I need to run a utility only if a certain file exists. How do I do this in Windows batch?

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3 Answers

if exist <insert file name here> ( rem file exists ) else ( rem file doesn't exist )

Or on a single line (if only a single action needs to occur):

if exist <insert file name here> <action>

for example, this opens notepad on autoexec.bat, if the file exists:

if exist c:\autoexec.bat notepad c:\autoexec.bat
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C:\>help if

Performs conditional processing in batch programs.

IF [NOT] ERRORLEVEL number command

IF [NOT] string1==string2 command

IF [NOT] EXIST filename command

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Try something like the following example, quoted from the output of IF /? on Windows XP:

 IF EXIST filename.txt ( del filename.txt ) ELSE ( echo filename.txt missing. )

You can also check for a missing file with IF NOT EXIST.

The IF command is quite powerful. The output of IF /? will reward careful reading. For that matter, try the /? option on many of the other built-in commands for lots of hidden gems.  

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