Register an exe so you can run it from any command line in Windows

Question

How can you make a  exe file accessible from any location in the Windows command window  Is there some registry entry that has to be entered

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If you want to be able to run it inside cmd exe or batch files you need to add the directory the  exe is in to the  path  variable  System or User  If you want to be able to run it in the Run dialog  Win R  or any application that calls ShellExecute  adding your exe to the app paths key is enough  This is less error prone during install uninstall and also does not clutter up the path variable

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Put it in the c  windows directory or add your directory to the  path  in the environment-settings  windows-break - tab advanced   regards    t

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Simple Bash-like aliases in Windows To get global bash-like aliases in Windows for applications not added to the path automatically without manually adding each one to the path  here s the cleanest solution I ve come up with that does the least amount of changes to the system and has the most flexibility for later customization   quot Install quot  Your Aliases Path mkdir c  aliases setx PATH  quot c  aliases  PATH  quot   Add Your Alias Open in New Shell Window To start C  path to my program exe  passing in all arguments  opening it in a new window  create c  aliases my program bat file with the following contents see NT Start Command for details on the start commmand    echo off start  quot myprogram quot   D  quot C  path to  quot   W  quot myprogram exe quot      Execute in Current Shell Window To start C  path to my program exe  passing in all arguments  but running it in the same window  more like how bash operates  create c  aliases my program bat file with the following contents   echo off pushd  quot C  path to  quot   quot my program exe quot     popd  Execute in Current Shell Window 2 If you don t need the application to change the current working directory at all in order to operate  you can just add a symlink to the executable inside your aliases folder  cd c  aliases  mklink  quot my program exe quot   quot c  path to my program exe quot

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In order to make it work You need to modify the value of the environment variable with the name key Path  you can add as many paths as you want separating them with    The paths you give to it can t include the name of the executable file  If you add a path to the variable Path all the excecutable files inside it can be called from cmd or porweshell by writing their name without  exe and these names are not case sensitive   Here is how to create a system environment variable from a python script  It is important to run it with administrator privileges in order to make it work  To better understand the code  just read the comments on it  Tested on Windows 10 import winreg    Create environment variable for call the program from shell  only works with compiled version def environment var AppPath          Point to the registry key of the system environment variables     key   winreg CreateKey winreg HKEY LOCAL MACHINE  r System CurrentControlSet Control Session Manager Environment        def add var path             Add the variable         winreg SetValueEx key   Path   0  winreg REG SZ  path          winreg CloseKey key       try            Try to get the value of the Path variable         allPaths   winreg QueryValueEx key   Path   0      except Exception            Create the Path variable if it doesn t exist         add var path AppPath          return                Get all the values of the existing paths     Path allPaths split             If the Path is empty  add the application path     if Path                  add var path AppPath          return        Check if the application path is in the Path variable     if AppPath not in Path            Add the application path to the Path environment variable and add keep the others existing paths         add var path AppPath     allPaths     Only run this if the module is not imported by another if   name       quot   main   quot         Run the function     environment var AppPath  quot   quot    You can find more information in the winreg documentation

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You have to put your  exe file s path into enviroment variable path  Go to  My computer -  properties -  advanced -  environment variables -  Path  and edit path by adding  exe s directory into path   Another solution I personally prefer is using RapidEE for a smoother variable editing

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Rather than putting the executable into a directory on the path  you should create a batch file in a directory on the path that launches the program   This way you don t separate the executable from its supporting files  and you don t add other stuff in the same directory to the path unintentionally   Such batch file can look like this    echo off start     C  Program Files  x86  Software software exe

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Use a 1 line batch file in your install   SETX PATH  C  Windows    run the bat file   Now place your  exe in c  windows  and you re done   you may type the  exename  in command-line and it ll run it

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it s amazing there s no simple solution for such a simple task on windows  I created this little cmd script that you can use to define aliases on windows  instructions are at the file header itself    https   gist github com benjamine 5992592  this is pretty much the same approach used by tools like NPM or ruby gems to register global commands

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This worked for me   put a  bat file with the commands you need  I use to run  py script into this  into a FOLDER  go in the variable environment setting  type var in the search bar and it will show up  in the global settings  choose path  then modify  then add the path to your  bat file  without the  bat file  close everything  done     Open the cmd  write the name of the  bat file and it will work

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You need to make sure that the exe is in a folder that s on the PATH environment variable   You can do this by either installing it into a folder that s already on the PATH or by adding your folder to the PATH   You can have your installer do this - but you will need to restart the machine to make sure it gets picked up

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Windows 10  8 1  8  Open start menu    Type Edit environment variables Open the option Edit the system environment variables Click Environment variables    button There you see two boxes  in System Variables box find path variable Click Edit a window pops up  click New Type the Directory path of your  exe or batch file   Directory means exclude the file name from path  Click Ok on all open windows and restart your system restart the command prompt

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It is very simple and it won t take more than 30 seconds  For example the software called abc located in D  Softwares vlc abc exe Add the folder path of abc exe to system environment variables  My Computer - gt  Click Properties - gt  Click Advanced system settings - gt  Click Environment Variables   Click on Ok  now you can just open cmd prompt and you can launch the software from anywhere  to use abc exe just type abc in the command line

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You can add the following registry key   HKLM SOFTWARE Microsoft Windows CurrentVersion App Paths myexe exe   In this key  add the default string value containing the path to the exe file

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You may also permanently  after reboots  add to the Path variable this way   Right click My Computer -  Click Properties -  Click Advanced system settings -  Click Environment Variables  Reference  Change System User Variables

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Another way could be through adding  LNK to your  PATHEX   Then just create a shortcut to your executable  ie  yourshortcut lnk  and put it into any of the directories listed within  PATH   WARNING NOTE   Know that any  lnk files located in any directories listed in your  PATH are now  PATH ed  as well  For this reason  I would favor the batch file method mentionned earlier to this method

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Let s say my exe is C  Program Files AzCopy azcopy exe  Command CMD Batch  SET  PATH C  Program Files AzCopy  PATH     PowerShell   env path    env path     C  Program Files AzCopy    I can now simply type and use azcopy from any location from any shell inc command prompt  powershell  git bash etc

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Add to the PATH  steps below  Windows 10     Type in search bar  environment     and choose Edit the system environment variables which opens up the System Properties window  Click the Environment Variables    button  In the Environment Variables tab  double click the Path variable in the System variables section Add the path to the folder containing the  exe to the Path by double clicking on the empty line and paste the path  Click ok and exit  Open a new cmd prompt and hit the command from any folder and it should work

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Should anyone be looking for this after me  here s a really easy way to add your Path     Send the path to a file like the image shows  copy and paste it from the file and add the  specific path on the end with a preceding semicolon  to the new path  It may be needed to be adapted prior  to windows 7  but at least it is an easy starting point    Command Prompt Image to Export PATH to text file

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The best way to do this is just install the  EXE file into the windows system32 folder  that way you can run it from any location  This is the same place where  exe s like ping can be found

[windows] "Register" an .exe so you can run it from any command line in Windows

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