Command Line
PowerShell Cheatsheet
Essential PowerShell commands for file operations, processes, and system management.
Navigation & Paths
5Get-Location Get current directory (aliases: pwd, gl).
Set-Location -Path C:\path Change directory to specified path (aliases: cd, sl).
Push-Location -Path C:\path Push current directory onto stack and change directory (alias: pushd).
Pop-Location Restore last pushed directory from stack (alias: popd).
Resolve-Path .\file.txt Resolve wildcard paths to absolute paths.
File & Directory Operations
10Get-ChildItem List files and directories in current path (aliases: ls, dir, gci).
Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Filter *.log Find all log files recursively.
New-Item -Path .\newfile.txt -ItemType File Create a new empty file (alias: ni).
New-Item -Path .\NewFolder -ItemType Directory Create a new empty folder.
Remove-Item -Path .\file.txt -Force Delete file or directory (aliases: rm, del, ri).
Copy-Item -Path .\src.txt -Destination .\dest.txt Copy file or folder (aliases: cp, copy, mi).
Move-Item -Path .\file.txt -Destination .\archive\ Move file or folder (aliases: mv, move).
Get-Content -Path .\file.txt -Tail 10 Output the content of a file (aliases: cat, gc).
Set-Content -Path .\file.txt -Value "Hello" Write or replace content in a file (alias: sc).
Add-Content -Path .\file.txt -Value "Line" Append line to a file (alias: ac).
System & Process Management
7Get-Process Get list of active processes (aliases: ps, gps).
Get-Process -Name chrome Find active processes named "chrome".
Stop-Process -Id 1234 Terminate process by ID (aliases: kill, spps).
Stop-Process -Name notepad Terminate process by name.
Get-Service List all system services (alias: gsv).
Start-Service -Name wuauserv Start a system service (alias: sasv).
Stop-Service -Name wuauserv Stop a system service (alias: spsv).
Package & Module Management
5Install-Module -Name Az Install a module from PowerShell Gallery.
Uninstall-Module -Name Az Uninstall a module.
Get-InstalledModule List modules installed on system.
Find-Module -Name *SQL* Search the PS Gallery for modules matching name.
Import-Module -Name Az Import a module into current session.
Networking
4Test-Connection -ComputerName google.com Ping remote host (alias: ping).
Resolve-DnsName -Name google.com Perform DNS lookup (alias: nslookup).
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri https://api.github.com Send HTTP request (aliases: curl, wget, iwr).
Invoke-RestMethod -Uri https://api.github.com Send HTTP request and parse JSON payload (alias: irm).
Essential PowerShell Commands Cheatsheet
PowerShell is a task automation and configuration management framework from Microsoft, consisting of a command-line shell and a scripting language. This searchable cheatsheet covers cmdlets for file manipulation, system processes, module management, and network utilities.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between cmdlets and traditional commands?
PowerShell uses cmdlets (pronounced command-lets), which are built-in .NET classes. Unlike Unix shell commands or Windows CMD commands that return text output, cmdlets output structured objects. This allows you to easily pipe object properties between cmdlets.
How do I get help on a command?
Use Get-Help <cmdlet-name> (or its alias help) to display syntax, descriptions, and examples. Add the -Online flag to open Microsoft's documentation in your web browser.