replace

The ReactOS replace command
Developer(s)	Microsoft, IBM, Digital Research, Paragon Technology, Rene Ableidinger, ReactOS Contributors
Initial release	1986, 37–38 years ago
Operating system	MS-DOS, PC DOS, SISNE plus, OS/2, eComStation, ArcaOS, Windows, DR DOS, PTS-DOS, FreeDOS, ReactOS
Platform	Cross-platform
Type	Command
License	MS-DOS, PC DOS, SISNE plus, OS/2, Windows, DR DOS, PTS-DOS: Proprietary commercial software FreeDOS, ReactOS: GPLv2
Website	docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/replace

In computing, replace is a command that is used to replace one or more existing computer files or add new files to a target directory. Files with a hidden or system attribute set cannot be replaced using replace. The command lists all files that are replaced.^[1]

History

The replace command first appeared in MS-DOS 3.2^[2] and has been included in most versions of MS-DOS and compatibles such as FreeDOS^[3] and PTS-DOS.^[4] DR DOS 6.0 includes an implementation of the replace command.^[5] The FreeDOS version was developed by Rene Ableidinger and is licensed under the GPL.^[6] It is also included as a console command in IBM OS/2,^[7] Microsoft Windows,^[8] and ReactOS. The ReactOS version was developed by Samuel Erdtman and is licensed under the GPL.^[9]

Example

The following command updates the files in C:\delivery\ with the .exe files from C:\source\

C:\>replace "C:\source\*.exe" C:\delivery