PowerShell Command Cheatsheet
Essential PowerShell commands and scripting syntax
Programming
PowerShell Command Cheatsheet
A comprehensive reference for PowerShell commands and scripting.
Basics
Getting Help
Get-Help Command-Name # Get help for a command
Get-Help Command-Name -Examples # Show examples
Get-Help Command-Name -Detailed # Detailed help
Get-Help Command-Name -Full # Full help
Get-Help Command-Name -Online # Open online help
Update-Help # Update help files
Get-Command # List all commands
Get-Command *process* # Search commands
Variables
$var = "value" # Assign variable
$var # Display variable
${var-name} # Variable with special chars
$env:PATH # Environment variable
$PSVersionTable # PowerShell version
Remove-Variable var # Remove variable
Get-Variable # List all variables
Set-Variable -Name var -Value "val" # Set variable
Data Types
[string]$str = "text" # String
[int]$num = 42 # Integer
[double]$dec = 3.14 # Decimal
[bool]$flag = $true # Boolean
[array]$arr = @(1,2,3) # Array
[hashtable]$hash = @{key="value"} # Hash table
$var.GetType() # Get type
File System
Navigation
Get-Location # Current directory (pwd)
Set-Location path # Change directory (cd)
Push-Location path # Save and change directory
Pop-Location # Return to saved directory
Get-ChildItem # List items (ls, dir)
Get-ChildItem -Recurse # List recursively
Get-ChildItem -Force # Include hidden files
File Operations
New-Item file.txt -ItemType File # Create file
New-Item folder -ItemType Directory # Create directory
Copy-Item source dest # Copy file/folder
Move-Item source dest # Move file/folder
Remove-Item file # Delete file
Remove-Item folder -Recurse # Delete folder recursively
Rename-Item old new # Rename file/folder
Test-Path file # Check if exists
File Content
Get-Content file.txt # Read file
Get-Content file.txt -TotalCount 10 # First 10 lines
Get-Content file.txt -Tail 10 # Last 10 lines
Set-Content file.txt "text" # Write file (overwrite)
Add-Content file.txt "text" # Append to file
Clear-Content file.txt # Clear file content
Select-String "pattern" file.txt # Search in file (grep)
Process Management
Process Commands
Get-Process # List processes
Get-Process -Name chrome # Get specific process
Start-Process notepad # Start process
Start-Process cmd -Verb RunAs # Run as administrator
Stop-Process -Name notepad # Stop by name
Stop-Process -Id 1234 # Stop by PID
Stop-Process -Name chrome -Force # Force stop
Wait-Process -Name notepad # Wait for process to end
Service Management
Get-Service # List services
Get-Service -Name wuauserv # Get specific service
Start-Service servicename # Start service
Stop-Service servicename # Stop service
Restart-Service servicename # Restart service
Set-Service servicename -StartupType Automatic # Set startup type
Network Commands
Network Information
Test-Connection hostname # Ping host
Test-NetConnection hostname -Port 80 # Test port connectivity
Get-NetIPAddress # Get IP addresses
Get-NetAdapter # Get network adapters
Get-NetRoute # Get routing table
Resolve-DnsName hostname # DNS lookup
Web Requests
Invoke-WebRequest url # HTTP request
Invoke-RestMethod url # REST API request
Invoke-WebRequest url -OutFile file # Download file
(Invoke-WebRequest url).Content # Get response content
Invoke-WebRequest url -Method POST -Body $data # POST request
Working with Objects
Pipeline
Get-Process | Where-Object {$_.CPU -gt 100} # Filter
Get-Process | Select-Object Name, CPU # Select properties
Get-Process | Sort-Object CPU -Descending # Sort
Get-Process | Group-Object ProcessName # Group
Get-Process | Measure-Object # Count
Get-Process | Export-Csv processes.csv # Export to CSV
Import-Csv file.csv # Import from CSV
Object Properties
$obj | Get-Member # List properties/methods
$obj.PropertyName # Access property
$obj | Select-Object -First 5 # First 5 items
$obj | Select-Object -Last 5 # Last 5 items
$obj | Select-Object -Unique # Unique items
$obj | Format-Table # Table format
$obj | Format-List # List format
Arrays and Collections
Arrays
$arr = @(1, 2, 3) # Create array
$arr = 1..10 # Range
$arr[0] # First element
$arr[-1] # Last element
$arr[0..2] # Slice
$arr.Length # Array length
$arr += 4 # Add element
$arr -contains 2 # Check if contains
Hash Tables
$hash = @{Name="John"; Age=30} # Create hash table
$hash["Name"] # Access value
$hash.Name # Access value (dot notation)
$hash.Add("City", "NYC") # Add key-value
$hash.Remove("Age") # Remove key
$hash.Keys # Get all keys
$hash.Values # Get all values
$hash.ContainsKey("Name") # Check if key exists
Control Flow
If Statements
if ($condition) {
# code
} elseif ($condition2) {
# code
} else {
# code
}
# One-liner
if ($x -gt 5) { "Greater" } else { "Less" }
Comparison Operators
-eq # Equal
-ne # Not equal
-gt # Greater than
-ge # Greater or equal
-lt # Less than
-le # Less or equal
-like # Wildcard match
-notlike # Not wildcard match
-match # Regex match
-notmatch # Not regex match
-contains # Contains
-in # In array
Loops
# ForEach loop
foreach ($item in $collection) {
# code
}
# For loop
for ($i = 0; $i -lt 10; $i++) {
# code
}
# While loop
while ($condition) {
# code
}
# Do-While loop
do {
# code
} while ($condition)
# ForEach-Object (pipeline)
1..10 | ForEach-Object { $_ * 2 }
Switch Statement
switch ($var) {
1 { "One" }
2 { "Two" }
default { "Other" }
}
# With wildcard
switch -Wildcard ($str) {
"test*" { "Starts with test" }
"*end" { "Ends with end" }
}
Functions
Function Definition
function Get-Greeting {
param($Name)
"Hello, $Name!"
