Invoke-WebRequest

Invoke-WebRequest [-Uri*] <Uri> [-Body <Object>] [-Certificate <X509Certificate>] [-CertificateThumbprint <String>][-ContentType <String>] [-Credential <PSCredential>] [-DisableKeepAlive] [-Headers <IDictionary>] [-InFile<String>] [-MaximumRedirection <Int32>] [-Method {Default | Get | Head | Post | Put | Delete | Trace | Options |Merge | Patch}] [-OutFile <String>] [-PassThru] [-Proxy <Uri>] [-ProxyCredential <PSCredential>][-ProxyUseDefaultCredentials] [-SessionVariable <String>] [-TimeoutSec <Int32>] [-TransferEncoding {chunked |compress | deflate | gzip | identity}] [-UseBasicParsing] [-UseDefaultCredentials] [-UserAgent <String>][-WebSession <WebRequestSession>] [<CommonParameters>]

The Invoke-WebRequest cmdlet sends HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, and FILE requests to a web page or web service. It parses the response and returns collections of forms, links, images, and other significant HTML elements.

This cmdlet was introduced in Windows PowerShell 3.0.

Parameters

-Body <Object>

Default value is None
Accepts pipeline input ByValue

Specifies the body of the request. The body is the content of the request that follows the headers. You can also pipe a body value to Invoke-WebRequest .

The Body parameter can be used to specify a list of query parameters or specify the content of the response.

When the input is a GET request and the body is an IDictionary (typically, a hash table), the body is added to the URI as query parameters. For other GET requests, the body is set as the value of the request body in the standard name=value format.

When the body is a form, or it is the output of an Invoke-WebRequest call, Windows PowerShell sets the request content to the form fields.

For example:

`$R = Invoke-WebRequest http://website.com/login.aspx` `$R.Forms[0].Name = "MyName"` `$R.Forms[0].Password = "MyPassword"` `Invoke-RestMethod http://website.com/service.aspx -Body $R`

- or -

`Invoke-RestMethod http://website.com/service.aspx -Body $R.Forms[0]`

-Certificate <X509Certificate>

Default value is None
Accepts pipeline input False

Specifies the client certificate that is used for a secure web request. Enter a variable that contains a certificate or a command or expression that gets the certificate.

To find a certificate, use Get-PfxCertificate or use the Get-ChildItem cmdlet in the Certificate (Cert:) drive. If the certificate is not valid or does not have sufficient authority, the command fails.

-CertificateThumbprint <String>

Default value is None
Accepts pipeline input False

Specifies the digital public key certificate (X509) of a user account that has permission to send the request. Enter the certificate thumbprint of the certificate.

Certificates are used in client certificate-based authentication. They can be mapped only to local user accounts; they do not work with domain accounts.

To get a certificate thumbprint, use the Get-Item or Get-ChildItem command in the Windows PowerShell Cert: drive.

-ContentType <String>

Default value is None
Accepts pipeline input False

Specifies the content type of the web request.

If this parameter is omitted and the request method is POST, Invoke-WebRequest sets the content type to application/x-www-form-urlencoded. Otherwise, the content type is not specified in the call.

-Credential <PSCredential>

Default value is None
Accepts pipeline input False

Specifies a user account that has permission to send the request. 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.

-DisableKeepAlive [<SwitchParameter>]

Default value is False
Accepts pipeline input False

Indicates that the cmdlet sets the KeepAlive value in the HTTP header to False. By default, KeepAlive is True. KeepAlive establishes a persistent connection to the server to facilitate subsequent requests.

-Headers <IDictionary>

Default value is None
Accepts pipeline input False

Specifies the headers of the web request. Enter a hash table or dictionary.

To set UserAgent headers, use the UserAgent parameter. You cannot use this parameter to specify UserAgent or cookie headers.

-InFile <String>

Default value is None
Accepts pipeline input False

Gets the content of the web request from a file.

Enter a path and file name. If you omit the path, the default is the current location.

-MaximumRedirection <Int32>

Default value is None
Accepts pipeline input False

Specifies how many times Windows PowerShell redirects a connection to an alternate Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) before the connection fails. The default value is 5. A value of 0 (zero) prevents all redirection.

-Method <WebRequestMethod>

Default value is None
Accepts pipeline input False

Specifies the method used for the web request. The acceptable values for this parameter are:

- Default

- Delete

- Get

- Head

- Merge

- Options

- Patch

- Post

- Put

- Trace

-OutFile <String>

Default value is None
Accepts pipeline input False

Specifies the output file for which this cmdlet saves the response body. Enter a path and file name. If you omit the path, the default is the current location.

By default, Invoke-WebRequest returns the results to the pipeline. To send the results to a file and to the pipeline, use the Passthru parameter.

