Execute a program under a different user account (non-elevated).
Syntax
RUNAS [ [/noprofile | /profile] [/env] [/savecred | /netonly] ]
/user:UserName program
RUNAS [ [/noprofile | /profile] [/env] [/savecred] ]
/smartcard [/user:UserName] program
Display the trust levels that can be used:
RUNAS /showtrustlevels
Run a program at a given TrustLevel:
RUNAS /trustlevel:TrustLevel program
Key
/noprofile Do not load the user's profile.
This causes the application to load more quickly, but
can cause some applications to malfunction.
/profile Load the user's profile. (default)
/env Use the current environment instead of user's.
/netonly Use the credentials for remote access only.
/savecred Use credentials previously saved by the user.
This option is not available on Windows 7 Home or
Starter Editions and will be ignored.
/smartcard Load the credentials from a smartcard.
/user UserName in the form USER@DOMAIN or DOMAIN\USER
/trustlevel Level One of levels enumerated in /showtrustlevels.
RunAs is not able to launch an application with an elevated
access token.
program The program to run.
Enter the password when prompted.
/profile is not compatible with /netonly.
/savecred is not compatible with /smartcard.
When you start a program with RunAs /netonly, the program will execute on your local computer as the user you are currently logged on as, but any connections to other computers on the network will be made using the user account specified.
Without /netonly everything will run under the user account specified.
The RUNAS command unlike most other CMD and DOS commands requires that it’s command line is quoted, it uses the regular C runtime library command line parser. This also means that RUNAS requires the backslash \ as an escape character, not the standard ^ escape used by other CMD commands.
RunAs Reqires the "Secondary Logon" service to be running.
The error level %ERRORLEVEL% returned by RunAs: success = 0, failure = 1
In Windows Vista and above, you can run a script with elevated permissions by right clicking and choosing "Run As Administrator"
The RunAs command predates elevation, so it has no switch for running an elevated command.
An alternative is to invoke the UAC dialogue by calling the VBScript .ShellExecute function.If you are already running elevated, for example an elevated CMD shell, then RUNAS will launch an application as elevated, but this is equally true just running them without RUNAS, it makes no difference.
When a script is run with elevated permissions several aspects of the user environment will change: The current directory, the current TEMP folder and any mapped drives will be disconnected.
Select an executable file, Shift-Right-click and select Run As..
This option can be hidden by setting
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
HideRunAsVerb=1
Examples
Run notepad.exe as the user Jdoe on domain SS64dom with no profile:
C:\> Runas /noprofile /user:SS64Dom\jDoe "notepad.exe"
Run CMD.exe as the Administrator on the local machine Dellpc64:
C:\> Runas /profile /user:DELLPC64\administrator CMD
Run Notepad.exe as 'Natasha' on domain SS64dom using the current environment, and open a file, escape the quote characters around the filename with \ :
C:\> Runas /profile /env /user:SS64Dom\natasha "notepad \"C:\work\demo file.txt\""
Run Active Directory Users and Computers (dsa.msc) as the user Jdoe on domain SS64dom:
C:\> Runas /env /user:SS64Dom\jDoe "mmc %windir%\system32\dsa.msc"
“He who reigns within himself, and rules passions, desires, and fears, is more than a king” ~ Milton
Related:
ShellRunAs - Run a command under a different user account.
Aaron Margosis - Running with least privilege.
joeware.net - CPAU (Create Process
As User) like RunAs but with an options to encrypt the password.
PsExec - Execute process remotely.
Logon Types - Windows Logon types.
PowerShell: Run As Admin /
elevation
Equivalent bash command (Linux): SU - Switch User.