PowerShell Command Reference

Platforms: Windows PowerShell 5.1 (Windows 11) and PowerShell 7.4+ (Windows, Linux, macOS). Version and OS restrictions are noted per entry.

Navigation & System Information

Get-Location

Field	Detail
Version / OS	5.1, 7.x · all OS
Description	Returns the current location as a PathInfo object. Alias: pwd, gl.
Syntax	Get-Location [-PSProvider <String[]>] [-PSDrive <String[]>] [-Stack]
Parameters	-Stack shows the Push-Location stack
Example	(Get-Location).Path
Expected output	C:\Users\student
Equivalent	pwd
Common errors	Using the object where a string is required. Use .Path.
Use case	Building absolute paths in scripts: Join-Path (Get-Location) 'out.csv'.
Docs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.management/get-location

Get-ChildItem

Field	Detail
Version / OS	5.1, 7.x · all OS (aliases ls, dir, gci; ls only on Windows)
Description	Gets the items in one or more locations (files, folders, registry keys, certificates).
Syntax	Get-ChildItem [[-Path] <String[]>] [[-Filter] <String>] [-Include] [-Exclude] [-Recurse] [-Depth <UInt32>] [-Force] [-Name] [-File] [-Directory] [-Hidden]
Parameters	-Filter *.log fast filter · -Recurse/-Depth · -Force hidden/system · -File/-Directory · -Name strings only
Example	Get-ChildItem C:\Windows\Logs -Recurse -File | Sort-Object Length -Descending | Select-Object -First 5 FullName, Length
Expected output	A table of the five largest log files with FullName and Length (bytes)
Equivalent	ls -la, find, ls -R
Common errors	Access to the path ... is denied during -Recurse: add -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue only when you understand what is skipped
Use case	Inventory files by size or date; find recently changed files.
Docs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.management/get-childitem

Get-ComputerInfo

Field	Detail
Version / OS	5.1+, 7.x · Windows only
Description	Returns a consolidated object with ~180 OS, hardware, BIOS and configuration properties. Alias: gin.
Syntax	Get-ComputerInfo [[-Property] <String[]>]
Parameters	-Property limit to named properties (wildcards allowed)
Example	Get-ComputerInfo -Property OsName, OsVersion, OsArchitecture, CsTotalPhysicalMemory
Expected output	Microsoft Windows 11 Home Single Language 10.0.26200 64-bit ...
Equivalent	uname -a, cat /etc/os-release, hostnamectl
Common errors	Slow without -Property · not available on Linux PowerShell
Use case	Help-desk triage and patch-compliance inventory.
Docs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.management/get-computerinfo

Get-Date

Field	Detail
Version / OS	5.1, 7.x · all OS (-AsUTC needs 7.1+)
Description	Returns the current (or a specified) date and time as a DateTime object, or a formatted string.
Syntax	Get-Date [[-Date] <DateTime>] [-Format <String>] [-UFormat <String>] [-AsUTC]
Parameters	-Format 'yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss' · -Format o ISO 8601 · -UFormat %Y-%m-%d · -AsUTC
Example	(Get-Date).AddDays(-30).ToString('yyyy-MM-dd')
Expected output	2026-10-09
Equivalent	date, date -d '30 days ago' +%F
Common errors	Using -Format and then date arithmetic (the result is a string)
Use case	Filtering logs to "last 24 hours": (Get-Date).AddHours(-24).
Docs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.utility/get-date

$PSVersionTable · $env: variables

Field	Detail
Version / OS	5.1, 7.x · all OS
Description	$PSVersionTable holds engine version and edition. $env:NAME reads environment variables (USERNAME, COMPUTERNAME, TEMP, USERPROFILE).
Example	$PSVersionTable.PSEdition; $env:COMPUTERNAME
Expected output	Desktop / WIN11-LAB
Equivalent	echo $BASH_VERSION, echo $USER $HOSTNAME
Common errors	On Linux use $env:USER (not USERNAME); $env:COMPUTERNAME is empty there
Use case	Scripts that branch on edition or OS (if ($IsLinux) { ... } in 7).
Docs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.core/about/about_automatic_variables

Help & Discovery

Get-Help

Field	Detail
Version / OS	5.1, 7.x · all OS
Description	Displays help for cmdlets, functions and about_ topics. Alias: help.
Syntax	Get-Help [[-Name] <String>] [-Examples | -Detailed | -Full | -Online | -Parameter <String>]
Example	Get-Help Remove-Item -Parameter WhatIf
Expected output	Parameter description, type, position and whether it is required
Equivalent	man, --help, help
Common errors	Only syntax shown, because help is not downloaded. Run Update-Help (elevated in 5.1; -Scope CurrentUser in 7).
Use case	Learning a cmdlet offline.
Docs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.core/get-help

Get-Command

Field	Detail
Version / OS	5.1, 7.x · all OS. Alias: gcm
Description	Finds commands (cmdlets, functions, aliases, executables).
Syntax	Get-Command [[-Name] <String[]>] [-Verb <String[]>] [-Noun <String[]>] [-Module <String[]>] [-All]
Example	Get-Command -Noun Item
Expected output	Clear-Item, Copy-Item, Get-Item, Invoke-Item, Move-Item, New-Item, Remove-Item, Rename-Item, Set-Item
Equivalent	type, which, apropos, compgen -c
Common errors	None common
Use case	Discover commands by noun; resolve which ls will actually run.
Docs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.core/get-command

