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Tip: Overview of Cmdlets Available in Windows PowerShell

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Do you know all your cmdlets? You may know many cmdlets—even most—but with more than 250 cmdlets on a default installation of Windows 7 (with modules loaded), the number of cmdlets can be a bit overwhelming. Here’s a quick reference of the cmdlets available in Windows PowerShell 2.0, along with a short description of each.

Add-BitsFile Adds one or more files to an existing Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) transfer job.
Add-Computer Adds the local computer to a domain or workgroup.
Add-Content Adds content to the specified items, such as adding words to a file.
Add-History Appends entries to the session history.
Add-Member Adds a user-defined custom member to an instance of a Windows PowerShell object.
Add-PSSnapin Adds one or more Windows PowerShell snap-ins to the current session.
Add-Type Adds a Microsoft .NET Framework type (a class) to a Windows PowerShell session (PSSession).
Checkpoint-Computer Creates a system restore point on the local computer.
Clear-Content Deletes the contents of an item, such as deleting the text from a file, but does not delete the item.
Clear-EventLog Deletes all entries from specified event logs on the local or remote computers.
Clear-History Deletes entries from the command history.
Clear-Item Deletes the contents of an item but does not delete the item.
Clear-ItemProperty Deletes the value of a property but does not delete the property.
Clear-Variable Deletes the value of a variable.
Compare-Object Compares two sets of objects.
Complete-BitsTransfer Completes a BITS transfer job.
Complete-Transaction Commits the active transaction.
Connect-WSMan Connects to the Windows Remote Management (WinRM) service on a remote computer.
ConvertFrom-CSV Converts object properties in comma-separated value (CSV) format into CSV versions of the original objects.
ConvertFrom-SecureString Converts a secure string into an encrypted standard string.
ConvertFrom-StringData Converts a string containing one or more key/value pairs to a hash table.
Convert-Path Converts a path from a Windows PowerShell path to a PowerShell provider path.
ConvertTo-CSV Converts .NET Framework objects into a series of CSV variable-length strings.
ConvertTo-Html Converts .NET Framework objects into HTML that can be displayed in a Web browser.
ConvertTo-SecureString Converts encrypted standard strings to secure strings. It can also convert plain text to secure strings. It is used with ConvertFrom-SecureString and Read-Host.
ConvertTo-XML Creates an XML-based representation of an object.
Copy-Item Copies an item from one location to another within a namespace.
Copy-ItemProperty Copies a property and value from a specified location to another location.
Debug-Process Debugs one or more processes running on the local computer.
Disable-ComputerRestore Disables the System Restore feature on the specified file system drive.
Disable-PSBreakpoint Disables breakpoints in the current console.
Disable-PSSessionConfiguration Denies access to the session configurations on the local computer.
Disable-WSManCredSSP Disables Credential Security Service Provider (CredSSP) authentication on a client computer.
Disconnect-WSMan Disconnects the client from the WinRM service on a remote computer.
Enable-ComputerRestore Enables the System Restore feature on the specified file system drive.
Enable-PSBreakpoint Enables breakpoints in the current console.
Enable-PSRemoting Configures the computer to receive remote commands.
Enable-PSSessionConfiguration Enables session configurations on the local computer.
Enable-WSManCredSSP Enables CredSSP authentication on a client computer.
Enter-PSSession Starts an interactive session with a remote computer.
Exit-PSSession Ends an interactive session with a remote computer.
Export-Alias Exports information about currently defined aliases to a file.
Export-Clixml Creates an XML-based representation of an object or objects and stores it in a file.
Export-Console Exports the names of snap-ins in the current session to a console file.
Export-Counter Takes PerformanceCounterSampleSet objects and exports them as counter log files.
Export-CSV Converts .NET Framework objects into a series of CSV variable-length strings and saves the strings in a CSV file.
Export-FormatData Saves formatting data from the current session in a formatting file.
Export-ModuleMember Specifies the module members that are exported.
Export-PSSession Imports commands from another session and saves them in a Windows PowerShell module.
ForEach-Object Performs an operation against each of a set of input objects.
Format-Custom Uses a customized view to format the output.
Format-List Formats the output as a list of properties in which each property appears on a new line.
Format-Table Formats the output as a table.
Format-Wide Formats objects as a wide table that displays only one property of each object.
Get-Acl Gets the security descriptor for a resource, such as a file or registry key.
Get-Alias Gets the aliases for the current session.
