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June 11th, 2015 10 reactions

Table of Basic PowerShell Commands

Doctor Scripto
Scripter

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1 od 14 3. 09. 2025, 20:49

Table of Basic PowerShell Commands - Scripting Blog [archived] [Link]

Summary: Ed Wilson, Microsoft Scripting Guy, provides a table of basic Windows PowerShell commands. Microsoft
Scripting Guy, Ed Wilson, is here. Some questions are simply confusing, and other questions
can be misleading, or even wrong. What do I mean? Well, I recently received a question
from a person who wanted to know how to “use WMI to do xyz…” Such a question betrays
an assumption. For example, it may be that the best way to accomplish a specific task is to
not use WMI, but to use “native Windows PowerShell” functionality. Certainly, for example, I
would use Get-Process to retrieve process information on my local computer—unless there
was something that WMI would do differently or provide an alternate capability. At times, I
will clarify a person’s question, intention, and goals. At other times, I will directly answer the
question, and then suggest a better way to accomplish what I think the goal is. Other times,
I will answer what I think their question is and be done with it. When a person asks about
Windows PowerShell commands, are they really talking about native Windows PowerShell
commands (such as the language statements For, Foreach, or Switch)? Or are they talking
about Windows PowerShell cmdlets? Or are they talking about a string of Windows
PowerShell cmdlets that taken together become a unique Windows PowerShell command?
When I am writing my Windows PowerShell books (such as my book, Windows PowerShell
Best Practices), I tend to call a collection of Windows PowerShell cmdlets that are strung
together to accomplish a specific task in a Windows PowerShell command. But at other
times, I actually vary my answer according to what I perceive to be the level of expertise of
the questioner. For example, often people will come to me after I have spoken at a
conference (such as the IT Pro Camp in Jacksonville where Teresa and I will be speaking this
Saturday). If they ask something like, “I know nothing about Windows PowerShell. Can you
tell me the most basic Windows PowerShell commands?” I will not necessarily take the time
to tell them that they are probably asking about cmdlets, not commands.

With this in mind, the following chart lists Windows PowerShell command aliases, the
Windows PowerShell cmdlet name, and a description of what the command actually does.

Command Cmdlet name Description of command

alias

% ForEach-Object Performs an operation against each item in a

collection of input objects.

? Where-Object Selects objects from a collection based on their

property values.

ac Add-Content Appends content, such as words or data, to a

file.

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asnp Add-PSSnapIn Adds one or more Windows PowerShell snap-

ins to the current session.

cat Get-Content Gets the contents of a file.

cd Set-Location Sets the current working location to a specified

location.

chdir Set-Location Sets the current working location to a specified

location.

clc Clear-Content Deletes the contents of an item, but does not

delete the item.

clear Clear-Host Clears the display in the host program.

clhy Clear-History Deletes entries from the command history.

cli Clear-Item Deletes the contents of an item, but does not

delete the item.

clp Clear-ItemProperty Deletes the value of a property but does not

delete the property.

cls Clear-Host Clears the display in the host program.

clv Clear-Variable Deletes the value of a variable.

cnsn Connect-PSSession Reconnects to disconnected sessions

compare Compare-Object Compares two sets of objects.

copy Copy-Item Copies an item from one location to another.

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cp Copy-Item Copies an item from one location to another.

cpi Copy-Item Copies an item from one location to another.

cpp Copy-ItemProperty Copies a property and value from a specified

location to another location.

curl Invoke-WebRequest Gets content from a webpage on the Internet.

cvpa Convert-Path Converts a path from a Windows PowerShell

path to a Windows PowerShell provider path.

dbp Disable-PSBreakpoint Disables the breakpoints in the current

console.

del Remove-Item Deletes files and folders.

diff Compare-Object Compares two sets of objects.

dir Get-ChildItem Gets the files and folders in a file system drive.

dnsn Disconnect-PSSession Disconnects from a session.

ebp Enable-PSBreakpoint Enables the breakpoints in the current console.

echo Write-Output Sends the specified objects to the next

command in the pipeline. If the command is
the last command in the pipeline, the objects
are displayed in the console.

epal Export-Alias Exports information about currently defined

aliases to a file.

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epcsv Export-Csv Converts objects into a series of comma-

separated (CSV) strings and saves the strings in
a CSV file.

epsn Export-PSSession Imports commands from another session and

saves them in a Windows PowerShell module.

erase Remove-Item Deletes files and folders.

etsn Enter-PSSession Starts an interactive session with a remote

computer.

exsn Exit-PSSession Ends an interactive session with a remote

computer.

fc Format-Custom Uses a customized view to format the output.

fl Format-List Formats the output as a list of properties in

which each property appears on a new line.

foreach ForEach-Object Performs an operation against each item in a

collection of input objects.

ft Format-Table Formats the output as a table.

fw Format-Wide Formats objects as a wide table that displays

only one property of each object.

gal Get-Alias Gets the aliases for the current session.

gbp Get-PSBreakpoint Gets the breakpoints that are set in the current
session.

gc Get-Content Gets the contents of a file.

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gc

gci Get-ChildItem Gets the files and folders in a file system drive.

gcm Get-Command Gets all commands.

gcs Get-PSCallStack Displays the current call stack.

gdr Get-PSDrive Gets drives in the current session.

ghy Get-History Gets a list of the commands entered during

the current session.

gi Get-Item Gets files and folders.

gjb Get-Job Gets Windows PowerShell background jobs

that are running in the current session.

gl Get-Location Gets information about the current working

location or a location stack.

gm Get-Member Gets the properties and methods of objects.

gmo Get-Module Gets the modules that have been imported or

that can be imported into the current session.

gp Get-ItemProperty Gets the properties of a specified item.

gps Get-Process Gets the processes that are running on the

local computer or a remote computer.

group Group-Object Groups objects that contain the same value for
specified properties.

