2016-07-17 12:17:17 +02:00
PowerShell Beginner’ s Guide
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
====
2016-07-22 04:09:45 +02:00
If you are new to PowerShell, this document will walk you through a few examples to give you some basic ideas of PowerShell.
2016-07-17 11:35:04 +02:00
We recommend that you open a PowerShell console/session and type along with the instructions in this document to get most out of this exercise.
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
Launch PowerShell Console/Session
---
2016-08-01 20:21:55 +02:00
First you need to launch a PowerShell session by following the [Installing PowerShell Guide ](./README.md#installing-powershell ).
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
Getting Familiar with PowerShell Commands
---
2016-07-15 02:50:56 +02:00
In this section, you will learn how to
- create a file, delete a file and change file directory
- discover what version of PowerShell you are currently using
2016-07-15 03:06:50 +02:00
- exit a PowerShell session
2016-07-22 04:09:45 +02:00
- get help if you needed
- find syntax of PowerShell cmdlets
2016-07-15 02:50:56 +02:00
- and more
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
2016-08-01 20:21:55 +02:00
As mentioned above, PowerShell commands are designed to have Verb-Noun structure, for instance Get-Process, Set-Location, Clear-Host, etc.
2016-07-17 11:35:04 +02:00
Let’ s exercise some of the basic PowerShell commands, also known as **cmdlets** .
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
2016-07-15 02:50:56 +02:00
Please note that we will use the PowerShell prompt sign **PS />** as it appears on Linux in the following examples.
2016-07-22 04:09:45 +02:00
It is shown as **PS C:\\>** on Windows.
2016-07-14 04:18:29 +02:00
2016-07-19 04:42:36 +02:00
**1. Get-Process**: Gets the processes that are running on the local computer or a remote computer.
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
By default, you will get data back similar to the following:
``` PowerShell
2016-07-17 12:17:17 +02:00
PS /> Get-Process
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
2016-07-14 04:18:29 +02:00
Handles NPM(K) PM(K) WS(K) CPU(s) Id ProcessName
------- ------ ----- ----- ------ -- -----------
- - - 1 0.012 12 bash
- - - 21 20.220 449 powershell
- - - 11 61.630 8620 code
- - - 74 403.150 1209 firefox
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
…
```
2016-07-22 04:09:45 +02:00
Only interested in the instance of firefox process that are running on your computer?
2016-07-17 11:35:04 +02:00
Try this:
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
```PowerShell
2016-07-14 04:18:29 +02:00
PS /> Get-Process -Name firefox
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
2016-07-14 04:18:29 +02:00
Handles NPM(K) PM(K) WS(K) CPU(s) Id ProcessName
------- ------ ----- ----- ------ -- -----------
- - - 74 403.150 1209 firefox
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
```
2016-07-22 04:09:45 +02:00
Want to get back more than one process?
Then just specify process names and separate them with commas.
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
```PowerShell
2016-07-14 04:18:29 +02:00
PS /> Get-Process -Name firefox, powershell
Handles NPM(K) PM(K) WS(K) CPU(s) Id ProcessName
------- ------ ----- ----- ------ -- -----------
- - - 74 403.150 1209 firefox
- - - 21 20.220 449 powershell
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
```
2016-07-17 12:17:17 +02:00
**2. Clear-Host**: Clears the display in the host program.
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
```PowerShell
2016-07-14 04:18:29 +02:00
PS /> Get-Process
PS /> Clear-Host
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
```
2016-07-22 04:09:45 +02:00
Type too much just for clearing the screen?
2016-07-17 11:35:04 +02:00
Here is how the alias can help.
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
2016-07-17 12:17:17 +02:00
**3. Get-Alias**: Gets the aliases for the current session.
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
```PowerShell
2016-07-14 04:18:29 +02:00
PS /> Get-Alias
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
CommandType Name
----------- ----
…
2016-07-14 04:18:29 +02:00
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
Alias cd -> Set-Location
Alias cls -> Clear-Host
2016-07-14 04:18:29 +02:00
Alias copy -> Copy-Item
Alias dir -> Get-ChildItem
Alias gc -> Get-Content
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
Alias gmo -> Get-Module
2016-07-14 04:18:29 +02:00
Alias ri -> Remove-Item
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
Alias type -> Get-Content
…
2016-07-22 04:09:45 +02:00
As you can see "cls" is an alias of Clear-Host.
2016-07-17 11:35:04 +02:00
Now try it:
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
2016-07-14 04:18:29 +02:00
PS /> Get-Process
PS /> cls
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
```
2016-07-19 04:42:36 +02:00
**4. cd - Set-Location**: Sets the current working location to a specified location.
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
```PowerShell
2016-07-14 04:18:29 +02:00
PS /> Set-Location /home
PS /home>
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
```
2016-07-19 04:42:36 +02:00
**5. dir - Get-ChildItem**: Gets the items and child items in one or more specified locations.
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
```PowerShell
Get all files under the current directory:
2016-07-14 04:18:29 +02:00
PS /> Get-ChildItem
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
Get all files under the current directory as well as its subdirectories:
2016-07-14 04:18:29 +02:00
PS /> cd $home
PS /home/jen> dir -Recurse
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
2016-07-17 12:17:17 +02:00
List all files with "txt" file extension.
