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Get-Member

  • Reference
Module:
Microsoft.PowerShell.Utility

Gets the properties and methods of objects.

Syntax

Get-Member
   [-InputObject <PSObject>]
   [[-Name] <String[]>]
   [-MemberType <PSMemberTypes>]
   [-View <PSMemberViewTypes>]
   [-Static]
   [-Force]
   [<CommonParameters>]

Description

The Get-Member cmdlet gets the members, the properties and methods, of objects.

To specify the object, use the InputObject parameter or pipe an object to Get-Member. To get information about static members, the members of the class, not of the instance, use the Static parameter. To get only certain types of members, such as NoteProperties, use the MemberType parameter.

Get-Member returns a list of members that's sorted alphabetically. Methods are listed first, followed by the properties.

Examples

Example 1: Get the members of process objects

This command displays the properties and methods of the service objects generated by the Get-Service cmdlet.

Because the Get-Member part of the command doesn't have any parameters, it uses default values for the parameters. By default, Get-Member doesn't get static or intrinsic members.

Get-Service | Get-Member

TypeName: System.Service.ServiceController#StartupType

Name                      MemberType    Definition
----                      ----------    ----------
Name                      AliasProperty Name = ServiceName
RequiredServices          AliasProperty RequiredServices = ServicesDependedOn
Disposed                  Event         System.EventHandler Disposed(System.Object, System.EventArgs)
Close                     Method        void Close()
Continue                  Method        void Continue()
Dispose                   Method        void Dispose(), void IDisposable.Dispose()
Equals                    Method        bool Equals(System.Object obj)
ExecuteCommand            Method        void ExecuteCommand(int command)
GetHashCode               Method        int GetHashCode()
GetLifetimeService        Method        System.Object GetLifetimeService()
GetType                   Method        type GetType()
InitializeLifetimeService Method        System.Object InitializeLifetimeService()
Pause                     Method        void Pause()
Refresh                   Method        void Refresh()
Start                     Method        void Start(), void Start(string[] args)
Stop                      Method        void Stop()
WaitForStatus             Method        void WaitForStatus(System.ServiceProcess.ServiceControllerSt...
BinaryPathName            Property      System.String {get;set;}
CanPauseAndContinue       Property      bool CanPauseAndContinue {get;}
CanShutdown               Property      bool CanShutdown {get;}
CanStop                   Property      bool CanStop {get;}
Container                 Property      System.ComponentModel.IContainer Container {get;}
DelayedAutoStart          Property      System.Boolean {get;set;}
DependentServices         Property      System.ServiceProcess.ServiceController[] DependentServices {get;}
Description               Property      System.String {get;set;}
DisplayName               Property      string DisplayName {get;set;}
MachineName               Property      string MachineName {get;set;}
ServiceHandle             Property      System.Runtime.InteropServices.SafeHandle ServiceHandle {get;}
ServiceName               Property      string ServiceName {get;set;}
ServicesDependedOn        Property      System.ServiceProcess.ServiceController[] ServicesDependedOn {get;}
ServiceType               Property      System.ServiceProcess.ServiceType ServiceType {get;}
Site                      Property      System.ComponentModel.ISite Site {get;set;}
StartType                 Property      System.ServiceProcess.ServiceStartMode StartType {get;}
StartupType               Property      Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.ServiceStartupType {get;set;}
Status                    Property      System.ServiceProcess.ServiceControllerStatus Status {get;}
UserName                  Property      System.String {get;set;}
ToString                  ScriptMethod  System.Object ToString();

Example 2: Get members of service objects

This example gets all the members (properties and methods) of service objects retrieved by the Get-Service cmdlet, including the intrinsic members, such as PSBase, PSObject, and the get_ and set_ methods.

Get-Service | Get-Member -Force
(Get-Service Schedule).PSBase

The Get-Member command uses the Force parameter to add the intrinsic members and compiler-generated members of the objects to the display. You can use these properties and methods in the same way that you would use an adapted method of the object. The second command shows how to display the value of the PSBase property of the Schedule service. For more information on intrinsic members, see about_Intrinsic_Members

Example 3: Get extended members of service objects

This example gets the methods and properties of service objects that were extended using a Types.ps1xml file or the Add-Member cmdlet.

Get-Service | Get-Member -View Extended

TypeName: System.Service.ServiceController#StartupType

Name             MemberType    Definition
----             ----------    ----------
Name             AliasProperty Name = ServiceName
RequiredServices AliasProperty RequiredServices = ServicesDependedOn
ToString         ScriptMethod  System.Object ToString();

The Get-Member command uses the View parameter to get only the extended members of the service objects. In this case, the extended member is the Name property, which is an alias property of the ServiceName property.

Example 4: Get script properties of event log objects

This example gets the script properties of event log objects in the System log in Event Viewer.

