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Get-Module

  • Reference
Module:
Microsoft.PowerShell.Core

Gets the modules that have been imported or that can be imported into the current session.

Syntax

Get-Module
   [[-Name] <String[]>]
   [-FullyQualifiedName <ModuleSpecification[]>]
   [-All]
   [<CommonParameters>]
Get-Module
   [[-Name] <String[]>]
   [-FullyQualifiedName <ModuleSpecification[]>]
   [-ListAvailable]
   [-Refresh]
   -CimSession <CimSession>
   [-CimResourceUri <Uri>]
   [-CimNamespace <String>]
   [<CommonParameters>]
Get-Module
   [[-Name] <String[]>]
   [-FullyQualifiedName <ModuleSpecification[]>]
   [-ListAvailable]
   [-Refresh]
   -PSSession <PSSession>
   [<CommonParameters>]
Get-Module
   [[-Name] <String[]>]
   [-FullyQualifiedName <ModuleSpecification[]>]
   [-All]
   [-ListAvailable]
   [-Refresh]
   [<CommonParameters>]

Description

The Get-Module cmdlet gets the PowerShell modules that have been imported, or that can be imported, into a PowerShell session. The module object that Get-Module returns contains valuable information about the module. You can also pipe the module objects to other cmdlets, such as the Import-Module and Remove-Module cmdlets.

Without parameters, Get-Module gets modules that have been imported into the current session. To get all installed modules, specify the ListAvailable parameter.

Get-Module gets modules, but it does not import them. Starting in Windows PowerShell 3.0, modules are automatically imported when you use a command in the module, but a Get-Module command does not trigger an automatic import. You can also import the modules into your session by using the Import-Module cmdlet.

Starting in Windows PowerShell 3.0, you can get and then, import modules from remote sessions into the local session. This strategy uses the Implicit Remoting feature of PowerShell and is equivalent to using the Import-PSSession cmdlet. When you use commands in modules imported from another session, the commands run implicitly in the remote session. This feature lets you manage the remote computer from the local session.

Also, starting in Windows PowerShell 3.0, you can use Get-Module and Import-Module to get and import Common Information Model (CIM) modules, in which the cmdlets are defined in Cmdlet Definition XML (CDXML) files. This feature lets you use cmdlets that are implemented in non-managed code assemblies, such as those written in C++.

With these new features, the Get-Module and Import-Module cmdlets become primary tools for managing heterogeneous enterprises that include computers that run the Windows operating system and computers that run other operating systems.

To manage remote computers that run the Windows operating system that have PowerShell and PowerShell remoting enabled, create a PSSession on the remote computer and then use the PSSession parameter of Get-Module to get the PowerShell modules in the PSSession. When you import the modules, and then use the imported commands in the current session, the commands run implicitly in the PSSession on the remote computer. You can use this strategy to manage the remote computer.

You can use a similar strategy to manage computers that do not have PowerShell remoting enabled. These include computers that are not running the Windows operating system, and computers that have PowerShell but do not have PowerShell remoting enabled.

Start by creating a CIM session on the remote computer. A CIM session is a connection to Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) on the remote computer. Then use the CIMSession parameter of Get-Module to get CIM modules from the CIM session. When you import a CIM module by using the Import-Module cmdlet and then run the imported commands, the commands run implicitly on the remote computer. You can use this WMI and CIM strategy to manage the remote computer.

Examples

Example 1: Get modules imported into the current session

Get-Module

This command gets modules that have been imported into the current session.

Example 2: Get installed modules and available modules

Get-Module -ListAvailable

This command gets the modules that are installed on the computer and can be imported into the current session.

Get-Module looks for available modules in the path specified by the $env:PSModulePath environment variable. For more information about PSModulePath, see about_Modules and about_Environment_Variables.

Example 3: Get all exported files

Get-Module -ListAvailable -All

This command gets all of the exported files for all available modules.

Example 4: Get a module by its fully qualified name

$FullyQualifedName = @{ModuleName="Microsoft.PowerShell.Management";ModuleVersion="3.1.0.0"}
Get-Module -FullyQualifiedName $FullyQualifedName | Format-Table -Property Name,Version

Name                             Version
----                             -------
Microsoft.PowerShell.Management  3.1.0.0

This command gets the Microsoft.PowerShell.Management module by specifying the fully qualified name of the module by using the FullyQualifiedName parameter. The command then pipes the results into the Format-Table cmdlet to format the results as a table with Name and Version as the column headings.