Get-AppLockerFileInformation Gets the AppLocker file information from a list of files or an event log.
Get-AppLockerPolicy Gets the local, effective, or domain AppLocker policy.
Get-AuthenticodeSignature Gets information about the Authenticode signature in a file.
Get-BitsTransfer Retrieves the associated BitsJob object for an existing BITS transfer job.
Get-ChildItem Gets the items and child items in one or more specified locations.
Get-Command Gets basic information about cmdlets and other elements of Windows PowerShell commands.
Get-ComputerRestorePoint Gets the restore points on the local computer.
Get-Content Gets the content of the item at the specified location.
Get-Counter Gets performance counter data from local and remote computers.
Get-Credential Gets a credential object based on a user name and password.
Get-Culture Gets the current culture set in the operating system.
Get-Date Gets the current date and time.
Get-Event Gets the events in the event queue.
Get-EventLog Gets the events in an event log, or a list of the event logs, on the local or remote computers.
Get-EventSubscriber Gets the event subscribers in the current session.
Get-ExecutionPolicy Gets the execution policies for the current session.
Get-FormatData Gets the formatting data in the current session.
Get-Help Displays information about Windows PowerShell commands and concepts.
Get-History Gets a list of the commands entered during the current session.
Get-Host Gets an object that represents the current host program. Also displays Windows PowerShell version and regional information by default.
Get-HotFix Gets the hotfixes that are applied to the local and remote computers.
Get-Item Gets the item at the specified location.
Get-ItemProperty Gets the properties of a specified item.
Get-Job Gets Windows PowerShell background jobs that are running in the current session.
Get-Location Gets information about the current working location.
Get-Member Gets the properties and methods of objects.
Get-Module Gets the modules that are imported or that can be imported into the current session.
Get-PfxCertificate Gets information about .pfx certificate files on the computer.
Get-Process Gets the processes that are running on the local computer or a remote computer.
Get-PSBreakpoint Gets the breakpoints that are set in the current session.
Get-PSCallStack Displays the current call stack.
Get-PSDrive Gets the Windows PowerShell drives in the current session.
Get-PSProvider Gets information about the specified Windows PowerShell provider.
Get-PSSession Gets the Windows PSSessions in the current session.
Get-PSSessionConfiguration Gets the registered session configurations on the computer.
Get-PSSnapin Gets the Windows PowerShell snap-ins on the computer.
Get-Random Gets a random number or selects objects randomly from a collection.
Get-Service Gets the services on a local or remote computer.
Get-TraceSource Gets the Windows PowerShell components that are instrumented for tracing.
Get-Transaction Gets the current (active) transaction.
Get-TroubleshootingPack Gets information about a troubleshooting pack and can generate an answer file.
Get-UICulture Gets the current user interface (UI) culture settings in the operating system.
Get-Unique Returns the unique items from a sorted list.
Get-Variable Gets the variables in the current console.
Get-WinEvent Gets events from event logs and event tracing log files on local and remote computers.
Get-WmiObject Gets instances of Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) classes or information about the available classes.
Get-WSManCredSSP Gets the CredSSP-related configuration for the client.
Get-WSManInstance Displays management information for a resource instance specified by a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI).
Group-Object Groups objects that contain the same value for specified properties.
Import-Alias Imports an alias list from a file.
Import-Clixml Imports a CLIXML file and creates corresponding objects within Windows PowerShell.
Import-Counter Imports performance counter log files (.blg, .csv, .tsv) and creates the objects that represent each counter sample in the log.
Import-CSV Converts object properties in a CSV file into CSV versions of the original objects.
Import-LocalizedData Imports language-specific data into scripts and functions based on the UI culture that is selected for the operating system.
Import-Module Adds modules to the current session.
Import-PSSession Imports commands from another session into the current session.
Invoke-Command Runs commands on local and remote computers.
Invoke-Expression Runs commands or expressions on the local computer.
Invoke-History Runs commands from the session history.
Invoke-Item Performs the default action on the specified item.
Invoke-TroubleshootingPack Executes a troubleshooting pack in interactive or unattended mode to fix a problem and then generates a results report.
Invoke-WmiMethod Calls WMI methods.
Invoke-WSManAction Invokes an action on the object that is specified by the Resource URI and by the selectors.
Join-Path Combines a path and a child path into a single path. The provider supplies the path delimiters.
Limit-EventLog Sets the event log properties that limit the size of the event log and the age of its entries.
