How to verify if a file exists in a batch file?

by

You can use IF EXIST to check for a file:

IF EXIST "filename" (
  REM Do one thing
) ELSE (
  REM Do another thing
)

If you do not need an “else”, you can do something like this:

set __myVariable=
IF EXIST "C:\folder with space\myfile.txt" set __myVariable=C:\folder with space\myfile.txt
IF EXIST "C:\some other folder with space\myfile.txt" set __myVariable=C:\some other folder with space\myfile.txt
set __myVariable=

Here’s a working example of searching for a file or a folder:

REM setup

echo "some text" > filename
mkdir "foldername"

REM finds file    

IF EXIST "filename" (
  ECHO file filename exists
) ELSE (
  ECHO file filename does not exist
)

REM does not find file

IF EXIST "filename2.txt" (
  ECHO file filename2.txt exists
) ELSE (
  ECHO file filename2.txt does not exist
)

REM folders must have a trailing backslash    

REM finds folder

IF EXIST "foldername\" (
  ECHO folder foldername exists
) ELSE (
  ECHO folder foldername does not exist
)

REM does not find folder

IF EXIST "filename\" (
  ECHO folder filename exists
) ELSE (
  ECHO folder filename does not exist
)

More Related Contents:

  1. How does the Windows Command Interpreter (CMD.EXE) parse scripts?
  2. How do I get current date/time on the Windows command line in a suitable format for usage in a file/folder name?
  3. What is the reason for “X is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file”?
  4. Symbol equivalent to NEQ, LSS, GTR, etc. in Windows batch files
  5. Windows batch files: .bat vs .cmd?
  6. How to delete files/subfolders in a specific directory at the command prompt in Windows
  7. How do I escape ampersands in batch files?
  8. Batch script: how to check for admin rights
  9. Escape percent in bat file
  10. Setting a system environment variable from a Windows batch file?
  11. Windows XP or later Windows: How can I run a batch file in the background with no window displayed?
  12. How to correct variable overwriting misbehavior when parsing output?
  13. XCOPY still asking (F = file, D = directory) confirmation
  14. Capture output command CMD
  15. Redirecting Output from within Batch file
  16. Creating a file name as a timestamp in a batch job
  17. “rd” exits with errorlevel set to 0 on error when deletion fails, etc
  18. Why does only the first line of this Windows batch file execute but all three lines execute in a command shell?
  19. Curl not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file
  20. How to echo “2” (no quotes) to a file, from a batch script?
  21. Why is the FOR /f loop in this batch script evaluating a blank line?
  22. Rename all files in a directory with a Windows batch script
  23. How do I minimize the command prompt from my bat file
  24. Batch file encoding
  25. Why doesn’t my stderr redirection end after command finishes? And how do I fix it?
  26. Batch program to to check if process exists
  27. How can I source variables from a .bat file into a PowerShell script?
  28. ERRORLEVEL vs %ERRORLEVEL% vs exclamation mark ERRORLEVEL exclamation mark
  29. How to expand a CMD shell variable twice (recursively)
  30. Split %date% in a batch file regardless of Regional Settings

Leave a Comment