How to Get Process ID in Windows Batch File

You can get the process ID (PID) of a running process in a Windows batch file using the tasklist command and parsing the output. Here's how:

Using the `tasklist` Command

Run the tasklist command: This command lists all running processes and their associated information, including the PID.
Filter the output: Use the | findstr command to filter the output based on the process name or other criteria.
Extract the PID: Use the for /f loop to extract the PID from the filtered output.

Here's an example of getting the PID of a process named "notepad.exe":

@echo off
for /f "tokens=2 delims: " %%a in ('tasklist | findstr "notepad.exe"') do set PID=%%a
echo The PID of notepad.exe is: %PID%
pause

Explanation:

@echo off: This line suppresses the echoing of commands in the batch file.
for /f "tokens=2 delims: " %%a in ('tasklist | findstr "notepad.exe"') do set PID=%%a: This line uses the for /f loop to iterate through the output of the tasklist | findstr "notepad.exe" command. The tokens=2 parameter specifies that the second token (separated by a colon) should be extracted, which is the PID. The delims: parameter specifies that the colon character is used as the delimiter between tokens.
echo The PID of notepad.exe is: %PID%: This line prints the PID of the process to the console.
pause: This line pauses the execution of the batch file, allowing you to view the output.

You can use the tasklist command with various options to refine the output. For example, you can use the /FI option to filter by process name, image path, or other criteria.
You can combine the tasklist command with other commands like findstr, grep, or sed to extract specific information from the output.

Remember: The PID of a process can change over time, so it's important to run the batch file each time you need to get the current PID.