about_WQL
Short description
Describes WMI Query Language (WQL), which can be used to get WMI objects in Windows PowerShell.
Long description
WQL is the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) query language, which is the language used to get information from WMI.
You aren't required to use WQL to perform a WMI query in Windows PowerShell.
Instead, you can use the parameters of the Get-WmiObject or Get-CimInstance
cmdlets. WQL queries are somewhat faster than standard Get-WmiObject commands
and the improved performance is evident when the commands run on hundreds of
systems. However, be sure that the time you spend to write a successful WQL
query doesn't outweigh the performance improvement.
The basic WQL statements you need to use WQL are SELECT, WHERE, and FROM.
When to use WQL
When working with WMI, and especially with WQL, don't forget that you are also using Windows PowerShell. Often, if a WQL query doesn't work as expected, it's easier to use a standard Windows PowerShell command than to debug the WQL query.
Unless you are returning massive amounts of data from across bandwidth-constrained remote systems, it's rarely productive to spend hours trying to perfect a complicated WQL query when there is an acceptable PowerShell cmdlet that does the same thing.
Using the SELECT statement
A typical WMI query begins with a SELECT statement that gets all properties
or particular properties of a WMI class. To select all properties of a WMI
class, use an asterisk (*). The FROM keyword specifies the WMI class.
A SELECT statement has the following format:
SELECT <property> FROM <WMI-class>
For example, the following SELECT statement selects all properties (*) from
the instances of the Win32_Bios WMI class.
SELECT * FROM Win32_Bios
Note
PowerShell only displays the default object properties. These properties are
defined in the Types.ps1xml file. Use the Select-Object cmdlet or a
Format-* cmdlet to display additional properties.
To select a particular property of a WMI class, place the property name
between the SELECT and FROM keywords.
The following query selects only the name of the BIOS from the Win32_Bios
WMI class. The command saves the query in the $queryName variable.
SELECT Name FROM Win32_Bios
To select more than one property, use commas to separate the property names.
The following WMI query selects the name and the version of the Win32_Bios
WMI class. The command saves the query in the $queryNameVersion variable.
SELECT name, version FROM Win32_Bios
Using the WQL query
There are three ways to use WQL query in Windows PowerShell command.
- Use the
Get-WmiObjectcmdlet - Use the
Get-CimInstancecmdlet - Use the
[wmisearcher]type accelerator.
Using the Get-WmiObject cmdlet
The most basic way to use the WQL query is to enclose it in quotation marks (as
a string) and then use the query string as the value of the Query parameter
of the Get-WmiObject cmdlet, as shown in the following example.
Get-WmiObject -Query "SELECT * FROM Win32_Bios"
SMBIOSBIOSVersion : 8BET56WW (1.36 )
Manufacturer : LENOVO
Name : Default System BIOS
SerialNumber : R9FPY3P
Version : LENOVO - 1360
You can also save the WQL statement in a variable and then use the variable as the value of the Query parameter, as shown in the following command.
$query = "SELECT * FROM Win32_Bios"
Get-WmiObject -Query $query
You can use either format with any WQL statement. The following command uses
the query in the $queryName variable to get only the Name and Version
properties of the system BIOS.
$queryNameVersion = "SELECT Name, Version FROM Win32_Bios"
Get-WmiObject -Query $queryNameVersion
__GENUS : 2
__CLASS : Win32_BIOS
__SUPERCLASS :
__DYNASTY :
__RELPATH :
__PROPERTY_COUNT : 2
__DERIVATION : {}
__SERVER :
__NAMESPACE :
__PATH :
Name : S03KT39A
Version : LENOVO - 1270
PSComputerName :
Remember that you can use the parameters of the Get-WmiObject cmdlet to get
the same result. For example, the following command also gets the values of the
Name and Version properties of instances of the Win32_Bios WMI
class.
Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Bios -Property Name, Version
__GENUS : 2
__CLASS : Win32_BIOS
__SUPERCLASS :
__DYNASTY :
__RELPATH :
__PROPERTY_COUNT : 2
__DERIVATION : {}
__SERVER :
__NAMESPACE :
__PATH :
Name : S03KT39A
Version : LENOVO - 1270
PSComputerName :
Using the Get-CimInstance cmdlet
Beginning in Windows PowerShell 3.0, you can use the Get-CimInstance cmdlet
to run WQL queries.
Get-CimInstance gets instances of CIM-compliant classes, including WMI
classes. The CIM cmdlets, introduced Windows PowerShell 3.0, perform the same
tasks as the WMI cmdlets. The CIM cmdlets comply with WS-Management (WSMan)
standards and with the Common Information Model (CIM) standard, which enables
the cmdlets to use the same techniques to manage Windows computers and
computers that are running other operating systems.
