PowerShell Get-Item

last modified February 15, 2025

In this article, we will cover the Get-Item cmdlet in PowerShell. This cmdlet retrieves information about files, directories, and other items at a specified location.

Item basics

An item in PowerShell represents a file, directory, or registry key. The Get-Item cmdlet gets these items but does not get their contents. It retrieves metadata like attributes, timestamps, and paths. This cmdlet is essential for file system navigation and inspection.

Basic Get-Item usage

The simplest way to use Get-Item is with a file or directory path. This retrieves the item object without its contents. Wildcards are supported but only return the first matching item. The output shows basic properties.

item1.ps1

Get-Item “C:\Windows\System32\notepad.exe”

This command retrieves information about Notepad.exe. The output includes the file’s attributes, last write time, and full path. The item is returned as a FileInfo object.

Get directory information

Get-Item can retrieve directory information similarly to files. The cmdlet returns a DirectoryInfo object for directories. This contains properties like creation time and parent directory. Directory contents are not included by default.

item2.ps1

Get-Item “C:\Windows”

This command gets information about the Windows directory. The output shows directory attributes and timestamps. To get contents, use Get-ChildItem.

PS C:> .\item2.ps1

Directory: C:\

Mode LastWriteTime Length Name

d—– 1/5/2023 2:30 PM Windows

Using wildcards with Get-Item

Wildcards can be used to match multiple items, but Get-Item only returns the first match. For multiple matches, use Get-ChildItem. The asterisk (*) matches any characters, while the question mark (?) matches a single character.

item3.ps1

Get-Item “C:\Windows*.exe”

This command returns the first .exe file in the Windows directory. Note that only one item is returned despite multiple matches. The exact file returned may vary.

Viewing all item properties

To see all available properties of an item, pipe the output to Format-List *. This displays all metadata associated with the item. Properties include technical details not shown in default output. This is useful for scripting.

item4.ps1

Get-Item “C:\Windows\System32\notepad.exe” | Format-List *

This command shows all properties of Notepad.exe. The output includes version information, security descriptors, and more. Many properties are available for automation tasks.

Accessing registry keys

Get-Item can retrieve registry keys in addition to filesystem items. Use the registry provider path (starting with HKLM: or HKCU:). This provides access to Windows registry configuration. The key’s properties are returned.

item5.ps1

Get-Item “HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion”

This command retrieves information about a Windows registry key. The output shows the key’s properties and subkeys. Registry values are accessed with Get-ItemProperty.

Filtering by item properties

You can filter items based on their properties using Where-Object. This example finds files modified in the last 7 days. The comparison uses the LastWriteTime property. This technique works for any item property.

item6.ps1

Get-Item “C:\Windows*” | Where-Object { $_.LastWriteTime -gt (Get-Date).AddDays(-7) }

This command lists items in the Windows directory modified recently. The $_ variable represents the current item in the pipeline. Adjust the time window as needed.

Getting hidden items

To retrieve hidden items, use the -Force parameter. This shows items with the Hidden attribute set. Normally, Get-Item skips hidden items. This is useful for system administration tasks.

item7.ps1

Get-Item “C:\Windows*” -Force | Where-Object { $_.Attributes -match “Hidden” }

This command finds hidden items in the Windows directory. The -Force parameter ensures hidden items are included. The Attributes property is checked for the Hidden flag.

Source

PowerShell documentation

In this article, we have covered the Get-Item 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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