Mastering PowerShell Commands: A Practical Guide to Get, Set, New, Invoke, Start, Add, Copy, Clear & More

A Practical Guide to Get, Set, New, Invoke, Start, Add, Copy, Clear & More

 
There are PowerShell verb names used to make cmdlets predictable. PowerShell provides many standard verbs such as Get, Set, New, Find, Search, Read, Invoke, Start, Add, Clear, Close, Copy, and Enter. Each verb represents a different type of operation. For example, Get is generally used to retrieve information, Set modifies an existing configuration, New creates a new object, Start begins a service or process, and Copy creates a copy of an existing file or resource. Understanding these verbs helps administrators predict what a command is likely to do. 

1. Get - retrieve information

This is probably the most important PowerShell verb.

Get-Service

Get a particular service:
Get-Service -Name Spooler

Get processes:
Get-Process

Get local users:
Get-LocalUser

Think:

Get = Show me information.

2. Set — change something

For example:

Set-Service -Name Spooler -StartupType Automatic

You're changing the startup type of the Spooler service.

You'll see something like:

  
Name     State    StartMode
----     -----    ---------
Spooler  Running  Auto
  

• Name → service name
• State → whether it's currently Running or Stopped
• StartMode → how Windows starts it (Auto, Manual, Disabled)

Even you check by GUI -> win + r -> services.msc -> Find Print Spooler or Spooler -> right click on this service ->  Properties

Think:

Set = Change existing information.

3. New — create something

Create a folder:

New-Item -Path C:\Data\Test -ItemType Directory

Create a file:

New-Item -Path C:\Data\Test.txt -ItemType File

In Active Directory:

New-ADUser -Name "John Smith" -SamAccountName jsmith

Think:

New = Create something that doesn't exist yet. 

4. Find — find a resource

A good PowerShell example is:

Find-Module -Name Pester

This searches the PowerShell Gallery for the module.

Another example:

Find-Command -Name Get-ADUser

This helps find which module provides a command.

Think:

Find = Locate a PowerShell resource. 

5. Search — search data/resources

For Active Directory:

Search-ADAccount -LockedOut

This searches AD for locked-out accounts.

Another useful example:

Search-ADAccount -PasswordExpired

Think:

Search = Search for specific conditions/data.

Important: Find and Search aren't interchangeable. The exact availability of these verbs depends on the installed module/cmdlets. 

6. Read — read input/data

A common example is:

Read-Host "Enter your username"

It waits for the administrator to enter something.

For example:

$name = Read-Host "Enter your name"

Then:

$name

Think:

Read = Receive/read information. 

 7. Invoke — execute something

This is extremely important for System Administrators.

For example, execute a command on a remote server:

Invoke-Command -ComputerName SERVER01 -ScriptBlock {
    Get-Service
}

PowerShell connects to SERVER01 and executes:

Get-Service

You can also invoke a command locally:

Invoke-Command -ScriptBlock {
    Get-ComputerInfo
}

Think:

Invoke = Execute something.

8. Start — start something

Start a Windows service:

Start-Service -Name Spooler

Start a process:

Start-Process notepad.exe

Think:

Start = Start an operation/process/service. 

 9. Add — add something

Add a user to a local group:

Add-LocalGroupMember -Group "Administrators" -Member "Atul"

For Active Directory:

Add-ADGroupMember -Identity "IT-Users" -Members tom

Think:

Add = Add an object/member to something.

10. Clear — clear contents

Clear a text file without deleting the file:

Clear-Content C:\Data\log.txt

The file remains, but its contents are removed.

Clear the PowerShell screen:

Clear-Host

Usually you'll see:

cls

which is an alias for Clear-Host.

Think:

Clear = Remove existing contents without necessarily deleting the object. 

 11. Close — close something

For example, with SMB:

Close-SmbSession -SessionId 5

This closes a particular SMB session.

Think:

Close = Close an existing connection/session/resource.

12. Copy — copy something

Copy a file:

Copy-Item C:\Data\report.txt C:\Backup\

Copy a folder:

Copy-Item C:\Data C:\Backup -Recurse

Think:

Copy = Create a copy somewhere else.

For Currently Logged-in User

Get-CimInstance Win32_LoggedOnUser 

 13. Enter — enter a session

This one is particularly important for Windows administration.

Enter-PSSession -ComputerName SERVER01

You'll enter an interactive PowerShell session on SERVER01.

Your prompt may change to something like:

[SERVER01]: PS C:\Users\Administrator>

Now:

Get-Service

runs on SERVER01, not your local computer.

To leave:

Exit-PSSession

Think:

Enter = Enter an interactive session/environment.

The pattern you should remember

PowerShell cmdlets generally follow: 

VERB - Noun

For Example:
 

Get       - Service
Set       - Service
Start     - Service
Stop      - Service

Get       - Process
Stop      - Process
Start     - Process

Get       - LocalUser
New       - LocalUser
Set       - LocalUser
Remove    - LocalUser

This makes PowerShell much easier to learn.

Instead of memorizing hundreds of commands individually, understand the verb + noun pattern. 

💡 Why PowerShell?

For a Windows Administrator, PowerShell isn't just about knowing commands. It's about using automation and scripting to troubleshoot systems, manage users and services, collect information, and perform repetitive administrative tasks efficiently.