New-Item

Module:

Microsoft.PowerShell.Management

Creates a new item.

Syntax

New-Item
   [-Path] <String[]>
   [-ItemType <String>]
   [-Value <Object>]
   [-Force]
   [-Credential <PSCredential>]
   [-WhatIf]
   [-Confirm]
   [<CommonParameters>]

New-Item
   [[-Path] <String[]>]
   -Name <String>
   [-ItemType <String>]
   [-Value <Object>]
   [-Force]
   [-Credential <PSCredential>]
   [-WhatIf]
   [-Confirm]
   [<CommonParameters>]

New-Item
   [-Path] <string[]>
   -ConnectionURI <uri>
   [-ItemType <string>]
   [-Value <Object>]
   [-Force]
   [-Credential <pscredential>]
   [-WhatIf]
   [-Confirm]
   [-OptionSet <hashtable>]
   [-Authentication <AuthenticationMechanism>]
   [-CertificateThumbprint <string>]
   [-SessionOption <SessionOption>]
   [-Port <int>]
   [<CommonParameters>]

New-Item
   [[-Path] <string[]>]
   -Name <string>
   [-ItemType <string>]
   [-Value <Object>]
   [-Force]
   [-Credential <pscredential>]
   [-WhatIf]
   [-Confirm]
   [-OptionSet <hashtable>]
   [-Authentication <AuthenticationMechanism>]
   [-CertificateThumbprint <string>]
   [-SessionOption <SessionOption>]
   [-ApplicationName <string>]
   [-Port <int>]
   [-UseSSL]
   [<CommonParameters>]

New-Item
   [-Path] <string[]>
   [-ItemType <string>]
   [-Value <Object>]
   [-Force]
   [-Credential <pscredential>]
   [-WhatIf]
   [-Confirm]
   [-Options <ScopedItemOptions>]
   [<CommonParameters>]

New-Item
   [[-Path] <string[]>]
   -Name <string>
   [-ItemType <string>]
   [-Value <Object>]
   [-Force]
   [-Credential <pscredential>]
   [-WhatIf]
   [-Confirm]
   [-Options <ScopedItemOptions>]
   [<CommonParameters>]

Description

The New-Item cmdlet creates a new item and sets its value. The types of items that can be created depend on the location of the item. For example, in the file system, New-Item creates files and folders. In the registry, New-Item creates registry keys and entries.

New-Item can also set the value of the items that it creates. For example, when it creates a new file, New-Item can add initial content to the file.

Examples

Example 1: Create a file in the current directory

This command creates a text file that is named "testfile1.txt" in the current directory. The dot ('.') in the value of the Path parameter indicates the current directory. The quoted text that follows the Value parameter is added to the file as content.

New-Item -Path . -Name "testfile1.txt" -ItemType "file" -Value "This is a text string."

Example 2: Create a directory

This command creates a directory named "Logfiles" in the C: drive. The ItemType parameter specifies that the new item is a directory, not a file or other file system object.

New-Item -Path "c:\" -Name "logfiles" -ItemType "directory"

Example 3: Create a profile

This command creates a PowerShell profile in the path that is specified by the $profile variable.

You can use profiles to customize PowerShell. $profile is an automatic (built-in) variable that stores the path and file name of the "CurrentUser/CurrentHost" profile. By default, the profile does not exist, even though PowerShell stores a path and file name for it.

In this command, the $profile variable represents the path of the file. ItemType parameter specifies that the command creates a file. The Force parameter lets you create a file in the profile path, even when the directories in the path do not exist.

After you create a profile, you can enter aliases, functions, and scripts in the profile to customize your shell.

For more information, see about_Automatic_Variables and about_Profiles.

New-Item -Path $profile -ItemType "file" -Force

Example 4: Create a directory in a different directory

This example creates a new Scripts directory in the "C:\PS-Test" directory.

The name of the new directory item, "Scripts", is included in the value of Path parameter, instead of being specified in the value of Name. As indicated by the syntax, either command form is valid.

New-Item -ItemType "directory" -Path "c:\ps-test\scripts"

Example 5: Create multiple files

This example creates files in two different directories. Because Path takes multiple strings, you can use it to create multiple items.

New-Item -ItemType "file" -Path "c:\ps-test\test.txt", "c:\ps-test\Logs\test.log"

Example 6: Use wildcards to create files in multiple directories

The New-Item cmdlet supports wildcards in the Path parameter. The following command creates a temp.txt file in all of the directories specified by the wildcards in the Path parameter.

