Get-PSSession
Gets the PowerShell sessions on local and remote computers.
Syntax
Get-PSSession
[-Name <String[]>]
[<CommonParameters>]Get-PSSession
[-ComputerName] <String[]>
[-ApplicationName <String>]
[-ConfigurationName <String>]
[-Name <String[]>]
[-Credential <PSCredential>]
[-Authentication <AuthenticationMechanism>]
[-CertificateThumbprint <String>]
[-Port <Int32>]
[-UseSSL]
[-ThrottleLimit <Int32>]
[-State <SessionFilterState>]
[-SessionOption <PSSessionOption>]
[<CommonParameters>]Get-PSSession
[-ComputerName] <String[]>
[-ApplicationName <String>]
[-ConfigurationName <String>]
-InstanceId <Guid[]>
[-Credential <PSCredential>]
[-Authentication <AuthenticationMechanism>]
[-CertificateThumbprint <String>]
[-Port <Int32>]
[-UseSSL]
[-ThrottleLimit <Int32>]
[-State <SessionFilterState>]
[-SessionOption <PSSessionOption>]
[<CommonParameters>]Get-PSSession
[-ConnectionUri] <Uri[]>
[-ConfigurationName <String>]
[-AllowRedirection]
-InstanceId <Guid[]>
[-Credential <PSCredential>]
[-Authentication <AuthenticationMechanism>]
[-CertificateThumbprint <String>]
[-ThrottleLimit <Int32>]
[-State <SessionFilterState>]
[-SessionOption <PSSessionOption>]
[<CommonParameters>]Get-PSSession
[-ConnectionUri] <Uri[]>
[-ConfigurationName <String>]
[-AllowRedirection]
[-Name <String[]>]
[-Credential <PSCredential>]
[-Authentication <AuthenticationMechanism>]
[-CertificateThumbprint <String>]
[-ThrottleLimit <Int32>]
[-State <SessionFilterState>]
[-SessionOption <PSSessionOption>]
[<CommonParameters>]Get-PSSession
[-ConfigurationName <String>]
[-Name <String[]>]
[-State <SessionFilterState>]
-ContainerId <String[]>
[<CommonParameters>]Get-PSSession
[-ConfigurationName <String>]
-InstanceId <Guid[]>
[-State <SessionFilterState>]
-ContainerId <String[]>
[<CommonParameters>]Get-PSSession
[-ConfigurationName <String>]
[-Name <String[]>]
[-State <SessionFilterState>]
-VMId <Guid[]>
[<CommonParameters>]Get-PSSession
[-ConfigurationName <String>]
-InstanceId <Guid[]>
[-State <SessionFilterState>]
-VMId <Guid[]>
[<CommonParameters>]Get-PSSession
[-ConfigurationName <String>]
[-Name <String[]>]
[-State <SessionFilterState>]
-VMName <String[]>
[<CommonParameters>]Get-PSSession
[-ConfigurationName <String>]
-InstanceId <Guid[]>
[-State <SessionFilterState>]
-VMName <String[]>
[<CommonParameters>]Get-PSSession
[-InstanceId <Guid[]>]
[<CommonParameters>]Get-PSSession
[-Id] <Int32[]>
[<CommonParameters>]Description
The Get-PSSession cmdlet gets the user-managed PowerShell sessions (PSSessions) on local and
remote computers.
Starting in Windows PowerShell 3.0, sessions are stored on the computers at the remote end of each
connection. You can use the ComputerName or ConnectionUri parameters of Get-PSSession to
get the sessions that connect to the local computer or remote computers, even if they were not
created in the current session.
Without parameters, Get-PSSession gets all sessions that were created in the current session.
Use the filtering parameters, including Name, ID, InstanceID, State,
ApplicationName, and ConfigurationName to select from among the sessions that
Get-PSSession returns.
Use the remaining parameters to configure the temporary connection in which the Get-PSSession
command runs when you use the ComputerName or ConnectionUri parameters.
Note
In Windows PowerShell 2.0, without parameters, Get-PSSession gets all sessions that were created
in the current session. The ComputerName parameter gets sessions that were created in the
current session and connect to the specified computer.
For more information about PowerShell sessions, see about_PSSessions.
Examples
Example 1: Get sessions created in the current session
Get-PSSessionThis command gets all of the PSSessions that were created in the current session. It does not get PSSessions that were created in other sessions or on other computers, even if they connect to this computer.
Example 2: Get sessions connected to the local computer
Get-PSSession -ComputerName "localhost"This command gets the PSSessions that are connected to the local computer. To indicate the local
computer, type the computer name, localhost, or a dot (.)
