Section B.1. Standard Cmdlets

B.1. Standard Cmdlets

The sections that follow have been separated into groups based on the subject of the cmdlet. Remember that get-help supports wildcard syntax, so it is easy to find commands related to a specific cmdlet. For example, to find commands related to get-object, type get-help *-object.

B.1.1. System

Cmdlet	Description
get-command	Returns a list of available commands
invoke-command	Invokes the command specified by the given string (as if it were typed at the prompt)
get-host	Returns information about the MSH host
get-culture	Returns information about the regional settings of the host (as defined in the Regional Settings of the Control Panel)
get-help	Provides built-in help functionality
get-uiculture	Returns information about the regional settings of the host as defined by the selected language on a multi-language operating system

B.1.2. Objects

Cmdlet	Description
foreach-object	Applies script blocks to each object in the pipeline
where-object	Filters the input from the pipeline, allowing operation on only certain objects
get-member	Enumerates properties, methods, type info, and property sets of the objects given to it
new-object	Instantiates a new .NET or COM object
select-object	Selects objects based on parameters set in the cmdlet command string
group-object	Collects objects together based on a common property value
sort-object	Arranges objects in sequence based on a property value

B.1.3. History

Cmdlet	Description
get-history	Returns a list of session history
invoke-history	Invokes an entry from the session history
add-history	Adds an entry to the session history

B.1.4. Cmdlet Providers

Cmdlet	Description
new-drive	Creates a new drive associated with a cmdlet provider
get-provider	Returns a list of all registered cmdlet providers and the drives associated with each provider

B.1.4.1. Drives

Cmdlet	Description
remove-drive	Removes a drive association from a cmdlet provider
get-drive	Returns a list of all drives registered with cmdlet providers

B.1.4.2. Paths and locations

Cmdlet	Description
combine-path	Combines path elements into a single path
convert-path	Converts the path to the item given from an MSH path to a provider path
parse-path	Given an MSH path(s), streams a string with the qualifier, parent path, or leaf item
test-path	Returns true if the path exists, otherwise returns false
resolve-path	Resolves the wildcards in a path
get-location	Displays the current location
set-location	Sets the current working location to a specified location
push-location	Pushes a location to the stack
pop-location	Changes the current working location to the location specified by the last entry pushed onto the stack

B.1.4.3. Properties

Cmdlet	Description
get-property	Retrieves the properties of an object
move-property	Moves a property from one location to another
copy-property	Copies a property between locations or namespaces
clear-property	Removes the property value from a property
new-property	Sets a new property of an item at a location
remove-property	Removes a property and its value from the location
rename-property	Renames a property at its location
set-property	Sets a property at the specified location to a specified value

B.1.4.4. Items

Cmdlet	Description
get-item	Returns an object that represents an item in a namespace
new-item	Creates a new item in a namespace
set-item	Sets the value of a pathname within a provider to the specified value
remove-item	Deletes an item from a provider
move-item	Transfers an item from one location to another, removing the original
rename-item	Changes the name of an existing item
copy-item	Copies an item from one location to another, leaving the original intact
clear-item	Removes the content of an item
invoke-item	Invokes an executable or opens a file
get-childitem	Retrieves the child items of the specified location(s) in a drive
get-acl	Gets the access control list (ACL) associated with a file or item
set-acl	Sets the security ACL for an item or items

B.1.4.5. Content

Cmdlet	Description
add-content	Appends content to a file or creates a file if one does not exist
clear-content	Removes content from a file while leaving the file intact
get-content	Returns the content of a file as a sequence of lines
set-content	Replaces the content of a file with new content

B.1.5. Operating System Components

Cmdlet	Description
get-eventlog	Returns a list of event log entries from a specified event log
get-wmiobject	Returns data from WMI
get-process	Returns a list of running system processes
stop-process	Terminates a running process
get-service	Returns a list of registered system services
stop-service	Terminates a running system service
start-service	Starts a stopped system service
suspend-service	Pauses a running system service
resume-service	Reactivates a paused system service
restart-service	Stops then restarts a system service
set-service	Configures the properties of a registered system service
new-service	Registers a new system service

B.1.6. Output Formatters

Cmdlet	Description
format-list	Formats objects as a list of their properties displayed vertically
format-table	Formats objects as a tabulated list (one line per object)
format-wide	Formats objects as a tabulated list (several objects per line)
out-null	Drops all output
out-default	Sends output to the host; not called from the command line
out-host	Sends output to the host
out-file	Sends output to a file
out-printer	Sends output to a printer
out-string	Sends output to a string
import-csv	Generates a sequence of objects from a comma-separated variable file
export-csv	Writes a sequence of objects to a file in comma-separated form

B.1.7. Aliases

Cmdlet	Description
set-alias	Maps an alias to a command
get-alias	Returns a list of all defined aliases
new-alias	Creates a new alias
export-alias	Outputs the system alias table in CSV format
import-alias	Updates the system alias table from a CSV file

B.1.8. Miscellaneous

Cmdlet	Description
get-date	Returns the current date and time
set-date	Updates the system date and time
match-string	Searches through a string or file(s) for a pattern
measure-object	Calculates arithmetical statistics on specific properties of pipeline objects
new-timespan	Calculates the time difference between two specified DateTime objects
start-sleep	Pauses processing for a specified number of seconds or milliseconds

B.1.9. Variables

Cmdlet	Description
get-variable	Returns the value of a variable
new-variable	Creates a new variable with a specified name and value
set-variable	Updates or creates a new variable with a specified name and value; useful at the end of a pipeline for storing objects into a variable for later use
remove-variable	Removes a variable definition from the variable list
clear-variable	Removes the value of a variable but leaves its definition in place ( i.e., sets its value to null)

B.1.10. Input/Output

Cmdlet	Description
write-host	Writes an object to the hosting environment (usually the console)
write-progress	Writes to the host's progress display channel
write-object	Writes an object to the pipeline
write-debug	Writes an object into the debug pipeline
write-verbose	Writes an object to the host's verbose display channel; output may or may not be shown depending on the host settings
write-error	Writes an object to the error pipeline
read-host	Reads data from the hosting environment (usually the console)

B.1.11. Security

Cmdlet	Description
get-pfxcertificate	Returns an X509Certificate from a file
get-credential	Generates a credential by asking an interactive user to provide a password
get-authenticodesignature	Returns the Authenticode signature from a file
set-authenticodesignature	Updates the Authenticode signature on a file
new-securestring	Creates a string that can be used to safely store and work with sensitive information (e.g., passwords)
export-securestring	Converts a secure string into an encrypted representation in a regular string
import-securestring	Converts an encrypted string back into a secure string

B.1.12. Debugging

Cmdlet	Description
set-mshdebug	Enables/disables debugging and execution trace support
trace-expression	Enables tracing for a specified expression or command