Example 5: Get properties of a module

Get-Module | Get-Member -MemberType Property | Format-Table Name

Name
----
AccessMode
Author
ClrVersion
CompanyName
Copyright
Definition
Description
DotNetFrameworkVersion
ExportedAliases
ExportedCmdlets
ExportedCommands
ExportedFormatFiles
ExportedFunctions
ExportedTypeFiles
ExportedVariables
ExportedWorkflows
FileList
Guid
HelpInfoUri
LogPipelineExecutionDetails
ModuleBase
ModuleList
ModuleType
Name
NestedModules
OnRemove
Path
PowerShellHostName
PowerShellHostVersion
PowerShellVersion
PrivateData
ProcessorArchitecture
RequiredAssemblies
RequiredModules
RootModule
Scripts
SessionState
Version

This command gets the properties of the PSModuleInfo object that Get-Module returns. There is one object for each module file.

You can use the properties to format and filter the module objects. For more information about the properties, see PSModuleInfo Properties.

The output includes the new properties, such as Author and CompanyName, that were introduced in Windows PowerShell 3.0.

Example 6: Group all modules by name

Get-Module -ListAvailable -All | Format-Table -Property Name, Moduletype, Path -Groupby Name

Name: AppLocker

Name      ModuleType Path
----      ---------- ----
AppLocker   Manifest C:\Windows\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\Modules\AppLocker\AppLocker.psd1


   Name: Appx

Name ModuleType Path
---- ---------- ----
Appx   Manifest C:\Windows\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\Modules\Appx\en-US\Appx.psd1
Appx   Manifest C:\Windows\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\Modules\Appx\Appx.psd1
Appx     Script C:\Windows\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\Modules\Appx\Appx.psm1


   Name: BestPractices

Name          ModuleType Path
----          ---------- ----
BestPractices   Manifest C:\Windows\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\Modules\BestPractices\BestPractices.psd1


   Name: BitsTransfer

Name         ModuleType Path
----         ---------- ----
BitsTransfer   Manifest C:\Windows\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\Modules\BitsTransfer\BitsTransfer.psd1

This command gets all module files, both imported and available, and then groups them by module name. This lets you see the module files that each script is exporting.

Example 7: Display the contents of a module manifest

These commands display the contents of the module manifest for the Windows PowerShell BitsTransfer module.

Modules are not required to have manifest files. When they do have a manifest file, the manifest file is required only to include a version number. However, manifest files often provide useful information about a module, its requirements, and its contents.

# First command
$m = Get-Module -list -Name BitsTransfer

# Second command
Get-Content $m.Path

@ {
    GUID               = "{8FA5064B-8479-4c5c-86EA-0D311FE48875}"
    Author             = "Microsoft Corporation"
    CompanyName        = "Microsoft Corporation"
    Copyright          = "Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved."
    ModuleVersion      = "1.0.0.0"
    Description        = "Windows PowerShell File Transfer Module"
    PowerShellVersion  = "2.0"
    CLRVersion         = "2.0"
    NestedModules      = "Microsoft.BackgroundIntelligentTransfer.Management"
    FormatsToProcess   = "FileTransfer.Format.ps1xml"
    RequiredAssemblies = Join-Path $psScriptRoot "Microsoft.BackgroundIntelligentTransfer.Management.Interop.dll"
}

The first command gets the PSModuleInfo object that represents BitsTransfer module. It saves the object in the $m variable.

The second command uses the Get-Content cmdlet to get the content of the manifest file in the specified path. It uses dot notation to get the path to the manifest file, which is stored in the Path property of the object. The output shows the contents of the module manifest.

Example 8: List files in module directory

dir (Get-Module -ListAvailable FileTransfer).ModuleBase

Directory: C:\Windows\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\Modules\FileTransfer
Mode                LastWriteTime     Length Name
----                -------------     ------ ----
d----        12/16/2008  12:36 PM            en-US
-a---        11/19/2008  11:30 PM      16184 FileTransfer.Format.ps1xml
-a---        11/20/2008  11:30 PM       1044 FileTransfer.psd1
-a---        12/16/2008  12:20 AM     108544 Microsoft.BackgroundIntelligentTransfer.Management.Interop.dll

This command lists the files in the directory of the module. This is another way to determine what is in a module before you import it. Some modules might have help files or ReadMe files that describe the module.

