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Tutorial Reference

Batch Script While Loop Implementation

Learn how to create a while loop in Batch Script using if statements and labels, with syntax examples and a working loop counter implementation.

The syntax of the general implementation of the while statement is given below:

set counters
:label
if (expression) (
	do_something...
	increment counter
	go back to :label
)

Explanation:

  • The entire while implementation code is placed inside a label.
  • The counter variables must be set or initialized before starting the while loop implementation.
  • The expression for the while condition is executed with the if statement. If the expression is true, the corresponding code within the if loop is executed.
  • A counter must be incremented correctly within the if statement so that the while implementation can terminate at some point in time.
  • Finally, we will go back to our label so that we can evaluate the if statement again.

Example

Example of a while loop in which the variable index is initialized to 1 and incremented with each execution of the while loop until index is less than or equal to the count variable (initialized to 5):

@echo off
set /A "index = 1"
set /A "count = 5"
:while
if %index% leq %count% (
   echo The value of index is %index%
   set /A "index = index + 1"
   goto :while
)
Outputplaintext
The value of index is 1
The value of index is 2
The value of index is 3
The value of index is 4
The value of index is 5
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