An A-Z Index of Windows PowerShell commands

%
?

Alias for ForEach-Object

Alias for Where-Object

a
Get-Acl

Get permission settings for a file or registry

key
Set-Acl
Active Directory
Get-Alias
gal
Import-Alias
ipal
New-Alias
nal
Set-Alias
sal
Compress-Archive
Expand-Archive
5+]
Get-AuthenticodeSignature
Set-AuthenticodeSignature
file
b
Begin
BITS
Break
c
Catch
Set-Location cd/chdir/sl
Get-ChildItem
dir/ls/gci
registry key)
Clear-Host
clear/cls
Clear-Item
cli
Get-Command
gcm
Measure-Command
Trace-Command
Add-Computer
Checkpoint-Computer
Remove-Computer
domain
Restart-Computer
Restore-Computer
Stop-Computer
Reset-ComputerMachinePassword
computer
Test-ComputerSecureChannel
domain
Add-Content
ac
Get-Content cat/type/gc
Set-Content
sc
Clear-Content
clc
Continue
Get-Command
gcm
Invoke-Command
icm
Enable-ComputerRestore
Disable-ComputerRestore
Get-ComputerRestorePoint
Test-Connection
ConvertFrom-CSV
CSV objects

pg. 1

Set permissions
Account, Computer, Group and User cmdlets
Return alias names for Cmdlets
Import an alias list from a file
Create a new alias.
Create or change an alias
Create a new archive/zipped file [PS 5+]
Extract files from an archive (zipped) file [PS
Get the signature object associated with a file
Place a signature in a .ps1 script or other

Function BEGIN block

Background Intelligent Transfer Service cmdlets
Exit a program loop
Handle a terminating error within a scriptblock
Set the current working location
Get child items (contents of a folder or
Clear the screen
Remove content from a variable or an alias
Retrieve basic information about a command
Measure running time
Trace an expression or command
Add a computer to the domain
Create a system restore point (XP)
Remove the local computer from a workgroup or
Restart the operating system on a computer
Restore the computer to a previous state
Stop (shut down) a computer
Reset the machine account password for the
Test and repair the secure channel to the
Add to the content of the item
Get content from item (specific location)
Set content in the item (specific location)
Remove content from a file/item
Skip just this iteration of a loop
Get basic information about cmdlets
Run command
Enable System Restore on a drive
Disable System Restore on a drive
Get the restore points on the local computer
Ping one or more computers
Convert object properties (in CSV format) into

An A-Z Index of Windows PowerShell commands

ConvertTo-CSV
Convert .NET Framework objects into CSV
variable-length strings
ConvertTo-Html
Convert the input into an HTML table
ConvertTo-Xml
Convert the input into XML
ConvertFrom-SecureString
Convert a secure string into an encrypted
standard string
ConvertTo-SecureString
Convert an encrypted standard string into a
secure string
Copy-Item
copy/cp/ci
Copy an item from a namespace location
Export-Counter
Export Performance Counter data to log files
Get-Counter
Get performance counter data
Import-Counter
Import performance counter log files
Get-Credential
Get a security credential (username/password)
Get-Culture
Get region information (language and keyboard
layout)
d
Get-ChildItem
Dir/ls/gci Get child items (contents of a folder or
registry key)
Get-Date
Get current date and time
Set-Date
Set system time on the host system
Remove-Item Del/erase/rd/rm/rmdir
Delete an item
Compare-Object diff/compare
Compare the properties of objects
Do
Loop while a condition is True
Get-DscConfiguration
Get the current config. of a node
Get-DscLocalConfigurationManager
Get Local Config Manager settings
Get-DscResource
Get Desired State Config. resources from a
computer
New-DSCCheckSum
Create checksum files for DSC docs/resources
Start-DscConfiguration
Apply Desired State config to nodes
e
End
Function END block
Get-Event
Get events in the PowerShell event queue
New-Event
Create a new event
Remove-Event
Delete events from the event queue
Unregister-Event
Cancel an event subscription
Wait-Event
Wait until a particular event is raised
Clear-EventLog
Delete all entries from an event log
Get-Eventlog
Get event log data (2003)
Limit-EventLog
Limit the size of the event log
New-Eventlog
Create a new event log and a new event source
Remove-EventLog
Delete an event log
Show-EventLog
Display an event log
Write-EventLog
Write an event to an event log
Get-WinEvent
Get event log data (Vista+)
Get-EventSubscriber
Get event subscribers
Register-EngineEvent
Subscribe to PowerShell events
Register-ObjectEvent
Subscribe to .NET events
Register-WmiEvent
Subscribe to a WMI event
Get-ExecutionPolicy
Get the execution policy for the shell
Set-ExecutionPolicy
Change the execution policy (user preference)
Export-Alias
epal Export an alias list to a file
Export-Clixml
Produce a clixml representation of PowerShell
objects
Export-Console
Export console configuration to a file
Export-Csv
epcsv Export to Comma Separated Values (spreadsheet)
Exit-PSSession
Exit Exit PowerShell (or exit a script)

