Add-PSSnapin

The following abbreviations are aliases for this cmdlet:

• asnp

The Add-PSSnapin cmdlet adds registered Windows PowerShell snap-ins to the current session. After the snap-ins are added, you can use the cmdlets and providers that the snap-ins support in the current session.

To add the snap-in to all future Windows PowerShell sessions, add an Add-PSSnapin command to your Windows PowerShell profile. For more information, see about_Profiles.

Beginning in Windows PowerShell 3.0, the core commands that are included in Windows PowerShell are packaged in modules. The exception is Microsoft.PowerShell.Core, which is a snap-in (PSSnapin). By default, only the Microsoft.PowerShell.Core snap-in is added to the session. Modules are imported automatically on first use and you can use the Import-Module cmdlet to import them.

-Name<String[]>

-PassThru

<CommonParameters>

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

• None

  You cannot pipe objects to Add-PSSnapin.

  
  

The output type is the type of the objects that the cmdlet emits.

• None or System.Management.Automation.PSSnapInInfo

  When you use the PassThru parameter, Add-PSSnapin returns a PSSnapInInfo object that represents the snap-in. Otherwise, this cmdlet does not generate any output.

  
  

• Beginning in Windows PowerShell 3.0, the core commands that are installed with Windows PowerShell are packaged in modules. In Windows PowerShell 2.0, and in host programs that create older-style sessions in later versions of Windows PowerShell, the core commands are packaged in snap-ins ("PSSnapins"). The exception is Microsoft.PowerShell.Core, which is always a snap-in. Also, remote sessions, such as those started by the New-PSSession cmdlet, are older-style sessions that include core snap-ins.

  For information about the CreateDefault2 method that creates newer-style sessions with core modules, see "CreateDefault2 Method" in MSDN at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/system.management.automation.runspaces.initialsessionstate.createdefault2(v=VS.85).aspx.

• For detailed information about snap-ins in Windows PowerShell, see about_Pssnapins. For information about how to create a Windows PowerShell snap-in, see "How to Create a Windows PowerShell Snap-in" in the MSDN (Microsoft Developer Network) library at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=144762http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=144762.

• Add-PSSnapin adds the snap-in only to the current session. To add the snap-in to all Windows PowerShell sessions, add it to your Windows PowerShell profile. For more information, see about_Profiles.

• You can add any Windows PowerShell snap-in that has been registered by using the Microsoft .NET Framework install utility. For more information, see "How to Register Cmdlets, Providers, and Host Applications" in the MSDN library at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=143619http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=143619.

• To get a list of snap-ins that are registered on your computer, type get-pssnapin -registered.

• Before adding a snap-in, Add-PSSnapin checks the version of the snap-in to verify that it is compatible with the current version of Windows PowerShell. If the snap-in fails the version check, Windows PowerShell reports an error.

-------------------------- EXAMPLE 1 --------------------------

PS C:\> add-PSSnapIn Microsoft.Exchange, Microsoft.Windows.AD

-------------------------- EXAMPLE 2 --------------------------

PS C:\> get-pssnapin -registered | add-pssnapin -passthru

-------------------------- EXAMPLE 3 --------------------------

PS C:\> The first command gets snap-ins that have been added to the current session, including the snap-ins that are installed with Windows PowerShell. In this example, ManagementFeatures is not returned. This indicates that it has not been added to the session.get-pssnapinThe second command gets snap-ins that have been registered on your system (including those that have already been added to the session). It does not include the snap-ins that are installed with Windows PowerShell.In this case, the command does not return any snap-ins. This indicates that the ManagementFeatures snapin has not been registered on the system.get-pssnapin -registeredThe third command creates an alias, "installutil", for the path to the InstallUtil tool in the .NET Framework.set-alias installutil $env:windir\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727\installutil.exeThe fourth command uses the InstallUtil tool to register the snap-in. The command specifies the path to ManagementCmdlets.dll, the file name or "module name" of the snap-in.installutil C:\Dev\Management\ManagementCmdlets.dllThe fifth command is the same as the second command. This time, you use it to verify that the ManagementCmdlets snap-in is registered.get-pssnapin -registeredThe sixth command uses the Add-PSSnapin cmdlet to add the ManagementFeatures snap-in to the session. It specifies the name of the snap-in, ManagementFeatures, not the file name.add-pssnapin ManagementFeaturesTo verify that the snap-in is added to the session, the seventh command uses the Module parameter of the T:Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.Get-Command cmdlet. It displays the items that were added to the session by a snap-in or module.get-command -module ManagementFeaturesYou can also use the PSSnapin property of the object that the T:Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.Get-Command cmdlet returns to find the snap-in or module in which a cmdlet originated. The eighth command uses dot notation to find the value of the PSSnapin property of the T:Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.Set-Alias cmdlet.(get-command set-alias).pssnapin