2 Methods to Get CPU Architecture on Windows

Identifying the CPU architecture in a Windows environment is often necessary when installing applications, selecting compatible binaries, or troubleshooting system behavior. The architecture indicates whether the system is based on x86 (32-bit), x86-64 (AMD64), or ARM64. This tutorial provides 2 methods how to get CPU architecture on Windows.

Method 1 - CMD

The Command Prompt provides a straightforward way to display the processor architecture using an environment variable.

echo %PROCESSOR_ARCHITECTURE%

Example output:

AMD64

Other outputs could be: ARM64, x86.

Method 2 - PowerShell

PowerShell offers another quick method by accessing the same environment variable through its own syntax.

$env:PROCESSOR_ARCHITECTURE