How To “Open Command Prompt in Folder” on Windows 7, 10, 11

One of the key features that significantly enhance productivity in Windows is the ability to open the command prompt directly from the right-click context menu.

This guide will illustrate how to enable this feature in Windows 7, 10, 11, and also explain how to open the Node.js command prompt in a specific folder.

Open Command Prompt in Folder

Open Command Prompt from Right-Click Menu

Accessing the command prompt from the context menu can save time, particularly when you’re navigating complex directory structures. The following steps illustrate how to add this feature in different Windows versions.

Windows 7:

  1. Open the Registry Editor by typing regedit in the Start Menu search bar and hitting Enter.
  2. Navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\.
  3. Right-click on the shell key, select New > Key, and name it Command Prompt.
  4. Right-click on the newly created key, select New > Key, and name it command.
  5. Double click on the (Default) value on the right side of the screen and enter cmd.exe /s /k pushd "%V".

Now, when you right-click on a folder, you’ll see the ‘Command Prompt’ option in the context menu.

Windows 10 and 11:

The steps are similar to Windows 7, but there’s an easier alternative:

  1. Open ‘File Explorer’ and navigate to the folder where you want to open the Command Prompt.
  2. Hold down the Shift key, then right-click inside the folder.
  3. Select ‘Open command window here’ from the context menu.

Open Node.js Command Prompt in Folder

Node.js comes with a command-line interface (CLI), which can be accessed directly from any folder. To open Node.js command prompt in a specific folder:

  1. Navigate to the folder where you want to open the Node.js command prompt.
  2. Hold down the Shift key, then right-click inside the folder.
  3. Select ‘Open command window here’ from the context menu.
  4. To verify Node.js is working, type node -v in the command prompt, which should return the version of Node.js installed on your system.

Conclusion

Having direct access to the command prompt from the right-click context menu simplifies tasks, especially when working with projects that require frequent shifting between the graphical interface and command line.

Whether you’re working on a Windows 7, 10, 11 system, or with Node.js, these simple steps ensure you have a more efficient and streamlined workflow.