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Get-History

  • Reference
Module:
Microsoft.PowerShell.Core

Gets a list of the commands entered during the current session.

Syntax

Get-History
   [[-Id] <Int64[]>]
   [[-Count] <Int32>]
   [<CommonParameters>]

Description

The Get-History cmdlet gets the session history, that is, the list of commands entered during the current session.

PowerShell automatically maintains a history of each session. The number of entries in the session history is determined by the value of the $MaximumHistoryCount preference variable. Beginning in Windows PowerShell 3.0, the default value is 4096.

You can save the session history in XML or CSV format. By default, history files are saved in the home directory, but you can save the file in any location.

For more information about the history features in PowerShell, see about_History in the Microsoft Docs.

Examples

Example 1: Get the session history

Get-History

This command gets the entries in the session history. The default display shows each command and its ID, which indicates the order in which they ran.

Example 2: Get entries that include a string

Get-History | Where-Object {$_.CommandLine -like "*Service*"}

This command gets entries in the command history that include the string service. The first command gets all entries in the session history. The pipeline operator (|) passes the results to the Where-Object cmdlet, which selects only the commands that include service.

Example 3: Export at most seven entries

Get-History -ID 7 -Count 5 | Export-Csv History.csv

This command gets the five most recent history entries ending with entry 7. The pipeline operator passes the result to the Export-Csv cmdlet, which formats the history as comma-separated text and saves it in the History.csv file. The file includes the data that is displayed when you format the history as a list. This includes the status and start and end times of the command.

Example 4: Display the most recent command

Get-History -Count 1

This command gets the last command in the command history. The last command is the most recently entered command. This command uses the Count parameter to display just one command. By default, Get-History gets the most recent commands. This command can be abbreviated to "h -c 1" and is equivalent to pressing the up-arrow key.

Example 5: Display all the properties of the entries in the history

Get-History | Format-List -Property *

This command displays all of the properties of entries in the session history. The pipeline operator passes the results of a Get-History command to the Format-List cmdlet, which displays all of the properties of each history entry. This includes the ID, status, and start and end times of the command.

Parameters

-Count

Specifies the number of the most recent history entries that this cmdlet gets. By, default, Get-History gets all entries in the session history. If you use both the Count and Id parameters in a command, the display ends with the command that is specified by the Id parameter.

In Windows PowerShell 2.0, by default, Get-History gets the 32 most recent entries.

Type:Int32
Position:1
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

-Id

Specifies an array of the IDs of entries in the session history. Get-History gets only specified entries. If you use both the Id and Count parameters in a command, Get-History gets the most recent entries ending with the entry specified by the Id parameter.

Type:Int64[]
Position:0
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:True
Accept wildcard characters:False

Inputs

Int64

You can pipe a history ID to this cmdlet.

Outputs

HistoryInfo

This cmdlet returns a history object for each history item that it gets.

Notes

  • The session history is a list of the commands entered during the session. The session history represents the run order, the status, and the start and end times of the command. As you enter each command, PowerShell adds it to the history so that you can reuse it. For more information about the command history, see about_History.
  • Starting in Windows PowerShell 3.0, the default value of the $MaximumHistoryCount preference variable is 4096. In Windows PowerShell 2.0, the default value is 64. For more information about the $MaximumHistoryCount variable, see about_Preference_Variables.