PowerShell – List Files in Directory

In one of my recent tasks, I have to deal with files and folder-based operations on a local system. File or folder-based operation is a very cumbersome process using a manual way if you have a lot many files or directories to look for.

Using PowerShell, it’s very easy to list files in a directory or list folders based on filter criteria.

PowerShell PSIsContainer to list of files in a directory which has PSIsContainer property set to $false in their file system object. Folder or Directory has PSIsContainer property set to $true in their container.

PowerShell Get-ChildItem cmdlet returns files or folders in the root directory of the file system.

Using PowerShell PSIsContainer, it’s very easy to get files in the directory only or select folders only.

In this article, I will explain using PowerShell PSIsContainer with different examples to list files in the directory or list directory, or special folders only.

PowerShell PSIsContainer to List Folders and Subfolders

PowerShell Get-ChildItem cmdlet gets file and folders only.

To get a list of folders and subfolders in the filesystem, use a filter based on a folder that has PSIsContainer property set to $true

PS C:\> Get-ChildItem -Path D:\PowerShell -Recurse | Where-Object {$_.PSIsContainer} 

In the above PowerShell script, Get-ChildItem returns files, and folders recursively and passes its output to another command.

In the second command, it checks for the folder which has the PowerShell PSIsContainer property set to $true and gets a list of folders and subfolders in the file system.

Cool Tip: Get-ChildItem cmdlet – Search for files in PowerShell!

PowerShell List Files in Directory

To get a list of files in a directory, use a filter based on a file that has the PowerShell PSIsContainer property set to $false.

Use the below command to list all files in directory and subdirectories.

PS C:\> Get-ChildItem -Path D:\PowerShell\Excel\ -Recurse | Where-Object {$_.PSIsContainer -eq $false}  

The above PowerShell script, using the PowerShell Get-ChildItem cmdlet, it returns files and folders.

It passes its output to another command where it checks for PowerShell PSIsContainer property is equal to false to filter files only.

It returns list files in directory and subdirectories, it prints files with their Mode, LastWriteTime, File size, and File Name

PowerShell Tip: How to find files with lastwritetime in PowerShell!

The output of the above command

PS C:\> Get-ChildItem -Path D:\PowerShell\Excel\ -Recurse | Where-Object {$_.PSIsContainer -eq $false}                                                                                       

    Directory: D:\PowerShell\Excel


Mode                LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                -------------         ------ ----
-a----       05-10-2020     21:14            559 DownloadZipFile-Unzip.ps1
-a----       08-10-2020     09:40            105 import-csv.ps1
-a----       04-10-2020     17:06            199 IsModuleInstalled.ps1
-a----       24-10-2020     20:08            598 ping-computers.ps1
-a----       10-10-2020     19:37            139 quser.ps1
-a----       04-10-2020     17:05            911 rename-adgroup.ps1
-a----       04-10-2020     13:22            861 search-excel.ps1
-a----       06-10-2020     19:06             25 throw.ps1
-a----       06-10-2020     18:09            182 Unzip-file.ps1


PS C:\>  

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PowerShell PSIsContainer to Get Folders with No Files

To get folders and subfolders having no files in them, use PowerShell PSIsContainer uses the property of all file system object to select folders only which has the property set to true.

Use GetFiles().Count property to get file count.

PS C:\> Get-ChildItem -Path D:\PowerShell -Recurse | Where-Object {$_.PSIsContainer -eq $true} | Where-Object {$_.GetFiles().Count -eq 0} 

In the above PowerShell script, Get-ChildItem cmdlets return files and folders recursively and pass their output to another command.

The second command check PowerShell PSIsContainer property is true to filter only the directory and pass its output to the next command

The third command, get files count for each folder and check if it is equal to 0 and returns folders having no files.

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Conclusion

Use the PowerShell PSIsContainer property of the file system object to select files if the property is set to $false in their PSIsContainer property and select folder if the property is set to $true in their PSIsContainer property.

Using PowerShell Get-ChildItem cmdlet and PSIsContainer to list files in the directory or list all files in the directory and subdirectories.

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You can find more topics about PowerShell Active Directory commands and PowerShell basics on the ShellGeek home page.