external help file | Locale | Module Name | ms.date | online version | schema | title |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.Management.dll-Help.xml |
en-US |
Microsoft.PowerShell.Management |
03/10/2023 |
2.0.0 |
Set-Content |
Writes new content or replaces existing content in a file.
Set-Content [-Path] <string[]> [-Value] <Object[]> [-PassThru] [-Filter <string>]
[-Include <string[]>] [-Exclude <string[]>] [-Force] [-Credential <pscredential>] [-WhatIf]
[-Confirm] [-UseTransaction] [-NoNewline] [-Encoding <FileSystemCmdletProviderEncoding>]
[-Stream <string>] [<CommonParameters>]
Set-Content [-Value] <Object[]> -LiteralPath <string[]> [-PassThru] [-Filter <string>]
[-Include <string[]>] [-Exclude <string[]>] [-Force] [-Credential <pscredential>] [-WhatIf]
[-Confirm] [-UseTransaction] [-NoNewline] [-Encoding <FileSystemCmdletProviderEncoding>]
[-Stream <string>] [<CommonParameters>]
Set-Content [-Path] <string[]> [-Value] <Object[]> [-PassThru] [-Filter <string>]
[-Include <string[]>] [-Exclude <string[]>] [-Force] [-Credential <pscredential>] [-WhatIf]
[-Confirm] [-UseTransaction] [<CommonParameters>]
Set-Content [-Value] <Object[]> -LiteralPath <string[]> [-PassThru] [-Filter <string>]
[-Include <string[]>] [-Exclude <string[]>] [-Force] [-Credential <pscredential>] [-WhatIf]
[-Confirm] [-UseTransaction] [<CommonParameters>]
Set-Content
is a string-processing cmdlet that writes new content or replaces the content in a
file. Set-Content
replaces the existing content and differs from the Add-Content
cmdlet that
appends content to a file. To send content to Set-Content
you can use the Value parameter on
the command line or send content through the pipeline.
If you need to create files or directories for the following examples, see New-Item.
This example replaces the content for multiple files in the current directory.
Get-ChildItem -Path .\Test*.txt
Test1.txt
Test2.txt
Test3.txt
Set-Content -Path .\Test*.txt -Value 'Hello, World'
Get-Content -Path .\Test*.txt
Hello, World
Hello, World
Hello, World
The Get-ChildItem
cmdlet uses the Path parameter to list .txt files that begin with
Test*
in the current directory. The Set-Content
cmdlet uses the Path parameter to specify
the Test*.txt
files. The Value parameter provides the text string Hello, World that
replaces the existing content in each file. The Get-Content
cmdlet uses the Path parameter to
specify the Test*.txt
files and displays each file's content in the PowerShell console.
This example creates a new file and writes the current date and time to the file.
Set-Content -Path .\DateTime.txt -Value (Get-Date)
Get-Content -Path .\DateTime.txt
1/30/2019 09:55:08
Set-Content
uses the Path and Value parameters to create a new file named DateTime.txt
in the current directory. The Value parameter uses Get-Date
to get the current date and time.
Set-Content
writes the DateTime object to the file as a string. The Get-Content
cmdlet uses
the Path parameter to display the content of DateTime.txt in the PowerShell console.
This command replaces all instances of word within an existing file.
Get-Content -Path .\Notice.txt
Warning
Replace Warning with a new word.
The word Warning was replaced.
(Get-Content -Path .\Notice.txt) |
ForEach-Object {$_ -Replace 'Warning', 'Caution'} |
Set-Content -Path .\Notice.txt
Get-Content -Path .\Notice.txt
Caution
Replace Caution with a new word.
The word Caution was replaced.
The Get-Content
cmdlet uses the Path parameter to specify the Notice.txt file in the
current directory. The Get-Content
command is wrapped with parentheses so that the command
finishes before being sent down the pipeline.
The contents of the Notice.txt file are sent down the pipeline to the ForEach-Object
cmdlet.
ForEach-Object
uses the automatic variable $_
and replaces each occurrence of Warning with
Caution. The objects are sent down the pipeline to the Set-Content
cmdlet. Set-Content
uses
the Path parameter to specify the Notice.txt file and writes the updated content to the
file.
The last Get-Content
cmdlet displays the updated file content in the PowerShell console.
You can specify a filter to the Set-Content
cmdlet. When using filters to qualify the Path
parameter, you need to include a trailing asterisk (*
) to indicate the contents of the
path.
The following command set the content all *.txt
files in the C:\Temp
directory to the Value empty.
Set-Content -Path C:\Temp\* -Filter *.txt -Value "Empty"
Note
This parameter is not supported by any providers installed with PowerShell. To impersonate another user, or elevate your credentials when running this cmdlet, use Invoke-Command.
Type: System.Management.Automation.PSCredential
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:
Required: False
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: True (ByPropertyName)
Accept wildcard characters: False
This is a dynamic parameter made available by the FileSystem provider. For more information, see about_FileSystem_Provider.
Specifies the type of encoding for the target file. The default value is Default
.
Encoding is a dynamic parameter that the FileSystem provider adds to Set-Content
. This parameter
works only in file system drives.
The acceptable values for this parameter are as follows:
Ascii
Uses ASCII (7-bit) character set.BigEndianUnicode
Uses UTF-16 with the big-endian byte order.BigEndianUTF32
Uses UTF-32 with the big-endian byte order.Byte
Encodes a set of characters into a sequence of bytes.Default
Uses the encoding that corresponds to the system's active code page (usually ANSI).Oem
Uses the encoding that corresponds to the system's current OEM code page.String
Same asUnicode
.Unicode
Uses UTF-16 with the little-endian byte order.Unknown
Same asUnicode
.UTF7
Uses UTF-7.UTF8
Uses UTF-8.UTF32
Uses UTF-32 with the little-endian byte order.
