What is a .BAT file?
BAT is a Windows batch script - a plain-text file of MS-DOS / Command Prompt commands run in sequence to automate tasks on Windows.
- Did you know
- The .bat extension dates back to MS-DOS in 1981; .cmd was added with Windows NT and behaves almost identically.
- Batch files date back to MS-DOS in 1981, where AUTOEXEC.BAT ran automatically at start-up to set up the system.
- A .bat is plain text, so it can be written in any editor, but its quirky syntax for variables and loops is a long-running source of frustration.
- What Analyser shows you
- Preview and inspect HTML, CSS, JavaScript, TypeScript, JSON, YAML, XML and Markdown source files, plus Windows scripts - PowerShell (PS1, PSM1, PSD1), reading their comment-based help synopsis, #Requires directives, function and parameter counts, CmdletBinding and Authenticode signing; and batch/command scripts (BAT, CMD), reading the echo state, labels, variables set and the external tools they invoke - all alongside the source.
- Open a .BAT file
- Drag a .BAT file onto the Analyser home page (or tap to pick one). It opens entirely in your browser - nothing is uploaded, there is no account, and it works offline once installed.