PowerShell Commands Cheat Sheet

A Software › Windows cheat sheet in English by bytebar

Key PowerShell cmdlets for Windows administration: files, processes, services, networking, and Active Directory basics — with practical examples. Built for Windows admins and certification study. More free study resources at bytebarhq.com.

Windows Powershell

498 views 133 downloads 14 Sep 2026 History

PRs

The Pattern

Every cmdlet is Verb-Noun

Get-Process, Stop-Service, New-Item

Learn the verbs — they work across every noun.

Must-Know Aliases

`ls` / `dir`	`Get-ChildItem`
`cat`	`Get-Content`
`echo`	`Write-Output`
`ps`	`Get-Process`
`kill`	`Stop-Process`
`cp`	`Copy-Item`
`mv`	`Move-Item`
`rm`	`Remove-Item`
`man`	`Get-Help`
`?`	`Where-Object`
`%`	`ForEach-Object`

Aliases are shortcuts — use full cmdlet names in scripts.

Files & System

`Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Filter *.log`	find files
`Get-Content log.txt -Tail 20 -Wait`	live tail
`Copy-Item src dst -Recurse`	copy folders
`Get-Help Get-Process -Examples`	built-in examples
`Get-Command service`	discover cmdlets

Get-Help and Get-Command are your built-in documentation.

Processes & Services

`Get-Process \| Sort-Object CPU -Descending \| Select-Object -First 5`	top 5 CPU hogs
`Stop-Process -Name notepad -Force`	kill a process
`Get-Service \| Where-Object {$_.Status -eq 'Running'}`	running services
`Restart-Service -Name Spooler`	restart a service

The pipe | passes objects, not text.

Networking

`Test-Connection 8.8.8.8 -Count 4`	ping
`Test-NetConnection example.com -Port 443`	port check
`Get-NetIPAddress`	IP config
`Get-DnsClientCache \| Clear-DnsClientCache`	flush DNS
`Resolve-DnsName example.com`	nslookup equivalent

Test-NetConnection covers ping, port checks, and traceroute in one cmdlet.

Active Directory

`Get-ADUser -Filter * -SearchBase "OU=Sales,DC=corp,DC=local"`	all users in an OU
`Get-ADUser jdoe \| Unlock-ADAccount`	unlock an account
`Set-ADAccountPassword jdoe -Reset`	force a password reset
`Get-ADComputer -Filter * \| Select-Object Name,OperatingSystem`	inventory computers

Requires the ActiveDirectory module (RSAT).

Pipeline Power

`Get-Process \| Sort-Object CPU -Descending \| Select-Object -First 5 Name`	top 5 CPU hogs, names only
`Get-ChildItem C:\ -Recurse -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue \| Where-Object {$_.Length -gt 100MB} \| Sort-Object Length -Descending`	find large files

Chain small cmdlets — the pipeline does the heavy lifting.

Quick Hits

`Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser`	unblock scripts
Cmdlets output objects, not text	pipe freely
`$_`	current object in the pipeline

When in doubt, pipe to Get-Member to see what's inside.

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