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PowerShell Commands

Get-Item

Get-Item [-Credential <PSCredential>] [-Exclude <String[]>] [-Filter <String>] [-Force] [-Include <String[]>]-LiteralPath* <String[]> [-Stream <String[]>] [-UseTransaction] [<CommonParameters>]
Get-Item [-Path*] <String[]> [-Credential <PSCredential>] [-Exclude <String[]>] [-Filter <String>] [-Force][-Include <String[]>] [-Stream <String[]>] [-UseTransaction] [<CommonParameters>]
Get-Item [-Stream <string>] [<CommonParameters>]

The Get-Item cmdlet gets the item at the specified location. It does not get the contents of the item at the location unless you use a wildcard character (*) to request all the contents of the item.

This cmdlet is used by Windows PowerShell providers to navigate through different types of data stores.In the file system, the Get-Item cmdlet gets files and folders.

Note: This custom cmdlet help file explains how the Get-Item cmdlet works in a file system drive. For information about the Get-Item cmdlet in all drives, type "Get-Help Get-Item -Path $null" or see Get-Item at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=113319.

Parameters

-Stream <string>

  • Default value is No alternate file streams

Gets the specified alternate NTFS file stream from the file. Enter the stream name. Wildcards are supported. To get all streams, use an asterisk (*). This parameter is not valid on folders.

Stream is a dynamic parameter that the FileSystem provider adds to the Get-Item cmdlet. This parameter works only in file system drives.

This parameter is introduced in Windows PowerShell 3.0.

-Credential <PSCredential>

  • Default value is None
  • Accepts pipeline input ByPropertyName

Specifies a user account that has permission to perform this action. The default is the current user.

Type a user-name, such as User01 or Domain01\User01, or enter a PSCredential object, such as one generated by the Get-Credential cmdlet. If you type a user name, you will be prompted for a password.

This parameter is not supported by any providers installed with Windows PowerShell.

-Exclude <String[]>

  • Default value is None
  • Accepts pipeline input False

Specifies, as a string array, an item or items that this cmdlet excludes in the operation. The value of this parameter qualifies the Path parameter. Enter a path element or pattern, such as *.txt. Wildcards are permitted.

The Exclude parameter is effective only when the command includes the contents of an item, such as C:\Windows\*, where the wildcard character specifies the contents of the C:\Windows directory.

-Filter <String>

  • Default value is None
  • Accepts pipeline input False

Specifies a filter in the provider's format or language. The value of this parameter qualifies the Path parameter. The syntax of the filter, including the use of wildcards, depends on the provider. Filters are more efficient than other parameters, because the provider applies them when this cmdlet gets the objects, rather than having Windows PowerShell filter the objects after they are retrieved.

-Force [<SwitchParameter>]

  • Default value is False
  • Accepts pipeline input False

Indicates that this cmdlet gets items that cannot otherwise be accessed, such as hidden items. Implementation varies from provider to provider.

-Include <String[]>

  • Default value is None
  • Accepts pipeline input False

Specifies, as a string array, an item or items that this cmdlet includes in the operation. The value of this parameter qualifies the Path parameter. Enter a path element or pattern, such as *.txt. Wildcards are permitted.

The Include parameter is effective only when the command includes the contents of an item, such as C:\Windows\*, where the wildcard character specifies the contents of the C:\Windows directory.

-LiteralPath <String[]>

  • This value is required
  • Default value is None
  • Accepts pipeline input ByPropertyName

Specifies a path to the item. Unlike the Path parameter, the value of LiteralPath is used exactly as it is typed. No characters are interpreted as wildcards. If the path includes escape characters, enclose it in single quotation marks. Single quotation marks tell Windows PowerShell not to interpret any characters as escape sequences.

-Path <String[]>

  • This value is required
  • Default value is None
  • Accepts pipeline input ByPropertyName

Specifies the path to an item. This cmdlet gets the item at the specified location. Wildcards are permitted. This parameter is required, but the parameter name ("Path") is optional.

Use a dot (.) to specify the current location. Use the wildcard character (*) to specify all the items in the current location.

-UseTransaction [<SwitchParameter>]

  • Default value is False
  • Accepts pipeline input False

Includes the command in the active transaction. This parameter is valid only when a transaction is in progress.