pg. 2

An A-Z Index of Windows PowerShell commands

f
-F operator
Format operator
ForEach-Object
foreach Loop through each item in the pipeline ( % )
ForEach
Loop through each item in a collection
For
Loop through items that match a condition
Format-Custom
fc
Format output using a customized view
Format-List
fl
Format output as a list of properties, each on
a new line
Format-Table
ft
Format output as a table
Format-Wide
fw
Format output as a table listing one property
only
Export-FormatData
Save formatting data from the current session
Get-FormatData
Get the formatting data in the current session
g
Get-Item
gi
Get a file/registry object (or any other
namespace object)
Get-ChildItem
dir/ls/gci Get child items (contents of a folder or
registry key)
h
Get-Help
help
Open the help file
Add-History
Add entries to the session history
Clear-History
clhy
Delete entries from the session history
Get-History history/h/ghy Get a listing of the session history
Invoke-History
r/ihy
Invoke a previously executed Cmdlet
Get-Host
Get host information (PowerShell Version and
Region)
Clear-Host
clear/cls Clear the screen
Read-Host
Read a line of input from the host console
Write-Host
Write customized output to the host/screen
Get-HotFix
Get Installed hotfixes
i
if
Conditionally perform a command
Import-Clixml
Import a clixml file and rebuild the PS object
Import-Csv
ipcsv
Take values from a CSV list and send objects
down the pipeline
Invoke-Command
Run commands on local and remote computers
Invoke-Expression
iex
Run a PowerShell expression
Get-Item
gi
Get a file object or get a registry (or other
namespace) object
Invoke-Item
ii
Invoke an executable or open a file (START)
New-Item
md/mkdir/ni Create a new item in a namespace
Remove-Item rm/del/erase/rd/ri/rmdir
Remove an item
Set-Item
si
Change the value of an item
Clear-ItemProperty clp
Remove the property value from a property
Copy-ItemProperty cpp
Copy a property along with it's value
Get-ItemProperty
gp
Retrieve the properties of an object
Move-ItemProperty
mp
Move a property from one location to another
New-ItemProperty
Set a new property
Remove-ItemProperty
rp
Remove a property and its value
Rename-ItemProperty rnp
Renames a property at its location
Set-ItemProperty
sp
Set a property at the specified location to a
specified value
j
Get-Job
gjb
Get PowerShell background jobs that are running
Receive-Job
rcjb
Get PowerShell background job results
Remove-Job
rjb
Delete a PowerShell background job

pg. 3

An A-Z Index of Windows PowerShell commands

Start-Job
sajb
Stop-Job
spjb
Wait-Job
wjb
Job Trigger cmdlets

Start a PowerShell background job

Stop a PowerShell background job
Wait for a background job
Get/Set Scheduled job triggers

