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How to Sleep or Wait for a Specific Amount of Time in Batch Script

Creating a pause or a "sleep" in a script is a fundamental technique for controlling the flow of execution. You might need to wait for a network resource to become available, give a slow application time to initialize, or simply pace a loop to avoid overwhelming a system with requests. While batch scripting has a legacy "trick" for this, modern Windows includes a dedicated, built-in command that is far more reliable and easy to use: TIMEOUT.

This guide will teach you how to use the modern TIMEOUT command to pause your script for a specific number of seconds. You will also learn about the classic PING workaround and understand why TIMEOUT is the superior choice for nearly all situations.

The TIMEOUT command is the official, built-in utility for pausing a batch script. It waits for a specified number of seconds or until a key is pressed. It is the cleanest, most reliable, and recommended method for creating a delay.

Syntax: TIMEOUT /T seconds

  • /T <seconds>: The Timeout period in seconds. The valid range is from -1 to 99999. A value of -1 means wait indefinitely for a keypress.

The Classic "Trick": Using PING​

Before the TIMEOUT command was introduced, the standard way to create a delay was a clever but imprecise workaround using the PING command. The logic was to ping the local machine's loopback address (127.0.0.1), which responds instantly. Since each ping waits about 1 second for a reply, you could create a delay by sending a specific number of pings.

Syntax: PING -n <seconds+1> 127.0.0.1 > NUL

  • -n <count>: The number of echo requests to send. You need to use seconds + 1 because the first ping is sent immediately. To wait 5 seconds, you need 6 pings.
  • > NUL: This is essential to hide the output of the PING command.

Why TIMEOUT is better: The PING trick is a hack. It's not guaranteed to be exactly one second per ping, and its intent is not as clear as TIMEOUT. It should only be used if you need a script to be compatible with very old Windows versions (like XP).

Basic Example: A Simple 5-Second Pause​

This script demonstrates a simple pause between two actions using the recommended TIMEOUT command.

Example:

@ECHO OFF
ECHO Starting process...
ECHO This will take a moment. The next step will begin in 5 seconds.

REM --- This is the sleep command ---
TIMEOUT /T 5

ECHO.
ECHO Resuming process...

In the output, the script will print the first messages, then display a countdown and wait.

Starting process...
This will take a moment. The next step will begin in 5 seconds.

Waiting for 5 seconds, press a key to continue ... 3
note

After 5 seconds (or if a key is pressed), the script will continue.

Key TIMEOUT parameters explained:

  • /T <seconds>: (Required) The number of seconds to wait.
  • /NOBREAK: This is a very important switch. By default, any keypress will interrupt the timeout. /NOBREAK tells the command to only be interrupted by Ctrl+C. This is crucial if you need to guarantee a minimum wait time and don't want an accidental keypress to continue the script early.
  • > NUL: While not a parameter of TIMEOUT itself, this redirection is used to suppress the countdown output, making your script run silently. This is essential for clean, non-interactive scripts.

Common Pitfalls and How to Solve Them​

Problem: The Script Continues if a Key is Pressed​

By default, TIMEOUT is designed to be user-interruptible. This can be a problem in an automated script that requires a guaranteed delay (e.g., waiting for a service to start).

Solution: Use /NOBREAK​

The /NOBREAK switch makes the pause more robust.

REM This pause cannot be skipped by a normal keypress.
TIMEOUT /T 10 /NOBREAK

Problem: The Countdown Message is Unwanted​

In a script that is supposed to run silently in the background, the "Waiting for..." message is undesirable clutter.

Solution: Redirect Output to NUL​

This is the standard way to silence a command in a batch script.

REM This command waits for 10 seconds with no output.
TIMEOUT /T 10 /NOBREAK > NUL

This is the most common and recommended syntax for a non-interactive, guaranteed sleep in a modern batch script.

Practical Example: A Polling Loop​

A perfect use case for TIMEOUT is in a polling loop. This script checks for the existence of a file, and if it's not found, it waits for 10 seconds before trying again. This avoids a "tight loop" that would consume 100% of a CPU core.

@ECHO OFF
SET "FLAG_FILE=C:\AppData\process_complete.flag"

ECHO --- Waiting for process to complete ---
:CheckLoop
ECHO Checking for flag file at %TIME%...

IF EXIST "%FLAG_FILE%" (
    ECHO [SUCCESS] Flag file found!
    GOTO :End
)

ECHO File not found. Waiting 10 seconds before re-check.
REM Use the robust, silent syntax for the pause.
TIMEOUT /T 10 /NOBREAK > NUL

GOTO :CheckLoop

:End
ECHO --- Script finished ---

Conclusion​

Creating a pause is a fundamental part of controlling the flow and timing of a batch script.

  • The modern and recommended method is the TIMEOUT command. It is clear, reliable, and flexible.
  • The classic PING trick is a legacy workaround that is less precise and should only be used for backward compatibility with very old systems.
  • For robust, non-interactive scripts, the best syntax is TIMEOUT /T <seconds> /NOBREAK > NUL. This provides a guaranteed, silent delay.

By using TIMEOUT correctly, you can write smarter scripts that can gracefully wait for other processes, pace themselves, or react to events in a controlled manner.

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