The command returns all of the sessions on the local computer, even if they were created in different sessions or on different computers.
Example 3: Get sessions connected to a computer
Get-PSSession -ComputerName "Server02"
Id Name ComputerName State ConfigurationName Availability
-- ---- ------------ ----- ----------------- ------------
2 Session3 Server02 Disconnected ITTasks Busy
1 ScheduledJobs Server02 Opened Microsoft.PowerShell Available
3 Test Server02 Disconnected Microsoft.PowerShell BusyThis command gets the PSSessions that are connected to the Server02 computer.
The command returns all of the sessions on Server02, even if they were created in different sessions or on different computers.
The output shows that two of the sessions have a Disconnected state and a Busy availability.
They were created in different sessions and are currently in use. The ScheduledJobs session, which
is Opened and Available, was created in the current session.
Example 4: Save results of this command
New-PSSession -ComputerName Server01, Server02, Server03
$s1, $s2, $s3 = Get-PSSessionThis example shows how to save the results of a Get-PSSession command in multiple variables.
The first command uses the New-PSSession cmdlet to create PSSessions on three remote
computers.
The second command uses a Get-PSSession cmdlet to get the three PSSessions. It then saves each
of the PSSessions in a separate variable.
When PowerShell assigns an array of objects to an array of variables, it assigns the first object to the first variable, the second object to the second variable, and so on. If there are more objects than variables, it assigns all remaining objects to the last variable in the array. If there are more variables than objects, the extra variables are not used.
Example 5: Delete a session by using an instance ID
Get-PSSession | Format-Table -Property ComputerName, InstanceID
$s = Get-PSSession -InstanceID a786be29-a6bb-40da-80fb-782c67f7db0f
Remove-PSSession -Session $sThis example shows how to get a PSSession by using its instance ID, and then to delete the PSSession.
The first command gets all of the PSSessions that were created in the current session. It sends
the PSSessions to the Format-Table cmdlet, which displays the ComputerName and
InstanceID properties of each PSSession.
The second command uses the Get-PSSession cmdlet to get a particular PSSession and to save it
in the $s variable. The command uses the InstanceID parameter to identify the PSSession.
The third command uses the Remove-PSSession cmdlet to delete the PSSession in the $s variable.
Example 6: Get a session that has a particular name
The commands in this example find a session that has a particular name format and uses a particular session configuration and then connect to the session. You can use a command like this one to find a session in which a colleague started a task and connect to finish the task.
Get-PSSession -ComputerName Server02, Server12 -Name BackupJob* -ConfigurationName ITTasks -SessionOption @{OperationTimeout=240000}
Id Name ComputerName State ConfigurationName Availability
-- ---- ------------ ----- ----------------- ------------
3 BackupJob04 Server02 Disconnected ITTasks None
$s = Get-PSSession -ComputerName Server02 -Name BackupJob04 -ConfigurationName ITTasks | Connect-PSSession
$s
Id Name ComputerName State ConfigurationName Availability
-- ---- ------------ ----- ----------------- ------------
5 BackupJob04 Server02 Opened ITTasks AvailableThe first command gets sessions on the Server02 and Server12 remote computers that have names that
begin with BackupJob and use the ITTasks session configuration.The command uses the Name
parameter to specify the name pattern and the ConfigurationName parameter to specify the session
configuration. The value of the SessionOption parameter is a hash table that sets the value of
the OperationTimeout to 240000 milliseconds (4 minutes). This setting gives the command more
time to complete.The ConfigurationName and SessionOption parameters are used to configure
the temporary sessions in which the Get-PSSession cmdlet runs on each computer.The output shows
that the command returns the BackupJob04 session. The session is disconnected and the
Availability is None, which indicates that it is not in use.
The second command uses the Get-PSSession cmdlet to get to the BackupJob04 session and the
Connect-PSSession cmdlet to connect to the session. The command saves the session in the $s
variable.
The third command gets the session in the $s variable. The output shows that the
Connect-PSSession command was successful. The session is in the Opened state and is available
for use.
Example 7: Get a session by using its ID
Get-PSSession -Id 2This command gets the PSSession with ID 2. Because the value of the ID property is unique
only in the current session, the Id parameter is valid only for local commands.
Parameters
-AllowRedirection
Indicates that this cmdlet allows redirection of this connection to an alternate Uniform Resource Identifier (URI). By default, PowerShell does not redirect connections.
This parameter configures the temporary connection that is created to run a Get-PSSession command
with the ConnectionUri parameter.
This parameter was introduced in Windows PowerShell 3.0.
| Type: | SwitchParameter |
| Position: | Named |
| Default value: | False |
| Required: | False |
| Accept pipeline input: | False |
| Accept wildcard characters: | False |
-ApplicationName
Specifies the name of an application. This cmdlet connects only to sessions that use the specified application.