Get-Alias

Field	Detail
Version / OS	5.1, 7.x (fewer aliases on Linux/macOS)
Description	Lists aliases or resolves one.
Example	Get-Alias -Definition Remove-Item
Expected output	del, erase, rd, ri, rm, rmdir
Equivalent	alias
Use case	Translating someone's alias-heavy one-liner into a readable script.
Docs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.utility/get-alias

Files & Directories

Set-Location

Field	Detail
Version / OS	5.1, 7.x · all OS. Aliases: cd, chdir, sl
Description	Changes the current location (file system, registry, certificate store...).
Syntax	Set-Location [[-Path] <String>] [-LiteralPath <String>] [-PassThru]
Parameters	- / + history navigation (6.2+) · -LiteralPath · -PassThru
Example	Set-Location HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft
Expected output	Prompt becomes PS HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft>
Equivalent	cd
Common errors	Cannot find path ... because it does not exist
Use case	Navigating the registry like a file system.
Docs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.management/set-location

New-Item

Field	Detail
Version / OS	5.1, 7.x · all OS. Alias: ni (mkdir is a wrapper function on Windows)
Description	Creates files, directories, links and registry keys.
Syntax	New-Item [-Path] <String[]> [-ItemType <String>] [-Name <String>] [-Value <Object>] [-Force]
Parameters	-ItemType File/Directory/SymbolicLink/Junction/HardLink · -Value initial content · -Force (⚠ overwrites existing files)
Example	New-Item -Path C:\Lab\logs -ItemType Directory -Force
Expected output	Directory: C:\Lab … d----- ... logs
Equivalent	mkdir -p, touch
Common errors	An item with the specified name ... already exists (no -Force)
Use case	Idempotent folder creation in setup scripts.
Docs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.management/new-item

Copy-Item

Field	Detail
Version / OS	5.1, 7.x · all OS. Aliases: copy, cp (Windows), cpi
Description	Copies items.
Syntax	Copy-Item [-Path] <String[]> [[-Destination] <String>] [-Recurse] [-Force] [-Filter] [-Include] [-Exclude] [-PassThru] [-WhatIf]
Example	Copy-Item C:\App\config.xml "C:\App\config.xml.bak.$(Get-Date -Format yyyyMMdd)"
Expected output	None (add -PassThru to see the new item)
Equivalent	cp, cp -r; robocopy to preserve ACLs/attributes
Common errors	Nested folder when the destination exists · Access denied on read-only items without -Force
Use case	Configuration backups.
Docs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.management/copy-item

Move-Item / Rename-Item

Field	Detail
Version / OS	5.1, 7.x · all OS. Aliases: move, mv (Windows), mi / ren, rni
Description	Move-Item moves (and can rename); Rename-Item renames in place.
Syntax	Move-Item [-Path] <String[]> [[-Destination] <String>] [-Force] · Rename-Item [-Path] <String> [-NewName] <String>
Example	Get-ChildItem *.log | Rename-Item -NewName { $.BaseName + '-old' + $.Extension }
Expected output	app.log → app-old.log (no output by default)
Equivalent	mv
Common errors	Cannot create a file when that file already exists (Move-Item without -Force) · -NewName given a path
Use case	Bulk renaming with a script block.
Docs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.management/move-item · https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.management/rename-item

Remove-Item

Field	Detail
Version / OS	5.1, 7.x · all OS. Aliases: del, erase, rd, rmdir, ri, rm (Windows)
Description	Deletes items. Permanent: no Recycle Bin.
Syntax	Remove-Item [-Path] <String[]> [-LiteralPath] [-Recurse] [-Force] [-Filter] [-Include] [-Exclude] [-WhatIf] [-Confirm]
Example	Remove-Item C:\Temp\build -Recurse -WhatIf
Expected output	What if: Performing the operation "Remove Directory" on target "C:\Temp\build".
Equivalent	rm, rm -r, rmdir
Common errors	... has children and the Recurse parameter was not specified · being used by another process · -rf is not a parameter
Use case	Previewed cleanup of temporary folders.
Docs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.management/remove-item

Test-Path

Field	Detail
Version / OS	5.1, 7.x · all OS
Description	Returns $true/$false for whether a path exists (optionally as file or folder).
Syntax	Test-Path [-Path] <String[]> [-PathType <Any|Container|Leaf>]
Example	Test-Path C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts -PathType Leaf
Expected output	True
Equivalent	[ -e path ], [ -f file ], [ -d dir ]
Use case	Guard clauses before create/delete operations.
Docs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.management/test-path

Join-Path / Split-Path

Field	Detail
Version / OS	5.1, 7.x · all OS
Description	Build or take apart paths with the correct separator.
Example	Join-Path $HOME 'lpm-lab' · Split-Path C:\a\b\file.txt -Leaf
Expected output	C:\Users\student\lpm-lab · file.txt
Equivalent	"$HOME/lpm-lab", basename, dirname
Use case	Cross-platform scripts.
Docs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.management/join-path