TREE: Graphically displays the directory structure of a drive or path.

Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.19045.3693]
(c) Copyright 1985-2023 Microsoft Corp.

C:\\WINDOWS>

Graphically displays the folder structure of a drive or path.

TREE [drive:][path] [/F] [/A]

   /F   Display the names of the files in each folder.
   /A   Use ASCII instead of extended characters.

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.