PowerShell: What is Cmdlet

By Xah Lee. Date: . Last updated: .

In PowerShell, the command you type are technically of different kinds: cmdlets, Alias, Function, and other independent programs such as explorer, tree. All are called commands.

The commands like Get-ChildItem (alias dir), Set-Location (alias cd), are called cmdlets.

cmdlets are written based on the .NET framework. They follow a specific naming convention, parameter syntax, behavior. Vast majority of PowerShell command are cmdlets.

help about_Core_Commands
Show core commands.

Here's a list of core commands:

ChildItem cmdlets

Content cmdlets

Item cmdlets

ItemProperty cmdlets

Path cmdlets

PSDrive cmdlets

PSProvider cmdlets


PowerShell in Depth

Path

Pipe

Comment

Value Types

String

Variable

Boolean

Conditional

Data Structure

Loop and Iteration

Input/Output

Function

Profile and Script

Script Examples

Misc