k
Stop-Process
kill/spps Stop a running process
l
Update-List
Add and remove items from a collection
Get-Location
pwd / gl
Get and display the current location
Pop-Location
popd
Set the current working location from the stack
Push-Location
pushd
Push a location to the stack
Set-Location cd/chdir/sl Set the current working location
m
Send-MailMessage
Send an email message
Add-Member
Add a member to an instance of a PowerShell
object
Get-Member
gm
Enumerate the properties of an object
Get-Module
gmo
Get the modules imported to the session
Import-Module
ipmo
Add a module to the session
New-Module
nmo
Create a new dynamic module (only in memory)
Remove-Module
rmo
Remove a module from the current session
Export-ModuleMember
Export specific module members
Move-Item
mv/move/mi Move an item from one location to another
o
Compare-Object diff/compare Compare the properties of objects
Group-Object
group Group objects that contain the same value
Measure-Object
Measure the properties of an object
New-Object
Create a new .Net object
Select-Object
select Select properties of objects
Sort-Object
sort Sort objects by property value
Where-Object
Filter the objects passed along the command
pipeline
Out-Default
Send output to default
Out-File
Send output to a file
Out-GridView
ogv
Send output to an interactive table
Out-Host
oh
Send output to the host
Out-Null
Send output to null
Out-Printer
lp
Send the output to a printer
Out-String
Send objects to the host as strings
p
Param
Script Parameters
Pause
Pause and display the message "Press Enter to
continue"
Powershell
Launch a PowerShell session
Convert-Path
cvpa
Convert a ps path to a provider path
Join-Path
Combine a path and child-path
Resolve-Path
rvpa
Resolves the wildcards in a path
Split-Path
Return part of a path
Test-Path
Return true if the path exists, otherwise
return false
Get-Pfxcertificate
Get pfx certificate information
Pop-Location
popd
Set the current working location from the stack
Push-Location
pushd
Push a location to the stack
Process
Function PROCESS block
Get-Process
ps/gps
Get a list of processes on a machine
Debug-Process
Attach a debugger to a running process

pg. 4

An A-Z Index of Windows PowerShell commands

Start-Process start/saps Start one or more processes
Stop-Process
kill/spps Stop a running process
Wait-Process
Wait for a process to stop
Enable-PSBreakpoint ebp
Enable a breakpoint in the current console
Disable-PSBreakpoint dbp
Disable a breakpoint in the current console
Get-PSBreakpoint gbp
Get the currently set breakpoints
Set-PSBreakpoint sbp
Set a breakpoint on a line, command, or
variable
Remove-PSBreakpoint rbp
Delete breakpoints from the current console
Get-PSDrive
gdr
Get drive information (DriveInfo)
New-PSDrive
mount/ndr Create a mapped network drive.
Remove-PSDrive
rdr
Remove a provider/drive from its location
Get-PSProvider
Get information for the specified provider
Set-PSdebug
Turn script debugging on or off
Enter-PSSession etsn
Start an interactive session with a remote
computer
Exit-PSSession exsn
End an interactive session with a remote
computer
Export-PSSession epsn
Import commands and save them in a PowerShell
module
Get-PSSession
gsn
Get the PSSessions in the current session
Import-PSSession ipsn
Import commands from another session
New-PSSession
nsn
Create a persistent connection to a local or
remote computer
Remove-PSSession
rsn
Close PowerShell sessions
Disable-PSSessionConfiguration Deny access to PS session configuration
Enable-PSSessionConfiguration Enable PS session configuration
Get-PSSessionConfiguration Get the registered PS session
configuration
Register-PSSessionConfiguration Create and register a new PS session
configuration
Set-PSSessionConfiguration Change properties of a registered session
configuration
Unregister-PSSessionConfiguration Delete registered PS session
configuration
New-PSSessionOption
Advanced options for a PSSession
Add-PsSnapIn
asnp
Add snap-ins to the console
Get-PsSnapin
gsnp
List PowerShell snap-ins on this computer
Remove-PSSnapin
rsnp
Remove PowerShell snap-ins from the console
q
Quest AD cmdlets
Read and write to Active Directory
r
Get-Random
Get a random number
Read-Host
Read a line of input from the host console
Remove-Item rm/del/erase/rd/ri/rmdir
Remove an item
Rename-Item
ren/rni
Change the name of an existing item
Rename-ItemProperty
Rename a property of an item
Return
Exit the current scope, (function, script, or
script block)
Run/Call
&
Run a command (call operator)
s
Scheduler cmdlets
Get/Set scheduled jobs
Select-Object
select
Select properties of objects
Select-XML
Find text in an XML string or document
Send-MailMessage
Send an email message
Get-Service
gsv
Get a list of services

pg. 5

An A-Z Index of Windows PowerShell commands

New-Service
Restart-Service
Resume-Service
Set-Service
Start-Service
sasv
Stop-Service
spsv
Suspend-Service
Sort-Object
sort
Set-StrictMode
Start-Sleep
sleep
Switch
ConvertFrom-StringData
Select-String

