Command discovery (Get-Command) in PowerShell - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Discovering Commands with Get-Command in PowerShell

📖 Scenario: You are learning how to find commands in PowerShell. Sometimes you want to know what commands are available or find commands related to a topic.

🎯 Goal: You will create a simple script that uses Get-Command to find commands related to a specific word and then display them.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a variable with a search keyword

Use Get-Command with the keyword

Store the results in a variable

Display the found commands

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

PowerShell users often need to discover commands to automate tasks or learn new features.

💼 Career

Knowing how to find and filter commands helps system administrators and automation engineers write effective scripts.

1

Create a search keyword variable

Create a variable called $keyword and set it to the string Get.

PowerShell

# Create a variable called $keyword and set it to 'Get'
# Your code here

Hint

Use $keyword = 'Get' to create the variable.

2

Use Get-Command with the keyword

Create a variable called $commands and set it to the result of Get-Command using the -Name parameter with $keyword and a wildcard * after it (like $keyword*).

PowerShell

$keyword = 'Get'
# Create a variable $commands to store Get-Command results using $keyword*
# Your code here

Hint

Use Get-Command -Name "$keyword*" to find commands starting with the keyword.

3

Filter commands by command type

Filter $commands to only include commands where the CommandType property equals Cmdlet. Store the filtered list back in $commands.

PowerShell

$keyword = 'Get'
$commands = Get-Command -Name "$keyword*"
# Filter $commands to only Cmdlet type commands
# Your code here

Hint

Use Where-Object { $_.CommandType -eq 'Cmdlet' } to filter the commands.

4

Display the filtered commands

Use Write-Output to display the Name property of each command in $commands.

PowerShell

$keyword = 'Get'
$commands = Get-Command -Name "$keyword*"
$commands = $commands | Where-Object { $_.CommandType -eq 'Cmdlet' }
# Display the Name of each command in $commands
# Your code here

Hint

Use ForEach-Object { Write-Output $_.Name } to print each command name.

Practice

1. What is the main purpose of the Get-Command cmdlet in PowerShell?

easy

A. To execute a command immediately

B. To create a new command

C. To stop a running command

D. To find and list commands available in PowerShell

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the role of Get-Command

   Get-Command is used to discover commands available in PowerShell, helping users find what commands they can run.

2. Step 2: Differentiate from other cmdlets

   It does not execute, stop, or create commands; it only lists and finds them.

3. Final Answer:

   To find and list commands available in PowerShell -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Get-Command lists commands = B [OK]

Hint: Get-Command lists commands, not runs or stops them [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking Get-Command runs commands
• Confusing Get-Command with Stop-Process
• Assuming it creates commands

2. Which of the following is the correct syntax to find all commands that start with 'Get-' using Get-Command?

easy

A. Get-Command "Get-"

B. Get-Command -Filter "Get-"

C. Get-Command -Name "Get-*"

D. Get-Command -Search "Get-*"

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify correct parameter for name filtering

   The -Name parameter accepts wildcards like "Get-*" to find commands starting with 'Get-'.

2. Step 2: Check other options for correctness

   -Filter is not a valid parameter for Get-Command, and -Search does not exist. Passing just "Get-" without wildcard won't match all commands starting with 'Get-'.

3. Final Answer:

   Get-Command -Name "Get-*" -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Use -Name with wildcard = C [OK]

Hint: Use -Name with wildcard pattern to find commands [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using invalid parameters like -Filter or -Search
• Not using wildcard * to match multiple commands
• Passing command name without quotes

3. What will be the output of the following command?

Get-Command -Module Microsoft.PowerShell.Management | Select-Object -First 2 -Property Name

medium

A. Lists the first two command names from the Microsoft.PowerShell.Management module

B. Lists all commands from all modules

C. Returns an error because -Module is invalid

D. Lists the last two commands from the Microsoft.PowerShell.Management module

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the use of -Module parameter

   -Module Microsoft.PowerShell.Management filters commands to only those in that module.

2. Step 2: Analyze Select-Object usage

   Select-Object -First 2 -Property Name selects only the first two commands and shows their names.

3. Final Answer:

   Lists the first two command names from the Microsoft.PowerShell.Management module -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   -Module filters module, Select-Object picks first 2 names = A [OK]

Hint: Use -Module to filter commands by module name [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking it lists all commands from all modules
• Assuming -Module is invalid
• Confusing first two with last two commands

4. You run this command but get an error:

Get-Command -Nam "Get-Process"

What is the most likely cause of the error?

medium

A. Misspelled parameter name; should be -Name instead of -Nam

B. Get-Process is not a valid command

C. You need to run PowerShell as administrator

D. The command requires a module parameter

Solution

1. Step 1: Check the parameter spelling

   The parameter -Nam is misspelled; the correct parameter is -Name.

2. Step 2: Validate command existence and permissions

   Get-Process is a valid command and does not require admin rights or module parameter to run.

3. Final Answer:

   Misspelled parameter name; should be -Name instead of -Nam -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Parameter spelling error causes failure = A [OK]

Hint: Check parameter spelling carefully to avoid errors [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming command doesn't exist
• Thinking admin rights are needed
• Adding unnecessary parameters

5. You want to find all commands of type 'Cmdlet' that include 'Service' in their name. Which command will correctly do this?

hard

A. Get-Command -CommandType Cmdlet -Module '*Service*'

B. Get-Command -Name '*Service*' -CommandType Cmdlet

C. Get-Command -Name 'Service' -CommandType Cmdlet

D. Get-Command -Filter '*Service*' -Type Cmdlet

Solution

1. Step 1: Use correct parameters for filtering

   -Name '*Service*' uses wildcard to find commands with 'Service' anywhere in the name. -CommandType Cmdlet filters to only cmdlets.

2. Step 2: Eliminate incorrect options

   -Filter and -Type are invalid parameters. Exact name 'Service' won't match commands containing 'Service' as part of the name. -Module '*Service*' filters by module name, not command name.

3. Final Answer:

   Get-Command -Name '*Service*' -CommandType Cmdlet -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Use -Name with wildcard and -CommandType = D [OK]

Hint: Combine -Name with wildcard and -CommandType to filter commands [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using invalid parameters like -Filter or -Type
• Not using wildcards to match partial names
• Confusing module filtering with command name filtering