Save All File Contents into a Single File Using Windows PowerShell or CMD

Learn how to easily combine all files in a directory and its subdirectories into a single file using Windows PowerShell or CMD in this step-by-step guide.
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How to Save All Files Content from a Directory into a Single File with Windows CMD/Powershell

Are you looking to consolidate the contents of multiple files across directories into a single file? This is a common task for developers and system administrators, especially when dealing with various types of code files like PHP, JavaScript, or HTML. Unfortunately, there isn't a direct cat command in Windows, unlike in UNIX-like systems. However, you can achieve similar results using commands in PowerShell or Command Prompt (CMD).

In this guide, we’ll explore how you can easily combine all the file contents from a specific directory and its subdirectories into one text file.

The Challenge

Suppose you have a folder that contains several subfolders filled with files of different types, such as .php, .js, and .html. How can you efficiently copy all of these files' contents into a single file, say save.txt? The goal is to collect everything recursively without having to open each file manually.

The Solution using PowerShell

Windows PowerShell is a powerful scripting environment that allows you to perform complex tasks easily. To achieve your goal of saving all file contents into a single file, you'll be using a combination of three commands: Get-ChildItem, Get-Content, and Set-Content.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Open PowerShell:

You can do this by searching for "PowerShell" in the Windows start menu.

Use the Command:
Copy and paste the following command into your PowerShell window and adjust the paths as necessary.

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Explanation of the Command:

Get-ChildItem: This command lists all files and directories. Using the -Recurse option, it searches through all subdirectories, and -File ensures that only files are returned.

Get-Content: This command reads the content of the files specified by the previous command.

Set-Content: This command writes the combined output from Get-Content into a new file, specified as save.txt.

Important Note

While this command works well for text files, be aware that Get-Content reads files as text or strings by default. Therefore, it may not work correctly with binary files, like images or executables. Ensure the files you are processing are text-based!

Example Execution

Suppose your directory structure looks like this:

C:\MyFolder

SubFolder1

file1.php

file2.js

SubFolder2

file3.html

If you run the command:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

All contents from file1.php, file2.js, and file3.html will be combined and saved into save.txt.

Conclusion

Combining file contents from a directory and its subdirectories into a single file can save you a lot of time, especially when managing multiple files. Using PowerShell commands makes this process efficient and straightforward. Whether you're aggregating code for analysis or simply backing content up, this method is an invaluable tool in your Windows command set.

Now you can confidently streamline your file management tasks in Windows with these simple commands!

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