gsudo

While there is no sudo command in Windows per se, the closest thing to it is “run as administrator”. Even so, running processes or programs via an Administrator account does not come with elevated privileges. In fact, even though the account credentials may have administrator permissions, the processes under this do not, unless they are elevated.

This is where tools like gsudo comes in, a simple CLI utility that allows you to run apps with elevated rights without spawning a new console host window. As the name suggests, the idea behind the tool is to provide a Linux sudo equivalent on Windows operating systems that provide run commands with elevated permissions as well as elevate the current shell console window.

According to the developer, the commands are displayed in the current user-level console window by default. In the eventuality that a new cli is required with elevated privileges, then you need to use -n command to open the new window. The utility can be used in conjunction with scripts that need elevated access. In the eventuality that you want to skip switching from one console to another, it is recommended to invoke the app with parameters from an already elevated console window.

Another noteworthy feature of the program is the credential cache, which permits you to access several elevations via a single UAC pop-up. On a side note, by default, the tool shows a UAC every time you call it. If you want to access the cache, you need to specify it and select one of the available modes, namely auto or explicit.

While an overall convenient gsudo option, you should bear in mind that this is safe to access only if you are absolutely sure that your system does not include a virus or malicious process. Since the elevation in this case occurs again silently, it means that malware could easily inject its code into the allowed process.