Example 9: Get modules installed on a computer

$s = New-PSSession -ComputerName Server01

Get-Module -PSSession $s -ListAvailable

These commands get the modules that are installed on the Server01 computer.

The first command uses the New-PSSession cmdlet to create a PSSession on the Server01 computer. The command saves the PSSession in the $s variable.

The second command uses the PSSession and ListAvailable parameters of Get-Module to get the modules in the PSSession in the $s variable.

If you pipe modules from other sessions to the Import-Module cmdlet, Import-Module imports the module into the current session by using the implicit remoting feature. This is equivalent to using the Import-PSSession cmdlet. You can use the cmdlets from the module in the current session, but commands that use these cmdlets actually run the remote session. For more information, see Import-Module and Import-PSSession.

Example 10: Manage a computer that does not run the Windows operating system

The commands in this example enable you to manage the storage systems of a remote computer that is not running the Windows operating system. In this example, because the administrator of the computer has installed the Module Discovery WMI provider, the CIM commands can use the default values, which are designed for the provider.

$cs = New-CimSession -ComputerName RSDGF03
Get-Module -CimSession $cs -Name Storage | Import-Module
Get-Command Get-Disk

CommandType     Name                  ModuleName
-----------     ----                  ----------
Function        Get-Disk              Storage

Get-Disk

Number Friendly Name              OperationalStatus          Total Size Partition Style
------ -------------              -----------------          ---------- ---------------
0      Virtual HD ATA Device      Online                          40 GB MBR

The first command uses the New-CimSession cmdlet to create a session on the RSDGF03 remote computer. The session connects to WMI on the remote computer. The command saves the CIM session in the $cs variable.

The second command uses the CIM session in the $cs variable to run a Get-Module command on the RSDGF03 computer. The command uses the Name parameter to specify the Storage module. The command uses a pipeline operator (|) to send the Storage module to the Import-Module cmdlet, which imports it into the local session.

The third command runs the Get-Command cmdlet on the Get-Disk command in the Storage module. When you import a CIM module into the local session, PowerShell converts the CDXML files that represent the CIM module into PowerShell scripts, which appear as functions in the local session.

The fourth command runs the Get-Disk command. Although the command is typed in the local session, it runs implicitly on the remote computer from which it was imported. The command gets objects from the remote computer and returns them to the local session.

Parameters

-All

Indicates that this cmdlet gets all modules in each module folder, including nested modules, manifest (.psd1) files, script module (.psm1) files, and binary module (.dll) files. Without this parameter, Get-Module gets only the default module in each module folder.

Type:SwitchParameter
Position:Named
Default value:False
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

-CimNamespace

Specifies the namespace of an alternate CIM provider that exposes CIM modules. The default value is the namespace of the Module Discovery WMI provider.

Use this parameter to get CIM modules from computers and devices that are not running the Windows operating system.

This parameter was introduced in Windows PowerShell 3.0.

Type:String
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

-CimResourceUri

Specifies an alternate location for CIM modules. The default value is the resource URI of the Module Discovery WMI provider on the remote computer.

Use this parameter to get CIM modules from computers and devices that are not running the Windows operating system.

This parameter was introduced in Windows PowerShell 3.0.

Type:Uri
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

-CimSession

Specifies a CIM session on the remote computer. Enter a variable that contains the CIM session or a command that gets the CIM session, such as a Get-CimSession command.

Get-Module uses the CIM session connection to get modules from the remote computer. When you import the module by using the Import-Module cmdlet and use the commands from the imported module in the current session, the commands actually run on the remote computer.

You can use this parameter to get modules from computers and devices that are not running the Windows operating system, and computers that have PowerShell, but do not have PowerShell remoting enabled.

The CimSession parameter gets all modules in the CIMSession. However, you can import only CIM-based and Cmdlet Definition XML (CDXML)-based modules.

Type:CimSession
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:True
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

-FullyQualifiedName

Specifies names of modules in the form of ModuleSpecification objects. These objects are described in the Remarks section of ModuleSpecification Constructor (Hashtable) in the MSDN library. For example, the FullyQualifiedName parameter accepts a module name that is specified in the following formats:

  • @{ModuleName = "modulename"; ModuleVersion = "version_number"}
  • @{ModuleName = "modulename"; ModuleVersion = "version_number"; Guid = "GUID"}

ModuleName and ModuleVersion are required, but Guid is optional.

You cannot specify the FullyQualifiedName parameter in the same command as a Name parameter.

