Variables

Setting a Variable

To set a variable, use the set keyword with a variable name, an equal sign, and the variable value:

set A=5
set B=World

If the variable does not exist, it will be created. If it does exist, the previous value will be discarded.

Variable names may contain letters, digits, or underscores, but must not start with a digit. Case does not matter! The variable names Number, number, and NUMBER all refer to the same variable.

Do not put spaces on either side of the equal sign.

Variables are not typed -- they may be used as strings, integers, or decimal values.

Accessing a Variable

To access a variable, place a percent sign [%] on either side of it, and use it in a command as an argument (or as a command name):

> SET B=World
> echo %B%
World
> echo Hello $B
Hello World

Quoting

Word Splitting and Quoting

Quoting in the Windows shell is very different from Bash!

Using single or double quotes causes the quotes themselves to be included as part of the string or argument in most cases, but not when dealing with a filename:​

> ECHO "Hello"​
"Hello"​

> ECHO test > "test file"​

​Quoting is not required when assigning a string value which contains spaces to a variable:

> SET A=One Two Three
> ECHO %A%
One Two Three

Carat Symbols

Escaping characters to remove their special meaning is performed using the carat [^] symbol in Windows.​ In this example, the ampersand [&] symbol would normally cause an error, but it can be treated as a regular character by escaping it with a carat:

> echo Lost ^& Found
Lost & Found

When piping, a CMD subshell is started for each command in the pipeline, and it is necessary to use triple carat symbols ^^^ to escape characters:​

> echo Lost ^^^& Found | find "Lost" ​
Lost & Found ​