Get-WinEvent -LogName System -MaxEvents 1 | Get-Member -MemberType NoteProperty

TypeName: System.Diagnostics.Eventing.Reader.EventLogRecord

Name    MemberType   Definition
----    ----------   ----------
Message NoteProperty string Message=The machine-default permission settings do not grant Local ...

The MemberType parameter gets only objects with a value of NoteProperty for their MemberType property.

The command returns the Message property of the EventLogRecord object.

Example 5: Get objects with a specified property

This example gets objects that have a MachineName property in the output from a list of cmdlets.

The $list variable contains a list of cmdlets to be evaluated. The foreach statement invokes each command and sends the results to Get-Member. The Name parameter limits the results from Get-Member to members that have the name MachineName.

$list = "Get-Process", "Get-Service", "Get-Culture", "Get-PSDrive", "Get-ExecutionPolicy"
foreach ($cmdlet in $list) {& $cmdlet | Get-Member -Name MachineName}

TypeName: System.Diagnostics.Process

Name        MemberType Definition
----        ---------- ----------
MachineName Property   string MachineName {get;}

   TypeName: System.Service.ServiceController#StartupType

Name        MemberType Definition
----        ---------- ----------
MachineName Property   string MachineName {get;set;}

The results show that only process objects and service objects have a MachineName property.

Example 6: Get members for an array

This example demonstrates how to find the members of an array of objects. When you pipe and array of objects to Get-Member, the cmdlet returns a member list for each unique object type in the array. If you pass the array using the InputObject parameter, the array is treated as a single object.

$array = @(1,'hello')
$array | Get-Member

TypeName: System.Int32

Name        MemberType Definition
----        ---------- ----------
CompareTo   Method     int CompareTo(System.Object value), int CompareTo(int value), int ICompar...
Equals      Method     bool Equals(System.Object obj), bool Equals(int obj), bool IEquatable[int...
GetHashCode Method     int GetHashCode()
GetType     Method     type GetType()
GetTypeCode Method     System.TypeCode GetTypeCode(), System.TypeCode IConvertible.GetTypeCode()
ToBoolean   Method     bool IConvertible.ToBoolean(System.IFormatProvider provider)
ToByte      Method     byte IConvertible.ToByte(System.IFormatProvider provider)
...

   TypeName: System.String

Name                 MemberType            Definition
----                 ----------            ----------
Clone                Method                System.Object Clone(), System.Object ICloneable.Clone()
CompareTo            Method                int CompareTo(System.Object value), int CompareTo(str...
Contains             Method                bool Contains(string value), bool Contains(string val...
CopyTo               Method                void CopyTo(int sourceIndex, char[] destination, int ...
EndsWith             Method                bool EndsWith(string value), bool EndsWith(string val...
EnumerateRunes       Method                System.Text.StringRuneEnumerator EnumerateRunes()
Equals               Method                bool Equals(System.Object obj), bool Equals(string va...
GetEnumerator        Method                System.CharEnumerator GetEnumerator(), System.Collect...
GetHashCode          Method                int GetHashCode(), int GetHashCode(System.StringCompa...
...

Get-Member -InputObject $array

TypeName: System.Object[]

Name           MemberType            Definition
----           ----------            ----------
Add            Method                int IList.Add(System.Object value)
Address        Method                System.Object&, System.Private.CoreLib, Version=4.0.0.0, Cu...
Clear          Method                void IList.Clear()
Clone          Method                System.Object Clone(), System.Object ICloneable.Clone()
CompareTo      Method                int IStructuralComparable.CompareTo(System.Object other, Sy...
...

The $array variable contains an Int32 object and a string object, as seen when the array is piped to Get-Member. When $array is passed using the InputObject parameter Get-Member returns the members of the Object[] type.

Example 7: Determine which object properties you can set

This example shows how to determine which properties of an object can be changed.

$File = Get-Item c:\test\textFile.txt
$File.PSObject.Properties | Where-Object isSettable | Select-Object -Property Name

Name
----
PSPath
PSParentPath
PSChildName
PSDrive
PSProvider
PSIsContainer
IsReadOnly
CreationTime
CreationTimeUtc
LastAccessTime
LastAccessTimeUtc
LastWriteTime
LastWriteTimeUtc
Attributes

Example 8: List the properties of an object in the order they were created

This example creates a new PSObject and adds properties to it. Get-Member lists the properties in alphabetic order. To see the properties in the order they were added to the object you must use the PSObject intrinsic member.