The following command uses the Get-CimInstance cmdlet to run a WQL query.
Any WQL query that can be used with Get-WmiObject can also be used with
Get-CimInstance.
Get-CimInstance -Query "SELECT * FROM Win32_Bios"
SMBIOSBIOSVersion : S03KT39A
Manufacturer : LENOVO
Name : S03KT39A
SerialNumber : MJ0AETTX
Version : LENOVO - 1270
Get-CimInstance returns a CimInstance object, instead of the
ManagementObject that Get-WmiObject returns, but the objects are quite
similar.
PS> (Get-CimInstance -Query "SELECT * FROM Win32_Bios").GetType().FullName
Microsoft.Management.Infrastructure.CimInstance
PS> (Get-WmiObject -Query "SELECT * FROM Win32_Bios").GetType().FullName
System.Management.ManagementObject
Using the wmisearcher type accelerator
The [wmisearcher] type accelerator creates a ManagementObjectSearcher
object from a WQL statement string. The ManagementObjectSearcher object has
many properties and methods, but the most basic method is the Get method, which
invokes the specified WMI query and returns the resulting objects.
Using [wmisearcher], you gain easy access to the ManagementObjectSearcher
.NET class. This lets you query WMI and to configure the way the query is
conducted.
To use the [wmisearcher] type accelerator:
- Cast the WQL string into a ManagementObjectSearcher object.
- Call the Get method of the ManagementObjectSearcher object.
For example, the following command casts the "select all" query, saves the
result in the $bios variable, and then calls the Get() method of the
ManagementObjectSearcher object in the $bios variable.
$bios = [wmisearcher]"SELECT * FROM Win32_Bios"
$bios.Get()
SMBIOSBIOSVersion : 8BET56WW (1.36 )
Manufacturer : LENOVO
Name : Default System BIOS
SerialNumber : R9FPY3P
Version : LENOVO - 1360
You can use the [wmisearcher] type accelerator to cast the query or the
variable. In the following example, the [wmisearcher] type accelerator is
used to cast the variable. The result is the same.
[wmisearcher]$bios = "SELECT * FROM Win32_Bios"
$bios.Get()
SMBIOSBIOSVersion : S03KT39A
Manufacturer : LENOVO
Name : S03KT39A
SerialNumber : MJ0AETTX
Version : LENOVO - 1270
When you use the [wmisearcher] type accelerator, it changes the query string
into a ManagementObjectSearcher object, as shown in the following commands.
$a = "SELECT * FROM Win32_Bios"
$a.GetType().FullName
System.String
$a = [wmisearcher]"SELECT * FROM Win32_Bios"
$a.GetType().FullName
System.Management.ManagementObjectSearcher
This command format works on any query. The following command gets the value of the Name property of the Win32_Bios WMI class.
$biosname = [wmisearcher]"Select Name from Win32_Bios"
$biosname.Get()
__GENUS : 2
__CLASS : Win32_BIOS
__SUPERCLASS :
__DYNASTY :
__RELPATH :
__PROPERTY_COUNT : 1
__DERIVATION : {}
__SERVER :
__NAMESPACE :
__PATH :
Name : S03KT39A
PSComputerName :
Using the basic WQL WHERE statement
A WHERE statement establishes conditions for the data that a SELECT
statement returns.
The WHERE statement has the following format:
WHERE <property> <operator> <value>
For example:
WHERE Name = 'Notepad.exe'
The WHERE statement is used with the SELECT statement, as shown in the
following example.
SELECT * FROM Win32_Process WHERE Name = 'Notepad.exe'
When using the WHERE statement, the property name and value must be accurate.
For example, the following command gets the Notepad processes on the local computer.
Get-WmiObject -Query "SELECT * FROM Win32_Process WHERE name='Notepad.exe'"
However, the following command fails, because the process name includes the
.exe file extension.
Get-WmiObject -Query "SELECT * FROM Win32_Process WHERE name='Notepad'"
WHERE statement comparison operators
The following operators are valid in a WQL WHERE statement.
Operator Description
-----------------------
= Equal
!= Not equal
<> Not equal
< Less than
> Greater than
<= Less than or equal
>= Greater than or equal
LIKE Wildcard match
IS Evaluates null
ISNOT Evaluates not null
ISA Evaluates a member of a WMI class
There are other operators, but these are the ones used for making comparisons.
For example, the following query selects the Name and Priority
properties from processes in the Win32_Process class where the process
priority is greater than or equal to 11. The Get-WmiObject cmdlet runs the
query.
