# Windows PowerShell Guide & Cheat Sheet

A practical guide for new users learning **Windows PowerShell**.

This document covers:

-   Basic PowerShell concepts
-   Command discovery
-   Navigation and file management
-   Processes and services
-   Networking commands
-   Pipelines and filtering
-   Script execution
-   Best practices
-   A quick reference cheat sheet

PowerShell is object-based, meaning commands return **structured objects
instead of plain text**, making automation and filtering far more
powerful than traditional shells.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

# Table of Contents

-   [1. Getting Started](#1-getting-started)
-   [2. Discovering Commands](#2-discovering-commands)
-   [3. Navigation](#3-navigation)
-   [4. Files and Folders](#4-files-and-folders)
-   [5. Processes](#5-processes)
-   [6. Services](#6-services)
-   [7. System Information](#7-system-information)
-   [8. Networking Commands](#8-networking-commands)
-   [9. Event Logs](#9-event-logs)
-   [10. The PowerShell Pipeline](#10-the-powershell-pipeline)
-   [11. Filtering and Selecting Data](#11-filtering-and-selecting-data)
-   [12. Script Execution](#12-script-execution)
-   [13. Basic Scripting](#13-basic-scripting)
-   [14. Useful Aliases](#14-useful-aliases)
-   [15. Troubleshooting Commands](#15-troubleshooting-commands)
-   [16. Best Practices](#16-best-practices)
-   [17. Quick Cheat Sheet](#17-quick-cheat-sheet)

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# 1. Getting Started

Open PowerShell from the Start menu by searching **PowerShell**.

Run as Administrator when performing system tasks.

## Check PowerShell Version

``` powershell
$PSVersionTable
```

## Command Structure

PowerShell commands follow the format:

    Verb-Noun

Examples:

``` powershell
Get-Process
Get-Service
Set-Location
New-Item
Remove-Item
```

------------------------------------------------------------------------

# 2. Discovering Commands

### Get help for a command

``` powershell
Get-Help Get-Service
```

### Show examples

``` powershell
Get-Help Get-Service -Examples
```

### Show detailed help

``` powershell
Get-Help Get-Service -Detailed
```

### Update help files

``` powershell
Update-Help
```

### Find commands

``` powershell
Get-Command *service*
Get-Command *event*
```

### Inspect objects

``` powershell
Get-Service | Get-Member
```

------------------------------------------------------------------------

# 3. Navigation

### Current location

``` powershell
Get-Location
```

### Change directory

``` powershell
Set-Location C:\Temp
cd C:\Temp
```

### Go up a directory

``` powershell
cd ..
```

### Home directory

``` powershell
cd ~
```

### List files

``` powershell
Get-ChildItem
```

Aliases:

    dir
    ls

### Show hidden files

``` powershell
Get-ChildItem -Force
```

### Recursive listing

``` powershell
Get-ChildItem -Recurse
```

------------------------------------------------------------------------

# 4. Files and Folders

### Create folder

``` powershell
New-Item -Path C:\Temp\TestFolder -ItemType Directory
```

### Create file

``` powershell
New-Item -Path C:\Temp\test.txt -ItemType File
```

### Copy files

``` powershell
Copy-Item C:\Temp\file.txt C:\Backup\
```

### Copy folder recursively

``` powershell
Copy-Item C:\Temp\Folder C:\Backup\ -Recurse
```

### Move file

``` powershell
Move-Item C:\Temp\file.txt C:\Archive\
```

### Rename

``` powershell
Rename-Item file.txt newfile.txt
```

### Delete

``` powershell
Remove-Item file.txt
```

### Delete folder

``` powershell
Remove-Item Folder -Recurse -Force
```

### Read file

``` powershell
Get-Content file.txt
```

### Tail logs

``` powershell
Get-Content log.txt -Tail 50
```

### Watch logs

``` powershell
Get-Content log.txt -Wait
```

------------------------------------------------------------------------

# 5. Processes

``` powershell
Get-Process
Get-Process notepad
Start-Process notepad
Stop-Process -Name notepad
Stop-Process -Id 1234 -Force
```

------------------------------------------------------------------------

# 6. Services

``` powershell
Get-Service
Get-Service spooler
Start-Service spooler
Stop-Service spooler
Restart-Service spooler
```