-PassThru [<SwitchParameter>]

Default value is False
Accepts pipeline input False

Indicates that the cmdlet returns the results, in addition to writing them to a file. This parameter is valid only when the OutFile parameter is also used in the command.

-Proxy <Uri>

Default value is None
Accepts pipeline input False

Specifies a proxy server for the request, rather than connecting directly to the Internet resource. Enter the URI of a network proxy server.

-ProxyCredential <PSCredential>

Default value is None
Accepts pipeline input False

Specifies a user account that has permission to use the proxy server that is specified by the Proxy parameter. 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.

This parameter is valid only when the Proxy parameter is also used in the command. You cannot use the ProxyCredential and ProxyUseDefaultCredentials parameters in the same command.

-ProxyUseDefaultCredentials [<SwitchParameter>]

Default value is False
Accepts pipeline input False

Indicates that the cmdlet uses the credentials of the current user to access the proxy server that is specified by the Proxy parameter.

This parameter is valid only when the Proxy parameter is also used in the command. You cannot use the ProxyCredential and ProxyUseDefaultCredentials parameters in the same command.

-SessionVariable <String>

Default value is None
Accepts pipeline input False

Specifies a variable for which this cmdlet creates a web request session and saves it in the value. Enter a variable name without the dollar sign ($) symbol.

When you specify a session variable, Invoke-WebRequest creates a web request session object and assigns it to a variable with the specified name in your Windows PowerShell session. You can use the variable in your session as soon as the command completes.

Unlike a remote session, the web request session is not a persistent connection. It is an object that contains information about the connection and the request, including cookies, credentials, the maximum redirection value, and the user agent string. You can use it to share state and data among web requests.

To use the web request session in subsequent web requests, specify the session variable in the value of the WebSession parameter. Windows PowerShell uses the data in the web request session object when establishing the new connection. To override a value in the web request session, use a cmdlet parameter, such as UserAgent or Credential . Parameter values take precedence over values in the web request session.

You cannot use the SessionVariable and WebSession parameters in the same command.

-TimeoutSec <Int32>

Default value is None
Accepts pipeline input False

Specifies how long the request can be pending before it times out. Enter a value in seconds. The default value, 0, specifies an indefinite time-out.

A Domain Name System (DNS) query can take up to 15 seconds to return or time out. If your request contains a host name that requires resolution, and you set TimeoutSec to a value greater than zero, but less than 15 seconds, it can take 15 seconds or more before a WebException is thrown, and your request times out.

-TransferEncoding <String>

Default value is None
Accepts pipeline input False

Specifies a value for the transfer-encoding HTTP response header. The acceptable values for this parameter are:

- Chunked

- Compress

- Deflate

- GZip

- Identity

-Uri <Uri>

This value is required
Default value is None
Accepts pipeline input False

Specifies the Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) of the Internet resource to which the web request is sent. Enter a URI. This parameter supports HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, and FILE values.

This parameter is required. The parameter name ( Uri ) is optional.

-UseBasicParsing [<SwitchParameter>]

Default value is False
Accepts pipeline input False

Indicates that the cmdlet uses the response object for HTML content without Document Object Model (DOM) parsing.

This parameter is required when Internet Explorer is not installed on the computers, such as on a Server Core installation of a Windows Server operating system.

-UseDefaultCredentials [<SwitchParameter>]

Default value is False
Accepts pipeline input False

Indicates that the cmdet uses the credentials of the current user to send the web request.

-UserAgent <String>

Default value is None
Accepts pipeline input False

Specifies a user agent string for the web request.

The default user agent is similar to Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT; Windows NT 6.1; en-US) WindowsPowerShell/3.0 with slight variations for each operating system and platform.

To test a website with the standard user agent string that is used by most Internet browsers, use the properties of the PSUserAgenthttp://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/hh484857(v=vs.85).aspx class, such as Chrome, FireFox, InternetExplorer, Opera, and Safari.

For example, the following command uses the user agent string for Internet

`Invoke-WebRequest -Uri http://website.com/ -UserAgent ([Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.PSUserAgent]::InternetExplorer)`

-WebSession <WebRequestSession>

Default value is None
Accepts pipeline input False

Specifies a web request session. Enter the variable name, including the dollar sign ($).

To override a value in the web request session, use a cmdlet parameter, such as UserAgent or Credential . Parameter values take precedence over values in the web request session.

To create a web request session, enter a variable name (without a dollar sign) in the value of the SessionVariable parameter of an Invoke-WebRequest command. Invoke-WebRequest creates the session and saves it in the variable. In subsequent commands, use the variable as the value of the WebSession parameter.

You cannot use the SessionVariable and WebSession parameters in the same command.