Measure-Command Measures the time it takes to run script blocks and cmdlets.
Measure-Object Calculates the numeric properties of objects and the characters, words, and lines in string objects, such as files of text.
Move-Item Moves an item from one location to another.
Move-ItemProperty Moves a property from one location to another.
New-Alias Creates a new alias.
New-AppLockerPolicy Creates a new AppLocker policy from a list of file information and other rule creation options.
New-Event Creates a new event.
New-EventLog Creates a new event log and a new event source on a local or remote computer.
New-Item Creates a new item.
New-ItemProperty Creates a new property for an item and sets its value. For example, you can use New-ItemProperty to create and change registry values and data, which are properties of a registry key.
New-Module Creates a new dynamic module that exists only in memory.
New-ModuleManifest Creates a new module manifest.
New-Object Creates an instance of a Microsoft .NET Framework or Component Object Model (COM) object.
New-PSDrive Creates a Windows PowerShell drive in the current session.
New-PSSession Creates a persistent connection to a local or remote computer.
New-PSSessionOption Creates an object that contains advanced options for a PSSession.
New-Service Creates a new Windows service.
New-TimeSpan Creates a TimeSpan object.
New-Variable Creates a new variable.
New-WebServiceProxy Creates a Web service proxy object that lets you use and manage the Web service in Windows PowerShell.
New-WSManInstance Creates a new instance of a management resource.
New-WSManSessionOption Creates a WS-Management session option hash table to use as input parameters to the followingWS-Management cmdlets: Get-WSManInstance, Set-WSManInstance, Invoke-WSManAction, Connect-WSMan.
Out-Default Sends the output to the default formatter and to the default output cmdlet.
Out-File Sends output to a file.
Out-GridView Sends output to an interactive table in a separate window.
Out-Host Sends output to the command line.
Out-Null Deletes output instead of sending it to the console.
Out-Printer Sends output to a printer.
Out-String Sends objects to the host as a series of strings.
Pop-Location Changes the current location to the location most recently pushed onto the stack. You can pop the location from the default stack or from a stack that you create by using the Push-Location cmdlet.
Push-Location Adds the current location to the top of a list of locations (a stack).
Read-Host Reads a line of input from the console.
Receive-Job Gets the results of the Windows PowerShell background jobs in the current session.
Register-EngineEvent Subscribes to events that are generated by the Windows PowerShell engine and by the New-Event cmdlet.
Register-ObjectEvent Subscribes to the events that are generated by a Microsoft .NET Framework object.
Register-PSSessionConfiguration Creates and registers a new session configuration.
Register-WmiEvent Subscribes to a WMI event.
Remove-BitsTransfer Cancels a BITS transfer job.
Remove-Computer Removes the local computer from a workgroup or domain.
Remove-Event Deletes events from the event queue.
Remove-EventLog Deletes an event log or unregisters an event source.
Remove-Item Deletes the specified items.
Remove-ItemProperty Deletes the property and its value from an item.
Remove-Job Deletes a Windows PowerShell background job.
Remove-Module Removes modules from the current session.
Remove-PSBreakpoint Deletes breakpoints from the current console.
Remove-PSDrive Removes a Windows PowerShell drive from its location.
Remove-PSSession Closes one or more Windows PSSessions.
Remove-PSSnapin Removes Windows PowerShell snap-ins from the current session.
Remove-Variable Deletes a variable and its value.
Remove-WmiObject Deletes an instance of an existing WMI class.
Remove-WSManInstance Deletes a management resource instance.
Rename-Item Renames an item in a Windows PowerShell provider namespace.
Rename-ItemProperty Renames a property of an item.
Reset-ComputerMachinePassword Resets the machine account password for the computer.
Resolve-Path Resolves the wildcard characters in a path and displays the path contents.
Restart-Computer Restarts (reboots) the operating system on local and remote computers.
Restart-Service Stops and then starts one or more services.
Restore-Computer Starts a system restore on the local computer.
Resume-BitsTransfer Resumes a BITS transfer job.
Resume-Service Resumes one or more suspended (paused) services.
Select-Object Selects specified properties of an object or set of objects. It can also select unique objects from an array of objects, or it can select a specified number of objects from the beginning or end of an array of objects.
Select-String Finds text in strings and files.
Select-XML Finds text in an XML string or document.
Send-MailMessage Sends an e-mail message.
Set-Acl Changes the security descriptor of a specified resource, such as a file or registry key.
