How to Use Get-Command in PowerShell: Syntax and Examples

Use Get-Command in PowerShell to find commands, cmdlets, functions, or scripts available in your session. You can specify a command name or use wildcards to search broadly. For example, Get-Command Get-Process shows details about the Get-Process cmdlet.

Syntax

The basic syntax of Get-Command lets you search for commands by name or type.

• Get-Command [-Name] <string>: Finds commands matching the name or pattern.
• Get-Command [-CommandType] <CommandTypes>: Filters commands by type like Cmdlet, Function, Alias, etc.
• Get-Command [-Module] <string>: Shows commands from a specific module.

You can combine parameters to narrow your search.

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Get-Command [-Name] <string> [-CommandType <CommandTypes>] [-Module <string>]

Example

This example shows how to find the Get-Process cmdlet and list all commands starting with 'Get-'.

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Get-Command Get-Process

Get-Command Get-*

Output

CommandType     Name                                               Version    Source
-----------     ----                                               -------    ------
Cmdlet          Get-Process                                        7.0.0.0    Microsoft.PowerShell.Management

CommandType     Name                                               Version    Source
-----------     ----                                               -------    ------
Cmdlet          Get-Acl                                            7.0.0.0    Microsoft.PowerShell.Security
Cmdlet          Get-ChildItem                                      7.0.0.0    Microsoft.PowerShell.Management
Cmdlet          Get-Content                                        7.0.0.0    Microsoft.PowerShell.Management
Cmdlet          Get-Process                                        7.0.0.0    Microsoft.PowerShell.Management
Cmdlet          Get-Service                                        7.0.0.0    Microsoft.PowerShell.Management
... (more commands starting with Get-)

Common Pitfalls

One common mistake is using Get-Command without quotes around wildcards, which can cause errors or unexpected results. Also, confusing Get-Command with Get-Help is frequent; Get-Command finds commands, while Get-Help shows usage info.

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# Wrong: missing quotes around wildcard
Get-Command Get-*

# Right: use quotes to avoid parsing issues
Get-Command "Get-*"

Quick Reference

Parameter	Description	Example
-Name	Search commands by name or pattern	Get-Command -Name Get-Process
-CommandType	Filter by command type (Cmdlet, Function, Alias)	Get-Command -CommandType Cmdlet
-Module	Show commands from a specific module	Get-Command -Module Microsoft.PowerShell.Management
-Syntax	Show command syntax only	Get-Command Get-Process -Syntax
-All	Show all commands including duplicates	Get-Command -Name Get-Process -All

Key Takeaways

Use Get-Command to find commands by name, type, or module in PowerShell.

Always quote wildcards like "Get-*" to avoid parsing errors.

Get-Command shows command details; use Get-Help for usage instructions.

Combine parameters to narrow down your command search effectively.

Use -Syntax to quickly see how to use a command.