Table of Basic PowerShell Commands

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 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.

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-PSSession

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