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Remove-Variable

  • Article
  • 04/20/2010

Applies To: Windows PowerShell 2.0

Deletes a variable and its value.

Syntax

Remove-Variable [-Name] <string[]> [-Exclude <string[]>] [-Force] [-Include <string[]>] [-Scope <string>] [-Confirm] [-WhatIf] [<CommonParameters>]

Description

The Remove-Variable cmdlet deletes a variable and its value from the scope in which it is defined, such as the current session. You cannot use this cmdlet to delete variables that are set as constants or those that are owned by the system.

Parameters

-Exclude <string[]>

Omits the specified items. The value of this parameter qualifies the Name parameter. Enter a name element or pattern, such as "s*". Wildcards are permitted.

Required?

false

Position?

named

Default Value

none

Accept Pipeline Input?

false

Accept Wildcard Characters?

false

-Force

Allows the cmdlet to remove a variable even if it is read-only. Even using the Force parameter, the cmdlet cannot remove a constant.

Required?

false

Position?

named

Default Value

none

Accept Pipeline Input?

false

Accept Wildcard Characters?

false

-Include <string[]>

Deletes only the specified items. The value of this parameter qualifies the Name parameter. Enter a name element or pattern, such as "s*". Wildcards are permitted.

Required?

false

Position?

named

Default Value

none

Accept Pipeline Input?

false

Accept Wildcard Characters?

false

-Name <string[]>

Specifies the name of the variable to be removed. The parameter name ("Name") is optional.

Required?

true

Position?

1

Default Value

none

Accept Pipeline Input?

true (ByPropertyName)

Accept Wildcard Characters?

false

-Scope <string>

Specifies the scope in which this alias is valid. Valid values are "Global", "Local", or "Script", or a number relative to the current scope (0 through the number of scopes, where 0 is the current scope and 1 is its parent). "Local" is the default. For more information, see about_Scopes.

Required?

false

Position?

named

Default Value

none

Accept Pipeline Input?

false

Accept Wildcard Characters?

false

-Confirm

Prompts you for confirmation before executing the command.

Required?

false

Position?

named

Default Value

none

Accept Pipeline Input?

false

Accept Wildcard Characters?

false

-WhatIf

Describes what would happen if you executed the command without actually executing the command.

Required?

false

Position?

named

Default Value

none

Accept Pipeline Input?

false

Accept Wildcard Characters?

false

<CommonParameters>

This command supports the common parameters: Verbose, Debug, ErrorAction, ErrorVariable, OutBuffer, OutVariable, WarningAction, and WarningVariable. For more information, see about_CommonParameters.

Inputs and Outputs

The input type is the type of the objects that you can pipe to the cmdlet. The return type is the type of the objects that the cmdlet returns.

Inputs

System.Management.Automation.PSVariable

You can pipe a variable object to Remove-Variable.

Outputs

None

This cmdlet does not return any output.

Notes

Changes affect only the current scope, such as a session. To delete a variable from all sessions, add a Remove-Variable command to your Windows PowerShell profile.

You can also refer to RemoveVariable by its built-in alias, "rv". For more information, see about_Aliases.

Example 1

C:\PS>remove-variable Smp

Description

-----------

This command deletes the $Smp variable.

See Also

Concepts

Set-Variable
Get-Variable
Clear-Variable
New-Variable
about_Profiles