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
2016-07-14 04:18:29 +02:00
PS /> cd $home
PS /home/jen> dir – Path *.txt -Recurse
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
```
2016-07-19 04:42:36 +02:00
**6. New-Item**: Creates a new item.
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
```PowerShell
An empty file is created if you type the following:
2016-07-19 04:33:33 +02:00
PS /home/jen> New-Item -Path ./test.txt
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
2016-07-14 04:18:29 +02:00
Directory: /home/jen
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
2016-07-14 04:18:29 +02:00
Mode LastWriteTime Length Name
---- ------------- ------ ----
2016-07-19 04:33:33 +02:00
-a---- 7/7/2016 7:17 PM 0 test.txt
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
```
2016-07-22 04:09:45 +02:00
You can use the ** -Value** parameter to add some data to your file.
For example, the following command adds the phrase "Hello world!" as a file content to the test.txt.
2016-07-19 04:33:33 +02:00
Because the test.txt file exists already, we use ** -Force** parameter to replace the existing content.
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
```PowerShell
2016-07-19 04:33:33 +02:00
PS /home/jen> New-Item -Path ./test.txt -Value "Hello world!" -Force
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
2016-07-14 04:18:29 +02:00
Directory: /home/jen
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
2016-07-14 04:18:29 +02:00
Mode LastWriteTime Length Name
---- ------------- ------ ----
2016-07-19 04:33:33 +02:00
-a---- 7/7/2016 7:19 PM 24 test.txt
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
```
2016-07-22 04:09:45 +02:00
There are other ways to add some data to a file.
2016-07-17 11:35:04 +02:00
For example, you can use Set-Content to set the file contents:
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
```PowerShell
2016-07-19 04:33:33 +02:00
PS /home/jen>Set-Content -Path ./test.txt -Value "Hello world again!"
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
```
2016-07-14 04:18:29 +02:00
Or simply use ">" as below:
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
```
# create an empty file
2016-07-19 04:33:33 +02:00
"" > test.txt
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
2016-07-19 04:33:33 +02:00
# set "Hello world!" as content of test.txt file
"Hello world!!!" > test.txt
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
```
The pound sign (#) above is used for comments in PowerShell.
2016-07-19 04:42:36 +02:00
**7. type - Get-Content**: Gets the content of the item at the specified location.
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
```PowerShell
2016-07-19 04:33:33 +02:00
PS /home/jen> Get-Content -Path ./test.txt
PS /home/jen> type -Path ./test.txt
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
2016-07-19 04:33:33 +02:00
Hello world again!
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
```
2016-07-19 04:42:36 +02:00
**8. del - Remove-Item**: Deletes the specified items.
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
2016-07-19 04:33:33 +02:00
This cmdlet will delete the file /home/jen/test.txt:
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
```PowerShell
2016-07-19 04:33:33 +02:00
PS /home/jen> Remove-Item ./test.txt
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
```
2016-07-15 02:50:56 +02:00
2016-07-17 12:17:17 +02:00
**9. $PSVersionTable**: Displays the version of PowerShell you are currently using.
2016-07-15 02:50:56 +02:00
2016-07-22 04:09:45 +02:00
Type ** $PSVersionTable** in your PowerShell session, you will see something like below.
2016-07-17 11:35:04 +02:00
"PSVersion" indicates the PowerShell version that you are using.
2016-07-15 02:50:56 +02:00
```PowerShell
Name Value
---- -----
2016-08-18 06:04:11 +02:00
PSVersion 6.0.0-alpha
2016-08-04 01:27:47 +02:00
PSEdition Core
2016-07-15 02:50:56 +02:00
PSCompatibleVersions {1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0...}
BuildVersion 3.0.0.0
2016-11-03 22:23:05 +01:00
GitCommitId v6.0.0-alpha.12
2016-07-15 02:50:56 +02:00
CLRVersion
2016-08-18 06:04:11 +02:00
WSManStackVersion 3.0
2016-07-15 02:50:56 +02:00
PSRemotingProtocolVersion 2.3
SerializationVersion 1.1.0.1
```
2016-07-17 12:17:17 +02:00
**10. Exit**: To exit the PowerShell session, type "exit".
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
```PowerShell
2016-07-14 04:18:29 +02:00
PS /home/jen> exit
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
```
Need Help?
----
2016-07-22 04:09:45 +02:00
The most important command in PowerShell is possibly the Get-Help, which allows you to quickly learn PowerShell without having to search around the internet.
2016-07-17 11:35:04 +02:00
The Get-Help cmdlet also shows you how PowerShell commands work with examples.
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
It shows the syntax and other technical information of the Get-Process cmdlet.
2016-07-17 12:17:17 +02:00
```PowerShell
PS /> Get-Help -Name Get-Process
```
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
It displays the examples how to use the Get-Process cmdlet.
2016-07-17 12:17:17 +02:00
```PowerShell
2016-08-01 20:21:55 +02:00
PS />Get-Help -Name Get-Process -Examples
2016-07-17 12:17:17 +02:00
```
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
2016-07-17 12:17:17 +02:00
If you use ** -Full** parameter, for example, `Get-Help -Name Get-Process -Full` , it will display more technical information.
