Windows: `Watch` Equivalent – CMD & PowerShell

The watch command in Linux is used to execute a command periodically and show the output.

This is extremely useful if you need to track any changes in the output of a repeatedly executed command.

There is no direct equivalent for the watch command in Windows, however the same result can be achieved using the while loop in a Windows PowerShell or the for loops in a Windows command-line prompt (CMD).

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`Watch` Command in Windows

Use the oneliners below to execute some command periodically (each 5 seconds) and print the output of each execution.

The watch command equivalent in Windows command-line prompt (CMD):

C:\> for /l %g in () do @(<command> & timeout /t 5)

The watch command equivalent in Windows PoweShell:

PS C:\> while (1) {<command>; sleep 5}
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4 Replies to “Windows: `Watch` Equivalent – CMD & PowerShell”

  1. Thanks for this.

    To emulate watch displaying on a clear screen instead of scrolling I prepended the DOS “cls”

    C:\> for /l %g in () do @(cls & & timeout /t 5)

  2. AdamInToronto says: Reply

    This will repeat the command indefinitely. `watch` provides the ability to do something different when the output changes. With this simple loop, I have to add my own output comparison routine, making this not the same as `watch`

  3. Thank U

  4. This worked for me:
    while (1) {cls;nvidia-smi;sleep 1}

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