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PowerShell Cheat Sheet

PowerShell reference with cmdlets, pipeline, objects, scripting, and system administration commands. Copy-ready for Windows admins.

59 entries 8 sections

Files

Command Description Example
List files and directories Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Filter *.txt
Change directory Set-Location C:\Users\Admin
Print working directory Get-Location → C:\Users\Admin
Copy files or directories Copy-Item file.txt backup.txt
Move or rename files Move-Item old.txt new.txt
Delete files or directories Remove-Item -Recurse -Force folder/
Create file or directory New-Item -ItemType Directory -Name 'logs'
Read file content Get-Content log.txt -Tail 10
Write / append to file Set-Content out.txt 'Hello World'
Check if path exists Test-Path C:\config.json → True/False

Variables

Command Description Example
Variable assignment $name = 'Alice'; $count = 42
Get variable type $name.GetType() → System.String
Type casting [int]'42' → 42; [bool]1 → True
Array literal $arr = @('a', 'b', 'c')
Hashtable (dictionary) $h = @{Name='Alice'; Age=30}
Environment variable $env:PATH; $env:HOME
Special variables if ($result -eq $null) { ... }
Current pipeline object Get-Process | Where-Object { $_.CPU -gt 10 }

Strings

Command Description Example
String interpolation (double quotes) "Count: $($arr.Count)"
Literal string (no interpolation) 'No $variables expanded here'
String replacement (regex) 'hello' -replace 'l','r' → 'herro'
Regex matching 'hello' -match '^h' → True
Split and join strings 'a,b,c' -split ',' → @('a','b','c')
Case conversion 'hello'.ToUpper() → 'HELLO'
String methods ' hi '.Trim() → 'hi'

Pipeline

Command Description Example
Send output to next command Get-Process | Sort-Object CPU -Desc
Filter objects in pipeline Get-Service | Where-Object Status -eq 'Running'
Execute for each object 1..10 | ForEach-Object { $_ * 2 }
Select properties or first/last Get-Process | Select-Object Name, CPU -First 5
Sort pipeline objects Get-ChildItem | Sort-Object Length -Desc
Calculate stats (count/sum/avg) 1..100 | Measure-Object -Sum -Average
Group objects by property Get-Service | Group-Object Status
Format output display Get-Process | Format-Table Name, CPU -Auto
CSV import/export Get-Process | Export-Csv procs.csv -NoType
JSON conversion @{a=1} | ConvertTo-Json → '{"a":1}'
Write output to file Get-Process | Out-File procs.txt
Output to file and pipeline Get-Process | Tee-Object -FilePath log.txt

Control Flow

Command Description Example
Conditional branching if ($x -gt 10) { 'big' } else { 'small' }
Switch statement switch ($day) { 'Mon' { 'Monday' } default { 'Other' } }
For loop for ($i=0; $i -lt 10; $i++) { $i }
Foreach loop foreach ($f in Get-ChildItem) { $f.Name }
While loop while ($true) { Start-Sleep 1 }
Error handling try { 1/0 } catch { Write-Error $_ }
Comparison operators if ($a -eq $b) { 'equal' }
Logical operators if ($a -gt 0 -and $b -lt 10) { ... }

Functions

Command Description Example
Define a function function Add($a, $b) { $a + $b }
Advanced parameter attributes param([Parameter(Mandatory)]$Name)
Return from function function Get-Double($n) { return $n * 2 }

System

Command Description Example
List running processes Get-Process | Sort CPU -Desc | Select -First 10
Terminate a process Stop-Process -Name notepad -Force
List services Get-Service | Where Status -eq Running
Manage services Restart-Service -Name nginx
HTTP request Invoke-WebRequest https://api.example.com | Select Content
Background jobs Start-Job { Get-ChildItem -Recurse } | Wait-Job
Get current date/time Get-Date -Format 'yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss'
Output text Write-Host 'Hello' -ForegroundColor Green

Help

Command Description Example
Get help for a command Get-Help Get-Process -Examples
Find available commands Get-Command *service* → list matching cmds
List object properties/methods Get-Process | Get-Member → show properties

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between PowerShell and CMD?

CMD is the legacy Windows command processor with a limited command set. PowerShell is a modern, object-oriented shell with .NET integration, a rich scripting language, pipeline processing, and cross-platform support. PowerShell replaces CMD for all but the simplest tasks.

Does PowerShell work on Mac and Linux?

Yes! PowerShell Core (7.x) is cross-platform and runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Install via brew (macOS), apt/snap (Linux), or download from GitHub. Most cmdlets work cross-platform, though some Windows-specific ones (like Get-Service) are Windows-only.

How do I run a PowerShell script?

Save as .ps1 file, then run with ./script.ps1. You may need to set execution policy first: Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser. This allows running local scripts while blocking unsigned remote scripts.

What are the most useful PowerShell cmdlets?

Essential cmdlets: Get-Help (documentation), Get-Command (find commands), Get-Member (inspect objects), Get-ChildItem (list files), Where-Object (filter), ForEach-Object (transform), Select-Object (project), Sort-Object (sort), and Invoke-WebRequest (HTTP).

How do I handle errors in PowerShell?

Use try/catch/finally for structured error handling. Set $ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop' to make all errors catchable. In catch blocks, use $_ or $PSItem to access the error object. Use -ErrorAction Stop on individual cmdlets to override the default preference.

How does PowerShell compare to Bash?

Bash passes text through pipes; PowerShell passes objects. This means no parsing grep/awk/sed - just access properties. Bash is more concise for simple text tasks. PowerShell is more powerful for structured data, Windows admin, and complex scripting. Many devs use both.

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