PowerShell
Cheat sheet for syntax, operators, and operations in the PowerShell language
Arithmetic Operators
1 + 2 |
Addition |
|---|---|
1 - 2 |
Subtraction |
-1 |
Set negative value |
1 * 2 |
Multiplication |
1 / 2 |
Division |
1 % 2 |
Modulus |
100 -shl 2 |
Bitwise Shift-left |
100 -shr 1 |
Bitwise Shift-right |
Assignment Operators
= |
Sets the value of a variable to the specified value |
|---|---|
+= |
Increases the value of a variable by the specified value |
+= |
Appends the specified value to the existing value |
-= |
Decreases the value of a variable by the specified value |
*= |
Multiplies the value of a variable by the specified value |
/= |
Divides the value of a variable by the specified value |
%= |
Divides the value of a variable by the specified value and then assigns the remainder (modulus) to the variable |
++ |
Increases the value of a variable, assignable property, or array element by 1 |
-- |
Decreases the value of a variable, assignable property, or array element by 1 |
Comparison Operators
1 -eq 1 |
Equal to |
|---|---|
1 -ne 2 |
Not equal to |
5 -gt 1 |
Greater-than |
5 -ge 5 |
Greater-than or equal to |
5 -lt 10 |
Less-than |
5 -le 5 |
Less-than or equal to |
"MyString" -like "*String" |
Match using the wildcard character (*) |
"MyString" -notlike "Other*" |
Does not match using the wildcard character (*) |
"MyString" -match "$String^" |
Matches a string using regular expressions |
"MyString" -notmatch "$Other^" |
Does not match a string using regular expressions |
"abc", "def" -contains "def" |
Returns true when the value (right) is present in the array (left) |
"abc", "def" -notcontains "123" |
Returns true when the value (right) is not present in the array (left) |
"def" -in "abc", "def" |
Returns true when the value (left) is present in the array (right) |
"123" -notin "abc", "def" |
Returns true when the value (left) is not present in the array (right) |
"Get-Process" -replace "Get", "Stop" |
Changes the specified elements of a value |
Logical Operators
-and |
Logical and |
|---|---|
-or |
Logical or |
-xor |
Logical exclusive or |
-not |
Logical not |
! |
Logical not |
Redirection Operators
cmdlet > file |
Send success output to file (overwrite) |
|---|---|
cmdlet >> file |
Send success output to file (append) |
cmdlet 1>&2 |
Send success and error output to error stream |
cmdlet 2> file |
Send error output to file (overwrite) |
cmdlet 2>> file |
Send error output to file (append) |
cmdlet 2>&1 |
Send success and error output to success output stream |
cmdlet 3> file |
Send warning output to file (overwrite) |
cmdlet 3>> file |
Send warning output to file (append) |
cmdlet 3>&1 |
Send success and warning output to success output stream |
cmdlet 4> file |
Send verbose output to file (overwrite) |
cmdlet 4>> file |
Send verbose output to file (append) |
cmdlet 4>&1 |
Send success and verbose output to success output stream |
cmdlet 5> file |
Send debug output to file (overwrite) |
cmdlet 5>> file |
Send debug output to file (append) |
cmdlet 5>&1 |
Send success and debug output to debug stream |
cmdlet *> file |
Send all output streams to file (overwrite) |
cmdlet *>> file |
Send all output streams to file (append) |
cmdlet *>&1 |
Send all output streams to success output stream |
Type Operators
(get-date) -is [DateTime] |
Returns true when the input (left) is an instance of the specified .NET Framework type (right) |
|---|---|
(get-date) -isNot [DateTime] |
Returns true when the input (left) is not an instance of the specified .NET Framework type (right) |
01/01/16 -as [DateTime] |
Converts the input (left) to the specified .NET Framework type (right) |
Special Operators
( expression ) |
Grouping expresion operator; Returns the result of a single contained statement |
|---|---|
$( exp1; exp2 ) |
