New Item - PowerShell

Overview

The New-Item command creates a new item in the specified location, such as a file, folder, registry key, or alias. It is commonly used for tasks like managing file systems, creating configuration items, and automating system management.

Syntax

New-Item [-Path] <String> [-Name] <String> [-ItemType] <String> [-Force] [[-Value] <Object>] [-Attributes <String>] [-Description <String>] [-Recurse] [-Confirm] [-WhatIf] [-PassThru]

Options/Flags

  • -Path: Specifies the location where the new item should be created. Required.
  • -Name: Sets the name of the new item. Required for files and folders.
  • -ItemType: Indicates the type of item to create. Values can be “File”, “Directory”, “RegistryKey”, or “Alias”. Required unless creating an alias with -Value.
  • -Force: Overwrites existing items without prompting for confirmation.
  • -Value: Sets the initial value for the new item. Can be used to create registry values or aliases.
  • -Attributes: Sets the file or directory attributes. Common values include “ReadOnly”, “Hidden”, and “Archive”.
  • -Description: Specifies a description for the new item.
  • -Recurse: Creates the new item and any necessary parent directories.
  • -Confirm: Prompts for confirmation before performing the action.
  • -WhatIf: Displays what would happen without actually performing the action.
  • -PassThru: Returns the newly created item as an object.

Examples

Create a new file:

New-Item -Path "C:\Temp" -Name "TestFile.txt" -ItemType File

Create a new directory:

New-Item -Path "C:\My Documents" -Name "New Folder" -ItemType Directory

Create a new registry key:

New-Item -Path "HKLM:\Software\MyApplication" -Name "Settings" -ItemType RegistryKey

Create a new alias:

New-Item -Name "Get-MyFiles" -Value "Get-ChildItem -Path 'C:\Users\Me\Documents'" -ItemType Alias

Common Issues

  • Error when path doesn’t exist: If the specified path doesn’t exist and -Recurse is not used, the command will fail.
  • Access denied: Ensure sufficient permissions to create items in the specified location.
  • Invalid item type: Verify that the specified item type is supported by PowerShell.

Integration

New-Item can be integrated with other commands to automate tasks. For example:

  • Create a file and write content: New-Item -Path "C:\Temp\TestFile.txt" -ItemType File | Add-Content "Hello World"
  • Create a directory and copy files: New-Item -Path "C:\My Documents\New Folder" -ItemType Directory; Copy-Item -Path "C:\Temp\*.txt" -Destination "C:\My Documents\New Folder"
  • Remove-Item: Deletes the specified item.
  • Move-Item: Moves the specified item to a new location.
  • Set-ItemProperty: Modifies the properties of an existing item.