PowerShell Cmdlet Deep Dive: New-Item

Welcome back to Wahmans Powershell blog! Today we’re diving into one of the fundamental cmdlets in PowerShell: New-Item. According to Microsoft, the New-Item cmdlet is used to “create a new item”. This might sound simple at first—but its versatility across different provider contexts (like the file system, registry, and cert provider) makes it incredibly powerful.

What can New-Item do?

The New-Item cmdlet allows you to create files, folders, registry keys, and even new items within a provider namespace. Whether you’re scripting up a new infrastructure deployment or simply automating some workflows, New-Item will be one of your go-to tools.

Let’s walk through four practical examples

Example 1: Create a New Folder (Beginner)

This example creates a new directory named MyFolder on the C drive. This is a basic use case and great for automation scripts that need to generate folders on the fly.

New-Item -Path "C:\MyFolder" -ItemType Directory

Example 2: Create a New Text File (Intermediate)

You can also use New-Item to create files. Here’s how to create a text file with some default content:

New-Item -Path "C:\MyFolder\MyFile.txt" -ItemType File -Value "Initial content here..."

This creates a text file and initializes it with some content.

Example 3: Create a Registry Key (Advanced)

PowerShell lets you work with the Windows registry just as easily as the file system. Here’s how to create a registry key:

New-Item -Path "HKCU:\Software\WahmansBlog"

This creates a new key under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software. You can add values to this key with New-ItemProperty.

Example 4: Create Nested Folders Dynamically (Advanced)

Want to ensure a nested folder structure exists? Use this technique to create nested folders safely and efficiently:

$nestedPath = "C:\Projects\2024\Reports"
New-Item -Path $nestedPath -ItemType Directory -Force

The -Force parameter makes sure intermediate directories are created as needed and suppresses errors if the path already exists.

Wrapping Up

As you can see, the New-Item cmdlet is incredibly flexible and handles a wide range of use cases from simple file creation to manipulation of advanced provider namespaces. Whether you’re just starting or a PowerShell veteran, New-Item is definitely a cmdlet you’ll be using often!

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