Windows PowerShell 1.0 Commands and Aliases

Windows PowerShell contains a wide range of built-in commands which which can be used either in the interactive shell environment, or within cmdlet scripts. In addition, each command also has a pre-configured alias which typically shortens the amount of typing necessary to invoke a command, and often provides access to a command via a more familiar name. For example, the Get-ChildItem command for listing the contents of a directory may also be executed using the more familiar dir alias.

In this chapter of Windows PowerShell 1.0 Essentials a summary of each command is provided, together with a table of alias to command relationships.

PowerShell 1.0 Command Summary

The following table lists the different commands provided with Windows PowerShell 1.0:

Command	Type	Description
Get-Command	Cmdlet	Get basic information about cmdlets and other elements of Windows PowerShell commands.
Get-Help	Cmdlet	Display information about Windows PowerShell cmdlets.
Get-History	Cmdlet	Get a list of the previous commands entered during the current session.
Invoke-History	Cmdlet	Run selected commands from the session history.
Add-History	Cmdlet	Append entries to the session history.
ForEach-Object	Cmdlet	Perform an operation against each of a set of input objects.
Where-Object	Cmdlet	Create a filter that controls which objects will be passed along a command pipeline.
Set-PSDebug	Cmdlet	Turns script debugging features on and off, sets the trace level and toggles strict mode.
Add-PSSnapin	Cmdlet	Add one or more Windows PowerShell snap-ins to the current console.
Remove-PSSnapin	Cmdlet	Remove Windows PowerShell snap-ins from the current console.
Get-PSSnapin	Cmdlet	Get the Windows PowerShell snap-ins on the computer.
Export-Console	Cmdlet	Export the configuration of the current console to a file so that you can reuse or share it.
Start-Transcript	Cmdlet	Create a record of all or part of a Windows PowerShell session in a text file.
Stop-Transcript	Cmdlet	Stop a transcript.
Add-Content	Cmdlet	Add content to the specified item(s).
Clear-Content	Cmdlet	Delete the contents of a item, such as deleting the text from a file, but does not delete the item.
Clear-ItemProperty	Cmdlet	Delete the value of a property but it does not delete the property.
Join-Path	Cmdlet	Combines a path and child-path into a single path. The provider supplies the path delimiters.
Convert-Path	Cmdlet	Convert a path from a Windows PowerShell path to a Windows PowerShell provider path.
Copy-ItemProperty	Cmdlet	Copy a property and value from a specified location to another location.
Get-EventLog	Cmdlet	Get information about local event logs or the entries stored in those event logs.
Get-ChildItem	Cmdlet	Get the items and child items in one or more specified locations.
Get-Content	Cmdlet	Get the content of the item at the specified location.
Get-ItemProperty	Cmdlet	Retrieve the properties of a specified item.
Get-WmiObject	Cmdlet	Get instances of WMI classes or information about available classes.
Move-ItemProperty	Cmdlet	Move a property from one location to another.
Get-Location	Cmdlet	Get information about the current working location.
Set-Location	Cmdlet	Set the current working location to a specified location.
Push-Location	Cmdlet	Push the current location onto the stack.
Pop-Location	Cmdlet	Changes the current location to the location most recently pushed onto the stack. You can pop the location from the default stack or from a stack that you create by using Push-Location.
New-PSDrive	Cmdlet	Install a new Windows PowerShell drive.
Remove-PSDrive	Cmdlet	Remove a Windows PowerShell drive from its location.
Get-PSDrive	Cmdlet	Get information about Windows PowerShell drives.
Get-Item	Cmdlet	Get the item at the specified location.
New-Item	Cmdlet	Create a new item in a namespace.
Set-Item	Cmdlet	Change the value of an item to the value specified in the command.
Remove-Item	Cmdlet	Delete the specified items.
Move-Item	Cmdlet	Move an item from one location to another.
Rename-Item	Cmdlet	Rename an item in a Windows PowerShell provider namespace.
