New-Item

Reference

Module:: Microsoft.PowerShell.Management

Creates a new item.

Syntax

New-Item
   [-Path] <String[]>
   [-ItemType <String>]
   [-Value <Object>]
   [-Force]
   [-Credential <PSCredential>]
   [-WhatIf]
   [-Confirm]
   [-UseTransaction]
   [<CommonParameters>]

New-Item
   [[-Path] <String[]>]
   -Name <String>
   [-ItemType <String>]
   [-Value <Object>]
   [-Force]
   [-Credential <PSCredential>]
   [-WhatIf]
   [-Confirm]
   [-UseTransaction]
   [<CommonParameters>]

Description

The New-Item cmdlet creates a new item and sets its value. The types of items that can be created depend on the location of the item. For example, in the file system, New-Item creates files and folders. In the registry, New-Item creates registry keys and entries.

New-Item can also set the value of the items that it creates. For example, when it creates a new file, New-Item can add initial content to the file.

Examples

Example 1: Create a file in the current directory

This command creates a text file that is named "testfile1.txt" in the current directory. The dot ('.') in the value of the Path parameter indicates the current directory. The quoted text that follows the Value parameter is added to the file as content.

New-Item -Path . -Name "testfile1.txt" -ItemType "file" -Value "This is a text string."

Example 2: Create a directory

This command creates a directory named "Logfiles" in the C: drive. The ItemType parameter specifies that the new item is a directory, not a file or other file system object.

New-Item -Path "c:\" -Name "logfiles" -ItemType "directory"

Example 3: Create a profile

This command creates a PowerShell profile in the path that is specified by the $profile variable.

You can use profiles to customize PowerShell. $profile is an automatic (built-in) variable that stores the path and file name of the "CurrentUser/CurrentHost" profile. By default, the profile does not exist, even though PowerShell stores a path and file name for it.

In this command, the $profile variable represents the path of the file. ItemType parameter specifies that the command creates a file. The Force parameter lets you create a file in the profile path, even when the directories in the path do not exist.

After you create a profile, you can enter aliases, functions, and scripts in the profile to customize your shell.

For more information, see about_Automatic_Variables and about_Profiles.

New-Item -Path $profile -ItemType "file" -Force

Note

When you create a file using this method, the resulting file is encoded as UTF-8 without a byte-order-mark (BOM).

Example 4: Create a directory in a different directory

This example creates a new Scripts directory in the "C:\PS-Test" directory.

The name of the new directory item, "Scripts", is included in the value of Path parameter, instead of being specified in the value of Name. As indicated by the syntax, either command form is valid.

New-Item -ItemType "directory" -Path "c:\ps-test\scripts"

Example 5: Create multiple files

This example creates files in two different directories. Because Path takes multiple strings, you can use it to create multiple items.

New-Item -ItemType "file" -Path "c:\ps-test\test.txt", "c:\ps-test\Logs\test.log"

Parameters

-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

-Credential

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:	PSCredential
Position:	Named
Default value:	Current user
Required:	False
Accept pipeline input:	True
Accept wildcard characters:	False

-Force

Forces this cmdlet to create an item that writes over an existing read-only item. Implementation varies from provider to provider. For more information, see about_Providers. Even using the Force parameter, the cmdlet cannot override security restrictions.

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

-ItemType

Specifies the provider-specified type of the new item. The available values of this parameter depend on the current provider you are using.

If your location is in a FileSystem drive, the following values are allowed:

File
Directory
Junction
HardLink

When you create a file using this method, the resulting file is encoded as UTF-8 without a byte-order-mark (BOM).

In a Certificate drive, these are the values you can specify:

Certificate Provider
Certificate
Store
StoreLocation

For more information see about_Providers.

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

-Name

Specifies the name of the new item.

You can specify the name of the new item in the Name or Path parameter value, and you can specify the path of the new item in Name or Path value.

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

-Path

Specifies the path of the location of the new item. Wildcard characters are permitted.

You can specify the name of the new item in Name, or include it in Path.

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

-UseTransaction

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

-Value

Specifies the value of the new item. You can also pipe a value to New-Item.

Type:	Object
Position:	Named
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

Object

You can pipe a value for the new item to this cmdlet.

Outputs