PowerShell

PowerShell is a task automation shell and scripting language from Microsoft. Unlike text-based shells, its commands, called cmdlets, pass .NET objects through the pipeline, and it runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS.

Why it matters

PowerShell is the main tool for automating Windows servers and Microsoft 365 administration. Because it passes objects, you filter on properties instead of parsing text.

Cmdlets follow a Verb-Noun naming pattern such as Get-Process or Restart-Service, which makes them easier to discover.

Example

PS> Get-Process | Where-Object CPU -gt 100 | Sort-Object CPU -Descending

This lists processes that used more than 100 CPU seconds, highest first, without any text parsing.

Common mistakes

• Running unknown scripts after lowering the execution policy; read the script first.
• Expecting Windows PowerShell 5.1 and the newer cross-platform PowerShell 7 to behave identically.
• Forgetting to run an elevated session for administrative cmdlets.

Related

• Shell
• Command Line (CLI)
• Windows
• Windows Registry

This page is general information written by our editorial team and updated when documentation changes. Servers and providers differ, so test changes safely first. See our editorial policy and disclaimer.