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

-ListAvailable

Indicates that this cmdlet gets all installed modules. Get-Module gets modules in paths listed in the PSModulePath environment variable. Without this parameter, Get-Module gets only the modules that are both listed in the PSModulePath environment variable, and that are loaded in the current session. ListAvailable does not return information about modules that are not found in the PSModulePath environment variable, even if those modules are loaded in the current session.

Type:SwitchParameter
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

-Name

Specifies names or name patterns of modules that this cmdlet gets. Wildcard characters are permitted. You can also pipe the names to Get-Module. You cannot specify the FullyQualifiedName parameter in the same command as a Name parameter.

Name cannot accept a module GUID as a value. To return modules by specifying a GUID, use FullyQualifiedName instead.

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

-PSSession

Gets the modules in the specified user-managed PowerShell session (PSSession). Enter a variable that contains the session, a command that gets the session, such as a Get-PSSession command, or a command that creates the session, such as a New-PSSession command.

When the session is connected to a remote computer, you must specify the ListAvailable parameter.

A Get-Module command that uses the PSSession parameter is equivalent to using the Invoke-Command cmdlet to run a Get-Module -ListAvailable command in a PSSession.

This parameter was introduced in Windows PowerShell 3.0.

Type:PSSession
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:True
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

-Refresh

Indicates that this cmdlet refreshes the cache of installed commands. The command cache is created when the session starts. It enables the Get-Command cmdlet to get commands from modules that are not imported into the session.

This parameter is designed for development and testing scenarios in which the contents of modules have changed since the session started.

When you specify the Refresh parameter in a command, you must specify ListAvailable.

This parameter was introduced in Windows PowerShell 3.0.

Type:SwitchParameter
Position:Named
Default value:False
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

Inputs

String

You can pipe module names to this cmdlet.

Outputs

PSModuleInfo

This cmdlet returns objects that represent modules. When you specify the ListAvailable parameter, Get-Module returns a ModuleInfoGrouping object, which is a type of PSModuleInfo object that has the same properties and methods.

Notes

  • Beginning in Windows PowerShell 3.0, the core commands that are included in PowerShell are packaged in modules. The exception is Microsoft.PowerShell.Core, which is a snap-in (PSSnapin). By default, only the Microsoft.PowerShell.Core snap-in is added to the session. Modules are imported automatically on first use and you can use the Import-Module cmdlet to import them.

  • Starting in Windows PowerShell 3.0, the core commands that are installed with PowerShell are packaged in modules. In Windows PowerShell 2.0, and in host programs that create older-style sessions in later versions of PowerShell, the core commands are packaged in snap-ins (PSSnapins). The exception is Microsoft.PowerShell.Core, which is always a snap-in. Also, remote sessions, such as those started by the New-PSSession cmdlet, are older-style sessions that include core snap-ins.

    For information about the CreateDefault2 method that creates newer-style sessions with core modules, see CreateDefault2 Method in the MSDN library.

  • Get-Module only gets modules in locations that are stored in the value of the PSModulePath environment variable ($env:PSModulePath). You can use the Path parameter of the Import-Module cmdlet to import modules in other locations, but you cannot use the Get-Module cmdlet to get them.

  • Also, starting in PowerShell 3.0, new properties have been added to the object that Get-Module returns that make it easier to learn about modules even before they are imported. All properties are populated before importing. These include the ExportedCommands, ExportedCmdlets and ExportedFunctions properties that list the commands that the module exports.

  • The ListAvailable parameter gets only well-formed modules, that is, folders that contain at least one file whose base name is the same as the name of the module folder. The base name is the name without the file name extension. Folders that contain files that have different names are considered to be containers, but not modules.

    To get modules that are implemented as .dll files, but are not enclosed in a module folder, specify both the ListAvailable and All parameters.

  • To use the CIM session feature, the remote computer must have WS-Management remoting and Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI), which is the Microsoft implementation of the Common Information Model (CIM) standard. The computer must also have the Module Discovery WMI provider or an alternate WMI provider that has the same basic features.

    You can use the CIM session feature on computers that are not running the Windows operating system and on Windows computers that have PowerShell, but do not have PowerShell remoting enabled.

    You can also use the CIM parameters to get CIM modules from computers that have PowerShell remoting enabled. This includes the local computer. When you create a CIM session on the local computer, PowerShell uses DCOM, instead of WMI, to create the session.