How to convert a BAT script to an EXE on Windows 10
Batch scripts are a pretty good way to run command line commands, especially if you need a scheduled task to run them. Of course a batch script is used in other ways as well and if there’s an impediment or software limitation that prevents you from using a BAT file, you can convert a BAT script to an EXE.
Converting a BAT script to an EXE is simple but the results vary. This is because a script, when run in the command prompt, can display results e.g., the ping value you get within the Command Prompt itself. If you turn a BAT script into an EXE, the EXE may run correctly but it won’t automatically get a GUI to display any results. You can work around this by editing the BAT script and allowing it to display results outside the command prompt.
BAT script to EXE
There are quite a few apps that let you convert a BAT script to an EXE. You can try either BAT to Exe or BAT 2 EXE. Both work more or less the same but BAT 2 EXE is built for just this one purpose while BAT to EXE has a few additional features including a script editor.
Make sure you have your BAT file ready and move it to a folder. Run BAT 2 EXE and in the GUI that opens alongside the Command Prompt window, select the folder that the batch file you want to convert to EXE is in. Next, select where you want to save the EXE that will be created.
Give the app a few seconds to convert the script and the EXE will be saved to the location you selected. It will have the same name as BAT script that it was created from. You can double-click and run it. You may have to authenticate with the admin user to run the app.
That’s all it takes. The EXE will not be installable since it came from a script. It will function as a portable app that you can run from various automating tools. For EXEs that require admin permission to run, the tool that you use to run it must have some way of automating the authentication process.
There are different ways to convert a BAT script into an EXE e.g. you can use scripts to do the trick or you can use a Windows tool called iexpress.exe though using it is a bit complicated. The advantage of using a GUI tool like BAT 2 EXE is that it’s simple. If you’ve tried both the apps recommended in this post and you’re still having trouble getting the EXE to run, it’s either a limitation of what the script does or you need to manually convert it.
