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Get-Command

  • Reference
Module:
Microsoft.PowerShell.Core

Gets all commands.

Syntax

Get-Command
   [[-ArgumentList] <Object[]>]
   [-Verb <String[]>]
   [-Noun <String[]>]
   [-Module <String[]>]
   [-TotalCount <Int32>]
   [-Syntax]
   [-All]
   [-ListImported]
   [-ParameterName <String[]>]
   [-ParameterType <PSTypeName[]>]
   [<CommonParameters>]
Get-Command
   [[-Name] <String[]>]
   [[-ArgumentList] <Object[]>]
   [-CommandType <CommandTypes>]
   [-Module <String[]>]
   [-TotalCount <Int32>]
   [-Syntax]
   [-All]
   [-ListImported]
   [-ParameterName <String[]>]
   [-ParameterType <PSTypeName[]>]
   [<CommonParameters>]

Description

The Get-Command cmdlet gets all commands that are installed on the computer, including cmdlets, aliases, functions, filters, scripts, and applications. Get-Command gets the commands from PowerShell modules and commands that were imported from other sessions. To get only commands that have been imported into the current session, use the ListImported parameter.

Without parameters, Get-Command gets all of the cmdlets, functions, and aliases installed on the computer. Get-Command * gets all types of commands, including all of the non-PowerShell files in the Path environment variable ($env:Path), which it lists in the Application command type.

Get-Command that uses the exact name of the command, without wildcard characters, automatically imports the module that contains the command so that you can use the command immediately. To enable, disable, and configure automatic importing of modules, use the $PSModuleAutoLoadingPreference preference variable. For more information, see about_Preference_Variables.

Get-Command gets its data directly from the command code, unlike Get-Help, which gets its information from help topics.

Examples

Example 1: Get cmdlets, functions, and aliases

This command gets the PowerShell cmdlets, functions, and aliases that are installed on the computer.

Get-Command

Example 2: Get commands in the current session

This command uses the ListImported parameter to get only the commands in the current session.

Get-Command -ListImported

Example 3: Get cmdlets and display them in order

This command gets all of the cmdlets, sorts them alphabetically by the noun in the cmdlet name, and then displays them in noun-based groups. This display can help you find the cmdlets for a task.

Get-Command -Type Cmdlet | Sort-Object -Property Noun | Format-Table -GroupBy Noun

Example 4: Get commands in a module

This command uses the Module parameter to get the commands in the Microsoft.PowerShell.Security and Microsoft.PowerShell.Utility modules.

Get-Command -Module Microsoft.PowerShell.Security, Microsoft.PowerShell.Utility

Example 5: Get information about a cmdlet

This command gets information about the Get-AppLockerPolicy cmdlet. It also imports the AppLocker module, which adds all of the commands in the AppLocker module to the current session.

Get-Command Get-AppLockerPolicy

When a module is imported automatically, the effect is the same as using the Import-Module cmdlet. The module can add commands, types and formatting files, and run scripts in the session. To enable, disable, and configuration automatic importing of modules, use the $PSModuleAutoLoadingPreference preference variable. For more information, see about_Preference_Variables.

Example 6: Get the syntax of a cmdlet

This command uses the ArgumentList and Syntax parameters to get the syntax of the Get-ChildItem cmdlet when it is used in the Cert: drive. The Cert: drive is a PowerShell drive that the Certificate Provider adds to the session.

Get-Command Get-Childitem -Args Cert: -Syntax

When you compare the syntax displayed in the output with the syntax that is displayed when you omit the Args (ArgumentList) parameter, you'll see that the Certificate provider adds a dynamic parameter, CodeSigningCert, to the Get-ChildItem cmdlet.

For more information about the Certificate provider, see about_Certificate_Provider.

Example 7: Get dynamic parameters

The command in the example uses the Get-DynamicParameters function to get the dynamic parameters that the Certificate provider adds to the Get-ChildItem cmdlet when it is used in the Cert: drive.

function Get-DynamicParameters
{
    param ($Cmdlet, $PSDrive)
    (Get-Command $Cmdlet -ArgumentList $PSDrive).ParameterSets | ForEach-Object {$_.Parameters} | Where-Object { $_.IsDynamic } | Select-Object -Property Name -Unique
}
Get-DynamicParameters -Cmdlet Get-ChildItem -PSDrive Cert:

Name
----
CodeSigningCert

The Get-DynamicParameters function in this example gets the dynamic parameters of a cmdlet. This is an alternative to the method used in the previous example. Dynamic parameter can be added to a cmdlet by another cmdlet or a provider.

Example 8: Get all commands of all types

This command gets all commands of all types on the local computer, including executable files in the paths of the Path environment variable ($env:path).

Get-Command *

It returns an ApplicationInfo object (System.Management.Automation.ApplicationInfo) for each file, not a FileInfo object (System.IO.FileInfo).

Example 9: Get cmdlets by using a name

This command gets cmdlets that have a parameter whose name includes Auth and whose type is AuthenticationMechanism.

