Read-Host
Applies To: Windows PowerShell 2.0
Reads a line of input from the console.
Read-Host [[-Prompt] <Object>] [-AsSecureString] [<CommonParameters>]
The Read-Host cmdlet reads a line of input from the console. You can use it to prompt a user for input. Because you can save the input as a secure string, you can use this cmdlet to prompt users for secure data, such as passwords, as well as shared data.
Displays asterisks (*) in place of the characters that the user types as input.
When you use this parameter, the output of the Read-Host cmdlet is a SecureString object (System.Security.SecureString).
Required? |
false |
Position? |
named |
Default Value |
|
Accept Pipeline Input? |
false |
Accept Wildcard Characters? |
false |
Specifies the text of the prompt. Type a string. If the string includes spaces, enclose it in quotation marks. Windows PowerShell appends a colon (:) to the text that you enter.
Required? |
false |
Position? |
1 |
Default Value |
|
Accept Pipeline Input? |
false |
Accept Wildcard Characters? |
false |
This command supports the common parameters: Verbose, Debug, ErrorAction, ErrorVariable, OutBuffer, OutVariable, WarningAction, and WarningVariable. For more information, see about_CommonParameters.
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 |
None You cannot pipe input to this cmdlet. |
Outputs |
System.String or System.Security.SecureString If the AsSecureString parameter is used, Read-Host returns a SecureString. Otherwise, it returns a string. |
C:\PS>$age = read-host "Please enter your age"
Description
-----------
This command displays the string "Please enter your age:" as a prompt. When a value is entered and the Enter key is pressed, the value is stored in the $age variable.
C:\PS>$pwd_secure_string = read-host "Enter a Password" -assecurestring
Description
-----------
This command displays the string "Enter a Password:" as a prompt. As a value is being entered, asterisks (*) appear on the console in place of the input. When the Enter key is pressed, the value is stored as a SecureString object in the $pwd_secure_string variable.