Get-ChildItem -Path C:\Temp\

Directory:  C:\Temp

Mode                LastWriteTime     Length Name
----                -------------     ------ ----
d-----        5/15/2019   6:45 AM        1   One
d-----        5/15/2019   6:45 AM        1   Two
d-----        5/15/2019   6:45 AM        1   Three

New-Item -Path C:\Temp\* -Name temp.txt -ItemType File | Select-Object FullName

FullName
--------
C:\Temp\One\temp.txt
C:\Temp\Three\temp.txt
C:\Temp\Two\temp.txt

The Get-ChildItem cmdlet shows three directories under the C:\Temp directory. Using wildcards the New-Item cmdlet creates a temp.txt file in all of the directories under the current directory. The New-Item cmdlet outputs the items you created, which is piped to Select-Object to verify the paths of the newly created files.

Example 7: Create a symbolic link to a file or folder

This example creates a symbolic link to the Notice.txt file in the current folder.

$link = New-Item -ItemType SymbolicLink -Path .\link -Target .\Notice.txt
$link | Select-Object LinkType, Target

LinkType     Target
--------     ------
SymbolicLink {.\Notice.txt}

In this example, Target is an alias for the Value parameter. The target of the symbolic link can be a relative path. Prior to PowerShell v6.2, the target must be a fully-qualified path.

Beginning in PowerShell 7.1, you can now create to a SymbolicLink to a folder on Windows using a relative path.

Example 8: Use the -Force parameter to attempt to recreate folders

This example creates a folder with a file inside. Then, attempts to create the same folder using -Force. It will not overwrite the folder but simply return the existing folder object with the file created intact.

PS> New-Item -Path .\TestFolder -ItemType Directory
PS> New-Item -Path .\TestFolder\TestFile.txt -ItemType File

PS> New-Item -Path .\TestFolder -ItemType Directory -Force

    Directory: C:\
Mode                LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                -------------         ------ ----
d-----         5/1/2020   8:03 AM                TestFolder

PS> Get-ChildItem .\TestFolder\

    Directory: C:\TestFolder
Mode                LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                -------------         ------ ----
-a----         5/1/2020   8:03 AM              0 TestFile.txt

Example 9: Use the -Force parameter to overwrite existing files

This example creates a file with a value and then recreates the file using -Force. This overwrites the existing file, as you can see by the length property.

PS> New-Item ./TestFile.txt -ItemType File -Value 'This is just a test file'

    Directory: C:\Source\Test
Mode                LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                -------------         ------ ----
-a----         5/1/2020   8:32 AM             24 TestFile.txt

New-Item ./TestFile.txt -ItemType File -Force

    Directory: C:\Source\Test
Mode                LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                -------------         ------ ----
-a----         5/1/2020   8:32 AM              0 TestFile.txt

Note

When using New-Item with the -Force switch to create registry keys, the command will behave the same as when overwriting a file. If the registry key already exists, the key and all properties and values will be overwritten with an empty registry key.

Parameters

-ApplicationName

This is a dynamic parameter made available by the WSMan provider. The WSMan provider and this parameter are only available on Windows.

Specifies the application name in the connection. The default value of the ApplicationName parameter is WSMAN.

For more information, see New-WSManInstance.

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

-Authentication

This is a dynamic parameter made available by the WSMan provider. The WSMan provider and this parameter are only available on Windows.

Specifies the authentication mechanism to be used at the server.

For more information, see New-WSManInstance.

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

-CertificateThumbprint

This is a dynamic parameter made available by the WSMan provider. The WSMan provider and this parameter are only available on Windows.

Specifies the digital public key certificate (X509) of a user account that has permission to perform this WSMan action. Enter the certificate thumbprint of the certificate.

For more information, see New-WSManInstance.

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

-Confirm

Prompts you for confirmation before running the cmdlet.

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

-ConnectionURI

This is a dynamic parameter made available by the WSMan provider. The WSMan provider and this parameter are only available on Windows.

Specifies the connection endpoint for WSMan.

For more information, see New-WSManInstance.

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

-Credential

Note

This parameter isn't supported by any providers installed with PowerShell. To impersonate another user or elevate your credentials when running this cmdlet, use Invoke-Command.

Type:	PSCredential
Position:	Named
Default value:	Current user
Required:	False
Accept pipeline input:	True
Accept wildcard characters:	False

-Force

Forces this cmdlet to create an item that writes over an existing read-only item. Implementation varies from provider to provider. Even using the Force parameter, the cmdlet can't override security restrictions.

