Get-Variable

Module:
Microsoft.PowerShell.Utility
Gets the variables in the current console.

Syntax 

Get-Variable
   [[-Name] <String[]>]
   [-ValueOnly]
   [-Include <String[]>]
   [-Exclude <String[]>]
   [-Scope <String>]
   [<CommonParameters>]

Description

The Get-Variable cmdlet gets the Windows PowerShell variables in the current console. You can retrieve just the values of the variables by specifying the ValueOnly parameter, and you can filter the variables returned by name.

Examples

Example 1: Get variables by letter 

PS C:\> Get-Variable m*

This command gets variables with names that begin with the letter m. The command also gets the value of the variables.

Example 2: Get variable values by letter 

PS C:\> Get-Variable m* -ValueOnly

This command gets only the values of the variables that have names that begin with m.

Example 3: Get variables by two letters 

PS C:\> Get-Variable -Include M*,P*

This command gets information about the variables that begin with either the letter M or the letter P.

Example 4: Get variables by scope 

PS C:\> Get-Variable -Scope 0

PS C:\> Compare-Object (Get-Variable -Scope 0) (Get-Variable -Scope 1)

The first command gets only the variables that are defined in the local scope. It is equivalent to Get-Variable -Scope Local and can be abbreviated as gv -s 0 .

The second command uses the Compare-Object cmdlet to find the variables that are defined in the parent scope (Scope 1) but are visible only in the local scope (Scope 0).

Optional Parameters

-Exclude

Specifies an array of items that this cmdlet excludes from the operation. Wildcards are permitted.

Type: String[]
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
-Include

Specifies an array of items upon which the cmdlet will act, excluding all others. Wildcards are permitted.

Type: String[]
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
-Name

Specifies the name of the variable. Wildcards are permitted. You can also pipe a variable name to Get-Variable .

Type: String[]
Position: 1
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: True (ByPropertyName, ByValue)
Accept wildcard characters: False
-Scope

Specifies the variables in the scope.The acceptable values for this parameter are:

  • Global
  • Local
  • Script
  • A number relative to the current scope (0 through the number of scopes, where 0 is the current scope and 1 is its parent)

Local is the default. For more information, see about_Scopes.

Type: String
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
-ValueOnly

Indicates that this cmdlet gets only the value of the variable.

Type: SwitchParameter
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False

Inputs

System.String

You can pipe a string that contains the variable name to Get-Variable .

Outputs

System.Management.Automation.PSVariable

This cmdlet returns a System.Management.AutomationPSVariable object for each variable that it gets. The object type depends on the variable.

Notes

  • This cmdlet does not manage environment variables. To manage environment variables, you can use the environment variable provider.

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