Export-Clixml

Syntax

Export-Clixml
      [-Depth <Int32>]
      [-Path] <String>
      -InputObject <PSObject>
      [-Force]
      [-NoClobber]
      [-Encoding <String>]
      [-WhatIf]
      [-Confirm]
      [<CommonParameters>]

Export-Clixml
      [-Depth <Int32>]
      -LiteralPath <String>
      -InputObject <PSObject>
      [-Force]
      [-NoClobber]
      [-Encoding <String>]
      [-WhatIf]
      [-Confirm]
      [<CommonParameters>]

Description

The Export-CliXml cmdlet creates an XML-based representation of an object or objects and stores it in a file. You can then use the Import-Clixml cmdlet to re-create the saved object based on the contents of that file.

This cmdlet is similar to ConvertTo-Xml, except that Export-CliXml stores the resulting XML in a file. ConvertTo-XML returns the XML, so you can continue to process it in Windows PowerShell.

A valuable use of Export-CliXml is to export credentials and secure strings securely as XML. For an example of how to do this, see Example 3.

Examples

Example 1: Export a string to an XML file

"This is a test" | Export-Clixml sample.xml

This command creates an XML file that stores a representation of the string, "This is a test".

Example 2: Export an object to an XML file

Get-Acl C:\test.txt | Export-Clixml -Path "fileacl.xml"

$Fileacl = Import-Clixml "fileacl.xml"

This example shows how to export an object to an XML file and then create an object by importing the XML from the file.

The first command uses the Get-Acl cmdlet to get the security descriptor of the Test.txt file. It uses a pipeline operator to pass the security descriptor to Export-Clixml , which stores an XML-based representation of the object in a file named FileACL.xml.

The second command uses the Import-Clixml cmdlet to create an object from the XML in the FileACL.xml file. Then, it saves the object in the $FileAcl variable.

Example 3: Encrypt an exported credential object

$CredXmlPath = Join-Path (Split-Path $Profile) TestScript.ps1.credential

$credential | Export-CliXml $CredPath

$CredXmlPath = Join-Path (Split-Path $Profile) TestScript.ps1.credential

$Credential = Import-CliXml $CredXmlPath

The Export-CliXml cmdlet encrypts credential objects by using the Windows Data Protection API . This ensures that only your user account on only that computer can decrypt the contents of the credential object. The exported CliXml file can neither be used on a different computer nor by a different user.

In this example, given a credential that you've stored in the $Credential variable by running the Get-Credential cmdlet, you can run the Export-CliXml cmdlet to save the credential to disk. In the example, the file in which the credential is stored is represented by TestScript.ps1.credential. Replace TestScript with the name of the script with which you are loading the credential.

In the second command, pipe the credential object to Export-CliXml , and save it to the path, $CredXmlPath, that you specified in the first command.

To import the credential automatically into your script, run the final two commands. This time, you are running Import-Clixml to import the secured credential object into your script. This eliminates the risk of exposing plain-text passwords in your script.

Required Parameters

Optional Parameters

Inputs

System.Management.Automation.PSObject

You can pipe any object to Export-Clixml .

Outputs

System.IO.FileInfo

Export-Clixml creates a file that contains the XML.

Related Links

• Use PowerShell to Pass Credentials to Legacy Systems
• Securely Store Credentials on Disk
• ConvertTo-Html
• ConvertTo-Xml
• Export-Csv
• ConvertTo-Clixml
• ConvertFrom-Clixml
• Import-Clixml