Getting Started with PowerShell: A Complete Beginner’s Guide

PowerShell is a powerful automation and scripting language designed for system administrators, IT professionals, and developers who want to manage, configure, and automate systems efficiently. Whether you’re on Windows, macOS, or Linux, PowerShell provides a unified environment for handling repetitive tasks and managing infrastructure at scale.

⚙️ Understanding PowerShell Versions

Before diving into scripting, it’s essential to understand the difference between Windows PowerShell and PowerShell (Core).

1. Windows PowerShell

• Built-in: Comes pre-installed on Windows systems (Windows 7 and later).
• Framework: Built on the .NET Framework (Windows-only).
• Compatibility: Ideal for managing Windows environments such as Active Directory and Windows Server.
• Version: The final version is 5.1, and it’s no longer actively developed.
• Platform: Windows only.

2. PowerShell (Core)

• Open-source: Actively developed by Microsoft on GitHub.
• Framework: Built on .NET (formerly .NET Core), making it cross-platform.
• Compatibility: Runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
• Version: The current version is PowerShell 7+.
• Performance: Faster, more lightweight, and modern.

✅ Recommendation

Start with PowerShell 7+, the actively developed and cross-platform version.

You can download it directly from PowerShell GitHub Releases.

🧩 Installing PowerShell 7+ with WinGet

Windows’ package manager WinGet makes installing PowerShell easy.

Step 1: Search for PowerShell

winget search PowerShell

Step 2: Install PowerShell 7

winget install --id Microsoft.PowerShell --source winget

Step 3: Verify Installation

pwsh --version

The command pwsh starts PowerShell 7+. You should see an output like 7.4.x.

Step 4: Start PowerShell 7

You can launch PowerShell 7 by:

• Typing pwsh in Command Prompt or Run (Win + R).
• Searching for PowerShell 7 (x64) in the Start Menu.

Step 5: Confirm You’re Running PowerShell 7

Inside the shell, check:

$PSVersionTable

Look for:

• PSEdition → Core
• PSVersion → 7.x.x

🧭 PowerShell Basics for Beginners

PowerShell is both a command-line shell and a scripting language. Here are the most useful basics to get you started.

1. Navigation Commands

2. File and Folder Operations

New-Item -Path "example.txt" -ItemType File
New-Item -Path "NewFolder" -ItemType Directory
Copy-Item -Path "source.txt" -Destination "backup\source.txt"
Move-Item -Path "example.txt" -Destination "archive\"
Remove-Item -Path "oldfile.txt"

3. Viewing and Filtering Data

Get-Content example.txt
Get-ChildItem | Where-Object { $_.Extension -eq ".txt" }
Get-ChildItem | Sort-Object Length

4. Working with Variables

$greeting = "Hello, PowerShell!"
Write-Output $greeting
Get-Variable

5. Working with Commands

PowerShell commands are called cmdlets (verb-noun format).

Get-Help Get-ChildItem
Update-Help
Get-Command -Verb Get
Get-Command -Noun Item

6. Processes and Services

Get-Process
Stop-Process -Name notepad
Get-Service
Start-Service -Name "wuauserv"
Stop-Service -Name "wuauserv"

7. Basic Scripting

Save scripts with a .ps1 extension:

# hello.ps1
$name = Read-Host "Enter your name"
Write-Output "Hello, $name!"

Run it:

.\hello.ps1

8. Permissions and Execution Policy

Check or change script permissions:

Get-ExecutionPolicy
Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope CurrentUser -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned

9. Exploring Objects

PowerShell outputs objects, not plain text.

Get-Process | Select-Object -First 1 | Format-List *
Get-Process | Select-Object Name, Id, CPU

10. Practice Ideas

• Automate file backups.
• Clean up folders.
• Monitor system performance.
• Query system info using Get-ComputerInfo.

🚀 PowerShell Learning Roadmap

A structured journey from beginner to advanced user.

Phase 1: Mastering the Basics

Goals:

• Understand cmdlets and the pipeline.
• Get comfortable with PowerShell objects.

Actions:

Get-Process | Where-Object { $_.CPU -gt 10 } | Sort-Object CPU -Descending
Get-Service | Get-Member
Get-Process | Format-Table -Property Name, CPU

Phase 2: Scripting and Automation

Goals:

• Write reusable scripts.
• Learn control structures and error handling.

Examples:

$names = @("Alice", "Bob", "Charlie")
foreach ($name in $names) { Write-Output "Hello, $name!" }

try {
    Get-Item "nonexistentfile.txt"
} catch {
    Write-Output "Error: $($_.Exception.Message)"
}

Phase 3: Managing Systems

Goals:

• Automate system administration tasks.

Examples:

Get-ComputerInfo
Get-ADUser -Filter *       # Active Directory
Get-Service | Stop-Service # Stop all services (be careful!)

Phase 4: Advanced PowerShell

Goals:

• Create reusable functions and modules.
• Work remotely and integrate APIs.

Examples:

function Get-Greeting {
    param ($Name)
    "Hello, $Name!"
}
Get-Greeting -Name "Alice"

Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "https://api.example.com/data"

Phase 5: Real-World Projects

Ideas:

• Automate Backups: Copy files incrementally to a backup folder.
• System Health Monitor: Log CPU and memory usage.
• Database Maintenance: Automate SQL Server backups.
• Configuration Management: Use PowerShell Desired State Configuration (DSC).

📚 Recommended Resources

Official Documentation

• Microsoft PowerShell Docs

Books

• Learn PowerShell in a Month of Lunches by Don Jones & Jeffrey Hicks.

Online Courses

• Pluralsight
• LinkedIn Learning
• YouTube Tutorials

🏁 Final Thoughts

PowerShell is not just another command shell—it’s a complete automation framework.
By learning its syntax, understanding objects, and building scripts, you can save hours of manual work and streamline system administration.

Start small. Automate something you do often—like backups or cleanup tasks—and expand from there.
Once you grasp the fundamentals, you’ll find that PowerShell can handle nearly any task in your IT workflow.