dir - Search for files

Maintained on October 2, 2026

The dir command lists the files and folders in a directory. Combined with wildcards and options, it also works as a file search tool.

This article covers the basics of dir, how to search for files, and the most useful options.

Quick Answer

Goal	Command
List the contents	`dir`
Filter by extension	`dir *.txt`
Search including subfolders	`dir /s *.txt`
Show file names only	`dir /b`
Show hidden files	`dir /a:h`
Sort by name, size, or date	`dir /o:n` `/o:s` `/o:d`

Basics of the dir Command

Run without arguments, it lists the files and folders in the current directory.

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Command Prompt

Microsoft Windows [Version xx.x.xxxxx.xxx]

C:\users\user>dir

It works the same way in a batch file.

@echo off
setlocal

dir

endlocal
exit

To inspect another folder, specify its path.

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Command Prompt

Microsoft Windows [Version xx.x.xxxxx.xxx]

C:\users\user>dir C:\Users\user\Documents

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Searching for Files

Search with Wildcards

Use * (any string) and ? (any single character) to display only matching files.

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Command Prompt

Microsoft Windows [Version xx.x.xxxxx.xxx]

C:\users\user>dir *.txt

2023/04/29 14:11 7 test2.txt

2023/04/29 14:11 7 text.txt

2 File(s) 14 bytes

0 Dir(s) 266,096,242,688 bytes free

C:\users\user>

This lists the text files (.txt) in the current directory.

Include Subfolders (/s)

The /s option searches the current directory and all of its subfolders.

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Command Prompt

Microsoft Windows [Version xx.x.xxxxx.xxx]

C:\users\user>dir /s *.txt

Combined with /b, only the full path of each match is shown, which is handy for finding where a file is located.

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Command Prompt

Microsoft Windows [Version xx.x.xxxxx.xxx]

C:\users\user>dir /s /b *.txt

Main Options of the dir Command

/a: Filter by Attribute

/a:attribute shows only files and folders with the given attribute. Without it, dir does not show hidden or system files.

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Command Prompt

Microsoft Windows [Version xx.x.xxxxx.xxx]

C:\users\user>dir /a:h

Option	Description
/a:d	Folders only
/a:-d	Files only (exclude folders)
/a:h	Hidden files
/a:s	System files
/a:r	Read-only files

/b: Names Only

Omits details such as date and size and shows only file and folder names. This is also useful when passing results to other commands.

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Command Prompt

Microsoft Windows [Version xx.x.xxxxx.xxx]

C:\users\user>dir /b

/o: Sorting

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Command Prompt

Microsoft Windows [Version xx.x.xxxxx.xxx]

C:\users\user>dir /o:n

Option	Description
/o:n	Sort by name (ascending)
/o:-n	Sort by name (descending)
/o:s	Sort by size (ascending)
/o:-s	Sort by size (descending)
/o:d	Sort by date modified (ascending)
/o:-d	Sort by date modified (descending)