Export-Alias

Syntax

Export-Alias
      [-Path] <String>
      [[-Name] <String[]>]
      [-PassThru]
      [-As <ExportAliasFormat>]
      [-Append]
      [-Force]
      [-NoClobber]
      [-Description <String>]
      [-Scope <String>]
      [-WhatIf]
      [-Confirm]
      [<CommonParameters>]

Export-Alias
      -LiteralPath <String>
      [[-Name] <String[]>]
      [-PassThru]
      [-As <ExportAliasFormat>]
      [-Append]
      [-Force]
      [-NoClobber]
      [-Description <String>]
      [-Scope <String>]
      [-WhatIf]
      [-Confirm]
      [<CommonParameters>]

Description

The Export-Alias cmdlet exports the aliases in the current session to a file. If the output file does not exist, the cmdlet will create it.

Export-Alias can export the aliases in a particular scope or all scopes, it can generate the data in CSV format or as a series of Set-Alias commands that you can add to a session or to a Windows PowerShell profile.

Examples

Example 1: Export an alias

Export-Alias -Path "alias.csv"

This command exports current alias information to a file named Alias.csv in the current directory.

Example 2: Export an alias unless the export file already exists

Export-Alias -Path "alias.csv" -NoClobber

This command exports the aliases in the current session to an Alias.csv file.

Because the NoClobber parameter is specified, the command will fail if an Alias.csv file already exists in the current directory.

Example 3: Append aliases to a file

Export-Alias -Path "alias.csv" -Append -Description "Appended Aliases" -Force

This command appends the aliases in the current session to the Alias.csv file.

The command uses the Description parameter to add a description to the comments at the top of the file.

The command also uses the Force parameter to overwrite any existing Alias.csv files, even if they have the read-only attribute.

Example 4: Export aliases as a script

Export-Alias -Path "alias.ps1" -As Script

Add-Content -Path $Profile -Value (Get-Content alias.ps1)

$S = New-PSSession -ComputerName Server01

Invoke-Command -Session $S -FilePath .\alias.ps1

This example shows how to use the script file format that Export-Alias generates.

The first command exports the aliases in the session to the Alias.ps1 file. It uses the As parameter with a value of Script to generate a file that contains a Set-Alias command for each alias.

The second command adds the aliases in the Alias.ps1 file to the CurrentUser-CurrentHost profile. (The path to the profile is saved in the $Profile variable.) The command uses the Get-Content cmdlet to get the aliases from the Alias.ps1 file and the Add-Content cmdlet to add them to the profile. For more information, see about_Profiles.

The third and fourth commands add the aliases in the Alias.ps1 file to a remote session on the Server01 computer. The third command uses the New-PSSession cmdlet to create the session. The fourth command uses the FilePath parameter of the Invoke-Command cmdlet to run the Alias.ps1 file in the new session.

Required Parameters

Optional Parameters

Inputs

None.

You cannot pipe objects to this cmdlet.

Outputs

None or System.Management.Automation.AliasInfo

When you use the Passthru parameter, Export-Alias returns a System.Management.Automation.AliasInfo object that represents the alias. Otherwise, this cmdlet does not generate any output.

Notes

• You can only Export-Aliases to a file.

Related Links

• Get-Alias
• Import-Alias
• New-Alias
• Set-Alias