How to Copy List of File and Folder Names to Clipboard in Windows 11

When managing a large collection of files and folders, you might sometimes need to create a list of their names — for documentation, reporting, or sharing purposes. Unfortunately, Windows 11 doesn’t offer a direct “Copy file names” option in File Explorer. However, there are several simple ways to copy file and folder names to the clipboard. Here’s how you can do it.

Method 1: Copy File and Folder Names Using File Explorer

If you prefer a graphical interface, File Explorer offers a built-in shortcut to copy file and folder names (including their full paths) directly to your clipboard.

1. Open File Explorer and go to the files or folders whose contents you want to list.

2. Select the files and folders you want to copy. You can press Ctrl + A to select all items.

3. Hold down the Shift key and right-click on the selected items.

4. Click Copy as path from the context menu.

5. This copies the full file paths (for example, C:UsersYourNameDocumentsReport.docx) to your clipboard. You can now paste (Ctrl + V) the list into Notepad, Excel, Word or any other text editor.

Tip: If you only need the file names (not full paths), you can use the Alt key and vertical selection or Find & Replace to remove the path details like this:

Method 2: Using Command Prompt

For a cleaner list (just the names, without full paths), you can use Command Prompt. 

1. Press Win + S, type cmd, and select Run as administrator.

2. Navigate to the target folder using the cd command. For example:

cd "C:UsersYourNameDocuments"

3. Then type this command and press Enter:

dir /b | clip

If you want to include all files and folders in subdirectories, use:

dir /b /s | clip

Here’s what it does:

• dir /b lists only the file and folder names (bare format).
• | clip sends that list directly to the Windows clipboard.
• /s adds all files and folders from subdirectories.

Now you can paste the list into any text document or email using Ctrl + V.

Conclusion

You no longer need to manually transcribe file names. With these simple built-in Windows 11 tricks, you can generate a list of file and folder names in seconds and have it ready on your clipboard to paste wherever you need it.