$Asset = New-Object -TypeName PSObject
$d = [ordered]@{Name="Server30";System="Server Core";PSVersion="4.0"}
$Asset | Add-Member -NotePropertyMembers $d -TypeName Asset
$Asset.PSObject.Properties | Select-Object Name, Value

Name      Value
----      -----
Name      Server30
System    Server Core
PSVersion 4.0

Parameters

-Force

Adds the intrinsic members and the compiler-generated get_ and set_ methods to the display. The following list describes the properties that are added when you use the Force parameter:

  • PSBase: The original properties of the .NET object without extension or adaptation. These are the properties defined for the object class.
  • PSAdapted: The properties and methods defined in the PowerShell extended type system.
  • PSExtended: The properties and methods that were added in the Types.ps1xml files or using the Add-Member cmdlet.
  • PSObject: The adapter that converts the base object to a PowerShell PSObject object.
  • PSTypeNames: A list of object types that describe the object, in order of specificity. When formatting the object, PowerShell searches for the types in the Format.ps1xml files in the PowerShell installation directory ($PSHOME). It uses the formatting definition for the first type that it finds.

By default, Get-Member gets these properties in all views except Base and Adapted, but doesn't display them.

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

-InputObject

Specifies the object whose members are retrieved.

Using the InputObject parameter isn't the same as piping an object to Get-Member. The differences are as follows:

  • When you pipe a collection of objects to Get-Member, Get-Member gets the members of the individual objects in the collection, such as the properties of each string in an array of strings.
  • When you use InputObject to submit a collection of objects, Get-Member gets the members of the collection, such as the properties of the array in an array of strings.
Type:PSObject
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:True
Accept wildcard characters:False

-MemberType

Specifies the member type that this cmdlet gets. The default is All.

The acceptable values for this parameter are:

  • AliasProperty
  • CodeProperty
  • Property
  • NoteProperty
  • ScriptProperty
  • Properties
  • PropertySet
  • Method
  • CodeMethod
  • ScriptMethod
  • Methods
  • ParameterizedProperty
  • MemberSet
  • Event
  • Dynamic
  • All

These values are defined as a flag-based enumeration. You can combine multiple values together to set multiple flags using this parameter. The values can be passed to the MemberType parameter as an array of values or as a comma-separated string of those values. The cmdlet will combine the values using a binary-OR operation. Passing values as an array is the simplest option and also allows you to use tab-completion on the values.

For information about these values, see PSMemberTypes Enumeration.

Not all objects have every type of member. If you specify a member type that the object doesn't have, PowerShell returns a null value. To get related types of members, such as all extended members, use the View parameter. If you use the MemberType parameter with the Static or View parameters, Get-Member gets the members that belong to both sets.

Type:PSMemberTypes
Aliases:Type
Accepted values:AliasProperty, CodeProperty, Property, NoteProperty, ScriptProperty, Properties, PropertySet, Method, CodeMethod, ScriptMethod, Methods, ParameterizedProperty, MemberSet, Event, Dynamic, All
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

-Name

Specifies the names of one or more properties or methods of the object. Get-Member gets only the specified properties and methods.

If you use the Name parameter with the MemberType, View, or Static parameter, Get-Member gets only the members that satisfy the criteria of all parameters.

To get a static member by name, use the Static parameter with the Name parameter.

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

-Static

Indicates that this cmdlet gets only the static properties and methods of the object. Static properties and methods are defined on the class of objects, not on any particular instance of the class.

If you use the Static parameter with the View or Force parameters, the cmdlet ignores those parameters. If you use the Static parameter with the MemberType parameter, Get-Member gets only the members that belong to both sets.

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

-View

Specifies that this cmdlet gets only particular types properties and methods. Specify one or more of the values. The default is Adapted, Extended.

The acceptable values for this parameter are:

  • Base. Gets only the original properties and methods of the .NET object (without extension or adaptation).
  • Adapted. Gets only the properties and methods defined in the PowerShell extended type system.
  • Extended. Gets only the properties and methods that were added in a Types.ps1xml files or by using the Add-Member cmdlet.
  • All. Gets the members in the Base, Adapted, and Extended views.

The View parameter determines the members retrieved, not just the display of those members.

To get particular member types, such as script properties, use the MemberType parameter. If you use the MemberType and View parameters in the same command, Get-Member gets the members that belong to both sets. If you use the Static and View parameters in the same command, the View parameter is ignored.

Type:PSMemberViewTypes
Accepted values:Extended, Adapted, Base, All
Position:Named
Default value:Adapted, Extended
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

Inputs

PSObject

You can pipe any object to this cmdlet.

Outputs

MemberDefinition

This cmdlet returns a MemberDefinition for each property or method that its gets.

Notes

PowerShell includes the following aliases for Get-Member:

  • All platforms:
    • gm

You can get information about a collection object either using the InputObject parameter or by piping the object, preceded by a comma, to Get-Member.

You can use the $This automatic variable in script blocks that define the values of new properties and methods. The $This variable refers to the instance of the object to which the properties and methods are being added. For more information about the $This variable, see about_Automatic_Variables.

If you pass an object representing a type, like a type literal such as [int], Get-Member return information about the [System.RuntimeType] type. However, when you use the Static parameter, Get-Member returns the static members of the specific type represented by the System.RuntimeType instance.