PowerShell Get-Content

last modified February 15, 2025

In this article, we will cover the Get-Content cmdlet in PowerShell. This cmdlet reads the contents of files and returns them as strings or arrays of strings.

File content basics

The Get-Content cmdlet is used to read text files line by line. It can handle various file encodings and supports streaming large files. By default, it returns each line as a separate string in an array. The cmdlet is essential for file manipulation and log processing in PowerShell.

Basic Get-Content usage

The simplest way to use Get-Content is with just a file path. This reads the entire file and outputs each line as a separate string. The output can be stored in a variable or processed further in the pipeline.

content1.ps1

Get-Content -Path “C:\logs\app.log”

This command reads the contents of app.log and outputs each line. The default behavior is to read the file as text with UTF-8 encoding.

Reading specific number of lines

You can limit the number of lines read using the -TotalCount parameter. This is useful for reading just the beginning of a file, like a header. The parameter accepts a positive integer specifying how many lines to read.

content2.ps1

Get-Content -Path “C:\logs\app.log” -TotalCount 10

This command reads only the first 10 lines of the log file. It’s efficient for quick inspections without loading the entire file into memory.

PS C:> .\content2.ps1

2025-02-15 08:00:01 INFO Application started 2025-02-15 08:00:02 DEBUG Loading configuration 2025-02-15 08:00:03 INFO Database connected 2025-02-15 08:00:04 WARN Missing optional module 2025-02-15 08:00:05 INFO User admin logged in

Reading from a specific position

The -Tail parameter reads lines from the end of the file. This is particularly useful for viewing recent log entries. Combined with -Wait, it can monitor log files in real-time as they grow.

content3.ps1

Get-Content -Path “C:\logs\app.log” -Tail 5

This command displays the last 5 lines of the log file. It’s equivalent to the Unix ’tail’ command and is commonly used for log monitoring.

Reading files as single string

By default, Get-Content returns an array of strings (lines). Using the -Raw parameter makes it return the entire content as a single string. This is useful when you need the complete file content without line breaks.

content4.ps1

Get-Content -Path “C:\config\settings.json” -Raw

This command reads the JSON file as one continuous string. The -Raw parameter preserves all whitespace and formatting exactly as in the file.

Filtering file content

You can filter file content using Where-Object in the pipeline. This allows searching for specific patterns or excluding certain lines. Regular expressions can be used for more complex pattern matching.

content5.ps1

Get-Content -Path “C:\logs\app.log” | Where-Object { $_ -match “ERROR” }

This command reads the log file and returns only lines containing “ERROR”. The $_ variable represents the current line being processed in the pipeline.

Reading files with different encodings

PowerShell can read files with various character encodings using the -Encoding parameter. Common encodings include UTF8, ASCII, Unicode, and UTF7. This is important when working with files from different systems.

content6.ps1

Get-Content -Path “C:\data\legacy.txt” -Encoding ASCII

This command reads the file using ASCII encoding. Always specify the correct encoding to prevent character corruption, especially with international text.

Monitoring file changes

The -Wait parameter keeps the file open and outputs new content as it’s appended. This creates a real-time monitoring solution for log files. The command continues running until manually stopped with Ctrl+C.

content7.ps1

Get-Content -Path “C:\logs\app.log” -Wait

This command monitors the log file and displays new lines as they’re added. It’s perfect for real-time debugging and system monitoring scenarios.

Source

PowerShell documentation

In this article, we have covered the Get-Content cmdlet in PowerShell.

Author

My name is Jan Bodnar, and I am a passionate programmer with extensive programming experience. I have been writing programming articles since 2007. To date, I have authored over 1,400 articles and 8 e-books. I possess more than ten years of experience in teaching programming.

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