2, Microsoft Windows, ReactOS
Type	Command

In computing, start is a command of the IBM OS/2,^[1] Microsoft Windows^[2] and ReactOS^[3] command-line interpreter cmd.exe^[4] (and some versions of COMMAND.COM) to start programs or batch files or to open files or directories using the default program. start is not available as a standalone program. The underlying Win32 API is ShellExecute.

The command is also one of the basic commands implemented in the Keyboard Monitor (KMON) of the DEC RT-11 operating system.^[5] The TOPS-10^[6] and TOPS-20^[7] operating systems also provide a start command. It is used to start a program in memory at a specified address.

Other environments

Description of the START command of RT-11SJ displayed on a VT100.

• Typical Unix shells (bash, etc.) have no built-in registry of file types and associated default applications. Linux command-line tools with similar functions include xdg-open^[8] and run-mailcap.
• On Cygwin, the command is implemented as the cygstart executable.^[9]
• In PowerShell, the Invoke-Item cmdlet is used to invoke an executable or open a file.^[10]
• On Apple macOS and MorphOS, the corresponding command is open.^[11]
• On Stratus OpenVOS it is start_process.^[12]

Syntax

Windows, ReactOS

start ["title"] [/D path] [/I][/B][/MIN][/MAX][/WAIT] [command/program] [parameters]

"title" Title of the window.

Path Specifies the startup directory.

I Use the original environment given to cmd.exe, instead of the current environment.

B Starts the command or program without creating any window.

MIN Starts with a minimized window.

MAX Starts with a maximized window.

WAIT Starts the command or program and waits for its termination.

command Specifies the parameters to be given to the command or program.

Examples

Windows, ReactOS

C:\>start notepad file.txt

C:\>start "C:\My Music\My Song.mp3"

C:\>start www.wikipedia.org

See also

• Run command
• File association § Microsoft Windows

References

1. "JaTomes Help - OS/2 Commands". Archived from the original on 2019-04-14. Retrieved 2019-07-06.
2. "MS-DOS and Windows command line start command".
3. "Reactos/Reactos". GitHub. 3 January 2022.
4. "Start". Microsoft Learn. 2021-11-12. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
5. "Rt-11 Help File". Archived from the original on 2018-07-17. Retrieved 2018-07-16.
6. TOPS-10 Operating System Commands Manual (PDF). Digital Equipment Corporation. August 1980. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-08-09. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
7. "TOPS-20 Command manual" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-08-09. Retrieved 2018-07-18.
8. "XDG-utils".
9. "cygstart man page on Cygwin". www.polarhome.com.
10. "Start - Start a program - Windows CMD - SS64.com". ss64.com.
11. "Shell Commands/Open - MorphOS Library". library.morph.zone. Retrieved 2024-07-11.
12. Stratus Technologies Bermuda, Ltd (2017). "OpenVOS Commands Reference Manual" (PDF).

Further reading

• Kathy Ivens; Brian Proffit (1993). OS/2 Inside & Out. Osborne McGraw-Hill. ISBN 978-0078818714.
• Frisch, Æleen (2001). Windows 2000 Commands Pocket Reference. O'Reilly. ISBN 978-0-596-00148-3.

External links

• start | Microsoft Docs