How to Filter Files and Folders Using PowerShell

1. Filter Files Using the Get-ChildItem Cmdlet in PowerShell
2. the Get-ChildItem Alias
3. Get All Files Inside Subdirectories Using Get-ChildItem Cmdlet in PowerShell
4. Filter Files With a Specific Conditions Using Get-ChildItem Cmdlet in PowerShell

There will be situations wherein we need to check if files exist inside a specific location or directory. Though we can use the legacy command dir, it wouldn’t be enough to only export specific files. We can use Windows PowerShell’s Get-ChildItem cmdlet for this use case.

This article will discuss the PowerShell Get-ChildItem cmdlet that we will use to get all items inside the directory and utilize its filter switch parameters.

The Windows PowerShell Get-ChildItem cmdlet gets the child items in a specific location or directory. For example, the location specified in the cmdlet can be file system directory, registry, or certificate store. Also, the child items mentioned can either be another directory, subfolder, or file.

Get-ChildItem -Path C:\Temp

In the above command, Get-ChildItem gets child items from the path specified using the -Path parameter.

Get-ChildItem cmdlet when executed, display files, directories with their Mode, LastWriteTime, Length (file size), and Name properties on the PowerShell console.

Mode                 LastWriteTime         Length Name                                
----                 ------------ - ------ ----
d----l        18/01/2022   8:52 pm                WindowsPowerShell
d----l        20/12/2021   3:36 pm                Zoom
-a---l        30/12/2020   3:23 pm          (151) backup phrase.txt
-a---l        17/06/2021   3:13 am       (410049) CEF1750.pdf
-a---l        16/05/2020   3:32 am          (677) default.cpu1
-a---l        21/08/2019   9:06 am         (2240) Default.rdp
-a---l        26/05/2021   8:24 am        (63399) e-sig.jpg
-a---l        09/03/2020  10:48 pm          (143) fan config.sfsm
-a---l        19/09/2020  12:07 pm    (279515089) MCSA.rar

Filter Files Using the Get-ChildItem Cmdlet in PowerShell

We may use the -File switch parameter to only return files inside a path or directory.

Example Code:

Get-ChildItem -Path C:\Temp -File

Output:

Mode                 LastWriteTime         Length Name                                
----                 -------------         ------ ----
-a---l        30/12/2020   3:23 pm          (151) backup phrase.txt 
-a---l        17/06/2021   3:13 am       (410049) CEF1750.pdf
-a---l        16/05/2020   3:32 am          (677) default.cpu1
-a---l        21/08/2019   9:06 am         (2240) Default.rdp
-a---l        26/05/2021   8:24 am        (63399) e-sig.jpg
-a---l        09/03/2020  10:48 pm          (143) fan config.sfsm
-a---l        19/09/2020  12:07 pm    (279515089) MCSA.rar

the Get-ChildItem Alias

Windows PowerShell uses a default built-in alias gci for the Get-ChildItem cmdlet. Like the example snippet below, you may use the alias instead of the cmdlet for faster and seamless scripting.

Example Code:

gci -Path C:\Temp -File

Get All Files Inside Subdirectories Using Get-ChildItem Cmdlet in PowerShell

If we want to get all files in directory and subdirectories, use the -Recurse switch parameter.

Example Code:

gci -Path C:\Temp -Recurse - Force -File

Filter Files With a Specific Conditions Using Get-ChildItem Cmdlet in PowerShell

Using the -Filter parameter, we can filter out the results using a single expression. The -Filter parameter doesn’t require the -Path parameter as it will use your current working directory.

Example Code:

gci -Filter C:\Temp\* -Filter *.txt

We can also use the -Include switch parameters, which accepts multiple conditions, an excellent advantage to the -Filter parameter. However, remember that the -Include parameter requires the -Path parameter to be present in the expression.

Example Code:

gci -Path C:\Temp\* -File -Include CEF*.pdf, *.txt

Aside from accepting multiple conditions, the -Include parameter works well with regex, thus making this a more versatile method than the -Filter parameter.

Output:

Mode                 LastWriteTime         Length Name                                
----                 -------------         ------ ----
-a---l        30/12/2020   3:23 pm          (151) backup phrase.txt
-a---l        17/06/2021   3:13 am       (410049) CEF1750.pdf