•Arnošt Havelka
The TYPE Command
Display file contents directly in your terminal.
Start Interactive Lesson
The type command is a quick and easy way to view the contents of a text file without opening an editor. Need to check a config file, read a log, or peek inside a script? Just type it! It's one of the most practical commands for day-to-day work on the command line.
Try the command
Try viewing a file's contents!
Build the command
type
filenameThe path to the file whose contents you want to display.
Terminal
C:\Users\Student>type readme.txt
Read this first.
Real-World Examples
Display the contents of a text file:
Terminal
Directory of C:\Users\Student
04/11/2026 08:20 AM <DIR> .
04/11/2026 08:20 AM <DIR> ..
04/11/2026 08:20 AM <DIR> Documents
04/11/2026 08:20 AM <DIR> Downloads
04/11/2026 08:20 AM <DIR> Desktop
04/11/2026 08:20 AM 95 welcome.txt
04/11/2026 08:20 AM 13 file1.txt
04/11/2026 08:20 AM 16 readme.txt
3 File(s)
3 Dir(s)
C:\Users\Student>dir
View a configuration file:
Terminal
C:\Users\Student>type config.ini
Knowledge Check
1 / 2What does the type command do?
References
These documentation links provide authoritative details for the commands used in this article.
Up Next
Tree Command
Visualize directory structures graphically.