$highPriority = "Select Name, Priority from Win32_Process " +
"WHERE Priority >= 11"
Get-WmiObject -Query $highPriority
Using the WQL operators in the -Filter parameter
The WQL operators can also be used in the value of the Filter parameter of
the Get-WmiObject or Get-CimInstance cmdlets, as well as in the value of
the Query parameters of these cmdlets.
For example, the following command gets the Name and ProcessID properties of the last five processes that have ProcessID values greater than 1004. The command uses the Filter parameter to specify the ProcessID condition.
$getWmiObjectSplat = @{
Class = 'Win32_Process'
Property = 'Name', 'ProcessID'
Filter = "ProcessID >= 1004"
}
Get-WmiObject @getWmiObjectSplat |
Sort-Object ProcessID |
Select-Object Name, ProcessID -Last 5
Name ProcessID
---- ---------
SROSVC.exe 4220
WINWORD.EXE 4664
TscHelp.exe 4744
SnagIt32.exe 4748
WmiPrvSE.exe 5056
using the LIKE operator
The LIKE operator lets you use wildcard characters to filter the results of a
WQL query.
Like Operator Description
--------------------------------------------------
[] Character in a range [a-f] or a set
of characters [abcdef]. The items in
a set don't need to be consecutive or
listed in alphabetical order.
^ Character not in a range [^a-f] or
not in a set [^abcdef]. The items in
a set don't need to be consecutive or
listed in alphabetical order.
% A string of zero or more characters
_ One character.
(underscore) NOTE: To use a literal underscore
in a query string, enclose it in
square brackets [_].
When the LIKE operator is used without any wildcard characters or range
operators, it behaves like the equality operator (=) and returns objects only
when they're an exact match for the pattern.
You can combine the range operation with the percent (%) wildcard character
to create simple, yet powerful filters.
LIKE operator examples
Example 1: [<range>]
The following commands start Notepad and then search for an instance of the Win32_Process class that has a name that starts with a letter between "H" and "N" (case-insensitive).
The query should return any process from Hotepad.exe through Notepad.exe.
Notepad # Starts Notepad
$query = "SELECT * FROM Win32_Process WHERE Name LIKE '[H-N]otepad.exe'"
Get-WmiObject -Query $query | Select Name, ProcessID
Name ProcessID
---- ---------
notepad.exe 1740
Example 2: [<range>] and %
The following commands select all process that have a name that begins with a letter between A and P (case-insensitive) followed by zero or more letters in any combination.
The Get-WmiObject cmdlet runs the query, the Select-Object cmdlet gets the
Name and ProcessID properties, and the Sort-Object cmdlet sorts the
results in alphabetical order by name.
$query = "SELECT * FROM Win32_Process WHERE name LIKE '[A-P]%'"
Get-WmiObject -Query $query |
Select-Object -Property Name, ProcessID |
Sort-Object -Property Name
Example 3: Not in Range (^)
The following command gets processes whose names don't begin with any of the following letters: A, S, W, P, R, C, U, N
and followed zero or more letters.
$query = "SELECT * FROM Win32_Process WHERE name LIKE '[^ASWPRCUN]%'"
Get-WmiObject -Query $query |
Select-Object -Property Name, ProcessID |
Sort-Object -Property Name
Example 4: Any characters -- or none (%)
The following commands get processes that have names that begin with calc.
The percent (%) symbol is the WQL wildcard character. It's equivalent to the
asterisk (*) wildcard in PowerShell.
$query = "SELECT * FROM Win32_Process WHERE Name LIKE 'calc%'"
Get-WmiObject -Query $query | Select-Object -Property Name, ProcessID
Name ProcessID
---- ---------
calc.exe 4424
Example 5: One character (_)
The following commands get processes that have names that have the following
pattern, c_lc.exe where the underscore character represents any one
character. This pattern matches any name from calc.exe through czlc.exe, or
c9lc.exe, but doesn't match names in which the "c" and "l" are separated by
more than one character.
$query = "SELECT * FROM Win32_Process WHERE Name LIKE 'c_lc.exe'"
Get-WmiObject -Query $query | Select-Object -Property Name, ProcessID
Name ProcessID
---- ---------
calc.exe 4424
Example 6: Exact match
The following commands get processes named WLIDSVC.exe. Even though the query
uses the LIKE keyword, it requires an exact match, because the value doesn't
include any wildcard characters.
$query = "SELECT * FROM Win32_Process WHERE name LIKE 'WLIDSVC.exe'"
Get-WmiObject -Query $query | Select-Object -Property Name, ProcessID
```powershell
```output
Name ProcessID
---- ---------
WLIDSVC.exe 84
Using the OR operator
To specify multiple independent conditions, use the OR keyword. The OR
keyword appears in the WHERE clause. It performs an inclusive OR operation
on two (or more) conditions and returns items that meet any of the conditions.
