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How to Query the Status of a Scheduled Task in a Batch Script

Knowing the current status of a scheduled task is a crucial function for system monitoring and automated management. A script might need to check if a task is "Ready" before making changes, verify that a critical backup task is not "Disabled," or report on tasks that have failed their last run.

This guide will teach you how to use the built-in schtasks.exe command-line utility to query the status and other details of a scheduled task. You will learn how to parse its output to get specific information, like the "Status" or "Last Run Result," and use this in a batch script to make intelligent decisions.

The Core Command: schtasks /QUERY​

The schtasks.exe utility is the primary tool for managing scheduled tasks from the command line. The /QUERY subcommand is used to display the properties of existing tasks. To get detailed information, it's best to use the list format.

Syntax: schtasks /QUERY /TN "Task Name" /FO LIST

  • /QUERY: The action to display a task.
  • /TN "Task Name": The Task Name. This is the full path of the task (e.g., "\My Tasks\Daily Backup").
  • /FO LIST: Formats the Output as a Key : Value list, which is much easier to read and parse in a script than the default table.

Basic Example: Displaying Task Information​

Let's query a standard Windows task to see the detailed output.

@ECHO OFF
SET "TaskName=\Microsoft\Windows\Defrag\ScheduledDefrag"

ECHO --- Querying status for task: %TaskName% ---
ECHO.
schtasks /QUERY /TN "%TaskName%" /FO LIST

The command returns a detailed list of all the task's properties.

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Defrag
HostName:                             MY-PC
TaskName:                             \Microsoft\Windows\Defrag\ScheduledDefrag
Next Run Time:                        10/30/2023 1:00:00 AM
Status:                               Ready
Logon Mode:                           Interactive/Background
Last Run Time:                        10/23/2023 1:00:02 AM
Last Run Result:                      (0) The operation completed successfully.
Author:                               Microsoft Corporation
...

The two most important lines for monitoring are Status and Last Run Result.

The Scripting Method: Parsing the Output with FOR /F​

To use this information in a script, you need to capture the output and extract the specific value you're interested in. A FOR /F loop combined with findstr is the perfect tool for this.

This script gets the "Status" of a task and stores it in a variable.

@ECHO OFF
SET "TaskName=\Microsoft\Windows\Defrag\ScheduledDefrag"
SET "TaskStatus="

ECHO --- Capturing the status of a task ---
ECHO.

REM 'findstr "Status"' filters the output to only the line containing "Status".
REM 'tokens=1,* delims=:' splits that line by the colon. %%B gets everything after it.
FOR /F "tokens=1,* delims=:" %%A IN (
    'schtasks /QUERY /TN "%TaskName%" /FO LIST ^| findstr "Status"'
) DO (
    SET "TaskStatus=%%B"
)

REM The value has many leading spaces. This second FOR is a trick to trim them.
FOR /F "tokens=*" %%S IN ("%TaskStatus%") DO (
    SET "TaskStatus=%%S"
)

ECHO The status of the task is: "%TaskStatus%"

Key Task Properties to Check​

When querying a task, these are the most useful fields for a monitoring script:

  • Status: The current state of the task.
    • Ready: The task is enabled and waiting for its next run time.
    • Running: The task is currently executing.
    • Disabled: The task's triggers are disabled. It will not run.
  • Last Run Result: The exit code from the last time the task ran. A result of (0) or 0x0 means it was successful. Any other value indicates an error.
  • Next Run Time: When the task is scheduled to run next.

Common Pitfalls and How to Solve Them​

  • "ERROR: The specified task name ... does not exist.": This is the most common failure. It means the path provided with /TN is incorrect.

    • Solution: Use schtasks /QUERY with no /TN to get a list of all tasks, or use the Task Scheduler GUI to find the exact, full path to the task.

  • Administrator Rights: While a standard user can query tasks they created, they cannot see or query tasks in protected system folders (like \Microsoft\Windows) or tasks that run as the SYSTEM user.

    • Solution: For a complete and reliable audit, you must run the script as an Administrator.

  • Parsing Different Languages: The property names (e.g., "Status") can change in different language versions of Windows.

    • Solution: For a truly portable script, the most robust method is to export the task to XML (/XML) and parse it with PowerShell. However, for scripts in a controlled, single-language environment, parsing the LIST format is perfectly reliable.

Practical Example: A Health Check Script for Critical Tasks​

This script checks a list of critical scheduled tasks. For each one, it verifies that the task is enabled and that its last run was successful.

@ECHO OFF
SETLOCAL ENABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION

SET "CriticalTasks=\NightlyBackup \System\HealthCheck"

ECHO --- Scheduled Task Health Check ---
ECHO.
FOR %%T IN (%CriticalTasks%) DO (
    SET "TaskName=%%T"
    SET "Status="
    SET "LastResult="
    
    ECHO --- Checking Task: !TaskName! ---
    
    REM Get the Status and Last Run Result for the current task.
    FOR /F "tokens=1,* delims=:" %%A IN ('schtasks /QUERY /TN "!TaskName!" /FO LIST') DO (
        FOR /F "tokens=*" %%S IN ("%%A") DO SET "Key=%%S"
        FOR /F "tokens=*" %%V IN ("%%B") DO SET "Value=%%V"
        
        IF /I "!Key!"=="Status" SET "Status=!Value!"
        IF /I "!Key!"=="Last Run Result" SET "LastResult=!Value!"
    )
    
    REM Check the Status
    IF /I "!Status!"=="Disabled" (
        ECHO   [FAIL] Task is DISABLED.
    ) ELSE (
        ECHO   [OK] Task is enabled (Status: !Status!).
    )
    
    REM Check the Last Run Result (0 means success)
    IF "!LastResult!"=="0" (
        ECHO   [OK] Last run was successful.
    ) ELSE (
        ECHO   [FAIL] Last run failed with result code: !LastResult!
    )
    ECHO.
)
ENDLOCAL
PAUSE

Conclusion​

The schtasks /QUERY command is the definitive tool for getting detailed status information about a scheduled task from a batch script.

For effective and reliable monitoring:

  1. Always run your script as an Administrator to access all tasks.
  2. Use the command schtasks /QUERY /TN "TaskName" /FO LIST to get detailed, parsable output.
  3. Pipe the output to findstr and parse it with a FOR /F loop to extract the specific values you need, such as Status and Last Run Result.

By incorporating these checks, you can build powerful monitoring scripts that can alert you to disabled or failing tasks, ensuring the reliability of your automated environment.

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