XP Pro and Vista: List active Windows programs from command line with tasklist

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From the computer of: qmchenry (338 recipes)
Created: Apr 29, 2004     Updated: Feb 06, 2007

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The XP/Vista program tasklist runs from a command prompt and shows the programs currently running with a number of options. The ability to run commands from the command prompt allows automation with batch files. It is also often quicker to type a simple command to get specific output than to mouse through a series of menus.

To list all active programs running on the system, use:

This shows each program running on one line and includes the PID (process ID) number, the memory usage, as well as the image (application) name.

Running taskkill with the verbose flag shows additional information including the user running the application, CPU execution time, and the title of the window:

The tasklist command permits the use of numerous filters to view only certain applications. For example, to list only applications run by the user Quinn, use:

Or, to list all applications currently running that have linked the DLL msvcrt.dll, use:

The following table shows the available filters and their use.