}
Get-Greeting -Name "World"
# Advanced function
function Get-Data {
[CmdletBinding()]
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
[string]$Path,
[Parameter()]
[switch]$Recurse
)
# code
}
Script Blocks
$block = { param($x) $x * 2 } # Define script block
& $block 5 # Execute (returns 10)
Invoke-Command -ScriptBlock $block -ArgumentList 5
Error Handling
Try-Catch
try {
# code that might fail
Get-Item "nonexistent.txt" -ErrorAction Stop
} catch {
Write-Error "Error: $_"
} finally {
# cleanup code
}
# Catch specific errors
try {
# code
} catch [System.IO.FileNotFoundException] {
Write-Error "File not found"
} catch {
Write-Error "Other error"
}
Error Actions
-ErrorAction Stop # Throw error
-ErrorAction Continue # Show error, continue
-ErrorAction SilentlyContinue # Hide error, continue
-ErrorAction Inquire # Ask user
$ErrorActionPreference = "Stop" # Set default
String Manipulation
String Operations
"text".ToUpper() # Uppercase
"TEXT".ToLower() # Lowercase
" text ".Trim() # Trim whitespace
"hello world".Replace("world", "PS") # Replace
"a,b,c".Split(",") # Split
"a", "b", "c" -join "," # Join
"text".Length # Length
"hello world".Substring(0, 5) # Substring
"text" -match "pattern" # Regex match
String Formatting
"Hello, $name" # Variable interpolation
"Result: $(2 + 2)" # Expression interpolation
'Literal $var' # No interpolation
"Line1`nLine2" # Newline
"Tab`tSeparated" # Tab
"{0} {1}" -f "Hello", "World" # Format operator
Regular Expressions
Regex Matching
"text" -match "pattern" # Match
$Matches[0] # Full match
$Matches[1] # First group
"text" -replace "old", "new" # Replace
Select-String "pattern" file.txt # Search in file
Select-String "pattern" file.txt -AllMatches # All matches
Modules
Module Management
Get-Module # List loaded modules
Get-Module -ListAvailable # List available modules
Import-Module ModuleName # Import module
Remove-Module ModuleName # Remove module
Find-Module ModuleName # Search online
Install-Module ModuleName # Install from gallery
Update-Module ModuleName # Update module
Execution Policy
Policy Management
Get-ExecutionPolicy # Get current policy
Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned # Set policy
Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process # Temporary bypass
# Policies: Restricted, AllSigned, RemoteSigned, Unrestricted, Bypass
Useful Cmdlets
System Information
Get-ComputerInfo # Computer information
Get-WmiObject Win32_OperatingSystem # OS information
Get-WmiObject Win32_ComputerSystem # System information
Get-WmiObject Win32_LogicalDisk # Disk information
Get-EventLog -LogName System -Newest 10 # Event logs
User Management
Get-LocalUser # List local users
New-LocalUser -Name "username" # Create user
Remove-LocalUser -Name "username" # Remove user
Get-LocalGroup # List local groups
Add-LocalGroupMember -Group "Administrators" -Member "user"
Aliases
Common Aliases
ls, dir → Get-ChildItem
cd, chdir → Set-Location
pwd → Get-Location
cat, type → Get-Content
cp, copy → Copy-Item
mv, move → Move-Item
rm, del → Remove-Item
echo, write → Write-Output
cls, clear → Clear-Host
man, help → Get-Help
ps → Get-Process
kill → Stop-Process
Alias Management
Get-Alias # List all aliases
Get-Alias -Name ls # Get specific alias
Set-Alias -Name ll -Value Get-ChildItem # Create alias
Remove-Alias -Name ll # Remove alias
Profile
Profile Locations
$PROFILE # Current user, current host
$PROFILE.AllUsersAllHosts # All users, all hosts
$PROFILE.CurrentUserAllHosts # Current user, all hosts
Test-Path $PROFILE # Check if exists
New-Item -Path $PROFILE -ItemType File -Force # Create profile
notepad $PROFILE # Edit profile
Best Practices
- Use approved verbs for function names (Get, Set, New, Remove, etc.)
- Use CmdletBinding for advanced functions
- Use parameter validation to ensure correct input
- Write-Verbose for detailed logging
- Use -WhatIf and -Confirm for destructive operations
- Comment your code with
#or<# #> - Use proper error handling with try-catch
- Follow naming conventions (PascalCase for functions)
- Use pipeline for efficient data processing
- Test scripts before running in production
Quick Tips
# Get command history
Get-History
Invoke-History 5 # Run command #5
# Measure execution time
Measure-Command { Get-Process }
# Run as administrator
Start-Process powershell -Verb RunAs
# Background jobs
Start-Job -ScriptBlock { Get-Process }
Get-Job
Receive-Job -Id 1
# Transcript (log session)
Start-Transcript -Path log.txt
Stop-Transcript
Resources
- Official Documentation: https://docs.microsoft.com/powershell
- PowerShell Gallery: https://www.powershellgallery.com
- Community: https://reddit.com/r/PowerShell
- Learn PowerShell: https://learn.microsoft.com/powershell