Get-ChildItem in PowerShell: List Files, Folders and More

Get-ChildItem is the PowerShell cmdlet that lists what’s inside a location: the files and folders in a directory, the keys in a registry hive or the certificates in a store. Point it at a folder and you get the contents back as objects:

Get-ChildItem -Path C:\psfaqs\t\gci\Shared

I reach for it in almost every file script I write. Below I’ll cover the parameters that matter, show real output from PowerShell 7 and Windows PowerShell 5.1, and point out where the two versions disagree.

Build a sample folder to follow along

You don’t want to test filters against your real Documents folder. This script builds a small sandbox under C:\psfaqs\t\gci\Shared with reports, logs, invoices, one hidden settings file and a file name with brackets in it:

$root = 'C:\psfaqs\t\gci\Shared'
Remove-Item $root -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
foreach ($d in 'Reports\2026\Q3', 'Reports\2026\Q4', 'Logs', 'Invoices') {
    New-Item -Path "$root\$d" -ItemType Directory -Force | Out-Null
}
$files = [ordered]@{
    'budget-2026.xls'                       = 2048
    'budget-2026.xlsx'                      = 5120
    'readme.txt'                            = 312
    'notes [draft].txt'                     = 140
    'Reports\q3-summary.docx'               = 18432
    'Reports\2026\Q3\sales-austin-q3.xlsx'  = 24576
    'Reports\2026\Q3\sales-denver-q3.xlsx'  = 22528
    'Reports\2026\Q4\sales-seattle-q4.xlsx' = 26624
    'Logs\app-2026-10-01.log'               = 40960
    'Logs\app-2026-10-14.log'               = 61440
    'Logs\errors.txt'                       = 980
    'Invoices\invoice-1001-tom-baker.pdf'   = 88064
    'Invoices\invoice-1002-maria-lopez.pdf' = 91136
}
$day = 1
foreach ($f in $files.Keys) {
    $path = "$root\$f"
    [IO.File]::WriteAllBytes($path, [byte[]]::new($files[$f]))
    (Get-Item -LiteralPath $path).LastWriteTime = [datetime]::new(2026, 10, $day++, 9, 15, 0)
}
Set-Content "$root\.settings.json" '{ "owner": "Dana Reyes" }'
$hidden = Get-Item "$root\.settings.json" -Force
$hidden.Attributes = 'Hidden'
$hidden.LastWriteTime = [datetime]::new(2026, 10, 14, 16, 40, 0)
Get-ChildItem $root -Recurse -Directory | ForEach-Object {
    $_.LastWriteTime = [datetime]::new(2026, 10, 14, 17, 5, 0)
}

Open PowerShell 7 or Windows PowerShell 5.1, paste the script and press Enter. It sets every LastWriteTime to a fixed October 2026 date, so your output will match mine.

If you’re not sure where your session is pointing, start with checking the current directory in PowerShell. Without -Path, Get-ChildItem lists that folder.

Get-ChildItem syntax and default output

The basic form takes a path and returns one object per child item. Folders come first, then files:

Get-ChildItem -Path C:\psfaqs\t\gci\Shared

Output:

    Directory: C:\psfaqs\t\gci\Shared

Mode                 LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                 -------------         ------ ----
d----          10/14/2026  5:05 PM                Invoices
d----          10/14/2026  5:05 PM                Logs
d----          10/14/2026  5:05 PM                Reports
-a---           10/1/2026  9:15 AM           2048 budget-2026.xls
-a---           10/2/2026  9:15 AM           5120 budget-2026.xlsx
-a---           10/4/2026  9:15 AM            140 notes [draft].txt
-a---           10/3/2026  9:15 AM            312 readme.txt