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How to List Network Shares in a Batch Script

A network share is a folder on a computer that has been made available for other users on the network to access. For system administrators, auditing these shares is a crucial security and maintenance task. You might need to generate a report of all shares on a server, check if a specific folder is shared, or simply get a quick overview of what resources a machine is offering to the network.

This guide will teach you how to list network shares using the two primary built-in Windows commands for this task: the classic NET VIEW and NET SHARE commands, and the modern and more powerful WMIC command.

The Core Commands: NET VIEW, NET SHARE, and WMIC​

Windows provides several built-in tools for this task, each suited for a slightly different purpose.

  • NET VIEW \\ComputerName: This is the classic command to list the shares on a remote computer. It shows you what another machine is sharing.
  • NET SHARE: This command, when run with no arguments, lists all the shares created on the local computer.
  • WMIC SHARE: This is the modern and most powerful method. It can list local shares with far more detail and in a script-friendly format.

Listing Shares on a Remote Computer (NET VIEW)​

The NET VIEW command is the simplest way to see what shares are available on another computer on your network.

Syntax:NET VIEW \\ComputerName

@ECHO OFF
SET "TargetServer=FILESERVER-01"

ECHO --- Listing shares on %TargetServer% ---
ECHO.
NET VIEW \\%TargetServer%

The command produces a clean, table-formatted list of share names and their comments as output:

Shared resources at \\FILESERVER-01

Share name   Type   Used as  Comment
-------------------------------------------------
Data         Disk            Company Shared Data
Profiles     Disk            User Profiles
Scans        Disk            Incoming Scans from MFD
The command completed successfully.

Listing Shares on the Local Computer (NET SHARE)​

To see what shares are configured on the machine you are currently on, you use NET SHARE.

Command: NET SHARE

This command provides more detail than NET VIEW, including the local path that is being shared. It also lists the hidden administrative shares (like C$ and ADMIN$).

Share name   Resource                        Remark
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C$           C:\                             Default share
IPC$                                         Remote IPC
ADMIN$       C:\WINDOWS                      Remote Admin
Data         C:\Shared\Data                  Company Shared Data
...

For any automation task, WMIC is the superior tool. It provides the most detail and its output is structured and easy for a script to parse.

Command: WMIC SHARE GET Name,Path,Caption

This produces a clean, space-padded table that is ideal for scripting, as Output:

Caption                Name   Path
OK                     ADMIN$ C:\WINDOWS
OK                     C$     C:\
Company Shared Data    Data   C:\Shared\Data
Remote IPC             IPC$
OK                     Profiles C:\Users\Profiles
OK                     Scans  C:\Scans

Parsing the Output to Process Each Share​

The real power of WMIC comes from the ability to use its output in a FOR loop. This allows you to perform an action on each share found.

This script iterates through each non-hidden share on the local machine and prints its details.

@ECHO OFF
ECHO --- Auditing Local Network Shares ---
ECHO.

REM 'skip=1' ignores the header line.
REM 'tokens=1,2,*' separates the columns.
FOR /F "skip=1 tokens=1,2,*" %%A IN ('WMIC SHARE GET Caption^,Name^,Path') DO (
    
    REM --- Use a trick to see if the share name contains a '$' ---
    ECHO %%B | FIND "$" > NUL
    IF ERRORLEVEL 1 (
        ECHO Share Name: "%%B"
        ECHO Local Path: "%%C"
        ECHO Description: "%%A"
        ECHO.
    )
)
note

This script cleverly uses FIND "$" to filter out the administrative hidden shares.

Common Pitfalls and How to Solve Them​

  • Permissions: While listing shares on the local machine is usually fine, listing shares on a remote computer (NET VIEW) or getting detailed WMIC info can fail with an "Access is denied" error.

    • Solution: For remote auditing, you must be running the script as a user with at least local administrator rights on the target machine. Ensure firewalls are configured to allow "File and Printer Sharing."

  • Hidden Administrative Shares: By default, the NET SHARE and WMIC SHARE commands will list the hidden administrative shares (ending with a $).

    • Solution: As shown in the practical example, you can pipe the output to FINDSTR /V "\$" to filter out lines containing a dollar sign, or use the FIND trick as shown above.

Practical Example: An Audit Script for Server Shares​

This script uses the robust WMIC method to generate a CSV report of all non-hidden shares on a remote server. This is perfect for security and configuration auditing.

@ECHO OFF
SETLOCAL
SET "TargetServer=FILESERVER-01"
SET "ReportFile=Share_Audit_%TargetServer%.csv"

ECHO --- Share Audit Script ---
ECHO Auditing server: %TargetServer%
ECHO Report will be saved to: %ReportFile%
ECHO.

REM --- Create the CSV Header ---
ECHO "Share Name","Local Path","Description" > "%ReportFile%"

REM --- The WMIC Query and Loop ---
FOR /F "skip=1 tokens=1,2,*" %%A IN ('WMIC /NODE:"%TargetServer%" SHARE GET Caption^,Name^,Path') DO (
    REM Check if the share name is hidden (contains '$')
    ECHO %%B | FIND "$" > NUL
    
    REM If it's NOT a hidden share, append it to the CSV.
    IF ERRORLEVEL 1 (
        ECHO "%%B","%%C","%%A" >> "%ReportFile%"
    )
)

ECHO [SUCCESS] Audit report created.
ENDLOCAL
  • /NODE:"%TargetServer%": This is the WMIC syntax for targeting a remote computer.

Conclusion​

Windows provides several powerful, built-in tools for listing network shares.

  • NET VIEW \\Server is the quickest way to see the shares on a remote machine.
  • NET SHARE is the standard way to list shares on the local machine.
  • WMIC SHARE is the most powerful and recommended method for any scripting or automation. It provides detailed, structured output that is easy to parse.

By using WMIC with a FOR /F loop, you can easily create robust scripts to audit, document, and manage the shared resources on your network.

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