Subexpression operator; Returns the result of one or more contained statements |
@( 1 ) |
Array subexpression operator; Returns the result of one or more contained statements as an array |
@( expression1 ; expression2 ) |
Array subexpression operator; Returns the result of one or more contained statements as an array |
[DateTime]::now |
Static member operator; Calls the static properties operator and methods of a .NET Framework class |
$arr = ,1 |
Comma operator (unary); the comma creates an array with one member (place the comma before the member) |
$arr = 1,2,3 |
Comma operator (binary); the comma creates an array |
& notepad.exe |
Call operator; Runs a command, script, or script block |
. .\sample.ps1 |
Dot-sourcing operator; Runs a script in the current scope so that any functions, aliases, and variables that the script creates are added to the current scope |
"{0:N}" -f 1.126 |
Format operator; Formats strings by using the format method of string objects |
1..10 |
Range operator; Represents the sequential integers in an integer array, given an upper and lower boundary |
Pipeline
cmdlet1 \| cmdlet2 |
Send (pipe) output of cmdlet1 to cmdlet2; if output is a collection, objects are sent one at a time |
|---|---|
$_ |
The current object in the pipeline |
cmdlet \| ForEach-Object { ... } |
Loop each object in the pipeline |
cmdlet \| % { ... } |
Alias of ForEach-Object |
cmdlet \| Where-Object { ... } |
Filter each object in the pipeline by the given expression |
cmdlet \| ? { ... } |
Alias of Where-Object |
Strings
'' |
String literal; single-quoted strings do not support substitution |
|---|---|
"" |
String literal; double-quoted strings do support substitution |
"$myVariable" |
Variable expansion |
"$(2 + 3)" |
Expression expansion |
-join |
Combine multiple strings into a single string |
-split |
Separate single string into substrings |
Switch Statements
switch(1){ 1{'One'} 2{'Two'} } |
Switch statement, where the input value 1 is compared to case values 1 and 2. 1 equals 1, so ‘One’ is output |
|---|---|
switch(1){ 1{'One'; break} 2{'Two'; break} } |
Switch statement, where the input value 1 is compared to case values until the first matching value. The switch statement is then exited |
switch(3){ 1{'One'; break} 2{'Two'; break} default{'None'} } |
Switch statement, where the input value 3 is compared to case values until the first matching value, or to the default statement if no matching values are found |
switch -Regex ('Test'){ 'Te*'{1} } |
Switch statement, where the input value is matched to regular expression case statements. ‘Test’ matches ‘Te*’, so 1 is output |
switch -CaseSensitive ('test'){ 'Te*'{1} } |
Switch statement, where the input value is compared to case values and case sensitivity is enforced. ‘test’ does not match ‘Test’, so nothing is output |
switch -File ./test.txt { 'Test'{1} } |
Switch statement, where the input value is retrieved from a file and compared to case statements |
If/ElseIf/Else Statements
if($val -eq 1){'Statement 1'} |
If statement, where the conditional statement ‘$val -eq 1’ is always evaluated and ‘Statement 1’ is output if the condition is true |
|---|---|
if($val -eq 1){'Statement 1'} elseif($val -eq 2){'Statement 2'} |
If/ElseIf statement, where elseif is evaluated only when the if condition is false |
if($val -eq 1){'Statement 1'} elseif($val -eq 2){'Statement 2'} else{'Statement 3'} |
If/ElseIf statement, where else is evaluated only when the if and elseif conditions are both false |
Loops
for($i=1; $i -le 10; $i++){Write-Host $i} |
For loop, writing from 1 to 10 in console |
|---|---|
foreach ($service in Get-Service) { $service.Status -eq "Running" } |
Foreach loop, iterating all services and outputting true/false depending on each service’s status |
while($val -ne 10) { $val++ ; Write-Host $val } |
While loop, writing from 1 to 10 in console |