When you purchase a license for Total Commander (which is a one-time payment with updates up to version 3.0 of the current major version—e.g., version 9.x, 10.x, 11.x), you receive an email from the author, Christian Ghisler. Attached to that email is a small text file named wincmd.key .
<TotalCmd> <Username>John Doe</Username> <key>12345678-12345678-12345678-12345678-12345678</key> <Signature>ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890</Signature> </TotalCmd> This is not just plain text. The <Signature> field is a cryptographic hash that Total Commander validates against the username and key. If you edit even one character, the signature becomes invalid, and Total Commander will reject the license. Conclusion: Master Your Total Commander License The wincmd.key file may be small, but it is the key (pun intended) to unlocking the full potential of the most powerful file manager on Windows. By understanding where it goes, how to troubleshoot it, and how to back it up, you ensure that your workflow remains uninterrupted.
Place wincmd.key in a cloud-synced folder (e.g., D:\Cloud\Tools ). Then, on each PC, open an administrator Command Prompt and run:
But if you have ever installed Total Commander on a new PC, transferred your settings, or faced a "nag screen" asking you to press "1-2-3," you have encountered a small but critical file: .
Total Commander (originally Windows Commander ) is widely regarded as the gold standard for file management on Windows. For over two decades, it has been the go-to tool for power users, developers, and IT professionals.
| CentOS 7 3.10.0-1160 | CentOS 8 4.18.0-348 | Debian 9 4.9.0-16 | Debian 10 4.19.0-17 | Debian 11 5.10.0-8 | Debian 12 6.1.0-18 | Fedora 35 5.16.18-200 | OpenSUSE 15.3 5.3.18-59.19 | Ubuntu 16 4.15.0-142 | Ubuntu 18 4.15.0-159 | Ubuntu 20 5.13.0-28 | Ubuntu 22 5.15.0-30 | |
| APCI-1016 | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | IN PROGRESS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS |
| APCI-1032 | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | IN PROGRESS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS |
| APCI-1500 | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | IN PROGRESS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS |
| APCI-1516 | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | IN PROGRESS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS |
| APCI-1564 | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | IN PROGRESS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS |
| APCI-1648 | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | IN PROGRESS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS |
| APCI-1696 | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | IN PROGRESS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS |
| APCI-1710 / APCIe-1711 | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS |
| APCI-1712 | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | IN PROGRESS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS |
| APCI-2016 | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | IN PROGRESS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS |
| APCI-2032 | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | IN PROGRESS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS |
| APCI-2200 | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | IN PROGRESS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS |
| APCI-3001 | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | IN PROGRESS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS |
| APCI-3120 | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | IN PROGRESS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS |
| APCI-3200 | IN PROGRESS | IN PROGRESS | IN PROGRESS | IN PROGRESS | IN PROGRESS | IN PROGRESS | IN PROGRESS | IN PROGRESS | IN PROGRESS | IN PROGRESS | PASS | IN PROGRESS |
| APCI-3504 | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | IN PROGRESS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS |
| APCI-3600 | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | IN PROGRESS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS |
| APCI-3701 | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | IN PROGRESS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS |
| APCIe-040 | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | IN PROGRESS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS |
| APCIe-1516 | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | IN PROGRESS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS |
| APCIe-1532 | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | IN PROGRESS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS |
| APCIe-1564 | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | IN PROGRESS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS |
| APCIe-1711 | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | IN PROGRESS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS |
| APCIe-2032 | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | IN PROGRESS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS |
| APCIe-2200 | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | IN PROGRESS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS |
| xPCI-3xxx | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS | PASS |