PowerShell — Quick Reference¶

Essentials¶

Command	Action
`[Environment]::Is64BitOperatingSystem`	Check OS architecture (64‑bit or not)
`[Environment]::Is64BitProcess`	Check current PowerShell session architecture
`"$($PSVersionTable.PSEdition) $($PSVersionTable.PSVersion)"`	Show PowerShell edition and version
`$ExecutionContext.SessionState.LanguageMode`	Check language mode (e.g., ConstrainedLanguage)
`$PSHOME`	Show PowerShell installation directory
`Get-ChildItem Env:`	List environment variables
`Get-Date`	Display local date/time
`Get-Command`	List available commands/cmdlets
`C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe`	Path to 64‑bit PowerShell (from 64‑bit context)
`C:\Windows\SysNative\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe`	Launch 64‑bit PowerShell from a 32‑bit process

Command	Action
`Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope CurrentUser -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned`	Allows local scripts for your user; requires signature for internet-downloaded scripts unless unblocked.
`Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope LocalMachine -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned`	Same as above but machine-wide; requires admin PowerShell.
`Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope CurrentUser -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted`	Least restrictive for your user; runs all scripts but warns for internet zone.
`powershell.exe -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\script.ps1`	One-time run ignoring policy; no permanent change.
`Unblock-File -Path .\script.ps1`	Removes "downloaded from internet" block on the script file.
`Get-ExecutionPolicy -List`	Shows effective and scoped execution policies.

Command	Action
`Get-Item "$env:APPDATA\Microsoft\Windows\PowerShell\PSReadLine\ConsoleHost_history.txt"`	Locate PSReadLine history (Windows PowerShell 5.1)
`Get-Item "$env:APPDATA\Microsoft\PowerShell\PSReadLine\ConsoleHost_history.txt"`	Locate PSReadLine history (PowerShell 7+)

Command	Action
`Get-Content <path>`	Read file content (text)
`Get-Content <path> -Wait -Tail <N>`	Tail file and follow new lines
`Select-String -Path <path> -Pattern "<pattern>"`	Search for text in a file
`Get-ChildItem -Path <root> -Filter <name> -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue`	Search for a file by name

Command	Action
`Test-NetConnection <host> -Port <port>`	Test TCP connectivity to a host:port

Command	Action
`$pass = ConvertTo-SecureString '<password>' -AsPlainText -Force`	Create SecureString from plaintext
`$cred = New-Object System.Management.Automation.PSCredential('<domain>\<username>', $pass)`	Create PSCredential object
`(Import-CliXml -Path <file>).GetNetworkCredential().Password`	Recover password from exported credential (same user/machine)
`[System.Net.NetworkCredential]::new("", $SecurePassword).Password`	Convert a SecureString to plaintext

Command	Action
`Set-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server' -Name 'fDenyTSConnections' -Value 0`	Enable RDP connections
`Enable-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup "Remote Desktop"`	Allow RDP in Windows Firewall
`New-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa' -Name 'DisableRestrictedAdmin' -Value 0 -PropertyType DWORD`	Enable RDP Restricted Admin mode