Get-Help

Syntax

Get-Help
   [[-Name] <String>]
   [-Path <String>]
   [-Category <String[]>]
   [-Component <String[]>]
   [-Functionality <String[]>]
   [-Role <String[]>]
   [-Full]
   [<CommonParameters>]

Get-Help
   [[-Name] <String>]
   [-Path <String>]
   [-Category <String[]>]
   [-Component <String[]>]
   [-Functionality <String[]>]
   [-Role <String[]>]
   [-Detailed]
   [<CommonParameters>]

Get-Help
   [[-Name] <String>]
   [-Path <String>]
   [-Category <String[]>]
   [-Component <String[]>]
   [-Functionality <String[]>]
   [-Role <String[]>]
   [-Examples]
   [<CommonParameters>]

Get-Help
   [[-Name] <String>]
   [-Path <String>]
   [-Category <String[]>]
   [-Component <String[]>]
   [-Functionality <String[]>]
   [-Role <String[]>]
   -Parameter <String>
   [<CommonParameters>]

Get-Help
   [[-Name] <String>]
   [-Path <String>]
   [-Category <String[]>]
   [-Component <String[]>]
   [-Functionality <String[]>]
   [-Role <String[]>]
   [-Online]
   [<CommonParameters>]

Description

The Get-Help cmdlet displays information about PowerShell concepts and commands, including cmdlets, functions, CIM commands, workflows, providers, aliases and scripts.

To get help for a PowerShell command, type Get-Help followed by the command name, such as: Get-Help Get-Process . You can display the whole help topic or use the parameters of the Get-Help cmdlet to get selected parts of the topic, such as the syntax, parameters, or examples.

Conceptual help topics in PowerShell begin with "about_", such as "about_Comparison_Operators". To see all "about_" topics, type Get-Help about_* . To see a particular topic, type Get-Help about_<topic-name> , such as Get-Help about_Comparison_Operators .

To get help for a PowerShell provider, type Get-Help followed by the provider name. For example, to get help for the Certificate provider, type Get-Help Certificate .

In addition to Get-Help , you can also type help or man , which displays one screen of text at a time, or <cmdlet-name> -? , which is identical to Get-Help but works only for commands.

Get-Help gets the help content that it displays from help files on your computer. Without the help files, Get-Help displays only basic information about commands. Some PowerShell modules come with help files. However, starting in Windows PowerShell 3.0, the modules that come with the Windows operating system do not include help files. To download or update the help files for a module in Windows PowerShell 3.0, use the Update-Help cmdlet.

You can also view the help topics for PowerShell online in the Microsoft Docs. To get the online version of a help topic, use the Online parameter, such as: Get-Help Get-Process -Online . To read all of the help topics, see PowerShell Documentation in the Microsoft Docs.

If you type Get-Help followed by the exact name of a help topic, or by a word unique to a help topic, Get-Help displays the topic contents. If you enter a word or word pattern that appears in several help topic titles, Get-Help displays a list of the matching titles. If you enter a word that does not appear in any help topic titles, Get-Help displays a list of topics that include that word in their contents.

Get-Help can get help topics for all supported languages and locales. Get-Help first looks for help files in the locale set for Windows, then in the parent locale, such as "pt" for "pt-BR", and then in a fallback locale. Beginning in Windows PowerShell 3.0, if Get-Help does not find help in the fallback locale, it looks for help topics in English, "en-US", before it returns an error message or displaying auto-generated help.

For information about the symbols that Get-Help displays in the command syntax diagram, see about_Command_Syntax . For information about parameter attributes, such as Required and Position , see about_Parameters .

TROUBLESHOOTING NOTE : In Windows PowerShell 3.0 and Windows PowerShell 4.0, Get-Help cannot find About topics in modules unless the module is imported into the current session. This is a known issue. To get About topics in a module, import the module, either by using the Import-Module cmdlet or by running a cmdlet in the module.

Examples

Example 1: Display help about the help system

PS C:\> Get-Help

This command displays help about the Windows PowerShell help system.

Example 2: Display available help topics

Get-Help *

This command displays a list of all help topics available on your system.

Example 3: Display basic information about a cmdlet

PS C:\> Get-Help Get-Alias

PS C:\> Help Get-Alias

PS C:\> Get-Alias -?

These commands display basic information about the Get-Alias cmdlet. The Get-Help and ? commands display the information on a single page. The Help command displays the information one page at a time.

Example 4: Display a list of conceptual topics

PS C:\> Get-Help about_*

This command displays a list of the conceptual topics included in Windows PowerShell help. All of these topics begin with the characters about_. To display a particular help file, type get-help <topic-name>, for example, Get-Help about_Signing .

