appcmd.exe is a command line tool that comes with IIS 7 and above, which can be used to efficiently manage IIS. 1. Can be used to manage sites and applications, such as starting and stopping sites (such as appcmd stop site /site.name:"MySite"), list running sites, and add or delete applications. 2. You can configure the application pool, including creating (appcmd add apppool /name:MyAppPool), setting the .NET CLR version (appcmd set apppool /apppool.name:MyAppPool /managedRuntimeVersion:v4.0), deleting or retrieving the application pool. 3. Support editing configuration settings, such as enabling detailed error information (appcmd set config "MySite" -section:httpErrors /mode:Detailed) or unlocking configuration section. 4. Use suggestions include running command prompts as administrators, using quotes for names with spaces, combining other CLI tools, and filtering output results with findstr.

Managing IIS from the command line can be powerful, especially when you want to automate tasks or work on servers without a GUI. One of the built-in tools for this is appcmd.exe , which comes with IIS 7 and above.

If you're looking to manage IIS through the command line efficiently, appcmd.exe is a solid choice — no need to install extra tools.

Managing Sites and Applications

One of the most common uses of appcmd.exe is managing websites and applications in IIS.

You can easily start, stop, or recycle sites using simple commands. For example:

• To stop a site:
  appcmd stop site /site.name:"MySite"

• To start it again:
  appcmd start site /site.name:"MySite"

You can also list all running sites with:
appcmd list site

This becomes handy when you're scripting deployment steps or troubleshooting issues remotely.

Applications under a site can be added or removed too. Adding an application looks like this:
appcmd add app /site.name:"MySite" /path:/myapp /physicalPath:C:\MyApp

It's a clean way to script your IIS configuration changes without touching the GUI.

Configuring Application Pools

Application pools are cruel for performance and isolation in IIS, and appcmd lets you handle them directly from the command line.

You can create a new application pool like so:
appcmd add apppool /name:MyAppPool

And set its .NET CLR version or pipeline mode if needed:
appcmd set apppool /apppool.name:MyAppPool /managedRuntimeVersion:v4.0

To delete or recycle a pool:

• Delete: appcmd delete apppool /apppool.name:MyAppPool
• Recycle: appcmd recycle apppool /apppool.name:MyAppPool

These commands help when you're managing multiple environments or automated resets during deployments.

Editing Configuration Settings

Sometimes you need to tweak IIS settings without manually editing the web.config or applicationHost.config files.

With appcmd, you can modify settings directly. For instance, to enable detailed error messages for a site:
appcmd set config "MySite" -section:httpErrors /mode:Detailed

Or unlock a section in the config so it can be edited in web.config:
appcmd unlock config -section:system.webServer/rewrites

This gives you granular control over IIS behavior from scripts or deployment pipelines, reducing manual intervention.

Tips for Using appcmd Effectively

Here are a few things that make working with appcmd smoother:

• Run Command Prompt as Administrator — otherwise, some commands might fail due to permission issues.
• Use quotes around names with spaces, like "My Site Name" .
• Combine appcmd with other CLI tools (like PowerShell) for more powerful automation.
• Pipe output to findstr for filtering results, eg, appcmd list apppools | findstr MyAppPool

Once you get used to it, appcmd becomes a fast and reliable tool for managing IIS from the command line.

That's basically how you use appcmd.exe for day-to-day IIS management. It's not flashy, but it gets the job done — especially when you're scripting or working headless.

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