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New-FileCatalog

  • Reference
Module:
Microsoft.PowerShell.Security

New-FileCatalog creates a catalog file of file hashes that can be used to validate the authenticity of a file.

Syntax

New-FileCatalog
   [-CatalogVersion <Int32>]
   [-CatalogFilePath] <String>
   [[-Path] <String[]>]
   [-WhatIf]
   [-Confirm]
   [<CommonParameters>]

Description

This cmdlet is only available on the Windows platform.

New-FileCatalog creates a Windows catalog file for a set of folders and files. This catalog file contains hashes for all files in the provided paths. Users can then distribute the catalog with their files so that users can validate whether any changes have been made to the folders since catalog creation time.

Catalog versions 1 and 2 are supported. Version 1 uses the (deprecated) SHA1 hashing algorithm to create file hashes, and version 2 uses SHA256. Catalog version 2 is not supported on Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7. You should use catalog version 2 on Windows 8, Windows Server 2012, and later operating systems.

Examples

Example 1: Create a file catalog for `Microsoft.PowerShell.Utility`

New-FileCatalog -Path $PSHOME\Modules\Microsoft.PowerShell.Utility -CatalogFilePath \temp\Microsoft.PowerShell.Utility.cat -CatalogVersion 2.0

Mode                LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                -------------         ------ ----
-a----         11/2/2018 11:58 AM            950 Microsoft.PowerShell.Utility.cat

Parameters

-CatalogFilePath

A path to a file or folder where the catalog file (.cat) should be placed. If a folder path is specified, the default filename catalog.cat will be used.

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

-CatalogVersion

Accepts 1.0 or 2.0 as possible values for specifying the catalog version. 1.0 should be used avoided whenever possible, as it uses the insecure SHA-1 hash algorithm, while 2.0 uses the secure SHA-256 algorithm However, 1.0 is the only supported algorithm on Windows 7 and Server 2008R2.

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

-Confirm

Prompts you for confirmation before running the cmdlet.

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

-Path

Accepts a path or array of paths to files or folders that should be included in the catalog file. If a folder is specified, all the files in the folder will be included as well.

Type:String[]
Position:1
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:True
Accept wildcard characters:False

-WhatIf

Shows what would happen if the cmdlet runs. The cmdlet is not run.

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

Inputs

String

The pipeline takes a string that is used as the catalog filename.

Outputs

FileInfo

Notes

This cmdlet is only available on Windows platforms.