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
2016-07-17 12:17:17 +02:00
Discover Commands Available on Your System
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
----
2016-07-17 12:17:17 +02:00
You want to discover what PowerShell cmdlets available on your system? Just run "Get-Command" as below:
```PowerShell
PS /> Get-Command
```
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
If you want to know whether a particular cmdlet exists on your system, you can do something like below:
2016-07-17 12:17:17 +02:00
```PowerShell
PS /> Get-Command Get-Process
```
If you want to know the syntax of Get-Process cmdlet, type:
```PowerShell
PS /> Get-Command Get-Process -Syntax
```
If you want to know how to use the Get-Process, type:
```PowerShell
PS /> Get-Help Get-Process -Example
```
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
PowerShell Pipeline '|'
----
2016-07-22 04:09:45 +02:00
Sometimes when you run Get-ChildItem or "dir", you want to get a list of files and folders in a descending order.
2016-07-17 11:35:04 +02:00
To achieve that, type:
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
```PowerShell
2016-08-18 06:04:11 +02:00
PS /home/jen> dir | Sort-Object -Descending
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
```
Say you want to get the largest file in a directory
```PowerShell
2016-07-14 04:18:29 +02:00
PS /home/jen> dir | Sort-Object -Property Length -Descending | Select-Object -First 1
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
2016-07-14 04:18:29 +02:00
Directory: /home/jen
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
Mode LastWriteTime Length Name
---- ------------- ------ ----
-a---- 5/16/2016 1:15 PM 32972 test.log
```
2016-08-12 22:45:24 +02:00
How to Create and Run PowerShell scripts
2016-07-30 15:20:11 +02:00
----
2016-08-12 22:45:24 +02:00
You can use Visual Studio Code or your favorite editor to create a PowerShell script and save it with a `.ps1` file extension.
For more details, see [Create and Run PowerShell Script Guide][create-run-script]
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
2016-07-26 19:54:57 +02:00
Recommended Training and Reading
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
----
2017-04-11 18:44:43 +02:00
- Video: [Get Started with PowerShell][remoting] from Channel9
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
- [eBooks from PowerShell.org ](https://powershell.org/ebooks/ )
2017-04-11 18:44:43 +02:00
- [eBooks from PowerShell.com][ebooks-powershell.com]
2016-07-22 04:09:45 +02:00
- [eBooks List][ebook-list] by Martin Schvartzman
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
- [Tutorial from MVP][tutorial]
2017-04-11 18:44:43 +02:00
- Script Guy blog: [The best way to Learn PowerShell][to-learn]
- [Understanding PowerShell Module][ps-module]
- [How and When to Create PowerShell Module][create-ps-module] by Adam Bertram
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
- Video: [PowerShell Remoting in Depth][in-depth] from Channel9
2017-04-11 18:44:43 +02:00
- [PowerShell Basics: Remote Management][remote-mgmt] from ITPro
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
- [Running Remote Commands][remote-commands] from PowerShell Web Docs
- [Samples for PowerShell Scripts][examples]
- [Samples for Writing a PowerShell Script Module][examples-ps-module]
- [Writing a PowerShell module in C#][writing-ps-module]
- [Examples of Cmdlets Code][sample-code]
2016-07-22 04:09:45 +02:00
Commercial Resources
----
- [Windows PowerShell in Action][in-action] by Bruce Payette
- [Windows PowerShell Cookbook][cookbook] by Lee Holmes
2016-07-12 22:21:15 +02:00
[in-action]: https://www.amazon.com/Windows-PowerShell-Action-Second-Payette/dp/1935182137
[cookbook]: http://shop.oreilly.com/product/9780596801519.do
[ebook-list]: https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/pstips/2014/05/26/free-powershell-ebooks/
[ebooks-powershell.com]: http://powershell.com/cs/blogs/ebookv2/default.aspx
[tutorial]: http://www.computerperformance.co.uk/powershell/index.htm
[to-learn]:https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/heyscriptingguy/2015/01/04/weekend-scripter-the-best-ways-to-learn-powershell/
[ps-module]:https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd878324%28v=vs.85%29.aspx
[create-ps-module]:http://www.tomsitpro.com/articles/powershell-modules,2-846.html
[remoting]:https://channel9.msdn.com/Series/GetStartedPowerShell3/06
[in-depth]: https://channel9.msdn.com/events/MMS/2012/SV-B406
[remote-mgmt]:http://windowsitpro.com/powershell/powershell-basics-remote-management
[remote-commands]:https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/scripting/core-powershell/running-remote-commands
[examples]:http://examples.oreilly.com/9780596528492/
[examples-ps-module]:https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd878340%28v=vs.85%29.aspx
[writing-ps-module]:http://www.powershellmagazine.com/2014/03/18/writing-a-powershell-module-in-c-part-1-the-basics/
[sample-code]:https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff602031%28v=vs.85%29.aspx
2016-08-12 22:45:24 +02:00
[create-run-script]:./create-powershell-scripts.md