Windows: redirect stdout and stderror to nothing

Question

I have a command I am running produces a ton of output, I want to silence the output without writing to a file. I have used the following to send all output to a file:

command > out.txt 2>&1

... but again I don't want any file output:

command > /dev/null 2>&1

I have used command > /dev/null on my CentOS box before, but I can't find a similar thing for windows.

If you indeed used `command > /bin/null` on CentOS, you have created a common file file named `/bin/null` on your system. You may say *'It worked!'*, if you want. This file now contains the stdout **and** stderr output of your `command`. Usually, in `/bin/` there are only executable files. And usually, only the *root* user is allowed to create files there. So if that file is there, you did run your command as root user... `/bin/null` usually doesn't exist -- and `/dev/null` (which I mentioned) usually is used as the *'black whole'* where unwanted output should disappear in... — Kurt Pfeifle, Aug 11 '10 at 23:13
Good point, I hadn't thought of that. However, I am pretty sure it is just my faulty memory because I was on Windows at the time. — Alec Gorge, Aug 18 '10 at 03:15

score 72 · Accepted Answer · edited Sep 30 '13 at 16:38

72

You want command > nul 2>&1.

edited Sep 30 '13 at 16:38

Alec Gorge

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answered Apr 16 '10 at 03:21

Jed Daniels

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thanks! that works. I need to wait 12 minutes to accept the answer though (serverfault requirement)! – Alec Gorge Apr 16 '10 at 03:22
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This only redirects stdout. You also need `> nul 2>&1` or `2> nul` to kill stderr. – user1686 Apr 16 '10 at 14:02
Yes I know that, but thanks for mentioning it for others that visit this question! – Alec Gorge Apr 19 '10 at 20:52
just to add, I was getting permission denied error while using : sudo hostname -f 2> nul whereas following command worked well : sudo hostname -f 2> /dev/null For those who run out into permission issue while using nul – Ranvir Feb 10 '15 at 12:34
@JedDaniels what is meaning of '> nul' ?? – AminM Feb 01 '16 at 13:46
Doesn't seem to work with Visual Studio's cl.exe currently on Windows 10. – ZeroPhase Apr 28 '17 at 12:43
@Ranvir because this question is specific to Windows. You're obviously using a *nix OS, which is drastically different. – Doktor J May 31 '19 at 17:09
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@AminM `nul` is Windows' special keyword for a null output (i.e. discard output). On *nix-based systems (like Ranvir is referring to) they instead use the special file `/dev/null`. The `>` means "redirect" (and `2>` means redirect buffer 2 -- which is the error output) – Doktor J May 31 '19 at 17:11
@DoktorJ tnx for answer – AminM Jun 01 '19 at 07:43

score 4 · Answer 2 · edited Feb 23 '20 at 23:10

4

You want command > $null 2>&1

nul only works in command prompt whereas $null works in powershell.

edited Feb 23 '20 at 23:10

ross

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answered Jul 29 '15 at 16:37

ZZ9

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Command Prompt is cmd.exe. '> null' creates a file called 'null' with whatever you're directing into it from cmd.exe and from PowerShell. – Mr. Smythe Jul 29 '15 at 16:43

Windows: redirect stdout and stderror to nothing

2 Answers2