Beginning in PowerShell 7.4, this parameter also allows you to overwrite an existing Junction. Previously, this would fail with a "cannot be removed because it is not empty" error.

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

-ItemType

Specifies the provider-specified type of the new item. The available values of this parameter depend on the current provider you are using.

If your location is in a FileSystem drive, the following values are allowed:

• File
• Directory
• SymbolicLink
• Junction
• HardLink

Note

Creating a SymbolicLink type on Windows requires elevation as administrator. However, Windows 10 (build 14972 or newer) with Developer Mode enabled no longer requires elevation creating symbolic links.

In a Certificate drive, these are the values you can specify:

• Certificate Provider
• Certificate
• Store
• StoreLocation

For more information see about_Providers.

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

-Name

Specifies the name of the new item. You can specify the name of the new item in the Name or Path parameter value, and you can specify the path of the new item in Name or Path value. Items names passed using the Name parameter are created relative to the value of the Path parameter.

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

-Options

This is a dynamic parameter made available by the Alias provider. For more information, see New-Alias.

Specifies the value of the Options property of an alias.

Valid values are:

• None: The alias has no constraints (default value)
• ReadOnly: The alias can be deleted but can't be changed without using the Force parameter
• Constant: The alias can't be deleted or changed
• Private: The alias is available only in the current scope
• AllScope: The alias is copied to any new scopes that are created
• Unspecified: The option isn't specified

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

-OptionSet

This is a dynamic parameter made available by the WSMan provider. The WSMan provider and this parameter are only available on Windows.

Passes a set of switches to a service to modify or refine the nature of the request.

For more information, see New-WSManInstance.

Type:	Hashtable
Aliases:	OS
Position:	Named
Default value:	None
Required:	False
Accept pipeline input:	False
Accept wildcard characters:	False

-Path

Specifies the path of the location of the new item. The default is the current location when Path is omitted. You can specify the name of the new item in Name, or include it in Path. Items names passed using the Name parameter are created relative to the value of the Path parameter.

For this cmdlet, the Path parameter works like the LiteralPath parameter of other cmdlets. Wildcard characters are not interpreted. All characters are passed to the location's provider. The provider may not support all characters. For example, you can't create a filename that contains an asterisk (*) character.

Type:	String[]
Position:	0
Default value:	Current location
Required:	False
Accept pipeline input:	True
Accept wildcard characters:	False

-Port

This is a dynamic parameter made available by the WSMan provider. The WSMan provider and this parameter are only available on Windows.

Specifies the port to use when the client connects to the WinRM service.

For more information, see New-WSManInstance.

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

-SessionOption

This is a dynamic parameter made available by the WSMan provider. The WSMan provider and this parameter are only available on Windows.

Defines a set of extended options for the WS-Management session.

For more information, see New-WSManInstance.

Type:	SessionOption
Aliases:	SO
Position:	Named
Default value:	None
Required:	False
Accept pipeline input:	False
Accept wildcard characters:	False

-UseSSL

This is a dynamic parameter made available by the WSMan provider. The WSMan provider and this parameter are only available on Windows.

Specifies that the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol should be used to establish a connection to the remote computer. By default, SSL isn't used.

For more information, see New-WSManInstance.

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

-Value

Specifies the value of the new item. You can also pipe a value to New-Item.

Type:	Object
Aliases:	Target
Position:	Named
Default value:	None
Required:	False
Accept pipeline input:	True
Accept wildcard characters:	False

-WhatIf

Shows what would happen if the cmdlet runs. The cmdlet isn't run.

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

Inputs

Object

You can pipe a value for the new item to this cmdlet.

Outputs

DictionaryEntry

The cmdlet returns a DictionaryEntry object when creating a new environment variable.

DirectoryInfo

The cmdlet returns a DirectoryInfo object when creating a new directory in the filesystem.

FileInfo

The cmdlet returns a FileInfo object when creating a new file in the filesystem.

AliasInfo

The cmdlet returns an AliasInfo object when creating a new alias.

FunctionInfo

The cmdlet returns a FunctionInfo object when creating a new function.

PSVariable

The cmdlet returns a PSVariable object when creating a new variable.

Notes

PowerShell includes the following aliases for New-Item:

• All platforms:
  • ni

New-Item 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.

Related Links

• Clear-Item
• Copy-Item
• Get-Item
• Invoke-Item
• Move-Item
• Remove-Item
• Rename-Item
• Set-Item
• about_Providers