Create a new service

Stop and then restart a service
Resume a suspended service
Change the start mode/properties of a service
Start a stopped service
Stop a running service
Suspend a running service
Sort objects by property value
Enforce coding rules in expressions & scripts
Suspend shell, script, or runspace activity
Multiple if statements
Convert a here-string into a hash table
Search through strings or files for patterns

t
Tee-Object
tee
Send input objects to two places
New-Timespan
Create a timespan object
Trace-Command
Trace an expression or command
Get-Tracesource
Get components that are instrumented for
tracing.
Set-Tracesource
Trace a PowerShell component
Start-Transaction
Start a new transaction
Complete-Transaction
Commit the transaction
Get-Transaction
Get information about the active transaction
Use-Transaction
Add a command or expression to the transaction
Undo-Transaction
Roll back a transaction
Start-Transcript
Start a transcript of a command shell session
Stop-Transcript
Stop the transcription process
Trap
Handle a terminating error
Try ... Catch
Handle a terminating error within a scriptblock
Add-Type
Add a .NET Framework type to a PowerShell
session
Update-TypeData
Update extended type configuration
u
Get-Uiculture
Get the ui culture information
Get-Unique
gu
Get the unique items in a collection
Update-Formatdata
Update and append format data files
Update-Help
Download and install help files
Update-Typedata
Update the current extended type configuration
v
Clear-Variable
clv
Remove the value from a variable
Get-Variable
gv
Get a PowerShell variable
New-Variable
nv
Create a new variable
Remove-Variable
rv
Remove a variable and its value
Set-Variable
set/sv
Set a variable and a value
w
Checkpoint-WebApplicationMonitoring Create a checkpoint for an IIS web app
Get-WebApplicationMonitoringStatus Get the monitoring status of web apps
New-WebServiceProxy
Create a Web service proxy object
Where-Object
where/? Filter input from the pipeline
Where
Filter objects from the pipeline
While
Loop while a condition is True
Add-WindowsFeature
Install roles, role services, and features
Get-WindowsFeature
Retrieve roles, role services, and features
Remove-WindowsFeature
Remove roles, role services, and features
Write-Debug
Write a debug message to the host display
Write-Error
Write an object to the error pipeline

pg. 6

An A-Z Index of Windows PowerShell commands

Write-Host
Write-Output
write/echo
Write-Progress
Write-Verbose
Write-Warning
Set-WmiInstance
class
Invoke-WmiMethod
iwmi
Get-WmiObject
gwmi
Remove-WmiObject
rwmi
Connect-WSMan
computer
Disconnect-WSMan
computer
Test-WSMan
Invoke-WSManAction
Disable-WSManCredSSP
(SSP) authentication
Enable-WSManCredSSP
Get-WSManCredSSP
New-WSManInstance
Get-WSManInstance
Set-WSManInstance
resource
Remove-WSManInstance
Set-WSManQuickConfig
management
New-WSManSessionOption
Zipfile
#
. (source)
& (call)
%
--%
?
$variable = "value"
$_
@(...)

Display text on screen

Write an object to the pipeline
Display a progress bar
Write a string to the host's verbose display
Write a string in reverse video to the display
Create or update an instance of an existing WMI
Call WMI methods
Get WMI class information
Delete an instance of a WMI class
Connect to the WinRM service on a remote
Disconnect from the WinRM service on a remote
Test whether the WinRM service is running
Invoke an action on a specified object
Disable Credential Security Service Provider
Enable Credential SSP authentication
Get the Credential SSP configuration
Create a new instance of a management resource
Display management information (XML or value)
Modify the management information related to a
Delete a management resource instance
Configure the local computer for remote
Options for WSMan commands
Compress or Extract zip files
Comment / Remark
Run a command script in the current shell
Run a command, script or function
Alias for ForEach-Object
Stop parsing input
Alias for Where-Object
Define a variable also: ${n!a#me} = "value"
The current pipeline object
Force an expression to be evaluated as an array

The cmdlets on this page are listed in A-Z order, matching either the Verb- or -Noun or Alias of
the cmdlet (some are listed more than once). In addition to the above, PowerShell can also run all
the standard CMD commands (apart from internal commands), plus VBScript and Resource kit
utilities. Call batch files with CMD.exe and VBScripts with cscript.

pg. 7