This command displays the conceptual topics only when the help files for those topics are installed on the computer. For information about downloading and installing help files in Windows PowerShell 3.0, see Update-Help.

Example 5: Download and install help files

The first command uses the **Get-Help** cmdlet to get help for the Get-Command cmdlet. Without help files, **Get-Help** display the cmdlet name, syntax and alias of **Get-Command**, and prompts you to use the **Update-Help** cmdlet to get the newest help files.

PS C:\> Get-Help Get-Command

NAME

    Get-Command





SYNTAX



 Get-Command [[-Name] <string[]>] [-CommandType {Alias | Function | Filter | Cmdlet | ExternalScript | Application |



    Script | All}] [[-ArgumentList] <Object[]>] [-Module <string[]>] [-Syntax] [-TotalCount <int>] [<CommonParameters>]





    Get-Command [-Noun <string[]>] [-Verb <string[]>] [[-ArgumentList] <Object[]>] [-Module <string[]>] [-Syntax]



    [-TotalCount <int>] [<CommonParameters>]







ALIASES

    gcm





REMARKS

    Get-Help cannot find the help files for this cmdlet on this computer.

    It is displaying only partial help. To download and install help files

    for this cmdlet, use **Update-Help**.



The second command runs the **Update-Help** cmdlet without parameters. This command downloads help files from the Internet for all of the modules in the current session and installs them on the local computer.This command works only when the local computer is connected to the Internet. If your computer is not connected to the Internet, you might be able to install help files from a network share. For more information, see Save-Help.

PS C:\> Update-Help



Now that the help files are downloaded, we can repeat the first command in the sequence. This command gets help for the **Get-Command** cmdlet. The cmdlet now gets more extensive help for **Get-Command** and you can use the *Detailed*, *Full*, *Example*, and *Parameter* parameters of **Get-Help** to customize the displays.You can use the **Get-Help** cmdlet as soon as the **Update-Help** command finishes. You do not have to restart Windows PowerShell.

PS C:\> Get-Help Get-Command

This example shows how to download and install new or updated help files for a module. It uses features that were introduced in Windows PowerShell 3.0.

The example compares the help that Get-Help displays for commands when you do not have help files installed on your computer and when you do have help files. You can use the same command sequence to update the help files on your computer so that your local help content is never obsolete.

To download and install the help files for the commands that come with Windows PowerShell, and for any modules in the $pshome\Modules directory, open Windows PowerShell by using the Run as administrator option. If you are not a member of the Administrators group on the computer, you cannot download help for these modules. However, you can use the Online parameter to open the online version of help for a command, and you can read the help for Windows PowerShell in the TechNet library starting at Scripting with Windows PowerShellhttp://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=107116 ( http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=107116 ).

Example 6: Display detailed help

PS C:\> Get-Help ls -Detailed

This command displays detailed help for the Get-ChildItem cmdlet by specifying one of its aliases, ls. The Detailed parameter of Get-Help gets the detailed view of the help topic, which includes parameter descriptions and examples. To see the complete help topic for a cmdlet, use the Full parameter.

The Full and Detailed parameters are effective only when help files for the command are installed on the computer.

Example 7: Display full information for a cmdlet

PS C:\> Get-Help Format-Table -Full

This command uses the Full parameter of Get-Help to display the full view help for the Format-Table cmdlet. The full view of help includes parameter descriptions, examples, and a table of technical details about the parameters.

The Full parameter is effective only when help files for the command are installed on the computer.

Example 8: Display examples for a cmdlet

PS C:\> Get-Help Start-Service -Examples

This command displays examples of using the Start-Service cmdlet. It uses the Examples parameter of Get-Help to display only the Examples section of the cmdlet help topics.

The Examples parameter is effective only when help files for the command are installed on the computer.

Example 9: Display parameter help

PS C:\> Get-Help Format-List -Parameter GroupBy

This command uses the Parameter parameter of Get-Help to display a detailed description of the GroupBy parameter of the Format-List cmdlet. For detailed descriptions of all parameters of the Format-List cmdlet, type Get-Help Format-List -Parameter * .

Example 10: Search for a word in cmdlet help

PS C:\> Get-Help Add-Member -Full | Out-String -Stream | Select-String -Pattern Clixml

This example shows how to search for a word in particular cmdlet help topic. This command searches for the word Clixml in the full version of the help topic for the Add-Member cmdlet.

Because the Get-Help cmdlet generates a MamlCommandHelpInfo object, not a string, you have to use a cmdlet that transforms the help topic content into a string, such as Out-String or Out-File.

