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What is PowerShell?

PowerShell is a cross-platform task automation solution made up of a command-line shell, a scripting language, and a configuration management framework. Unlike traditional shells that work with text, PowerShell works with objects — structured data that you can filter, sort, and manipulate.

Cmdlets

The basic commands in PowerShell are called cmdlets (pronounced "command-lets"). They follow a consistent Verb-Noun naming pattern:

powershell

Get-Process
Get-Service
Set-Location

Key Concept: The Verb-Noun pattern makes cmdlets discoverable. If you need to get something, the cmdlet probably starts with Get-. Need to change something? Try Set-.

The Pipeline

PowerShell's pipeline (|) passes objects (not just text) from one cmdlet to the next:

powershell

Get-Process | Where-Object { $_.CPU -gt 100 }

This gets all running processes, then filters to only those using more than 100 seconds of CPU time.

Get-Help

When you're unsure about a cmdlet, Get-Help is your best friend:

powershell

Get-Help Get-Process
Get-Help Get-Process -Examples
Get-Help Get-Process -Full

Key Concept: Always try Get-Help <cmdlet> -Examples first — real examples are the fastest way to learn how a cmdlet works.

Get-Command

Use Get-Command to discover cmdlets:

powershell

Get-Command -Verb Get
Get-Command -Noun Process
Get-Command *service*

Exercises

0/3 completed

Write the cmdlet that displays help information for the Get-Service cmdlet.

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