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gsn Get-PSSession Gets the Windows PowerShell sessions on local

and remote computers.

gsnp Get-PSSnapIn Gets the Windows PowerShell snap-ins on the

computer.

gsv Get-Service Gets the services on a local or remote

computer.

gu Get-Unique Returns unique items from a sorted list.

gv Get-Variable Gets the variables in the current console.

gwmi Get-WmiObject Gets instances of Windows Management

Instrumentation (WMI) classes or information
about the available classes.

h Get-History Gets a list of the commands entered during

the current session.

history Get-History Gets a list of the commands entered during

the current session.

icm Invoke-Command Runs commands on local and remote

computers.

iex Invoke-Expression Runs commands or expressions on the local

computer.

ihy Invoke-History Runs commands from the session history.

ii Invoke-Item Performs the default action on the specified

item.

ipal Import-Alias Imports an alias list from a file.

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ipal Import-Alias Imports an alias list from a file.

ipcsv Import-Csv Creates table-like custom objects from the

items in a CSV file.

ipmo Import-Module Adds modules to the current session.

ipsn Import-PSSes sion Imports commands from another session into

the current session.

irm Invoke-RestMethod Sends an HTTP or HTTPS request to a RESTful

web service.

ise powershell_ise.exe Explains how to use the PowerShell_ISE.exe

command-line tool.

iwmi Invoke-WMIMethod Calls Windows Management Instrumentation

(WMI) methods.

iwr Invoke-WebRequest Gets content from a web page on the Internet.

kill Stop-Process Stops one or more running processes.

lp Out-Printer Sends output to a printer.

ls Get-ChildItem Gets the files and folders in a file system drive.

man help Displays information about Windows

PowerShell commands and concepts.

md mkdir Creates a new item.

measure Measure-Object Calculates the numeric properties of objects,

and the characters, words, and lines in string

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objects, such as files of text.

mi Move-Item Moves an item from one location to another.

mount New-PSDrive Creates temporary and persistent mapped

network drives.

move Move-Item Moves an item from one location to another.

mp Move-ItemProperty Moves a property from one location to

another.

mv Move-Item Moves an item from one location to another.

nal New-Alias Creates a new alias.

ndr New-PSDrive Creates temporary and persistent mapped

network drives.

ni New-Item Creates a new item.

nmo New-Module Creates a new dynamic module that exists only

in memory.

npssc New- Creates a file that defines a session

PSSessionConfigurationFile configuration.

nsn New-PSSession Creates a persistent connection to a local or

remote computer.

nv New-Variable Creates a new variable.

ogv Out-GridView Sends output to an interactive table in a

separate window.

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separate window.

oh Out-Host Sends output to the command line.

popd Pop-Location Changes the current location to the location

most recently pushed to the stack. You can
pop the location from the default stack or from
a stack that you create by using the Push-
Location cmdlet.

ps Get-Process Gets the processes that are running on the

local computer or a remote computer.

pushd Push-Location Adds the current location to the top of a

location stack.

pwd Get-Location Gets information about the current working

location or a location stack.

r Invoke-History Runs commands from the session history.

rbp Remove-PSBreakpoint Deletes breakpoints from the current console.

rcjb Receive-Job Gets the results of the Windows PowerShell

background jobs in the current session.

rcsn Receive-PSSession Gets results of commands in disconnected

sessions.

rd Remove-Item Deletes files and folders.

rdr Remove-PSDrive Deletes temporary Windows PowerShell drives

and disconnects mapped network drives.

ren Rename-Item Renames an item in a Windows PowerShell

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provider namespace.

ri Remove-Item Deletes files and folders.

Remove-Job Deletes a Windows PowerShell background

rjb job.

rm Remove-Item Deletes files and folders.

rmdir Remove-Item Deletes files and folders.

rmo Remove-Module Removes modules from the current session.

rni Rename-Item Renames an item in a Windows PowerShell

provider namespace.

rnp Rename-ItemProperty Renames a property of an item.

rp Remove-ItemProperty Deletes the property and its value from an

item.

rsn Remove-PSSession Closes one or more Windows PowerShell

sessions (PSSessions).

rsnp Remove-PSSnapin Removes Windows PowerShell snap-ins from

the current session.

rujb Resume-Job Restarts a suspended job

rv Remove-Variable Deletes a variable and its value.

rvpa Resolve-Path Resolves the wildcard characters in a path, and

displays the path contents.

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rwmi Remove-WMIObject Deletes an instance of an existing Windows

Management Instrumentation (WMI) class.

sajb Start-Job Starts a Windows PowerShell background job.

sal Set-Alias Creates or changes an alias (alternate name)

for a cmdlet or other command element in the
current Windows PowerShell session.

saps Start-Process Starts one or more processes on the local

computer.

sasv Start-Service Starts one or more stopped services.

sbp Set-PSBreakpoint Sets a breakpoint on a line, command, or

variable.

sc Set-Content Replaces the contents of a file with contents

that you specify.

select Select-Object Selects objects or object properties.

set Set-Variable Sets the value of a variable. Creates the

variable if one with the requested name does
not exist.

shcm Show-Command Creates Windows PowerShell commands in a

graphical command window.

si Set-Item Changes the value of an item to the valu

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Table of Basic PowerShell Commands - Scripting Blog [archived] [Link]

Category
10 2 4

Scripting

Topics

Fundamentals Getting Started Scripting Guy! Windows PowerShell

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Doctor Scripto
Scripter

The "Scripting Guys" is a historical title passed from scripter to scripter. The current revision has morphed
into our good friend Doctor Scripto who has been with us since the very beginning.

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