Example 11: Display online version of help

PS C:\> Get-Help Get-Member -Online

This command displays the online version of the help topic for the Get-Member cmdlet.

Example 12: Display a list of topics that include a word

PS C:\> Get-Help remoting

This command displays a list of topics that include the word remoting.

When you enter a word that does not appear in any topic title, Get-Help displays a list of topics that include that word.

Example 13: Display provider specific help

The first command uses the *Path* parameter of **Get-Help** to specify the provider path. This command can be entered at any path location.

PS C:\> Get-Help Get-Item -Path SQLSERVER:\DataCollection



NAME



    Get-Item





SYNOPSIS



    Gets a collection of Server objects for the local computer and any computers



    to which you have made a SQL Server PowerShell connection.



    ...



The second command uses the Set-Location cmdlet (alias = "cd") to navigate to the provider path. From that location, even without the *Path* parameter, the **Get-Help** command gets the provider-specific help for the **Get-Item** cmdlet.

PS C:\> cd SQLSERVER:\DataCollection

SQLSERVER:\DataCollection> Get-Help Get-Item



NAME



    Get-Item





SYNOPSIS



    Gets a collection of Server objects for the local computer and any computers



    to which you have made a SQL Server PowerShell connection.



    ...





The third command shows that a **Get-Help** command in a file system path, and without the *Path* parameter, gets the standard help for the **Get-Item** cmdlet.

PS C:\> Get-Item



NAME



    Get-Item





SYNOPSIS



    Gets the item at the specified location.

    ...

This example shows how to get help that explains how to use the Get-Item cmdlet in the DataCollection node of the Windows PowerShellSQL Server provider. The example shows two ways of getting the provider-specific help for Get-Item .

You can also get provider-specific help for cmdlets online in the section that describes the provider. For example, for provider-specific online help for the New-Item cmdlet in each WSMan provider path, see New-Item for ClientCertificatehttp://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=158676 in the TechNet library.

Example 14: Display help for a script

PS C:\> Get-Help C:\PS-Test\MyScript.ps1

This command gets help for the MyScript.ps1 script. For information about how to write help for your functions and scripts, see about_Comment_Based_Help.

Required Parameters

Optional Parameters

Inputs

None

You cannot pipe objects to this cmdlet.

Outputs

ExtendedCmdletHelpInfo

If you run Get-Help on a command that does not have a help file, Get-Help returns an ExtendedCmdletHelpInfo object that represents autogenerated help.

Outputs

System.String

If you get a conceptual help topic, Get-Help returns it as a string.

Outputs

MamlCommandHelpInfo

If you get a command that has a help file, Get-Help returns a MamlCommandHelpInfo object.

Notes

• If you do not specify parameters, Get-Help displays information about the Windows PowerShell help system.

• Windows PowerShell 3.0 does not include help files. To download and install the help files that Get-Help reads, use the Update-Help cmdlet. You can use the Update-Help cmdlet to download and install help files for the core commands that come with Windows PowerShell and for any modules that you install. You can also use it to update the help files so that the help on your computer is never outdated.

  You can also read the help topics about the commands that come with Windows PowerShell online starting at Scripting with Windows PowerShellhttp://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=107116 ( http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=107116 ).

• Get-Help displays help in the locale set for the Windows operating system or in the fallback language for that locale. If you do not have help files for the primary or fallback locale, Get-Help behaves as if there are no help files on the computer. To get help for a different locale, use Region and Language in Control Panel to change the settings.

• The full view of help includes a table of information about the parameters. The table includes the following fields:

  • Required. Indicates whether the parameter is required (true) or optional (false).

  • Position. Indicates whether the parameter is named or positional (numbered). Positional parameters must appear in a specified place in the command.

  ---- "Named" indicates that the parameter name is required, but that the parameter can appear anywhere in the command.

  ---- <Number> indicates that the parameter name is optional, but when the name is omitted, the parameter must be in the place specified by the number. For example, "2" indicates that when the parameter name is omitted, the parameter must be the second (2) or only unnamed parameter in the command. When the parameter name is used, the parameter can appear anywhere in the command.

  • Default value. The parameter value that Windows PowerShell uses if you do not include the parameter in the command.

  • Accepts pipeline input. Indicates whether you can (true) or cannot (false) send objects to the parameter through a pipeline. "By Property Name" means that the pipelined object must have a property that has the same name as the parameter name.

  • Accepts wildcard characters. Indicates whether the value of a parameter can include wildcard characters, such as * and ?.

Related Links

• Updatable Help Status Table (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=270007)
• about_Command_Syntax
• Get-Command