Glossary

Powershell · Reference cheat sheet

📋 Overview

Alphabetical glossary of core PowerShell terms for cmdlets, objects, pipelines, remoting, and scripting.

🔧 Core concepts

Term	Definition
Alias	An alternate short name for a cmdlet or function, such as `gci` for `Get-ChildItem`.
Array	An ordered collection of objects, often created with `@()` or comma lists.
Cmdlet	A compiled .NET command following Verb-Noun naming, like `Get-Process`.
Common parameter	Shared parameters such as `-ErrorAction` and `-Verbose` available on many commands.
Execution policy	A setting that restricts which scripts may run on a machine.
Filter	A scriptblock used in the pipeline to include/exclude objects.
Function	A reusable named scriptblock defined with `function Name \{ \}`.
Hash table	A key/value map written as `@\{ Key = Value \}`.
Job	A background task started with `Start-Job` or `-AsJob`.
Member	A property or method on a PowerShell object.
Module	A package of commands loaded with `Import-Module`.
Object	The structured .NET data item flowing through the PowerShell pipeline.
Parameter	A named input to a command, often bound by name or position.
Parameter binding	The process that maps pipeline input and arguments to parameters.
Pipeline	The `
Profile	A script that runs when a PowerShell host starts.
Provider	A drive-like data store interface such as `FileSystem` or `Registry`.
PSCredential	An object holding a username and secure password for auth.
Remoting	Running commands on remote machines via WinRM/`Invoke-Command`.
Scope	The visibility boundary for variables and functions (`Global`, `Script`, `Local`).
Scriptblock	An anonymous block of code written as `\{ ... \}`.
Splatting	Passing a hashtable of parameters with `@params`.
Switch	A boolean parameter present when named, or a `switch` statement for branching.
Variable	A named storage slot referenced as `$name`.
Verb-Noun	The conventional cmdlet naming pattern (`Get-`, `Set-`, `New-`, …).
WhatIf	A common risk-mitigation switch that previews changes without applying them.

💡 Examples

Cmdlets and pipeline:

Get-ChildItem -Path . -Filter *.md |
  Where-Object { $_.Length -gt 1KB } |
  Select-Object Name, Length

Splatting and functions:

function Get-Greeting {
  param([string]$Name)
  "Hello, $Name"
}
$params = @{ Name = "Ada" }
Get-Greeting @params

Remoting:

Invoke-Command -ComputerName web01 -ScriptBlock {
  Get-Service nginx
}

⚠️ Pitfalls

Confusing text pipelines (Bash) with object pipelines (PowerShell).
Mixing aliases in scripts with full cmdlet names — aliases hurt readability.
Treating execution policy as security boundary — it is a safety rail, not a sandbox.
Equating $null, empty string, and empty array in conditionals — truthiness differs.
Assuming Where-Object filters like SQL — it runs script logic per object.

Glossary

Glossary

📋 Overview

🔧 Core concepts

💡 Examples

⚠️ Pitfalls

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