How to prevent command window from appearing on scheduled tasks on Windows 11, 10

A flashing window appears when running a scheduled task? Here's how to run tasks completely hidden.

Task Scheduler with option to prevent command window
Task Scheduler with option to prevent command window

On Windows 11 (or 10), sometimes it’s necessary to automate certain routine tasks (for example, mount a network drive, launch an app, run a batch file, show a message) and run them at specific scheduled times. Usually, you use Task Scheduler, as it’s a tool designed to execute tasks based on a wide range of criteria.

The only caveat is that while creating a task, you can check a “Hidden” option, but when the task runs, the Task Scheduler will show a command window on the desktop briefly, which is not only annoying, but it’s also a bad user experience.

If you use the Task Scheduler on Windows 11 to run tasks at a specific time or during a trigger event and a command window keeps appearing every time the task runs, it’s possible to configure the task to stop rendering a command window.

In this guide, you’ll learn the steps to configure a scheduled task to run hidden (silent) without flashing a command window every time it runs on Windows 11.

Configure schedule task to run hidden on Task Scheduler

To prevent a command window from appearing when running a scheduled task on Windows 11 (or 10), use these steps:

  1. Open Start.

  2. Search for Task Scheduler, and click the top result to open the app.

  3. Right-click the Task Scheduler Library folder and select the Create Task option.

    Task Scheduler new task option

  4. In the “General” tab, under the “Security options” section, select the “Run whether user is logged on or not” option.

    Quick note: This is the option that will make the command window not appear when the task runs automatically.
  5. Clear the “Do not store password” option.

    New task configuration to run hidden

    Quick note: This is an optional step, but if the task isn’t working, check this option and supply the appropriate credentials to run the task.

Once you select the correct options, continue configuring the task with the command you want to run and schedule, but now every time the scheduled tasks run, users will no longer see a command window flashing.

You can always test the configuration by right-clicking the task and choosing the “Run” option.

About the author

Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 21 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].