Windows Management Instrumentation Command-line (WMIC) removal from Windows

Summary

The Windows Management Instrumentation Command-line (WMIC) tool is progressing toward the next phase for removal from Windows. WMIC will be removed when upgrading to Windows 11, version 25H2. All later releases for Windows 11 will not include WMIC added by default. A new installation of Windows 11, version 24H2 already has WMIC removed by default (it’s only installable as an optional feature). Importantly, only the WMIC tool is being removed – Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) itself remains part of Windows. Microsoft recommends using PowerShell and other modern tools for any tasks previously done with WMIC. This change will streamline Windows by removing an outdated component without losing any management capabilities in Windows. By preparing now, you can help ensure a smooth transition in Windows.

Note This article builds on earlier announcements: “WMIC utility deprecation: Next steps” blog, Deprecated features for Windows client documentation, Features Removed or Deprecated in Windows Server 2012 documentation, and the Important note on the WMI command-line (WMIC) utility support article.

Mitigation guidance

If you have been using WMIC for administrative tasks or in applications, migrate away from WMIC and use supported alternatives. The primary action is to stop using wmic.exe and use PowerShell (or another WMI interface) instead. Remember that Windows is not losing any functionality — you can still query and manage everything you could before, just with different tools. The resources and documentation on WMI in PowerShell provide guidance to make this transition easier. Taking these mitigation steps now will help ensure that when WMIC is removed, your workflows will continue without interruption. Here are the key recommendations to prepare for the removal of WMIC:

• Use PowerShell for WMI tasks. PowerShell includes built-in cmdlets for Windows Management Instrumentation that can do everything WMIC did (and more). Common WMIC queries can be directly replaced with PowerShell commands. For example, to return a list of process names:

  • Replace the WMIC query: wmic path win32_process get Name.

  • Use the PowerShell command instead: Get-CimInstance Win32_Process | Select-Object Name.

  ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​If you have batch files or scripts that call WMIC, plan to rewrite them using PowerShell cmdlets (such as Get-CimInstance, Get-WmiObject, Invoke-CimMethod, and so forth). If needed, run PowerShell from a CMD prompt using powershell -c "<command>" syntax. So, even in command-line contexts, you can invoke PowerShell commands to replace WMIC..

• Consider programmatic alternatives. If you have applications or advanced scripts that use WMIC, you can achieve the same results by querying WMI through other means. For instance, you can use WMI’s COM API or .NET libraries (like System.Management in C#) to execute WMI queries directly in code. Scripting languages can also interact with WMI without WMIC. Any capability you used in WMIC is provided by the underlying WMI infrastructure, which you can access through PowerShell or programming interfaces. Microsoft documentation contains examples of how to perform WMI operations in code. Shifting to these methods will help ensure your tools continue to work after WMIC is gone.

• Update documentation and processes. Update any internal IT documentation, support scripts, or user guides that referenced WMIC commands to reflect the new approach. For example, if a support article tells users to run a WMIC command to gather information, rewrite it to use PowerShell or programmatic interfaces. This will help prevent confusion once WMIC is no longer available. Likewise, if any automated deployment or monitoring system in your environment uses WMIC, update it to use an alternative before the WMIC removal takes effect.

Frequently asked questions