Learn

Well-executed PowerShell commands can accomplish a lot, but sometimes we must perform complex tasks requiring multiple commands. In such cases, we can write a PowerShell script and run it in the terminal when needed.

To run a script, we open up any text editor, write our commands and name the file with a .ps1 file extension.

For example, the following commands can be put into a script file called host-commands.ps1.

Write-Host "All commands that act on Host:" 
Get-Command -Noun Host

With these two commands in the host-commands.ps1 file, we can now run our script using the following command in the terminal:

.\host-commands.ps1

This will run the script and produce the following output:

All commands that act on Host:

CommandType     Name
-----------     ----                                   
Function        Clear-Host                             
Cmdlet          Get-Host                               
Cmdlet          Out-Host                               
Cmdlet          Read-Host                              
Cmdlet          Write-Host

The .\ notation before the script name tells the shell to look for a file in the current directory and run it. In most shells, the forward slash notation ./ may also be used.

Instructions

There is now a script file, script.ps1. Use this script to print out a prompt and then the current date.

To start, on the first line of script.ps1 use Write-Host to output a prompt about the date. Something like The Current Date Is:

When you are done, click Run.

On the second line of script.ps1 use Get-Date to output the current date.

When you are done, click Run.

Now in the terminal, run your script with:

.\script.ps1

Take this course for free

By signing up for Codecademy, you agree to Codecademy's Terms of Service & Privacy Policy.

Or sign up using:

Already have an account?