Copy-Item	Cmdlet	Copy an item from one location to another within a namespace.
Clear-Item	Cmdlet	Delete the contents of an item, but does not delete the item.
Invoke-Item	Cmdlet	Invoke the provider-specific default action on the specified item.
Get-PSProvider	Cmdlet	Get information about the specified Windows PowerShell provider.
New-ItemProperty	Cmdlet	Set a new property of an item at a location.
Split-Path	Cmdlet	Return the specified part of a path.
Test-Path	Cmdlet	Determine whether all elements of a path exist.
Get-Process	Cmdlet	Get the processes that are running on the local computer.
Stop-Process	Cmdlet	Stop one or more running processes.
Remove-ItemProperty	Cmdlet	Delete the property and its value from an item.
Rename-ItemProperty	Cmdlet	Rename a property of an item.
Resolve-Path	Cmdlet	Resolve the wildcard characters in a path and displays the path contents.
Get-Service	Cmdlet	Get the services on the local computer.
Stop-Service	Cmdlet	Stop one or more running services.
Start-Service	Cmdlet	Start one or more stopped services.
Suspend-Service	Cmdlet	Suspend (pauses) one or more running services.
Resume-Service	Cmdlet	Resumes one or more suspended (paused) services.
Restart-Service	Cmdlet	Stop and then start one or more services.
Set-Service	Cmdlet	Change the display name, description, or starting mode of a service.
New-Service	Cmdlet	Create a new entry for a Windows Service in the registry and the Service Database.
Set-Content	Cmdlet	Write or replaces the content in an item with new content.
Set-ItemProperty	Cmdlet	Set the value of a property at the specified location.
Get-Acl	Cmdlet	Get the security descriptor for a resource, such as a file or registry key.
Set-Acl	Cmdlet	Change the security descriptor of a specified resource, such as a file or a registry key.
Get-PfxCertificate	Cmdlet	Get information about .pfx certificate files on the computer.
Get-Credential	Cmdlet	Get a credential object based on a user name and password.
Get-ExecutionPolicy	Cmdlet	Get the current execution policy for the shell.
Set-ExecutionPolicy	Cmdlet	Change the user preference for the execution policy of the shell.
Get-AuthenticodeSignature	Cmdlet	Get information about the Authenticode signature in a file.
Set-AuthenticodeSignature	Cmdlet	Use an authenticode signature to sign a Windows PowerShell script or other file.
ConvertFrom-SecureString	Cmdlet	Convert a secure string into an encrypted standard string.
ConvertTo-SecureString	Cmdlet	Convert encrypted standard strings to secure strings. It can also convert plain text to secure strings. It is used with ConvertFrom-SecureString and Read-Host.
Format-List	Cmdlet	Format the output as a list of properties in which each property appears on a new line.
Format-Custom	Cmdlet	Use a customized view to format the output.
Format-Table	Cmdlet	Format the output as a table.
Format-Wide	Cmdlet	Format objects as a wide table that displays only one property of each object.
Out-Null	Cmdlet	Delete output instead of sending it to the console.
Out-Default	Cmdlet	Send the output to the default formatter and the default output cmdlet. Has no effect on the formatting or output and is provided as a placeholder that lets you write your own Out-Default function or cmdlet.
Out-Host	Cmdlet	Send output to the command line.
Out-File	Cmdlet	Send output to a file.
Out-Printer	Cmdlet	Send output to a printer.
Out-String	Cmdlet	Send objects to the host as a series of strings.
Add-Member	Cmdlet	Add a user-defined custom member to an instance of a Windows PowerShell object.
Compare-Object	Cmdlet	Compare two sets of objects.
ConvertTo-Html	Cmdlet	Create an HTML page that represents an object or a set of objects.
Export-Csv	Cmdlet	Create a comma-separated values (CSV) file that represents the input objects.
Import-Csv	Cmdlet	Imports comma-separated value (CSV) files in the format produced by the Export-CSV cmdlet and returns objects that correspond to the objects represented in that CSV file.
Export-Alias	Cmdlet	Export information about currently-defined aliases to a file.
