Basic commands for powershell : Configuring Windows PowerShell and working with basic commands

Automation and Configuration Management Hitesh Mohapatra
Lab 1: Configuring Windows PowerShell and working with basic
commands
Configuring the Windows PowerShell console
Configuring the Windows PowerShell ISE application
Finding commands
Running commands
Using the About files
1. Get-Command
Get-Command is an easy-to-use reference cmdlet that brings up all the
commands available for use in your current session.
Simply type in this command: get-command
2. Get-Help
The Get-Help command is essential for anyone using PowerShell,
providing quick access to the information you need to run and work with
all of the available commands.
Simply type in this command: Get-Help
3. Get-Service
It’s also helpful to know what services are installed on the system. You can
easily access this information with the following command:
Simply type in this command: Get-Service
If you need to know if a specific service is installed, you can append the
-Name switch and the name of the service, and Windows will show the
state of the service. Additionally, you can leverage filtering capabilities to
return a specific subset of currently installed services. The following
example will result in an output of data from the Get-Service command

that’s been piped to the Where-Object cmdlet, which then filters out
everything other than the services that have been stopped:
4. Get-EventLog
You can actually use PowerShell to parse your machine’s event logs using
the Get-EventLog cmdlet. There are several parameters available. Use
the -Log switch followed by the name of the log file to view a specific log.
You’d use the following command, for example, to view the Application
log:
Simply type in this command: Get-EventLog -Log "Application"
Check out a few more examples of Get-EventLog in action in this post
-Verbose
-Debug
-ErrorAction
-ErrorVariable
-WarningAction
-WarningVariable
-OutBuffer
-OutVariable
5. Get-Process
Much like getting a list of available services, it’s often useful to be able to
get a quick list of all the currently running processes. The Get-Process
command puts this information at your fingertips.
Bonus: Use Stop-Process to stop processes that are frozen or is no longer
responding. If you’re not sure what process is holding you up, use Get-
Process to quickly identify the problematic process. Once you have the
name or process ID, use Stop-Process to terminate it.
Here’s an example. Run this command to terminate all currently running
instances of Notepad:

Stop-Process -processname notepad
You can use wildcard characters, too, such as the following example which
terminates all instances of Notepad as well as any other processes
beginning with note:
Stop-Process -processname note*
6. Clear-History
What if you want to clear the entries from your command history? Easy –
use the Clear-History cmdlet. You can also use it to delete only specific
commands. For example, the following command would delete
commands that include “help” or end in “command”
PS C:> Clear-History -Command *help*, *command
If you want to add entries to a session, use: Add-History
7. Set-ExecutionPolicy
Although you can create and execute PowerShell scripts, Microsoft has
disabled scripting by default in an effort to prevent malicious code from
executing in a PowerShell environment. You can use the Set-
ExecutionPolicy command to control the level of security surrounding
PowerShell scripts. Four levels of security are available to you:
Restricted -- Restricted is the default execution policy and locks
PowerShell down so that commands can be entered only interactively.
PowerShell scripts are not allowed to run.
All Signed -- If the execution policy is set to All Signed then scripts will
be allowed to run, but only if they are signed by a trusted publisher.
Remote Signed -- If the execution policy is set to Remote Signed, any
PowerShell scripts that have been locally created will be allowed to run.
Scripts created remotely are allowed to run only if they are signed by a
trusted publisher.
Unrestricted -- As the name implies, Unrestricted removes all restrictions
from the execution policy.

You can set an execution policy by entering the Set-ExecutionPolicy
command followed by the name of the policy. For example, if you wanted
to allow scripts to run in an unrestricted manner you could type:
Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted
8. Get-EventLog
You can actually use PowerShell to parse your computer's event logs.
There are several parameters available, but you can try out the command
by simply providing the -Log switch followed by the name of the log file.
For example, to see the Application log, you could use the following
command:
Get-EventLog -Log "Application"
Of course, you would rarely use this command in the real world. You're
more likely to use other commands to filter the output and dump it to a
CSV or an HTML file.
9. Select-Object
If you tried using the command above, you know that there were
numerous properties included in the CSV file. It's often helpful to narrow
things down by including only the properties you are really interested in.
This is where the Select-Object command comes into play. The Select-
Object command allows you to specify specific properties for inclusion.
For example, to create a CSV file containing the name of each system
service and its status, you could use the following command:
Get-Service | Select-Object Name, Status | Export-CSV c:service.csv
Command
alias
Cmdlet name Description of command

% 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.
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.
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.
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.

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.
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
session.
history Get-History Gets a list of the commands
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.
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 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-
PSSessionConfigurationFile
Creates a file that defines a
session 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.
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 provider namespace.
ri Remove-Item Deletes files and folders.
rjb
Remove-Job Deletes a Windows PowerShell
background 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.
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
References:
1. https://serverfault.com/questions/683942/use-powershell-to-create-a-web-page-from-an-array
2. https://devblogs.microsoft.com/scripting/use-the-powershell-group-object-cmdlet-to-display-
data/
3. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/nettcpip/set-netipaddress?view=win10-
ps
4. https://devblogs.microsoft.com/scripting/order-your-output-by-easily-sorting-objects-in-
powershell/

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