🧠 PowerShell for Absolute Beginners

This guide covers the very basics of PowerShell—what it is, how to use it, and how to understand the core concepts before diving into scripting.

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💡 What is PowerShell?

PowerShell is a command-line shell and scripting language built by Microsoft.
It lets you manage and automate nearly every part of Windows—and even works on Linux and macOS.

It’s:

• Object-based (not just text)
• Integrated with .NET
• Extremely powerful for system admins

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📟 Opening PowerShell

To start PowerShell:

• On Windows: Press Windows + X, then select Windows PowerShell or Terminal
• Or type powershell into the Start menu

You’ll see a prompt that looks like:

PS C:\Users\YourName>

You’re now in the PowerShell environment.

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🔹 Running Commands

PowerShell works by typing in commands (called cmdlets):

Get-Date

This shows the current date and time.

Get-Process

Shows all running processes.

Get-Service

Lists all system services.

Most cmdlets follow the Verb-Noun format:

Get-Item
Set-ExecutionPolicy
New-LocalUser

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🧪 Try This

Type each of these into PowerShell and press Enter:

Get-Location      # Shows your current folder
Get-ChildItem     # Lists files/folders (like 'ls' or 'dir')
Clear-Host        # Clears the screen

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🧠 Cmdlet Breakdown

Let’s break down one:

Get-ChildItem -Path C:\Windows -Recurse

• Get-ChildItem: the main command
• -Path: tells it where to look
• -Recurse: includes subfolders

This command lists every file in C:\Windows and its subfolders.

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⚙️ Tab Completion

Type the first few letters of a command and hit Tab:

Get-Pro [Tab] → Get-Process

Same works for parameter names and paths:

Get-ChildItem -Pat [Tab]

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📌 Summary

Feature	Example
View time	Get-Date
List files	Get-ChildItem
Check folder	Get-Location
Clear screen	Clear-Host
View services	Get-Service

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✅ Next Steps

Once you’re comfortable running simple commands, you can move on to:

• Variables and Logic
• Disk and Service Tools
• Active Directory