Get-Command -ParameterName *Auth* -ParameterType AuthenticationMechanism

You can use a command like this one to find cmdlets that let you specify the method that is used to authenticate the user.

The ParameterType parameter distinguishes parameters that take an AuthenticationMechanism value from those that take an AuthenticationLevel parameter, even when they have similar names.

Example 10: Get an alias

This example shows how to use the Get-Command cmdlet with an alias.

Get-Command dir

CommandType     Name                                               ModuleName
-----------     ----                                               ----------
Alias           dir -> Get-ChildItem

Although it is typically used on cmdlets and functions, Get-Command also gets scripts, functions, aliases, and executable files.

The output of the command shows the special view of the Name property value for aliases. The view shows the alias and the full command name.

Example 11: Get all instances of the Notepad command

This example uses the All parameter of the Get-Command cmdlet to show all instances of the "Notepad" command on the local computer.

Get-Command Notepad -All | Format-Table CommandType, Name, Definition

CommandType     Name           Definition
-----------     ----           ----------
Application     notepad.exe    C:\WINDOWS\system32\notepad.exe
Application     NOTEPAD.EXE    C:\WINDOWS\NOTEPAD.EXE

The All parameter is useful when there is more than one command with the same name in the session.

Beginning in Windows PowerShell 3.0, by default, when the session includes multiple commands with the same name, Get-Command gets only the command that runs when you type the command name. With the All parameter, Get-Command gets all commands with the specified name and returns them in execution precedence order. To run a command other than the first one in the list, type the fully qualified path to the command.

For more information about command precedence, see about_Command_Precedence.

Example 12: Get the name of a module that contains a cmdlet

This command gets the name of the module in which the Get-Date cmdlet originated. The command uses the ModuleName property of all commands.

(Get-Command Get-Date).ModuleName

Microsoft.PowerShell.Utility

This command format works on commands in PowerShell modules, even if they are not imported into the session.

Example 13: Get cmdlets and functions that have an output type

Get-Command -Type Cmdlet | Where-Object OutputType | Format-List -Property Name, OutputType

This command gets the cmdlets and functions that have an output type and the type of objects that they return.

The first part of the command gets all cmdlets. A pipeline operator (|) sends the cmdlets to the Where-Object cmdlet, which selects only the ones in which the OutputType property is populated. Another pipeline operator sends the selected cmdlet objects to the Format-List cmdlet, which displays the name and output type of each cmdlet in a list.

The OutputType property of a CommandInfo object has a non-null value only when the cmdlet code defines the OutputType attribute for the cmdlet.

Example 14: Get cmdlets that take a specific object type as input

Get-Command -ParameterType (((Get-NetAdapter)[0]).PSTypeNames)

CommandType     Name                                               ModuleName
-----------     ----                                               ----------
Function        Disable-NetAdapter                                 NetAdapter
Function        Enable-NetAdapter                                  NetAdapter
Function        Rename-NetAdapter                                  NetAdapter
Function        Restart-NetAdapter                                 NetAdapter
Function        Set-NetAdapter                                     NetAdapter

This command finds cmdlets that take net adapter objects as input. You can use this command format to find the cmdlets that accept the type of objects that any command returns.

The command uses the PSTypeNames intrinsic property of all objects, which gets the types that describe the object. To get the PSTypeNames property of a net adapter, and not the PSTypeNames property of a collection of net adapters, the command uses array notation to get the first net adapter that the cmdlet returns. To get the PSTypeNames property of a net adapter, and not the PSTypeNames property of a collection of net adapters, the command uses array notation to get the first net adapter that the cmdlet returns.

Parameters

-All

Indicates that this cmdlet gets all commands, including commands of the same type that have the same name. By default, Get-Command gets only the commands that run when you type the command name.

For more information about the method that PowerShell uses to select the command to run when multiple commands have the same name, see about_Command_Precedence. For information about module-qualified command names and running commands that do not run by default because of a name conflict, see about_Modules.

This parameter was introduced in Windows PowerShell 3.0.

In Windows PowerShell 2.0, Get-Command gets all commands by default.

Type:SwitchParameter
Position:Named
Default value:False
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:True
Accept wildcard characters:False

-ArgumentList

Specifies an array of arguments. This cmdlet gets information about a cmdlet or function when it is used with the specified parameters ("arguments"). The alias for ArgumentList is Args.

To detect dynamic parameters that are available only when certain other parameters are used, set the value of ArgumentList to the parameters that trigger the dynamic parameters.

To detect the dynamic parameters that a provider adds to a cmdlet, set the value of the ArgumentList parameter to a path in the provider drive, such as WSMan:, HKLM:, or Cert:. When the command is a PowerShell provider cmdlet, enter only one path in each command. The provider cmdlets return only the dynamic parameters for the first path the value of ArgumentList. For information about the provider cmdlets, see about_Providers.

Type:Object[]
Aliases:Args
Position:1
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

-CommandType

Specifies the types of commands that this cmdlet gets. Enter one or more command types. Use CommandType or its alias, Type. By default, Get-Command gets all cmdlets, functions, and aliases.