Invoke-Expression	Cmdlet	Run a Windows PowerShell expression that is provided in the form of a string.
Get-Alias	Cmdlet	Get the aliases for the current session.
Get-Culture	Cmdlet	Get information about the regional settings on a computer.
Get-Date	Cmdlet	Get the current date and time.
Get-Host	Cmdlet	Get a reference to the current console host object. Display Windows Powershell version and regional information by default.
Get-Member	Cmdlet	Get information about objects or collections of objects.
Get-UICulture	Cmdlet	Get information about the current user interface culture for Windows PowerShell.
Get-Unique	Cmdlet	Return the unique items from a sorted list.
Import-Alias	Cmdlet	Import an alias list from a file.
Select-String	Cmdlet	Identify patterns in strings.
Measure-Object	Cmdlet	Measure characteristics of objects and their properties.
New-Alias	Cmdlet	Create a new alias.
New-TimeSpan	Cmdlet	Create a TimeSpan object.
Read-Host	Cmdlet	Read a line of input from the console.
Set-Alias	Cmdlet	Create or changes an alias (alternate name) for a cmdlet or other command element in the current Windows PowerShell session.
Set-Date	Cmdlet	Change the system time on the computer to a time that you specify.
Start-Sleep	Cmdlet	Suspend shell, script, or runspace activity for the specified period of time.
Tee-Object	Cmdlet	Pipe object input to a file or variable, then passes the input along the pipeline.
Measure-Command	Cmdlet	Measure the time it takes to run script blocks and cmdlets.
Update-TypeData	Cmdlet	Update the current extended type configuration by reloading the *.types.ps1xml files into memory.
Update-FormatData	Cmdlet	Update and appends format data files.
Write-Host	Cmdlet	Display objects by using the host user interface
Write-Progress	Cmdlet	Display a progress bar within a Windows PowerShell command window.
New-Object	Cmdlet	Create an instance of a .Net or COM object.
Select-Object	Cmdlet	Selects specified properties of an object or set of objects. It can also select unique objects from an array of objects or it can select a specified number of objects from the beginning or end of an array of objects.
Group-Object	Cmdlet	Groups objects that contain the same value for specified properties.
Sort-Object	Cmdlet	Sorts objects by property values.
Get-Variable	Cmdlet	Get the variables in the current console.
New-Variable	Cmdlet	Create a new variable.
Set-Variable	Cmdlet	Set the value of a variable. Create the variable if one with the requested name does not exist.
Remove-Variable	Cmdlet	Delete a variable and its value.
Clear-Variable	Cmdlet	Delete the value of a variable.
Export-Clixml	Cmdlet	Create an XML-based representation of an object or objects and stores it in a file.
Import-Clixml	Cmdlet	Import a CLIXML file and creates corresponding objects within Windows PowerShell.
Write-Debug	Cmdlet	Write a debug message to the host display.
Write-Verbose	Cmdlet	Write a string to the verbose display of the host.
Write-Warning	Cmdlet	Write a warning message.
Write-Error	Cmdlet	Write an object to the error pipeline.
Write-Output	Cmdlet	Write objects to the success pipeline.
Get-TraceSource	Cmdlet	Get the Windows PowerShell components that are instrumented for tracing.
Set-TraceSource	Cmdlet	Configures, starts, and stops a trace of Windows PowerShell components.
Trace-Command	Cmdlet	The Trace-Command cmdlet configures and starts a trace of the specified expression or command.
Alias	Provider	Provides access to the Windows PowerShell aliases and the values that they represent.
Environment	Provider	Provides access to the Windows environment variables.
FileSystem	Provider	The PowerShell Provider for accessing files and directories from within the Windows PowerShell.
Function	Provider	Provides access to the functions defined in Windows PowerShell.
Registry	Provider	Provides access to the system registry keys and values from within Windows PowerShell.
Variable	Provider	Provides access to the Windows PowerShell variables and their values.
Certificate	Provider	Provides access to X509 certificate stores and certificates from within Windows PowerShell.