<CommonParameters>

This cmdlet supports the common parameters: Verbose, Debug,ErrorAction, ErrorVariable, WarningAction, WarningVariable,OutBuffer, PipelineVariable, and OutVariable.

Inputs
System.String[ ]
You can pipe a path to the Get-Item cmdlet.
Outputs
System.IO.FileInfo, System.IO.DirectoryInfo, Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.AlternateStreamData
In the file system, Get-Item returns files and folders. If you use the Stream parameter, it returns AlternateStreamData objects.
Examples
  1. This command gets all stream data from a file that was downloaded from the Internet:
    C:\PS> Get-Item C:\Users\User01\Downloads\InternetFile.docx -Stream *

      FileName: C:\Users\User01\Downloads\InternetFile.docx
   Stream                   Length
   ------                   ------
   :$DATA                    45056
   Zone.Identifier              26

    The Zone.Identifier stream identifies a file that originated on the Internet. The $DATA stream is the default.

    The Stream parameter is introduced in Windows PowerShell 3.0.

  2. This command gets Zone.Identifier stream data from all files in the C:\ps-test directory:
    C:\PS> Get-Item C:\ps-test\* -Stream Zone.Identifier -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

      FileName: C:\ps-test\Copy-Script.ps1
   Stream                   Length
   ------                   ------
   Zone.Identifier              26
      FileName: C:\ps-test\Start-ActivityTracker.ps1
   Stream                   Length
   ------                   ------
   Zone.Identifier              26

    The command uses the Stream parameter to specify the alternate stream and he ErrorAction parameter with a value of SilentlyContinue to suppress non-terminating errors that are generated when a file has no alternate data streams.

    The Stream parameter is introduced in Windows PowerShell 3.0.

  3. This command gets the current directory:
    C:\PS> Get-Item .

   Directory: C:\
   Mode                LastWriteTime     Length Name
   ----                -------------     ------ ----
   d----         7/26/2006  10:01 AM            ps-test

    The dot (.) represents the item at the current location (not its contents).

  4. This command gets the current directory of the C: drive:
    C:\PS> Get-Item *

   Directory: C:\ps-test
   Mode                LastWriteTime     Length Name
   ----                -------------     ------ ----
   d----         7/26/2006   9:29 AM            Logs
   d----         7/26/2006   9:26 AM            Recs
   -a---         7/26/2006   9:28 AM         80 date.csv
   -a---         7/26/2006  10:01 AM         30 filenoext
   -a---         7/26/2006   9:30 AM      11472 process.doc
   -a---         7/14/2006  10:47 AM         30 test.txt

    The object that is retrieved represents only the directory, not its contents.

  5. This command gets the items in the C: drive:
    C:\PS> Get-Item C:\

    The wildcard character (*) represents all the items in the container, not just the container.

    In Windows PowerShell, use a single asterisk (*) to get contents, instead of the traditional "*.*". The format is interpreted literally, so "*.*" would not retrieve directories or file names without a dot.

  6. This command gets the LastAccessTime property of the C:\Windows directory:
    C:\PS> (Get-Item C:\Windows).LastAccessTime

    LastAccessTime is just one property of file system directories. To see all of the properties of a directory, type "(Get-Item ) | Get-Member".

  7. This command gets items in the Windows directory with names that include a dot (.), but do not begin with w*:
    C:\PS> Get-Item C:\Windows\*.* -Exclude w*

    This command works only when the path includes a wildcard character (*) to specify the contents of the item.

Additional Notes
 * You can also refer to this cmdlet by its built-in alias, "gi". For more information, see about_Aliases.

 This cmdlet does not have a Recurse parameter, because it gets only an item, not its contents. To get the 
 contents of an item recursively, use Get-ChildItem.

 To navigate through the registry, use this cmdlet to get registry keys and the Get-ItemProperty to get 
 registry values and data. The registry values are considered to be properties of the registry key.

 This cmdlet is designed to work with the data exposed by any provider. To list the providers available in your 
 session, type `Get-PsProvider`. For more information, see about_Providers.

 *

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International. It is attributed to Microsoft Corporation and can be found here.

PowerShell Commands