The acceptable values for this parameter are:

  • Alias. Gets the aliases of all PowerShell commands. For more information, see about_Aliases.
  • All. Gets all command types. This parameter value is the equivalent of Get-Command *.
  • Application. Gets non-PowerShell files in paths listed in the Path environment variable ($env:path), including .txt, .exe, and .dll files. For more information about the Path environment variable, see about_Environment_Variables.
  • Cmdlet. Gets all cmdlets.
  • ExternalScript. Gets all .ps1 files in the paths listed in the Path environment variable ($env:path).
  • Filter and Function. Gets all PowerShell advanced and simple functions and filters.
  • Script. Gets all script blocks. To get PowerShell scripts (.ps1 files), use the ExternalScript value.
  • Workflow. Gets all workflows. For more information about workflows, see Introducing Windows PowerShell Workflow.
Type:CommandTypes
Aliases:Type
Accepted values:Alias, Function, Filter, Cmdlet, ExternalScript, Application, Script, Workflow, Configuration, All
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:True
Accept wildcard characters:False

-ListImported

Indicates that this cmdlet gets only commands in the current session.

Starting in PowerShell 3.0, by default, Get-Command gets all installed commands, including, but not limited to, the commands in the current session. In PowerShell 2.0, it gets only commands in the current session.

This parameter was introduced in Windows PowerShell 3.0.

Type:SwitchParameter
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:True
Accept wildcard characters:False

-Module

Specifies an array of modules. This cmdlet gets the commands that came from the specified modules or snap-ins. Enter the names of modules or snap-ins.

This parameter takes string values, but the value of this parameter can also be a PSModuleInfo or PSSnapinInfo object, such as the objects that the Get-Module, Get-PSSnapin, and Import-PSSession cmdlets return.

You can refer to this parameter by its name, Module, or by its alias, PSSnapin. The parameter name that you choose has no effect on the command output.

Type:String[]
Aliases:PSSnapin
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:True
Accept wildcard characters:True

-Name

Specifies an array of names. This cmdlet gets only commands that have the specified name. Enter a name or name pattern. Wildcard characters are permitted.

To get commands that have the same name, use the All parameter. When two commands have the same name, by default, Get-Command gets the command that runs when you type the command name.

Type:String[]
Position:0
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:True
Accept wildcard characters:True

-Noun

Specifies an array of command nouns. This cmdlet gets commands, which include cmdlets, functions, and aliases, that have names that include the specified noun. Enter one or more nouns or noun patterns. Wildcard characters are permitted.

Type:String[]
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:True
Accept wildcard characters:True

-ParameterName

Specifies an array of parameter names. This cmdlet gets commands in the session that have the specified parameters. Enter parameter names or parameter aliases. Wildcard characters are supported.

The ParameterName and ParameterType parameters search only commands in the current session.

This parameter was introduced in Windows PowerShell 3.0.

Type:String[]
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:True

-ParameterType

Specifies an array of parameter names. This cmdlet gets commands in the session that have parameters of the specified type. Enter the full name or partial name of a parameter type. Wildcard characters are supported.

The ParameterName and ParameterType parameters search only commands in the current session.

This parameter was introduced in Windows PowerShell 3.0.

Type:PSTypeName[]
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:True

-Syntax

Indicates that this cmdlet gets only the following specified data about the command:

  • Aliases. Gets the standard name.
  • Cmdlets. Gets the syntax.
  • Functions and filters. Gets the function definition.
  • Scripts and applications or files. Gets the path and filename.
Type:SwitchParameter
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:True
Accept wildcard characters:False

-TotalCount

Specifies the number of commands to get. You can use this parameter to limit the output of a command.

Type:Int32
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:True
Accept wildcard characters:False

-Verb

Specifies an array of command verbs. This cmdlet gets commands, which include cmdlets, functions, and aliases, that have names that include the specified verb. Enter one or more verbs or verb patterns. Wildcard characters are permitted.

Type:String[]
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:True
Accept wildcard characters:True

Inputs

String

You can pipe command names to this cmdlet.

Outputs

CommandInfo

This cmdlet returns objects derived from the CommandInfo class. The type of object that is returned depends on the type of command that Get-Command gets.

AliasInfo

Represents aliases.

ApplicationInfo

Represents applications and files.

CmdletInfo

Represents cmdlets.

FunctionInfo

Represents functions and filters.

WorkflowInfo

Represents workflows.

Notes

  • When more than one command that has the same name is available to the session, Get-Command returns the command that runs when you type the command name. To get commands that have the same name, listed in run order, use the All parameter. For more information, see about_Command_Precedence.
  • When a module is imported automatically, the effect is the same as using the Import-Module cmdlet. The module can add commands, types and formatting files, and run scripts in the session. To enable, disable, and configuration automatic importing of modules, use the $PSModuleAutoLoadingPreference preference variable. For more information, see about_Preference_Variables.