Powershell Cheatsheet

PowerShell is a task automation and configuration management framework from Microsoft, consisting of a command-line shell and scripting language. It provides powerful ways to manage Windows systems and automate administrative tasks.

PowerShell scripts (.ps1 files) allow you to automate tasks by combining commands, functions, and control structures into reusable files. Scripts can handle parameters, implement error handling, and use conditional logic to create powerful automation solutions.

PowerShell is object-oriented, meaning commands output objects rather than text. Understanding how to work with these objects is essential for effective scripting and automation. Objects have properties (data) and methods (actions) that you can leverage to manipulate, filter, sort, and transform your data.

PowerShell provides robust cmdlets for file system operations, allowing you to navigate directories, manage files, manipulate content, and handle permissions. These operations leverage the provider model, treating the file system as a navigable data store.

PowerShell providers are interfaces that allow you to access different data stores as if they were file systems. They expose specialized data stores for easier navigation and manipulation using consistent cmdlets like Get-Item, Set-Item, and Remove-Item.

PowerShell excels at handling various data structures and formats. This section covers how to work with arrays, hashtables, and common data formats like JSON, XML, and CSV, as well as converting between different data types.

PowerShell remote management enables administrators to execute commands and scripts on remote computers. This capability relies on Windows Remote Management (WinRM) and provides secure, efficient ways to manage multiple systems from a central location.

PowerShell profiles are scripts that run automatically when you start a PowerShell session. They allow you to customize your environment, load modules, create functions, and set variables that persist across sessions. Different profile types target different scopes of PowerShell usage.

PowerShell modules are packages containing cmdlets, functions, variables, and other resources that can be imported into a PowerShell session. They provide a way to organize, share, and reuse PowerShell code across different environments and scripts.

PowerShell DSC is a configuration management platform built into PowerShell that enables declarative management of infrastructure. It allows you to define the desired state of your systems and automatically enforce that state, ensuring consistency across your environment.