Microsoft keeps quietly retiring commands that shipped with Windows for two decades. WMIC came out in 2024, and every release since has clipped a couple more. If a script older than 2015 still runs your backups, your restore, or your onboarding tasks, that clock is ticking. The good news is that the replacements are already here and, in most cases, are better. We picked seven tools that cover almost everything the deprecated commands did, plus a few things they never could.
What to look for in a replacement
The right tool depends on what the old command was for. Look for these traits when planning a migration.
- Available on every Windows edition your fleet still runs
- Runs unattended, since a lot of retired commands lived inside scheduled tasks
- Predictable output that a script can parse without hand-tuning
- Support for both interactive and pipeline use, so a human can also read it
- Compatible with the way you sign and distribute scripts today
- A future you trust: some of the replacements listed below have already survived one deprecation cycle
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | Free plan | Standout feature |
|---|---|---|---|
| PowerShell 7 | Everything WMIC, systeminfo, and net used to do | Yes | Structured objects instead of parsed strings |
| Windows Terminal | The host most of these should run in | Yes | Tabs, splits, and modern rendering |
| PSTools | Remote administration and diagnostics | Yes | psexec still saves the day |
| Nushell | Modern scripting where PowerShell feels heavy | Yes | Data-oriented pipelines |
| WSL2 | Anything better done with Unix tooling | Yes | Real bash and grep on Windows |
| Git Bash | Lightweight coreutils for scripts | Yes | Familiar Linux tools without WSL |
| PowerToys Command Palette | Interactive tasks moving off Run | Yes | Ships with a supported extension model |
The apps
1. PowerShell 7 — best replacement for WMIC and most legacy CMD tools
PowerShell 7 is the modern shell Microsoft is willing to keep updating. Get-CimInstance covers the vast majority of what WMIC used to do, Get-ComputerInfo handles what systeminfo produced, and the rest of the built-in cmdlets replace net use, net user, and sc.exe. Output is objects, not text you have to grep.
Where it falls short: Startup time is slower than CMD. Some very old scripts rely on quirks of Windows PowerShell 5.1 that PowerShell 7 politely rejects.
Platforms: Windows, Linux, macOS.
Pricing: Free, MIT license.
Download: github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell
Bottom line: The default target for any script older than 2020. Migrate incrementally.
2. Windows Terminal — best host for everything else here
Windows Terminal is the terminal host every other tool on this list runs happily inside. Tabs, split panes, per-profile fonts, and JSON configuration mean you can have PowerShell, WSL, Git Bash, and Nushell side by side without leaving one program. It is the replacement for the CMD host, not for CMD itself.
Where it falls short: No built-in serial console or SSH profile management. Third-party wrappers cover the gap.
Platforms: Windows 10 1903 or newer, Windows 11.
Pricing: Free, MIT license.
Download: github.com/microsoft/terminal
Bottom line: Install it once and forget about conhost.
3. PSTools — best for the remote parts of the old toolkit
PSTools from Sysinternals never went away. psexec, psloglist, psinfo, and pskill still do things nothing else does as cleanly. They fill the gap for the remote admin tasks WMIC used to handle, and the tools remain signed and supported.
Where it falls short: No PowerShell-style object output. Modern SOC tools will flag psexec because attackers use it too.
Platforms: Windows, plus limited Linux ports.
Pricing: Free, Microsoft EULA.
Download: learn.microsoft.com/sysinternals/downloads/pstools
Bottom line: The right pick when a script needs to reach across the network without an agent.
4. Nushell — best for structured, small scripts
Nushell treats data as tables from the start. A line like ps | where cpu > 10 | sort-by mem | first 5 reads the process list, filters it, sorts it, and takes the top five, all with structured data. Where PowerShell feels heavy, Nushell feels closer to a spreadsheet.
Where it falls short: Ecosystem is smaller than PowerShell’s. Some Windows COM interop is not there yet.
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux.
Pricing: Free, MIT license.
Download: nushell.sh
Bottom line: Worth learning once you find yourself wishing PowerShell were more Unix-shaped.
5. WSL2 — best when a Unix tool is the right answer
WSL2 ships a real Linux kernel next to Windows. When the deprecated command’s spiritual replacement is awk, sed, curl, or a specific Python or Node script, WSL2 is where those live. Interop with Windows filesystems is fast enough for scripting in either direction.
Where it falls short: File watchers across the boundary can be slow. Group Policy in some enterprises still blocks it.
Platforms: Windows 10 21H2 and newer.
Pricing: Free.
Download: Turn on the “Windows Subsystem for Linux” feature or run wsl --install.
Bottom line: Any script whose Linux equivalent is a one-liner belongs here.
6. Git Bash — best lightweight coreutils
Git Bash ships as part of Git for Windows and brings a working bash, grep, awk, sed, and find in a single installer. For scripts that just need a couple of Unix tools without the weight of WSL, this is the smallest fit.
Where it falls short: No package manager. What Git for Windows bundles is what you get.
Platforms: Windows.
Pricing: Free, GPL-2.0.
Download: git-scm.com/download/win
Bottom line: The right pick when a script wants three Unix tools and no more.
7. PowerToys Command Palette — best replacement for interactive Run
PowerToys Command Palette is a keyboard-driven launcher that has replaced Run and Search for many admins. It ships with an extension model that lets you script new commands, so the one-off wmic invocations that lived in muscle memory can move here.
Where it falls short: Not a shell. It launches things; it does not compose pipelines.
Platforms: Windows 10 22H2 or newer.
Pricing: Free, MIT license.
Download: learn.microsoft.com/windows/powertoys/command-palette
Bottom line: The right home for interactive one-liners that no longer belong in CMD.
How to pick the right one
- If the deprecated command was WMIC,
net, orsysteminfo: PowerShell 7 - If the deprecated command was interactive from Run: PowerToys Command Palette
- If the deprecated command reached other machines: PSTools
- If the replacement is best written as a Unix pipeline: WSL2 for heavy work, Git Bash for a small script
- If PowerShell’s cmdlets feel too verbose: Nushell
- Everything runs in Windows Terminal
FAQ
Which Windows commands have actually been removed? WMIC was removed by default starting with Windows 11 24H2. Others have shifted to “deprecated,” which usually means one more feature update before removal. Microsoft’s own deprecation index is the source of truth.
Do I have to rewrite my scripts all at once? No. Run PowerShell 7 alongside Windows PowerShell 5.1 during migration; both are supported. Move scripts as CI pipelines and scheduled tasks touch them.
Is Windows PowerShell 5.1 also deprecated? Microsoft has committed to keeping 5.1 in Windows for legacy compatibility, but new features only land in PowerShell 7. Treat 5.1 as maintenance-only.
What happens to scripts calling WMIC after 24H2? They will hit “command not found.” Feature-on-demand installs the tool back for a while, but that path is not a long-term plan.
Should I switch to Nushell for everything? Only if you like it. PowerShell 7 covers more Windows-specific ground and has the broader ecosystem. Nushell is a great daily driver for data work.
Do these tools work over PowerShell Remoting? PowerShell 7 works out of the box over WinRM or SSH. WSL2 and Git Bash are local. PSTools remain the classic answer for remote work when Remoting is not enabled.
