How to Use @ in Batch Script

1. Use of @ in Batch Script
2. Use the @echo off in Batch Script

We primarily use @echo off at the beginning of the Batch Script. This article will discuss what @echo off means and the purpose of using @ on a Batch Script using necessary examples and explanations.

Use of @ in Batch Script

The at sign can be included in the script, denoted by the symbol @. It is placed at the front of the command, which makes the command apply to itself.

The @ sign suppresses the output of the corresponding command in the Batch Script.

Use the @echo off in Batch Script

We can use two commands with @echo. These are @echo off and @echo on.

These keywords are used to enable or disable default displays on the screen. But by default, ECHO is always in ON mode.

Let’s see some examples for the @echo off and echo off commands to see their difference.

Example 1:

@echo off

The above code will turn off the command echoing silently, and that will only show the output the author intended. This command will only turn off the default automatic command echo behavior for the script.

Example 2:

echo off

The above code will only turn off the default command echoing for the whole script. The above code will turn off the command echoing silently, and that will only show the output the author intended.

But both examples will provide the same output.

Generally, the @echo and echo can provide the same output. Let’s have a look at the below example.

@echo This is the text...

echo This is the text...

If you run both of the command shown above, you will see that both will provide the same output as below.

Output:

This is the text...

Remember, all methods discussed here are written using Batch Script and will only work in a Windows CMD environment.