List of command-line interpreters

This list includes notable command-line interpreters – programs that interactively interpret commands entered by the user at the command-line.

## Operating system shells

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Most operating systems are accessible via a shell – a command line interpreter. In some cases multiple shells are available.

This category somewhat overlaps with the general programming section since an operating system shell supports programming, and the line between operating system access and general programming is sometimes less than clear. For example, some versions of BASIC served as a shell, and BASIC is also a general-purpose language.

### Unix-like

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See also: Unix shell

* Almquist shell (ash)
* Bash (Unix shell) `bash`
* Bourne shell `sh`
* C shell `csh`
* Ch shell `ch`
* Debian Almquist shell (dash)
* Emacs shell `eshell`
* Friendly interactive shell `fish`
* KornShell `ksh`
* PowerShell `pwsh`
* rc shell `rc`, a shell for Plan 9 from Bell Labs and Unix
* Stand-alone shell `sash`
* Scheme Shell `scsh`
* TENEX C shell `tcsh`
* Z shell `zsh`

### Windows

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* COMMAND.COM, default shell in Windows 9x, available in 32-bit NT-based Windows via NTVDM
* cmd.exe, successor of COMMAND.COM in OS/2 and Windows NT systems, a.k.a. Command Prompt
* Recovery Console
* PowerShell, successor of Command Prompt; more like Unix-based shells; based on .NET
* Hamilton C shell, a clone of the C shell
* Take Command Console (4NT), a clone of cmd.exe with added features

### DOS

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Main article: DOS

* COMMAND.COM, the default command-line interpreter
* 4DOS, a compatible, but more advanced shell
* NDOS, provided with some versions of Norton Utilities
* GW-BASIC

### OS/2

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Main article: OS/2

* CMD.EXE, the default command-line interpreter
* Hamilton C shell, a clone of the  Unix C shell
* 4OS2, a clone of CMD.EXE with additional features

### Apple

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* Apple DOS/Apple ProDOS
* Macintosh Programmer's Workshop

### CP/M

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Main article: CP/M

* Console Command Processor (CCP), the default command line interpreter
* ZCPR for the Z-System

### IBM i

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Main article: IBM i

* Control Language
* Qshell

### Network routers

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Main article: Network router

* Cisco IOS[1]
* Junos (Juniper Networks)[2]

### Other

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* Atari TOS shell
* BASIC-PLUS (RSTS/E)
* CANDE MCS – command-line shell and text editor on the MCP operating system
* Conversational Monitor System (VM/CMS)
* Data General RDOS and AOS CLI
* DIGITAL Command Language (DCL)
* DOS Wedge – (Commodore 64)
* DIGITAL Command Language (OpenVMS)
* EFI-SHELL
* Microsoft BASIC
* Singularity (operating system)
* SymShell
* Tandem Application Control Language (TACL)
* Time Sharing Option (MVS, z/OS)
* YouOS shell

## General-purpose programming

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* APL
* BASIC
* BeanShell – shell for Java
* JavaScript shell – several programs by this name, including JavaScript Interpreter Shell, allow interactive JavaScript[3]
* Common Lisp Interface Manager – for Lisp
* F#
* Haskell
* Interactive Ruby Shell – for Ruby
* IPython – for Python
* J
* Julia
* Jython
* Macintosh Programmer's Workshop, for Classic Mac OS
* Perl
* PHPsh – shell for PHP
* Prolog
* REBOL
* Red
* REXX
* Scala
* Smalltalk
* Standard ML
* Tclsh – for Tcl
* tkcon shell and IDE for Tcl/Tk
* Windows Script Host
* Wish (Windowing Shell) – forTcl

## Software debugging

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* DEBUG
* gdb
* DDT, a PDP-10 debugger from DEC used as a command shell for the MIT Incompatible Timesharing System
* Firebug/Chromebug, a JavaScript shell and debugging environment as a Firefox plugin

## Database development

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* sqsh, a shell available with some SQL implementations for database queries and other tasks.
* Google Shell, a browser-based front-end for Google Search

## Scientific and engineering software

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* MATLAB
* Wolfram Mathematica
* ROOT

## See also

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* Comparison of command shells
* cygwin – Unix-like environment for Windows
* Interix – Unix subsystem for Windows NT operating systems
* Interpreter directive – Symbol "#!", used in computingPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
* Job Control Language – Scripting languages for IBM mainframes
* List of compilers
* Microsoft POSIX subsystem – Subsystem shipped with the first versions of Windows NT
* MKS Toolkit
* Scripting language – Programming language designed for scripting
* read–eval–print loop – Computer programming environment
* Windows Services for UNIX – Discontinued software produced by Microsoft which provided Unix environment on Windows NT
* Windows Subsystem for Linux – Feature for a Linux environment in Windows

## References

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1. ^ "The Cisco IOS command-line interface (CLI) is the primary user interface..."
2. ^ "...the software that you use whenever you access the router..."
3. ^ developer.mozilla.org/en/JavaScript_shells Archived 2011-06-29 at the Wayback Machine; Comparison of Server-side JavaScript solutions