Encoding is a dynamic parameter that the FileSystem provider adds to Set-Content
. This parameter
works only in file system drives.
Type: Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.FileSystemCmdletProviderEncoding
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:
Accepted values: ASCII, BigEndianUnicode, BigEndianUTF32, Byte, Default, OEM, String, Unicode, Unknown, UTF7, UTF8, UTF32
Required: False
Position: Named
Default value: Default
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
Specifies, as a string array, an item or items that this cmdlet excludes in the operation. The value
of this parameter qualifies the Path parameter. Enter a path element or pattern, such as
*.txt
. Wildcard characters are permitted. The Exclude parameter is effective only when the
command includes the contents of an item, such as C:\Windows\*
, where the wildcard character
specifies the contents of the C:\Windows
directory.
Type: System.String[]
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:
Required: False
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: True
Specifies a filter to qualify the Path parameter. The FileSystem provider is the only installed PowerShell provider that supports the use of filters. You can find the syntax for the FileSystem filter language in about_Wildcards. Filters are more efficient than other parameters, because the provider applies them when the cmdlet gets the objects rather than having PowerShell filter the objects after they are retrieved.
Type: System.String
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:
Required: False
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: True
Forces the cmdlet to set the contents of a file, even if the file is read-only. Implementation varies from provider to provider. For more information, see about_Providers. The Force parameter does not override security restrictions.
Type: System.Management.Automation.SwitchParameter
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:
Required: False
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
Specifies, as a string array, an item or items that this cmdlet includes in the operation. The value
of this parameter qualifies the Path parameter. Enter a path element or pattern, such as
"*.txt"
. Wildcard characters are permitted. The Include parameter is effective only when the
command includes the contents of an item, such as C:\Windows\*
, where the wildcard character
specifies the contents of the C:\Windows
directory.
Type: System.String[]
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:
Required: False
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: True
Specifies a path to one or more locations. The value of LiteralPath is used exactly as it is typed. No characters are interpreted as wildcards. If the path includes escape characters, enclose it in single quotation marks. Single quotation marks tell PowerShell not to interpret any characters as escape sequences.
For more information, see about_Quoting_Rules.
Type: System.String[]
Parameter Sets: LiteralPath
Aliases: PSPath
Required: True
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: True (ByPropertyName)
Accept wildcard characters: False
This is a dynamic parameter made available by the FileSystem provider. For more information, see about_FileSystem_Provider.
The string representations of the input objects are concatenated to form the output. No spaces or newlines are inserted between the output strings. No newline is added after the last output string.
Type: System.Management.Automation.SwitchParameter
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:
Required: False
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
Returns an object that represents the content. By default, this cmdlet does not generate any output.
Type: System.Management.Automation.SwitchParameter
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:
Required: False
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
Specifies the path of the item that receives the content. Wildcard characters are permitted.
Type: System.String[]
Parameter Sets: Path
Aliases:
Required: True
Position: 0
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: True (ByPropertyName)
Accept wildcard characters: True
This is a dynamic parameter made available by the FileSystem provider. This Parameter is only available on Windows. For more information, see about_FileSystem_Provider.
Specifies an alternative data stream for content. If the stream does not exist, this cmdlet creates it. Wildcard characters are not supported.
Stream is a dynamic parameter that the FileSystem provider adds to Set-Content
. This
parameter works only in file system drives.
You can use the Set-Content
cmdlet to create or update the content of any alternate data stream,
such as Zone.Identifier
. However, we do not recommend this as a way to eliminate security checks
that block files that are downloaded from the Internet. If you verify that a downloaded file is
safe, use the Unblock-File
cmdlet.
This parameter was introduced in PowerShell 3.0.
Type: System.String
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:
Required: False
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
Includes the command in the active transaction. This parameter is valid only when a transaction is in progress. For more information, see about_Transactions.
Type: System.Management.Automation.SwitchParameter
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases: usetx
Required: False
Position: Named
Default value: False
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
Specifies the new content for the item.
Type: System.Object[]
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:
Required: True
Position: 1
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: True (ByPropertyName, ByValue)
Accept wildcard characters: False
Prompts you for confirmation before running the cmdlet.
Type: System.Management.Automation.SwitchParameter
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases: cf
Required: False
Position: Named
Default value: False
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
Shows what would happen if the cmdlet runs. The cmdlet is not run.
Type: System.Management.Automation.SwitchParameter
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases: wi
Required: False
Position: Named
Default value: False
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
This cmdlet supports the common parameters: -Debug, -ErrorAction, -ErrorVariable, -InformationAction, -InformationVariable, -OutVariable, -OutBuffer, -PipelineVariable, -Verbose, -WarningAction, and -WarningVariable. For more information, see about_CommonParameters.
You can pipe an object that contains the new value for the item to this cmdlet.
By default, this cmdlet returns no output.
When you use the PassThru parameter, this cmdlet returns a string representing the content.
Windows PowerShell includes the following aliases for Set-Content
:
-
sc
-
Set-Content
is designed for string processing. If you pipe non-string objects toSet-Content
, it converts the object to a string before writing it. To write objects to files, useOut-File
. -
The
Set-Content
cmdlet is designed to work with the data exposed by any provider. To list the providers available in your session, typeGet-PsProvider
. For more information, see about_Providers.