6 Cool Tricks You Can Do in Windows Command Prompt

Command Prompt has a ton of capabilities, and many people doubt they know what a few lines of code can do. Next time you're bored with your PC, try these cool Command Prompt tricks for yourself.

1. Customize the look of Command Prompt

You probably already know this because Command Prompt can be a great tool for accessibility purposes. But Command Prompt can be fully customized, from background and text colors to fonts, opacity, and more.

To do so, right-click the Command Prompt icon in the top-left corner of the window and select Properties from the menu.

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The Font, Layout , and Colors tabs have more immediate options, such as changing the font size and color. Select the Terminal tab if you want to change some elements of the text cursor.

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You can create some pretty quirky command prompts this way, or tweak the window to suit your needs. The customization options are extensive, so if you want to do more, you should customize Command Prompt.

2. Watch Star Wars on Command Prompt

Watching Star Wars in Command Prompt might get you some curious looks from people who may not know how Command Prompt works. To watch Star Wars in Command Prompt (and another entry on this list), you'll need to enable a service called Telnet.

To do so, press Win + Q , type telnet in the search box, and select Turn Windows features on or off in the search results. In the Windows Features window , scroll down, check the box next to Telnet Client , and click OK .

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Now, type the command below into Command Prompt and press Enter key to connect to Telehack website:

telnet telehack.com

Once connected, enter the following command:

starwars

Sit back and enjoy this whimsical recreation of Star Wars right in your Command Prompt window.

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3. More fun with Telnet: Fish tank in Command Prompt

You may notice a few other commands when Command Prompt connects to the Telehack website. These are worth experimenting with to see what other interesting things might happen.

Most notable, besides the ASCII recreation of Star Wars, is the aquarium command . Enter this command to see an ASCII aquarium show. It's so beautiful you'll want to turn it into your screensaver.

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4. Change window title

Let's get away from the weirdness of ASCII reproduction and look at how to change the title of a Command Prompt window. To do this, simply type the title command, followed by the word or phrase that will serve as the title.

Here's an example of how to change the title of the Command Prompt window:

title something cool

As you can see, the title of the Command Prompt window has changed based on the command above.

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This is handy for keeping track of Command Prompt windows when you have multiple windows open. But just because it's useful doesn't mean you can't have a little fun naming your windows.

5. Create random jokes

Who doesn't love a good joke? Command Prompt makes sure you always have a funny joke to lighten the mood.

Just type the command below into Command Prompt and press Enter key :

curl https://icanhazdadjoke.com

This will generate a random joke for you and make you funny when you tell it to others.

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6. Track where your data goes

This trick is both fun and interesting, and has legitimate applications in networking and troubleshooting. The tracert command, followed by an IP address or website URL, will display a list of where your connection has been on its way to the desired address. It is incredibly useful, if not fascinating, to see all the stops your connection has made on its way to its destination.

Most home internet setups will route you through a number of ISP-related addresses and beyond that, who knows? Each website will take your data on a different journey depending on your site and where you're connecting from.

Just for fun, type the following command into Command Prompt and press Enter :

tracert google.com

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You should definitely read more about using Traceroute, as it can also be useful in troubleshooting network problems.

Despite having one of the simplest interfaces imaginable, you can still have fun with Command Prompt. The items listed here don't even begin to mention the tips and tricks you can do with Command Prompt.

Either way, fun is important and if you can find it in the most unexpected places, why not make the most of it?

See also:

David Pac

Update 07 February 2025