Batch Files

What it does

When your agent uses it

• Asked to create a batch file
• Write a .bat script
• Automate a Windows task
• Batch automation

Example prompts

• “create a batch file”
• “write a .bat script”
• “automate a Windows task”
• “/batch-files”

Requirements

• Node.js

Workflow steps

4 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

1. 1Variable substitution — %VAR% tokens are replaced with environment variable values. %0–%9 reference batch arguments. %* expands to all…
2. 2Quoting and escaping — Caret ^ escapes special characters (& | < > ^). Quotation marks prevent interpretation of enclosed special…
3. 3Syntax parsing — Lines are split into pipelines (|), compound commands (&, &&, ||), and parenthesized groups ( ).
4. 4Redirection — > overwrites, >> appends, < reads input, 2> redirects stderr, 2>&1 merges stderr into stdout, >NUL discards output.

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 727ff2e. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

• Tool permissions

  Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

  From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

• Runs code

  No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md (its code samples are bat).

  From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

• Network

  No URLs in SKILL.md.

  From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

• Credentials

  Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

  From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Batch Files loads about 4.3k tokens when it runs, and up to ~49k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 119 tokens; SKILL.md has 1,471 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it

~119

When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches

~4.3k

With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them

~49k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from github/awesome-copilot at commit 727ff2e, republished under its MIT licence (© github). 1,471 words, ~4,310 tokens.

name

batch-files

description

Expert-level Windows batch file (.bat/.cmd) skill for writing, debugging, and maintaining CMD scripts. Use when asked to "create a batch file", "write a .bat script", "automate a Windows task", "CMD scripting", "batch automation", "scheduled task script", "Windows shell script", or when working with .bat/.cmd files in the workspace. Covers cmd.exe syntax, environment variables, control flow, string processing, error handling, and integration with system tools.

set _MY_VAR=Hello World
echo %_MY_VAR%
set _MY_VAR=

setlocal
set _LOCAL_VAR=scoped value
endlocal
REM _LOCAL_VAR is no longer defined here

endlocal & set _RESULT=%_LOCAL_VAR%

setlocal EnableDelayedExpansion
set _COUNT=0
for /l %%i in (1,1,5) do (
    set /a _COUNT+=1
    echo !_COUNT!
)
endlocal

if exist "output.txt" echo File found
if not defined _MY_VAR echo Variable not set
if "%_STATUS%"=="ready" (echo Go) else (echo Wait)
if %ERRORLEVEL% neq 0 echo Command failed

command1 & command2        & REM Always run both
command1 && command2       & REM Run command2 only if command1 succeeds
command1 || command2       & REM Run command2 only if command1 fails

REM Iterate over a set of values
for %%i in (alpha beta gamma) do echo %%i

REM Numeric range: start, step, end
for /l %%i in (1,1,10) do echo %%i

REM Files in a directory
for %%f in (*.txt) do echo %%f

REM Recursive file search
for /r %%f in (*.log) do echo %%f

REM Directories only
for /d %%d in (*) do echo %%d

REM Parse command output
for /f "tokens=1,2 delims=:" %%a in ('ipconfig ^| findstr "IPv4"') do echo %%b

REM Parse file lines
for /f "usebackq tokens=*" %%a in ("data.txt") do echo %%a

goto :main_logic
:usage
echo Usage: %~nx0 [options]
exit /b 1

:main_logic
echo Running main logic...
goto :eof

:parse_args
if "%~1"=="" goto :args_done
if /i "%~1"=="--help" goto :usage
if /i "%~1"=="--output" (
    set "_OUTPUT_DIR=%~2"
    shift
)
shift
goto :parse_args
:args_done

set _STR=Hello World
echo %_STR:~0,5%       & REM "Hello"
echo %_STR:~6%         & REM "World"
echo %_STR:~-5%        & REM "World"
echo %_STR:~0,-6%      & REM "Hello"

set _STR=Hello World
echo %_STR:World=Earth%       & REM "Hello Earth"
echo %_STR:Hello=%            & REM " World" (remove "Hello")

if not "%_STR:World=%"=="%_STR%" echo Contains "World"

@echo off
call :greet "Jane Doe"
echo Result: %_GREETING%
exit /b 0

:greet
setlocal
set "_MSG=Hello, %~1"
endlocal & set "_GREETING=%_MSG%"
exit /b 0

set /a _RESULT=10 * 5 + 3
set /a _COUNTER+=1
set /a _REMAINDER=14 %% 3       & REM Use %% for modulo in batch files
set /a _BITS="255 & 0x0F"       & REM Bitwise AND

mycommand.exe
if %ERRORLEVEL% neq 0 (
    echo ERROR: mycommand failed with code %ERRORLEVEL%
    exit /b %ERRORLEVEL%
)

command1 || (echo command1 failed & exit /b 1)
command2 || (echo command2 failed & exit /b 1)

exit /b 0        & REM Return success from a batch/function
exit /b 1        & REM Return failure
cmd /c "exit /b 42"   & REM Set ERRORLEVEL to 42 inline

(echo Line 1 & echo Line 2) > output.txt
if exist "data.csv" (
    echo Processing...
    call :process "data.csv"
) else (
    echo No data found.
)

echo Total ^& Summary          & REM Outputs: Total & Summary
echo 100%% complete            & REM Outputs: 100% complete (in batch)
echo Line one^
Line two                       & REM Caret escapes the newline

dir *.txt           & REM All .txt files
ren *.jpeg *.jpg    & REM Bulk rename

command > file.txt          & REM Overwrite stdout to file
command >> file.txt         & REM Append stdout to file
command 2> errors.log       & REM Redirect stderr
command > all.log 2>&1      & REM Merge stderr into stdout
command < input.txt         & REM Read stdin from file
command > NUL 2>&1          & REM Discard all output

@echo off
setlocal EnableDelayedExpansion

REM ============================================================
REM  Script: example.bat
REM  Purpose: Describe what this script does
REM ============================================================

call :main %*
exit /b %ERRORLEVEL%

:main
    call :parse_args %*
    if not defined _TARGET (
        echo ERROR: --target is required. 1>&2
        call :usage
        exit /b 1
    )
    echo Processing: %_TARGET%
    exit /b 0

:parse_args
    if "%~1"=="" exit /b 0
    if /i "%~1"=="--target" set "_TARGET=%~2" & shift
    if /i "%~1"=="--help"   call :usage & exit /b 0
    shift
    goto :parse_args

:usage
    echo Usage: %~nx0 --target ^<path^> [--help]
    echo.
    echo Options:
    echo   --target   Path to process (required)
    echo   --help     Show this help message
    exit /b 0

© github, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 9 other files (references, assets) in skills/batch-files of github/awesome-copilot.

• SKILL.md
• assets/executable.txt
• assets/library.txt
• assets/task.txt
• references/batch-files-and-functions.md
• references/cygwin.md
• references/msys2.md
• references/tools-and-resources.md
• references/windows-commands.md
• references/windows-subsystem-on-linux.md

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 727ff2e

Used in 1 other repository

We found 1 copy of this SKILL.md (exact, near-identical or edited) in other folders, from 1 other GitHub owner. This page covers the copy in github/awesome-copilot, which our catalogue first saw on October 7, 2026.

• boshi-xixixi/TraeSkill.trae/Skills/.agents/skills/batch-files