Edit

Share via

dsc resource get

  • Article

Synopsis

Invokes the get operation of a resource.

Syntax

Without instance properties

dsc resource get [Options] --resource <RESOURCE>

Instance properties from stdin

<instance-properties> | dsc resource get [Options] --resource <RESOURCE>

Instance properties from input option

dsc resource get --input '<instance-properties>' --resource <RESOURCE>

Instance properties from file

dsc resource get --path <instance-properties-filepath> --resource <RESOURCE>

Description

The get subcommand returns the current state of a resource instance.

By default, this subcommand returns one instance from a specific DSC Resource. To return multiple resources, use the --all parameter, a resource group, or the dsc config get command.

Any properties the resource requires for retrieving the state of an instance must be passed to this command as a JSON or YAML object. The object can be passed to this command from stdin or with the --input option. You can also use the --path option to read the object from a JSON or YAML file.

Examples

Example 1 - Get resource instance without any input

For single-instance resources that don't require any property values to return the actual state of the resource instance, the instance properties aren't required.

dsc resource get --resource Microsoft/OSInfo

actualState:
  $id: https://developer.microsoft.com/json-schemas/dsc/os_info/20230303/Microsoft.Dsc.OS_Info.schema.json
  family: Windows
  version: 10.0.22621
  edition: Windows 11 Enterprise
  bitness: '64'

Example 2 - Get resource instance with input option

If a resource requires one or more property values to return the actual state of the instance, the instance properties can be passed with the input option as either JSON or YAML.

dsc resource get --resource Microsoft.Windows/Registry --input '{
    "keyPath": "HKLM\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows NT\\CurrentVersion",
    "valueName": "SystemRoot"
}'

actualState:
  $id: https://developer.microsoft.com/json-schemas/windows/registry/20230303/Microsoft.Windows.Registry.schema.json
  keyPath: HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion
  valueName: SystemRoot
  valueData:
    String: C:\WINDOWS

Example 3 - Get resource instance with input from stdin

If a resource requires one or more property values to return the actual state of the instance, the instance properties can be passed over stdin as either JSON or YAML.

'{
    "keyPath": "HKLM\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows NT\\CurrentVersion",
    "valueName": "SystemRoot"
}' | dsc resource get --resource Microsoft.Windows/Registry

actualState:
  $id: https://developer.microsoft.com/json-schemas/windows/registry/20230303/Microsoft.Windows.Registry.schema.json
  keyPath: HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion
  valueName: SystemRoot
  valueData:
    String: C:\WINDOWS

Example 4 - Get resource instance with input from a YAML file

If a resource requires one or more property values to return the actual state of the instance, the instance properties can be retrieved from a saved JSON or YAML file.

cat ./example.yaml

keyPath:   HKLM\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows NT\\CurrentVersion
valueName: SystemRoot

dsc resource get --resource Microsoft.Windows/Registry --path ./example.yaml

actualState:
  $id: https://developer.microsoft.com/json-schemas/windows/registry/20230303/Microsoft.Windows.Registry.schema.json
  keyPath: HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion
  valueName: SystemRoot
  valueData:
    String: C:\WINDOWS

Options

-a, --all

Specifies that the command should return every instance of the specified DSC Resource instead of a specific instance.

This option is only valid when the Resource is an exportable resource that defines the export section in the input configuration. If the resource type isn't exportable, DSC raises an error.

When this option is specified, DSC ignores the --input and --path options and any JSON or YAML sent to the command from stdin.

Type:      Boolean
Mandatory: false

-r, --resource

Specifies the fully qualified type name of the DSC Resource to use, like Microsoft.Windows/Registry.

The fully qualified type name syntax is: <owner>[.<group>][.<area>]/<name>, where:

  • The owner is the maintaining author or organization for the resource.
  • The group and area are optional name components that enable namespacing for a resource.
  • The name identifies the component the resource manages.
Type:      String
Mandatory: true

-i, --input

Specifies a JSON or YAML object with the properties needed for retrieving an instance of the DSC Resource. DSC validates the object against the resource's instance schema. If the validation fails, DSC raises an error.

This option can't be used with instance properties over stdin or the --path option. Choose whether to pass the instance properties to the command over stdin, from a file with the --path option, or with the --input option.

DSC ignores this option when the --all option is specified.

Type:      String
Mandatory: false

-p, --path

Defines the path to a text file to read as input for the command instead of piping input from stdin or passing it as a string with the --input option. The specified file must contain JSON or YAML that represents valid properties for the resource. DSC validates the object against the resource's instance schema. If the validation fails, or if the specified file doesn't exist, DSC raises an error.

This option is mutually exclusive with the --input option. When you use this option, DSC ignores any input from stdin.

DSC ignores this option when the --all option is specified.

Type:      String
Mandatory: false

-f, --format

The --format option controls the console output format for the command. If the command output is redirected or captured as a variable, the output is always JSON.

Type:         String
Mandatory:    false
DefaultValue: yaml
ValidValues:  [json, pretty-json, yaml]

-h, --help

Displays the help for the current command or subcommand. When you specify this option, the application ignores all options and arguments after this one.

Type:      Boolean
Mandatory: false

Output

By default, this command returns JSON output that includes the actual state of the instance. When the --all option is specified, the command returns the JSON output for each instance as JSON Lines.

For more information about the structure of the output JSON, see dsc resource get result schema.