<CommonParameters>

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

Inputs

System.Object

You can pipe the body of a web request to Invoke-WebRequest .

Outputs

Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.HtmlWebResponseObject

Examples

Send a web request:
```
PS C:\> $R = Invoke-WebRequest -URI http://www.bing.com?q=how+many+feet+in+a+mile
PS C:\> $R.AllElements | where {$_.innerhtml -like "*=*"} | Sort { $_.InnerHtml.Length } | Select InnerText -First 5
innerText---------1 =5280 feet1 mile
```
This command uses the Invoke-WebRequest cmdlet to send a web request to the Bing.com site.

The first command issues the request and saves the response in the $R variable.

The second command gets the InnerHtml property when it includes an equal sign, sorts the inner HTML by length and selects the 5 shortest values. Sorting by the shortest HTML value often helps you find the most specific element that matches that text.

Use a stateful web service:

The first command uses the **Invoke-WebRequest** cmdlet to send a sign-in request:
```
PS C:\> $R=Invoke-WebRequest http://www.facebook.com/login.php -SessionVariable fb
```
The command specifies a value of "FB" for the value of the *SessionVariable* parameter, and saves the result in the $R variable.When the command completes, the $R variable contains an **HtmlWebResponseObject** and the $FB variable contains a **WebRequestSession** object.
The second command shows the **WebRequestSession** object in the $FB variable:
```
PS C:\> $FB
```
The third command gets the first form in the **Forms** property of the HTTP response object in the $R variable, and saves it in the $Form variable:
```
PS C:\> $Form = $R.Forms[0]
```
The fourth command pipes the properties of the form in the $Form variable into a list by using the Format-List cmdlet:
```
PS C:\> $Form | Format-List
```
The fifth command displays the keys and values in the hash table (dictionary) object in the Fields property of the form:
```
PS C:\> $Form.fields
```
The sixth and seventh commands populate the values of the email and pass keys of the hash table in the **Fields** property of the form:
```
PS C:\> $Form.Fields["email"]="[email protected]"
$Form.Fields["pass"]="P@ssw0rd"
```
You can replace the email and password with values that you want to use.
The eighth command uses the **Invoke-WebRequest** cmdlet to sign into the Facebook web service.The value of the *Uri* parameter is the value of the **Action** property of the form:
```
PS C:\> $R=Invoke-WebRequest -Uri ("https://www.facebook.com" + $Form.Action) -WebSession $FB -Method POST -Body $Form.Fields
```
The **WebRequestSession** object in the $FB variable (the session variable specified in the first command) is now the value of the *WebSession* parameter. The value of the *Body* parameter is the hash table in the Fields property of the form and the value of the *Method* parameter is POST. The command saves the output in the $R variable.

The full script, then, is as follows:

PS C:\> # Sends a sign-in request by running the Invoke-WebRequest cmdlet. The command specifies a value of "fb" for the SessionVariable parameter, and saves the results in the $R variable.

   $R=Invoke-WebRequest http://www.facebook.com/login.php -SessionVariable fb
   # Use the session variable that you created in Example 1. Output displays values for Headers, Cookies, 
   Credentials, etc. 
   $FB
   # Gets the first form in the Forms property of the HTTP response object in the $R variable, and saves it in the 
   $Form variable. 
   $Form = $R.Forms[0]
   # Pipes the form properties that are stored in the $Forms variable into the Format-List cmdlet, to display those 
   properties in a list. 
   $Form | Format-List
   # Displays the keys and values in the hash table (dictionary) object in the Fields property of the form.
   $Form.fields
   # The next two commands populate the values of the "email" and "pass" keys of the hash table in the Fields 
   property of the form. Of course, you can replace the email and password with values that you want to use. 
   $Form.Fields["email"] = "[email protected]"
   $Form.Fields["pass"] = "P@ssw0rd"
   # The final command uses the Invoke-WebRequest cmdlet to sign in to the Facebook web service. 
   $R=Invoke-WebRequest -Uri ("https://www.facebook.com" + $Form.Action) -WebSession $FB -Method POST -Body 
   $Form.Fields
   When the command finishes, the **StatusDescription** property of the web response object in the $R variable 
   indicates that the user is signed in successfully.

PS C:\> $R.StatusDescription

This example shows how to use the Invoke-WebRequest cmdlet with a stateful web service, such as Facebook.

Get links from a web page:
```
PS C:\> (Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa973757(v=vs.85).aspx").Links.Href
```
This command gets the links in a web page. It uses the Invoke-WebRequest cmdlet to get the web page content. Then it users the Links property of the HtmlWebResponseObject that Invoke-WebRequest returns, and the Href property of each link.

Additional Notes

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