The command: "TREE" is on Windows 12, 11, 10, .. , MS Server 2025, 2022, 2019, .. available
The
`TREE` command in Windows Command Prompt is used to display the directory structure of a specific path or drive. Here are some examples of using the
`TREE` command:
Example 1: View the directory structure of the current directory:
TREE
Description: This command displays the directory structure of the current directory (the one where the command prompt is located).
Example 2: View the directory structure of a specific directory:
TREE C:\Example
Description: The directory structure of the
"C:\Example" directory is displayed here.
Example 3: Showing directory structure with subfolders and files:
TREE /F
Description: The
`/F` option shows not only the directories but also the files in the directory structure.
Example 4: Displaying the directory structure with additional information:
TREE /A
Description: The
`/A` option displays additional information for each directory, including the number of files and subfolders it contains.
Example 5: Displaying directory structure with full paths:
TREE /F /A
Description: Combination of the
`/F` and
`/A` options to display the directory structure with files and additional information including full paths.
Example 6: Displaying the directory structure with a specific level of depth:
TREE /F /A /L 2
Description: The
`/L` option limits the depth of directories to be displayed. Only directories and files up to a depth of 2 are displayed here.
Example 7: Export directory structure to a text file:
TREE /F /A > directory structure.txt
Description: This command directs the output of the directory structure to a text file called directorystructure.txt.
It is important to note that the
`TREE` command tends to display a lot of information for very deep or large directory structures. In such cases the results can become confusing. You can use
`TREE /?` in the command prompt to get help and a list of available options for the
`TREE` command.
There are a few points to note when using the
`TREE` command in the Windows Command Prompt:
1.
Output size: Depending on the depth and size of the directory structure, the output of the
`TREE` command can be very large. It is important to consider which options (
`/F`,
`/A`,
`/L`, etc.) best suit your use case.
2.
Output storage: If the directory structure is large, the output of the
`TREE` command could be very large. In such cases, it might make sense to redirect the output to a file for later review or analysis.
Example:
TREE /F /A > directory structure.txt
3.
Depth Limitation: For very deep directory structures, the
`/L` option can be used to limit the number of directory levels displayed. This can improve clarity.
Example:
TREE /F /A /L 2
4.
File system permissions: The
`TREE` command displays the directory structure based on the permissions of the user executing the command. Directories or files could be visible or not, depending on the user's permissions.
5.
Performance: For very large directory structures, running the
`TREE` command may take some time and impact performance. This should be taken into account especially for network shares or directories with many files.
6.
Special characters in the path: Make sure that the path of the directory you want to analyze does not contain any special characters that might have a special meaning on the command line. Use quotation marks around the path if necessary.
Example:
TREE "C:\My Directory"
7.
Directory and file names with spaces: If directory or file names contain spaces, enclose the path in quotation marks to avoid problems with command line interpretation.
Example:
TREE "C:\Directory with spaces"
8.
Special options: Review the available options using
`TREE /?` in the command prompt to determine which options best suit your needs.
The
`TREE` command is a useful tool, but it is important to consider the impact on performance and the size of the output, especially when applied to large directory structures.