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MigrationBot: Import from cypat.guide: docs/windows/scripting/beginner_powershell.md

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Import from cypat.guide: docs/windows/scripting/beginner_powershell.md

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'''Author(s):''' Byrch<br />
'''Last Updated:''' 07-30-2025

{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" style="width:100%"
! Recommended Prerequisites (click to expand)
|-
|

None – This guide is for complete beginners. Some familiarity with Windows is helpful.

|}

-----

== What is a Commandlet (Cmdlet)? ==

A '''cmdlet''' (pronounced ''command-let'') is a small, single-function command built into PowerShell.<br />
Cmdlets are different from traditional commands because they:

* '''ALWAYS''' return objects (not just text).
* Use a consistent '''verb-noun''' naming convention.
* Can be combined together using '''pipelines (|)'''.

'''Examples:'''

<syntaxhighlight lang="powershell">Get-Help # Displays help info
Get-Process # Lists running processes
Stop-Process # Stops a process</syntaxhighlight>
<blockquote>'''Tip:''' Cmdlets are case-insensitive. <code>Get-Process</code> and <code>get-process</code> work the same.
</blockquote>
To see all available cmdlets:

<syntaxhighlight lang="powershell">Get-Command</syntaxhighlight>

-----

== Navigation ==

PowerShell can navigate your system like the command prompt, but with more features.

=== Basic navigation commands: ===

* <code>Get-Location</code> (or <code>pwd</code>) → Shows your current directory.
* <code>Set-Location <path></code> (or <code>cd <path></code>) → Change directory.
* <code>Get-ChildItem</code> (or <code>ls</code>) → List files/folders in the current directory.

'''Example:'''

<syntaxhighlight lang="powershell">Get-Location
Set-Location C:\Windows
Get-ChildItem</syntaxhighlight>
'''Using relative paths:'''

<syntaxhighlight lang="powershell">cd .. # Move up one directory
cd .\Logs # Move into Logs folder</syntaxhighlight>

-----

== Basic Scripting ==

PowerShell allows you to write scripts with the <code>.ps1</code> file extension.

=== Creating and running a script ===

<ol style="list-style-type: decimal;">
<li>Open '''Notepad''' or '''Powershell ISE (Integrated Scripting Environment).'''</li>
<li>Write your PowerShell commands.</li>
<li>Save as <code>myscript.ps1</code>.</li>
<li>Run it in PowerShell:
<syntaxhighlight lang="powershell">.\myscript.ps1</syntaxhighlight></li></ol>

<blockquote>'''Important:''' You may need to change the execution policy to allow scripts:
</blockquote>
<syntaxhighlight lang="powershell">Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope CurrentUser RemoteSigned</syntaxhighlight>
=== Variables ===

<syntaxhighlight lang="powershell">$name = "CyberPatriot"
Write-Output "Hello, $name!"</syntaxhighlight>
=== Conditionals ===

<syntaxhighlight lang="powershell">if ($true) { Write-Output "It runs!" }</syntaxhighlight>
=== Loops ===

<syntaxhighlight lang="powershell"># Loop that counts till 5
for ($i = 1; $i -le 5; $i++) {
Write-Output "Number: $i"
}</syntaxhighlight>

-----

== File Operations ==

PowerShell makes file management straightforward:

=== Creating and reading files ===

<syntaxhighlight lang="powershell">New-Item -Path . -Name "notes.txt" -ItemType "File" # Create file
Set-Content notes.txt "This is cool!" # Write text
Get-Content notes.txt # Read file</syntaxhighlight>
=== Copying, moving, and deleting files ===

<syntaxhighlight lang="powershell">Copy-Item notes.txt C:\Backups
Move-Item notes.txt C:\Backups
Remove-Item C:\Backups\notes.txt</syntaxhighlight>
=== Working with directories ===

<syntaxhighlight lang="powershell">New-Item -Name "Reports" -ItemType "Directory"
Remove-Item Reports -Recurse -Force</syntaxhighlight>
=== Working with many files recursively ===

<syntaxhighlight lang="powershell">Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Force -File </syntaxhighlight>

-----

=== Pipelines (Power of PowerShell) ===

You can pass the output of one cmdlet to another using <code>|</code>:

<syntaxhighlight lang="powershell">Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Force -File | Where-Object {$_.Extension -eq ".mp3"}</syntaxhighlight>
This command finds all the '''files''' in the current directory with the extension *.mp3

-----

=== Fun Commands (Power of PowerShell) ===

You can find the checksum of a file using:

<syntaxhighlight lang="powershell">Get-FileHash -Algorithm MD5 -Path "/file/path/here"</syntaxhighlight>
Want to secure a plaintext string? You can use the following to convert it to encrypt and store strings securely (this will come in handy later):

<syntaxhighlight lang="powershell">"mypassword" | ConvertTo-SecureString -AsPlainText -Force</syntaxhighlight>
Don't know what a command-let does? You can view the parameters and other capabilties using another command-let:

<syntaxhighlight lang="powershell">Show-Command Get-LocalUser</syntaxhighlight>

[[Category:Windows PowerShell|009]]
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