# Finding a Command: Get-Command Get-Command searches every command PowerShell knows, by its exact name, by its verb or noun, or by part of a name with the \* wildcard, and shows what kind of command each one is and which module it comes from, without running it. Apprentice · PowerShell · Updated November 10, 2026 ## After this lesson you can - Find commands by name, by verb or noun, or by part of a name with a wildcard, using Get-Command - Read Get-Command's output to tell a cmdlet, a function or an alias, and the module it comes from ## Key takeaways - `Get-Command` looks commands up without running them, so it's a safe way to check a guess. - `-Noun Service` lists everything you can do with services, and `-Verb Restart` everything that restarts something. - The wildcard `*` (read "star") stands for any letters, so `*Clipboard*` finds every command with Clipboard in its name. - The Source column names the module a command comes from, a package of related commands. You want to copy a list from PowerShell straight to the clipboard, so you can paste it into an email. You guess there's a command with *Clipboard* in its name, but is it `Copy-Clipboard`, `Set-Clipboard`, `Write-Clipboard`? You could search the web and sort through forum posts. The answer is already on your computer: PowerShell keeps a list of every command it knows, thousands of them, and `Get-Command` searches it. A tech supporting a few hundred PCs uses it the same way, to find the command for a job they haven't done before. ## Is there a command called...? Give `Get-Command` a name, and it tells you whether that command exists: ```powershell Get-Command Get-Process ``` ```text CommandType Name Version Source ----------- ---- ------- ------ Cmdlet Get-Process 7.0.0.0 Microsoft.PowerShell.Management ``` Each column is one fact: - **CommandType** is what kind of command it is. A *cmdlet* is built into PowerShell, a *function* is a command written in PowerShell itself, and an *alias* is a short name for another command. - **Name** is the command's name. - **Version** and **Source** say where it comes from. Commands come in **modules**, packages of related commands, the way a toolbox holds the tools for one kind of job. `Microsoft.PowerShell.Management` comes with PowerShell and holds the commands for processes, services, files and folders. `Get-Command` only looks the command up. It never runs it, so it's the safe way to check a guess, even a guess like `Stop-Process`. A name that doesn't exist gets the same *not recognized* error as typing it at the prompt. ## Every command for one noun, or one verb Verb-noun names pay off here. `-Noun Service` lists every command that works on services: ```powershell Get-Command -Noun Service ``` ```text CommandType Name Version Source ----------- ---- ------- ------ Cmdlet Get-Service 7.0.0.0 Microsoft.PowerShell.Management Cmdlet New-Service 7.0.0.0 Microsoft.PowerShell.Management Cmdlet Remove-Service 7.0.0.0 Microsoft.PowerShell.Management Cmdlet Restart-Service 7.0.0.0 Microsoft.PowerShell.Management Cmdlet Resume-Service 7.0.0.0 Microsoft.PowerShell.Management Cmdlet Set-Service 7.0.0.0 Microsoft.PowerShell.Management Cmdlet Start-Service 7.0.0.0 Microsoft.PowerShell.Management Cmdlet Stop-Service 7.0.0.0 Microsoft.PowerShell.Management Cmdlet Suspend-Service 7.0.0.0 Microsoft.PowerShell.Management ``` Read down the list and you have everything PowerShell can do with a service. `-Verb` works the other way round, every command with one verb: ```powershell Get-Command -Verb Restart ``` ```text CommandType Name Version Source ----------- ---- ------- ------ Function Restart-NetAdapter 2.0.0.0 NetAdapter Function Restart-PcsvDevice 1.0.0.0 PcsvDevice Function Restart-PrintJob 1.1 PrintManagement Cmdlet Restart-Computer 7.0.0.0 Microsoft.PowerShell.Management Cmdlet Restart-Service 7.0.0.0 Microsoft.PowerShell.Management Cmdlet Restart-VM 2.0.0.0 Hyper-V ``` These come from several modules, some built into Windows rather than PowerShell, so your list depends on your computer: `Restart-VM` shows only where Windows' Hyper-V feature is turned on. ## When you only know part of a name: \`\*\` Back to the clipboard. You know part of the name, not all of it. The **wildcard** `*` (read "star") stands for any letters, or none, so `*Clipboard*` means "anything, then Clipboard, then anything": ```powershell Get-Command *Clipboard* ``` ```text CommandType Name Version Source ----------- ---- ------- ------ Cmdlet Get-Clipboard 7.0.0.0 Microsoft.PowerShell.Management Cmdlet Set-Clipboard 7.0.0.0 Microsoft.PowerShell.Management ``` `Set-Clipboard` is the one that puts text on the clipboard. `Get-Clipboard` reads it back. A plain wildcard search also finds programs on your computer, names that end in `.exe`, so a word as common as `*Service*` can bring back dozens of rows. A wildcard after `-Noun` or `-Verb` keeps the search to PowerShell's own commands. `Get-Command -Noun *Printer*` finds sixteen commands for printers, from `Add-Printer` to `Write-PrinterNfcTag`, most of them functions from the `PrintManagement` module. **On a Mac or Linux**, the Windows modules aren't there, so `-Noun Service` and `*Printer*` find nothing; `*Clipboard*` finds the same two. In Windows PowerShell 5.1 the commands are the same, with older version numbers. **Try it.** Find every command with the noun `Date`. Which of them only looks, and which changes something? ## Check yourself 2 questions to try on the lesson page. ## So what When you're not sure what a command is called, you don't have to leave PowerShell to find out. Guess the verb or the noun, add a star where you're unsure, and `Get-Command` shows you what's there. ## Key terms - [Get-Command](https://www.ask-codey.com/glossary/get-command) - [Wildcard](https://www.ask-codey.com/glossary/wildcard-powershell) - [Module](https://www.ask-codey.com/glossary/module-powershell) - [Cmdlet](https://www.ask-codey.com/glossary/cmdlet) ## Cheat sheets - [Finding a Command: Get-Command](https://www.ask-codey.com/cheat-sheets/powershell-get-command-cheat-sheet) ## Related - [Verb-Noun: Names That Explain Themselves](https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/powershell-verb-noun-names) - [Reading Help: Get-Help](https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/powershell-get-help) Source: https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/powershell-get-command