------------------------------------------------------------------------

# 7. System Information

``` powershell
Get-ComputerInfo
Get-CimInstance Win32_OperatingSystem
Get-CimInstance Win32_BIOS
Get-CimInstance Win32_ComputerSystem
Get-Disk
Get-Volume
```

------------------------------------------------------------------------

# 8. Networking Commands

``` powershell
Get-NetIPAddress
Get-NetAdapter
Get-DnsClientServerAddress
Test-Connection google.com
Test-NetConnection google.com -Port 443
Resolve-DnsName google.com
```

------------------------------------------------------------------------

# 9. Event Logs

``` powershell
Get-EventLog -List
Get-EventLog -LogName System -Newest 20
Get-WinEvent -LogName System -MaxEvents 20
Get-WinEvent -LogName System | Where-Object LevelDisplayName -eq "Error"
```

------------------------------------------------------------------------

# 10. The PowerShell Pipeline

``` powershell
Get-Process | Sort-Object CPU -Descending
Get-Service | Where-Object Status -eq Running

Get-Process |
Select-Object Name, Id, CPU |
Export-Csv processes.csv -NoTypeInformation
```

------------------------------------------------------------------------

# 11. Filtering and Selecting Data

``` powershell
Get-Service | Select-Object Name, Status
Get-Process | Where-Object CPU -gt 100
Get-Process | Sort-Object CPU -Descending
Get-Process | Select-Object -First 10
(Get-Service).Count
```

------------------------------------------------------------------------

# 12. Script Execution

``` powershell
Get-ExecutionPolicy
Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser
.\script.ps1
powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File script.ps1
```

------------------------------------------------------------------------

# 13. Basic Scripting

### Variables

``` powershell
$name = "Server01"
```

### If example

``` powershell
if ($name -eq "Server01") {
    Write-Host "Match found"
}
```

### Loop

``` powershell
$services = "spooler","w32time"

foreach ($service in $services) {
    Get-Service $service
}
```

### Function

``` powershell
function Get-ServiceStatus {
    param ($Name)
    Get-Service $Name
}
```

------------------------------------------------------------------------

# 14. Useful Aliases

  Alias   Command
  ------- ---------------
  dir     Get-ChildItem
  ls      Get-ChildItem
  cd      Set-Location
  pwd     Get-Location
  cat     Get-Content
  cp      Copy-Item
  mv      Move-Item
  rm      Remove-Item
  ps      Get-Process
  cls     Clear-Host

``` powershell
Get-Alias
```

------------------------------------------------------------------------

# 15. Troubleshooting Commands

``` powershell
Get-Service | Where-Object Status -eq Running

Get-Service |
Where-Object {
 $_.StartType -eq "Automatic" -and $_.Status -ne "Running"
}

Get-Volume
Get-WinEvent -LogName System -MaxEvents 50
Get-NetTCPConnection -State Listen
Test-NetConnection server01 -Port 3389
```

------------------------------------------------------------------------

# 16. Best Practices

### Use full command names

Prefer:

    Get-ChildItem

Instead of:

    ls

### Test dangerous commands

``` powershell
Remove-Item C:\Temp\OldLogs\* -WhatIf
```

### Prefer CIM over WMI

``` powershell
Get-CimInstance Win32_OperatingSystem
```

### Log sessions

``` powershell
Start-Transcript C:\Temp\powershell.log
Stop-Transcript
```

------------------------------------------------------------------------

# 17. Quick Cheat Sheet

### Navigation

``` powershell
Get-Location
Set-Location C:\Temp
Get-ChildItem
```

### Files

``` powershell
New-Item -ItemType File test.txt
Copy-Item test.txt C:\Backup\
Remove-Item test.txt
```

### Processes

``` powershell
Get-Process
Stop-Process notepad
```

### Services

``` powershell
Get-Service
Restart-Service spooler
```

### Networking

``` powershell
Get-NetIPAddress
Test-NetConnection google.com -Port 443
Resolve-DnsName google.com
```

### Help

``` powershell
Get-Help Get-Service
Get-Command *network*
Get-Member
```

------------------------------------------------------------------------

# Recommended Learning Path

1.  Learn **Get-Help**
2.  Understand **pipelines**
3.  Learn **Where-Object and Select-Object**
4.  Practice **system queries**
5.  Start writing **small scripts**
6.  Automate real admin tasks

PowerShell becomes powerful when commands are combined into automation
pipelines.