Enter the application name segment of the connection URI. For example, in the following connection
URI, the application name is WSMan: http://localhost:5985/WSMAN. The application name of a session
is stored in the Runspace.ConnectionInfo.AppName property of the session.
The value of this parameter is used to select and filter sessions. It does not change the application that the session uses.
| Type: | String |
| Position: | Named |
| Default value: | All sessions |
| Required: | False |
| Accept pipeline input: | True |
| Accept wildcard characters: | False |
-Authentication
Specifies the mechanism that is used to authenticate credentials for the session in which the
Get-PSSession command runs.
This parameter configures the temporary connection that is created to run a Get-PSSession command
with the ComputerName or ConnectionUri parameter.
The acceptable values for this parameter are:
DefaultBasicCredSSPDigestKerberosNegotiateNegotiateWithImplicitCredential.
The default value is Default.
For more information about the values of this parameter, see AuthenticationMechanism Enumeration.
Caution
Credential Security Support Provider (CredSSP) authentication, in which the user's credentials are passed to a remote computer to be authenticated, is designed for commands that require authentication on more than one resource, such as accessing a remote network share. This mechanism increases the security risk of the remote operation. If the remote computer is compromised, the credentials that are passed to it can be used to control the network session.
This parameter was introduced in Windows PowerShell 3.0.
| Type: | AuthenticationMechanism |
| Accepted values: | Default, Basic, Negotiate, NegotiateWithImplicitCredential, Credssp, Digest, Kerberos |
| Position: | Named |
| Default value: | Default |
| Required: | False |
| Accept pipeline input: | False |
| Accept wildcard characters: | False |
-CertificateThumbprint
Specifies the digital public key certificate (X509) of a user account that has permission to create
the session in which the Get-PSSession command runs. Enter the certificate thumbprint of the
certificate.
This parameter configures the temporary connection that is created to run a Get-PSSession command
with the ComputerName or ConnectionUri parameter.
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 a Get-Item or Get-ChildItem command in the PowerShell
Cert: drive.
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: | False |
-ComputerName
Specifies an array of names of computers. Gets the sessions that connect to the specified computers. Wildcard characters are not permitted. There is no default value.
Beginning in Windows PowerShell 3.0, PSSession objects are stored on the computers at the remote
end of each connection. To get the sessions on the specified computers, PowerShell creates a
temporary connection to each computer and runs a Get-PSSession command.
Type the NetBIOS name, an IP address, or a fully-qualified domain name of one or more computers. To
specify the local computer, type the computer name, localhost, or a dot (.).
Note
This parameter gets sessions only from computers that run Windows PowerShell 3.0 or later versions of PowerShell. Earlier versions do not store sessions.
| Type: | String[] |
| Aliases: | Cn |
| Position: | 0 |
| Default value: | None |
| Required: | True |
| Accept pipeline input: | True |
| Accept wildcard characters: | False |
-ConfigurationName
Specifies the name of a configuration. This cmdlet gets only to sessions that use the specified session configuration.
Enter a configuration name or the fully qualified resource URI for a session configuration. If you
specify only the configuration name, the following schema URI is prepended:
http://schemas.microsoft.com/powershell. The configuration name of a session is stored in the
ConfigurationName property of the session.
The value of this parameter is used to select and filter sessions. It does not change the session configuration that the session uses.
For more information about session configurations, see about_Session_Configurations.
| Type: | String |
| Position: | Named |
| Default value: | All sessions |
| Required: | False |
| Accept pipeline input: | True |
| Accept wildcard characters: | False |
-ConnectionUri
Specifies a URI that defines the connection endpoint for the temporary session in which the
Get-PSSession command runs. The URI must be fully qualified.
This parameter configures the temporary connection that is created to run a Get-PSSession command
with the ConnectionUri parameter.
The format of this string is:
<Transport>://<ComputerName>:<Port\>/<ApplicationName>
The default value is: http://localhost:5985/WSMAN.
If you do not specify a ConnectionUri, you can use the UseSSL, ComputerName, Port,
and ApplicationName parameters to specify the ConnectionURI values. Valid values for the
Transport segment of the URI are HTTP and HTTPS. If you specify a connection URI with a Transport
segment, but do not specify a port, the session is created with standards ports: 80 for HTTP and
443 for HTTPS. To use the default ports for PowerShell remoting, specify port 5985 for HTTP or
5986 for HTTPS.
If the destination computer redirects the connection to a different URI, PowerShell prevents the redirection unless you use the AllowRedirection parameter in the command.
