23.4. Windows PowerShell module

The Neo4j PowerShell module allows administrators to:

  • install, start and stop Neo4j Windows® Services
  • and start tools, such as Neo4j Shell and Neo4j Import.

The PowerShell module is installed as part of the ZIP file distributions of Neo4j.

System Requirements

  • Requires PowerShell v2.0 or above.
  • Supported on either 32 or 64 bit operating systems.

Managing Neo4j on Windows

On Windows it is sometimes necessary to Unblock a downloaded zip file before you can import its contents as a module. If you right-click on the zip file and choose "Properties" you will get a dialog. Bottom-right on that dialog you will find an "Unblock" button. Click that. Then you should be able to import the module.

Running scripts has to be enabled on the system. This can for example be achieved by executing the following from an elevated PowerShell prompt:

Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned

For more information see About execution policies.

The powershell module will display a warning if it detects that you do not have administrative rights.

How do I import the module?

The module file is located in the bin directory of your Neo4j installation, i.e. where you unzipped the downloaded file. For example, if Neo4j was installed in C:\Neo4j then the module would be imported like this:

Import-Module C:\Neo4j\bin\Neo4j-Management.psd1

This will add the module to the current session.

Once the module has been imported you can start an interactive console version of a Neo4j Server like this:

Invoke-Neo4j console

To stop the server, issue Ctrl-C in the console window that was created by the command.

How do I get help about the module?

Once the module is imported you can query the available commands like this:

Get-Command -Module Neo4j-Management

The output should be similar to the following:

CommandType     Name                                Version    Source
-----------     ----                                -------    ------
Function        Invoke-Neo4j                        3.0.0      Neo4j-Management
Function        Invoke-Neo4jAdmin                   3.0.0      Neo4j-Management
Function        Invoke-Neo4jBackup                  3.0.0      Neo4j-Management
Function        Invoke-Neo4jImport                  3.0.0      Neo4j-Management
Function        Invoke-Neo4jShell                   3.0.0      Neo4j-Management

The module also supports the standard PowerShell help commands.

Get-Help Invoke-Neo4j

To see examples for a command, do like this:

Get-Help Invoke-Neo4j -examples

Example usage

  • List of available commands: 

    Invoke-Neo4j

  • Current status of the Neo4j service: 

    Invoke-Neo4j status

  • Install the service with verbose output: 

    Invoke-Neo4j install-service -Verbose

  • Available commands for administrative tasks: 

    Invoke-Neo4jAdmin

Common PowerShell parameters

The module commands support the common PowerShell parameter of Verbose.