There are different types of commands that you can run on the PowerShell Command line:
- cmdlet – Name for any powershell builtin command, e.g. get-service, set-location, get-childitem….etc
- aliases – these are nicknames for other commands. You can view a list of aliases using get-alias. It’s best to avoid aliases where possible.
- function – Small blocks of powershell codes that are found in powershell scripts. You can also load a function into the current powershell session so that you can call the function in the same was as an ordinary cmdlet. A PowerShell session comes preloaded with a default set of functions, for example the “help” function that we saw earlier.
- workflow – A special kind of function, which we’ll cover later on.
- application – an external application. E.g. try running “notepad” or “mspaint” straight from the command line.
The word “command” is a generic term that and this course is used to refer to any of the above.
There are a large number of aliases you can use instead of the typing out the whole cmdlet, here are some commonly used aliases:
CommandType Name ModuleName ----------- ---- ---------- Alias % -=> ForEach-Object Alias ? -=> Where-Object Alias ac -=> Add-Content Alias asnp -=> Add-PSSnapin Alias cat -=> Get-Content Alias cd -=> Set-Location Alias chdir -=> Set-Location Alias clc -=> Clear-Content Alias clear -=> Clear-Host Alias clhy -=> Clear-History Alias cli -=> Clear-Item Alias clp -=> Clear-ItemProperty Alias cls -=> Clear-Host Alias clv -=> Clear-Variable Alias cnsn -=> Connect-PSSession Alias compare -=> Compare-Object Alias copy -=> Copy-Item Alias cp -=> Copy-Item Alias cpi -=> Copy-Item Alias cpp -=> Copy-ItemProperty Alias curl -=> Invoke-WebRequest Alias cvpa -=> Convert-Path Alias dbp -=> Disable-PSBreakpoint Alias del -=> Remove-Item Alias diff -=> Compare-Object Alias dir -=> Get-ChildItem Alias dnsn -=> Disconnect-PSSession Alias ebp -=> Enable-PSBreakpoint Alias echo -=> Write-Output Alias epal -=> Export-Alias Alias epcsv -=> Export-Csv Alias epsn -=> Export-PSSession Alias erase -=> Remove-Item Alias etsn -=> Enter-PSSession Alias exsn -=> Exit-PSSession Alias fc -=> Format-Custom Alias fl -=> Format-List Alias foreach -=> ForEach-Object Alias ft -=> Format-Table Alias fw -=> Format-Wide Alias gal -=> Get-Alias Alias gbp -=> Get-PSBreakpoint Alias gc -=> Get-Content Alias gci -=> Get-ChildItem Alias gcm -=> Get-Command Alias gcs -=> Get-PSCallStack Alias gdr -=> Get-PSDrive Alias ghy -=> Get-History Alias gi -=> Get-Item Alias gjb -=> Get-Job Alias gl -=> Get-Location Alias gm -=> Get-Member Alias gmo -=> Get-Module Alias gp -=> Get-ItemProperty Alias gps -=> Get-Process Alias group -=> Group-Object Alias gsn -=> Get-PSSession Alias gsnp -=> Get-PSSnapin Alias gsv -=> Get-Service Alias gu -=> Get-Unique Alias gv -=> Get-Variable Alias gwmi -=> Get-WmiObject Alias h -=> Get-History Alias history -=> Get-History Alias icm -=> Invoke-Command Alias iex -=> Invoke-Expression Alias ihy -=> Invoke-History Alias ii -=> Invoke-Item Alias ipal -=> Import-Alias Alias ipcsv -=> Import-Csv Alias ipmo -=> Import-Module Alias ipsn -=> Import-PSSession Alias irm -=> Invoke-RestMethod Alias ise -=> powershell_ise.exe Alias iwmi -=> Invoke-WmiMethod Alias iwr -=> Invoke-WebRequest Alias kill -=> Stop-Process Alias lp -=> Out-Printer Alias ls -=> Get-ChildItem Alias man -=> help Alias md -=> mkdir Alias measure -=> Measure-Object Alias mi -=> Move-Item Alias mount -=> New-PSDrive Alias move -=> Move-Item Alias mp -=> Move-ItemProperty Alias mv -=> Move-Item Alias nal -=> New-Alias Alias ndr -=> New-PSDrive Alias ni -=> New-Item Alias nmo -=> New-Module Alias npssc -=> New-PSSessionConfigurationFile Alias nsn -=> New-PSSession Alias nv -=> New-Variable Alias ogv -=> Out-GridView Alias oh -=> Out-Host Alias popd -=> Pop-Location Alias ps -=> Get-Process Alias pushd -=> Push-Location Alias pwd -=> Get-Location Alias r -=> Invoke-History Alias rbp -=> Remove-PSBreakpoint Alias rcjb -=> Receive-Job Alias rcsn -=> Receive-PSSession Alias rd -=> Remove-Item Alias rdr -=> Remove-PSDrive Alias ren -=> Rename-Item Alias ri -=> Remove-Item Alias rjb -=> Remove-Job Alias rm -=> Remove-Item Alias rmdir -=> Remove-Item Alias rmo -=> Remove-Module Alias rni -=> Rename-Item Alias rnp -=> Rename-ItemProperty Alias rp -=> Remove-ItemProperty Alias rsn -=> Remove-PSSession Alias rsnp -=> Remove-PSSnapin Alias rujb -=> Resume-Job Alias rv -=> Remove-Variable Alias rvpa -=> Resolve-Path Alias rwmi -=> Remove-WmiObject Alias sajb -=> Start-Job Alias sal -=> Set-Alias Alias saps -=> Start-Process Alias sasv -=> Start-Service Alias sbp -=> Set-PSBreakpoint Alias sc -=> Set-Content Alias select -=> Select-Object Alias set -=> Set-Variable Alias shcm -=> Show-Command Alias si -=> Set-Item Alias sl -=> Set-Location Alias sleep -=> Start-Sleep Alias sls -=> Select-String Alias sort -=> Sort-Object Alias sp -=> Set-ItemProperty Alias spjb -=> Stop-Job Alias spps -=> Stop-Process Alias spsv -=> Stop-Service Alias start -=> Start-Process Alias sujb -=> Suspend-Job Alias sv -=> Set-Variable Alias swmi -=> Set-WmiInstance Alias tee -=> Tee-Object Alias trcm -=> Trace-Command Alias type -=> Get-Content Alias wget -=> Invoke-WebRequest Alias where -=> Where-Object Alias wjb -=> Wait-Job Alias write -=> Write-Output
If you have experience in using the linux command line, then a lot of these aliases will be familiar to you.
Sometime it can be difficult to write a command even after reading the help pages, that’s why powershell comes with a gui wizard in the form of show-command that helps you to write your commands. E.g. if you need help writing a move-item command, then just do:
show-command -Name Move-Item