The OR operator has the following format:
WHERE <property> <operator> <value> OR <property> <operator> <value> ...
For example, the following commands get all instances of the Win32_Process
WMI class but returns them only if the process name is winword.exe or
excel.exe.
$q = "SELECT * FROM Win32_Process WHERE Name='winword.exe'" +
" OR Name='excel.exe'"
Get-WmiObject -Query $q
The OR statement can be used with more than two conditions. In the following
query, the OR statement gets Winword.exe, Excel.exe, or Powershell.exe.
$q = "SELECT * FROM Win32_Process WHERE Name='winword.exe'" +
" OR Name='excel.exe' OR Name='powershell.exe'"
Using the AND operator
To specify multiple related conditions, use the AND keyword. The AND
keyword appears in the WHERE clause. It returns items that meet all the
conditions.
The AND operator has the following format:
WHERE <property> <operator> <value> `AND` <property> <operator> <value> ...
For example, the following commands get processes that have a name of
Winword.exe and the process ID of 6512.
Note that the commands use the Get-CimInstance cmdlet.
$q = "SELECT * FROM Win32_Process WHERE Name = 'winword.exe' " +
"AND ProcessID =6512"
Get-CimInstance -Query $q
ProcessId Name HandleCount WorkingSetSize VirtualSize
--------- ---- ----------- -------------- -----------
# 6512 WINWORD.EXE 768 117170176 633028608
All operators, including the LIKE operators are valid with the OR and AND
operators. And, you can combine the OR and AND operators in a single query
with parentheses that tell WMI which clauses to process first.
This command uses the Windows PowerShell continuation character (`)
divide the command into two lines.
Searching for null values
Searching for null values in WMI is challenging, because it can lead to
unpredictable results. Null isn't zero and it isn't equivalent to an empty
string. Some WMI class properties are initialized and others aren't, so a
search for null might not work for all properties.
To search for null values, use the Is operator with a value of null.
For example, the following commands get processes that have a null value for the IntallDate property. The commands return many processes.
$q = "SELECT * FROM Win32_Process WHERE InstallDate is null"
Get-WmiObject -Query $q
In contrast, the following command, gets user accounts that have a null value for the Description property. This command doesn't return any user accounts, even though most user accounts don't have any value for the Description property.
$q = "SELECT * FROM Win32_UserAccount WHERE Description is null"
Get-WmiObject -Query $q
To find the user accounts that have no value for the Description property, use the equality operator to get an empty string. To represent the empty string, use two consecutive single quotation marks.
$q = "SELECT * FROM Win32_UserAccount WHERE Description = '' "
Using true or false
To get boolean values in the properties of WMI objects, use True and False.
They aren't case sensitive.
The following WQL query returns only local user accounts from a domain joined computer.
$q = "SELECT * FROM Win32_UserAccount WHERE LocalAccount = True"
Get-CimInstance -Query $q
To find domain accounts, use a value of False, as shown in the following example.
$q = "SELECT * FROM Win32_UserAccount WHERE LocalAccount = False"
Get-CimInstance -Query $q
Using the escape character
WQL uses the backslash (\) as its escape character. This is different from
Windows PowerShell, which uses the backtick character (`).
Quotation marks, and the characters used for quotation marks, often need to be escaped so that they aren't misinterpreted.
To find a user whose name includes a single quotation mark, use a backslash to escape the single quotation mark, as shown in the following command.
$q = "SELECT * FROM Win32_UserAccount WHERE Name = 'Tim O\'Brian'"
Get-CimInstance -Query $q
Name Caption AccountType SID Domain
---- ------- ----------- --- ------
Tim O'Brian FABRIKAM\TimO 512 S-1-5-21-1457... FABRIKAM
In some case, the backslash also needs to be escaped. For example, the following commands generate an Invalid Query error due to the backslash in the Caption value.
$q = "SELECT * FROM Win32_UserAccount WHERE Caption = 'Fabrikam\TimO'"
Get-CimInstance -Query $q
Get-CimInstance : Invalid query
At line:1 char:1
+ Get-CimInstance -Query $q
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~
+ CategoryInfo : InvalidArgument: (:) [Get-CimInstance], CimExcep
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : HRESULT 0x80041017,Microsoft.Management.Infrastr
To escape the backslash, use a second backslash character, as shown in the following command.
$q = "SELECT * FROM Win32_UserAccount WHERE Caption = 'Fabrikam\\TimO'"
Get-CimInstance -Query $q
See also
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