PowerShell Reference Guide

A comprehensive, beginner-friendly PowerShell reference guide built for real-world use.

Welcome to my PowerShell Reference Guide - a practical resource designed for me, the IT professional learning PowerShell. I found existing PowerShell documentation clunky and difficult to navigate, so I had Claude help me build something better. If you share that frustration, use and enjoy.

What You'll Learn

This guide covers everything from PowerShell basics to advanced scripting techniques, organized into clear sections:

Getting Started

Perfect for beginners - learn the fundamentals of PowerShell:

• PowerShell Basics - What is PowerShell, versions, ISE vs VS Code, execution policies
• Cmdlets Introduction - Understanding cmdlets, the pipeline, objects vs text, and aliases
• Help System - Master Get-Help, Update-Help, and finding the right cmdlets

Core Syntax & Fundamentals

Master the building blocks of PowerShell scripting:

• Variables & Data Types - Strings, integers, arrays, hash tables, type casting
• Arrays & Collections - Working with arrays, ArrayLists, and hash tables
• Operators - Comparison, logical, and arithmetic operators
• If Statements & Conditional Logic - Making decisions in your scripts
• Switch Statements - Handling multiple conditions elegantly
• Loops - For, foreach, while, do-while, and do-until loops
• Functions - Creating reusable code with parameters and return values
• Error Handling - Try/catch/finally and managing errors gracefully

Working with Data

Learn to manipulate and format data like a pro:

• The Pipeline - Understanding PowerShell's most powerful feature
• Object Manipulation - Select-Object, Where-Object, ForEach-Object, and calculated properties
• Formatting Output - Format-Table, Format-List, Out-GridView, Export-Csv

Guiding Principles

This guide is built on the following principles:

• Beginner-friendly - Clear explanations without assuming prior knowledge
• Real-world examples - Practical code you can use immediately
• Consistent formatting - Easy to scan and find what you need
• Practical over theoretical - Focus on what you'll actually use
• Quality over quantity - Every topic is thoroughly explained

Current Status

Progress: 35% complete (14 of 40 planned topics) Quality Rating: 9.5/10

The first three sections are complete and ready to use. Additional sections covering file system operations, system administration, and best practices are planned for future releases.

Getting Started

New to PowerShell? Start with the Getting Started section and work your way through sequentially.

Already familiar with the basics? Jump to any topic using the navigation menu.

Note: This guide is actively being developed. Check back regularly for new content!