This parameter was introduced in Windows PowerShell 3.0.
This parameter gets sessions only from computers that run Windows PowerShell 3.0 or later versions of Windows PowerShell. Earlier versions do not store sessions.
| Type: | Uri[] |
| Aliases: | URI, CU |
| Position: | 0 |
| Default value: | Http://localhost:5985/WSMAN |
| Required: | True |
| Accept pipeline input: | True |
| Accept wildcard characters: | False |
-ContainerId
Specifies an array of IDs of containers. This cmdlet starts an interactive session with each of the
specified containers. Use the docker ps command to get a list of container IDs. For more
information, see the help for the
docker ps command.
| Type: | String[] |
| Position: | Named |
| Default value: | None |
| Required: | True |
| Accept pipeline input: | True |
| Accept wildcard characters: | False |
-Credential
Specifies a user credential. This cmdlet runs the command with the permissions of the specified
user. Specify a user account that has permission to connect to the remote computer and run a
Get-PSSession command. The default is the current user.
Type a user name, such as User01 or Domain01\User01, or enter a PSCredential object
generated by the Get-Credential cmdlet. If you type a user name, you're prompted to enter the
password.
Credentials are stored in a PSCredential object and the password is stored as a SecureString.
Note
For more information about SecureString data protection, see How secure is SecureString?.
This parameter configures to the temporary connection that is created to run a Get-PSSession
command with the ComputerName or ConnectionUri parameter.
This parameter was introduced in Windows PowerShell 3.0.
| Type: | PSCredential |
| Position: | Named |
| Default value: | Current user |
| Required: | False |
| Accept pipeline input: | False |
| Accept wildcard characters: | False |
-Id
Specifies an array of session IDs. This cmdlet gets only the sessions with the specified IDs. Type
one or more IDs, separated by commas, or use the range operator (..) to specify a range of IDs.
You cannot use the ID parameter together with the ComputerName parameter.
An ID is an integer that uniquely identifies the user-managed sessions in the current session. It is easier to remember and type than the InstanceId, but it is unique only within the current session. The ID of a session is stored in the ID property of the session.
| Type: | Int32[] |
| Position: | 0 |
| Default value: | All sessions |
| Required: | True |
| Accept pipeline input: | True |
| Accept wildcard characters: | False |
-InstanceId
Specifies an array of instance IDs of sessions. This cmdlet gets only the sessions with the specified instance IDs.
The instance ID is a GUID that uniquely identifies a session on a local or remote computer. The InstanceID is unique, even when you have multiple sessions running in PowerShell.
The instance ID of a session is stored in the InstanceID property of the session.
| Type: | Guid[] |
| Position: | Named |
| Default value: | All sessions |
| Required: | False |
| Accept pipeline input: | False |
| Accept wildcard characters: | False |
-Name
Specifies an array of session names. This cmdlet gets only the sessions that have the specified friendly names. Wildcard characters are permitted.
The friendly name of a session is stored in the Name property of the session.
| Type: | String[] |
| Position: | Named |
| Default value: | All sessions |
| Required: | False |
| Accept pipeline input: | True |
| Accept wildcard characters: | True |
-Port
Specifies the specified network port that is used for the temporary connection in which the
Get-PSSession command runs. To connect to a remote computer, the remote computer must be listening
on the port that the connection uses. The default ports are 5985, which is the WinRM port for
HTTP, and 5986, which is the WinRM port for HTTPS.
Before using an alternate port, you must configure the WinRM listener on the remote computer to listen at that port. To configure the listener, type the following two commands at the PowerShell prompt:
Remove-Item -Path WSMan:\Localhost\listener\listener* -Recurse
New-Item -Path WSMan:\Localhost\listener -Transport http -Address * -Port \<port-number\>
This parameter configures to the temporary connection that is created to run a Get-PSSession
command with the ComputerName or ConnectionUri parameter.
Do not use the Port parameter unless you must. The Port set in the command applies to all computers or sessions on which the command runs. An alternate port setting might prevent the command from running on all computers.
This parameter was introduced in Windows PowerShell 3.0.
| Type: | Int32 |
| Position: | Named |
| Default value: | 5985, 5986 |
| Required: | False |
| Accept pipeline input: | False |
| Accept wildcard characters: | False |
-SessionOption
Specifies advanced options for the session. Enter a SessionOption object, such as one that you
create by using the New-PSSessionOption cmdlet, or a hash table in which the keys are session
option names and the values are session option values.
The default values for the options are determined by the value of the $PSSessionOption preference
variable, if it is set. Otherwise, the default values are established by options set in the session
configuration.
