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The following table describes the notation used to indicate command-line syntax.

---
title: "Command-Line Syntax Notation"
subtitle: "Command-Line Syntax Key"
author: Microsoft
date: October 15, 2017
source: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/command-line-syntax-key
notoc: true
---

The following table describes the notation used to indicate command-line syntax.

|             Notation              |                  Description                       |
|-----------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------|
| Text without brackets or braces   | Items you must type as shown                       |
| `<`Text inside angle brackets`>`  | Placeholder for which you must supply a value      |
| `[`Text inside square brackets`]` | Optional items                                     |
| `{`Text inside braces`}`          | Set of required items; choose one                  |
| Vertical bar Vertical bar (`|`)   | Separator for mutually exclusive items; choose one |
| Ellipsis (`...`)                  | Items that can be repeated                         |