Understanding PowerShell’s ConvertFrom-CliXml Cmdlet

Welcome back to Wahmans PowerShell Blog!

Today we will take a closer look at the ConvertFrom-CliXml cmdlet. This powerful yet often overlooked cmdlet can be a real lifesaver when you’re dealing with serialized PowerShell objects. According to the official Microsoft documentation:

“ConvertFrom-CliXml converts a CliXml-formatted string to a custom PSObject.”

So what does that mean in practice? Basically, if you’ve saved PowerShell objects using Export-Clixml or Out-String after Export-Clixml, you can get them back into object form with ConvertFrom-CliXml.

Example 1: Basic Deserialize from CliXml String

Let’s start with a basic example. Say you’ve exported an object before like this:

$service = Get-Service -Name wuauserv
$service | Export-Clixml -Path './service.xml'

To bring this back into an object, use:

$xmlContent = Get-Content './service.xml' -Raw
$serviceObject = $xmlContent | ConvertFrom-CliXml
$serviceObject | Format-List

This is useful when you need to persist objects between scripts or sessions!

Example 2: Deserializing Direct String Input

If you have a CliXml string stored in a variable (perhaps read from a database or an API), you can also deserialize it directly:

$cliXmlString = "#<Objs Version=\"1.1.0.1\"..." # shortened for demo
$obj = $cliXmlString | ConvertFrom-CliXml
Write-Output $obj

Make sure your string is valid CliXml format, otherwise PowerShell will throw an error.

Example 3: Using ConvertFrom-CliXml for Remote Scripts

In more advanced scenarios, you might serialize an object on a remote machine, transfer it as a string, and deserialize on the client:

# On remote machine
$processInfo = Get-Process | Select-Object -First 1
$serialized = $processInfo | Export-Clixml -AsString

# Transfer the $serialized string back to local client (e.g. via Invoke-Command)

# On local machine
$deserializedObject = $serialized | ConvertFrom-CliXml
$deserializedObject | Format-Table

Great for workflows involving remote systems or automation frameworks!

Example 4: Combining Export-Clixml and ConvertFrom-CliXml for Auditing

Let’s say you want to audit some key configuration every day and compare it:

# Export current firewall status
$currentStatus = Get-NetFirewallProfile
$currentStatus | Export-Clixml -Path './audit/fwstatus.xml'

# Later comparison:
$previous = Get-Content './audit/fwstatus.xml' -Raw | ConvertFrom-CliXml
$current = Get-NetFirewallProfile

# Compare historic and current status
Compare-Object -ReferenceObject $previous -DifferenceObject $current -Property Name, Enabled

This combination lets you track drift in configurations reliably over time.

Conclusion

ConvertFrom-CliXml is a handy cmdlet that helps you work with serialized PowerShell objects, especially when saving and restoring object states or building portable scripts. It works seamlessly with Export-Clixml and is especially useful in automation and auditing scenarios.

Happy scripting, and I will see you in the next post!