The session option values take precedence over default values for sessions set in the
$PSSessionOption preference variable and in the session configuration. However, they do not take
precedence over maximum values, quotas or limits set in the session configuration.
For a description of the session options, including the default values, see New-PSSessionOption.
For information about the $PSSessionOption preference variable, see
about_Preference_Variables. For more information about
session configurations, see about_Session_Configurations.
| Type: | PSSessionOption |
| Position: | Named |
| Default value: | None |
| Required: | False |
| Accept pipeline input: | False |
| Accept wildcard characters: | False |
-State
Specifies a session state. This cmdlet gets only sessions in the specified state. The acceptable
values for this parameter are: All, Opened, Disconnected, Closed, and Broken. The default
value is All.
The session state value is relative to the current sessions. Sessions that were not created in the
current sessions and are not connected to the current session have a state of Disconnected even when
they are connected to a different session.
The state of a session is stored in the State property of the session.
This parameter was introduced in Windows PowerShell 3.0.
| Type: | SessionFilterState |
| Accepted values: | All, Opened, Disconnected, Closed, Broken |
| Position: | Named |
| Default value: | All |
| Required: | False |
| Accept pipeline input: | False |
| Accept wildcard characters: | False |
-ThrottleLimit
Specifies the maximum number of concurrent connections that can be established to run the
Get-PSSession command. If you omit this parameter or enter a value of 0 (zero), the default
value, 32, is used. The throttle limit applies only to the current command, not to the session or
to the computer.
This parameter was introduced in Windows PowerShell 3.0.
| Type: | Int32 |
| Position: | Named |
| Default value: | 32 |
| Required: | False |
| Accept pipeline input: | False |
| Accept wildcard characters: | False |
-UseSSL
Indicates that this cmdlet uses the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol to establish the connection
in which the Get-PSSession command runs. By default, SSL is not used. If you use this parameter,
but SSL is not available on the port used for the command, the command fails.
This parameter configures the temporary connection that is created to run a Get-PSSession command
with the ComputerName parameter.
This parameter was introduced in Windows PowerShell 3.0.
| Type: | SwitchParameter |
| Position: | Named |
| Default value: | False |
| Required: | False |
| Accept pipeline input: | False |
| Accept wildcard characters: | False |
-VMId
Specifies an array of ID of virtual machines. This cmdlet starts an interactive session with each of the specified virtual machines. To see the virtual machines that are available to you, use the following command:
Get-VM | Select-Object -Property Name, ID
| Type: | Guid[] |
| Aliases: | VMGuid |
| Position: | Named |
| Default value: | None |
| Required: | True |
| Accept pipeline input: | True |
| Accept wildcard characters: | False |
-VMName
Specifies an array of names of virtual machines. This cmdlet starts an interactive session with each
of the specified virtual machines. To see the virtual machines that are available to you, use the
Get-VM cmdlet.
| Type: | String[] |
| Position: | Named |
| Default value: | None |
| Required: | True |
| Accept pipeline input: | True |
| Accept wildcard characters: | False |
Inputs
None
You can't pipe objects to this cmdlet.
Outputs
Notes
Windows PowerShell includes the following aliases for Get-PSSession:
gsnThis cmdlet gets user-managed sessions PSSession objects" such as those that are created by using the
New-PSSession,Enter-PSSession, andInvoke-Commandcmdlets. It does not get the system-managed session that is created when you start PowerShell.Starting in Windows PowerShell 3.0, PSSession objects are stored on the computer that is at the server-side or receiving end of a connection. To get the sessions that are stored on the local computer or a remote computer, PowerShell establishes a temporary session to the specified computer and runs query commands in the session.
To get sessions that connect to a remote computer, use the ComputerName or ConnectionUri parameters to specify the remote computer. To filter the sessions that
Get-PSSessiongets, use the Name, ID, InstanceID, and State parameters. Use the remaining parameters to configure the temporary session thatGet-PSSessionuses.When you use the ComputerName or ConnectionUri parameters,
Get-PSSessiongets only sessions from computers running Windows PowerShell 3.0 and later versions of PowerShell.The value of the State property of a PSSession is relative to the current session. Therefore, a value of Disconnected means that the PSSession is not connected to the current session. However, it does not mean that the PSSession is disconnected from all sessions. It might be connected to a different session. To determine whether you can connect or reconnect to the PSSession from the current session, use the Availability property.
An Availability value of None indicates that you can connect to the session. A value of Busy indicates that you cannot connect to the PSSession because it is connected to another session.
For more information about the values of the State property of sessions, see RunspaceState Enumeration.
For more information about the values of the Availability property of sessions, see RunspaceAvailability Enumeration.
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