Set-Alias Creates or changes an alias (alternate name) for a cmdlet or other command element in the current Windows PSSession.
Set-AppLockerPolicy Sets the AppLocker policy for the specified Group Policy object (GPO).
Set-AuthenticodeSignature Adds an Authenticode signature to a Windows PowerShell script or other file.
Set-BitsTransfer Modifies the properties of an existing BITS transfer job.
Set-Content Writes or replaces the content in an item with new content.
Set-Date Changes the system time on the computer to a time that you specify.
Set-ExecutionPolicy Changes the user preference for the Windows PowerShell execution policy.
Set-Item Changes the value of an item to the value specified in the command.
Set-ItemProperty Creates or changes the value of a property of an item.
Set-Location Sets the current working location to a specified location.
Set-PSBreakpoint Sets a breakpoint on a line, command, or variable.
Set-PSDebug Turns script debugging features on and off, sets the trace level, and toggles StrictMode.
Set-PSSessionConfiguration Changes the properties of a registered session configuration.
Set-Service Starts, stops, and suspends a service and changes its properties.
Set-StrictMode Establishes and enforces coding rules in expressions, scripts, and script blocks.
Set-TraceSource Configures, starts, and stops a trace of Windows PowerShell components.
Set-Variable Sets the value of a variable. Creates the variable if one with the requested name does not exist.
Set-WmiInstance Creates or updates an instance of an existing WMI class.
Set-WSManInstance Modifies the management information that is related to a resource.
Set-WSManQuickConfig Configures the local computer for remote management.
Show-EventLog Displays the event logs of the local or a remote computer in Event Viewer.
Sort-Object Sorts objects by property values.
Split-Path Returns the specified part of a path.
Start-BitsTransfer Creates a new BITS transfer job.
Start-Job Starts a Windows PowerShell background job.
Start-Process Starts one or more processes on the local computer.
Start-Service Starts one or more stopped services.
Start-Sleep Suspends the activity in a script or session for the specified period of time.
Start-Transaction Starts a transaction.
Start-Transcript Creates a record of all or part of a Windows PSSession in a text file.
Stop-Computer Stops (shuts down) local and remote computers.
Stop-Job Stops a Windows PowerShell background job.
Stop-Process Stops one or more running processes.
Stop-Service Stops one or more running services.
Stop-Transcript Stops a transcript.
Suspend-BitsTransfer Suspends a BITS transfer job.
Suspend-Service Suspends (pauses) one or more running services.
Tee-Object Saves command output in a file or variable and displays it in the console.
Test-AppLockerPolicy Tests whether the input files are allowed to run for a given user based on the specified AppLocker policy.
Test-ComputerSecureChannel Tests and repairs the secure channel between the local computer and its domain.
Test-Connection Sends Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) echo request packets (pings) to one or more computers.
Test-ModuleManifest Verifies that a module manifest file accurately describes the contents of a module.
Test-Path Determines whether all elements of a path exist.
Test-WSMan Tests whether the WinRM service is running on a local or remote computer.
Trace-Command Configures and starts a trace of the specified expression or command.
Undo-Transaction Rolls back the active transaction.
Unregister-Event Cancels an event subscription.
Unregister-PSSessionConfiguration Deletes registered session configurations from the computer.
Update-FormatData Updates the formatting data in the current session.
Update-List Adds items to and removes items from a property value that contains a collection of objects.
Update-TypeData Updates the current extended type configuration by reloading the *.types.ps1xml files into memory.
Use-Transaction Adds the script block to the active transaction.
Wait-Event Waits until a particular event is raised before continuing to run.
Wait-Job Suppresses the command prompt until one or all of the Windows PowerShell background jobs running in the session are complete.
Wait-Process Waits for the processes to be stopped before accepting more input.
Where-Object Creates a filter that controls which objects will be passed along a command pipeline.
Write-Debug Writes a debug message to the console.
Write-Error Writes an object to the error stream.
Write-EventLog Writes an event to an event log.
Write-Host Writes customized output to a host.
Write-Output Sends the specified objects to the next command in the pipeline. If the command is the last command in the pipeline, the objects are displayed in the console.
Write-Progress Displays a progress bar within a Windows PowerShell command window.
Write-Verbose Writes text to the verbose message stream.
Write-Warning Writes a warning message.

From the Microsoft Press book Windows PowerShell 2.0 Administrator’s Pocket Consultant by William R. Stanek.

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