How to Get the Path of a File in PowerShell

To get the full path of a file in PowerShell, use Get-Item and read its FullName property. It works with a relative path too:

Set-Location -Path C:\psfaqs\Reports
(Get-Item -Path .\q3-sales.xlsx).FullName

Output:

C:\psfaqs\Reports\q3-sales.xlsx

The file object also has properties for each part of the path, so you rarely need to cut the text yourself:

$file = Get-Item -Path C:\psfaqs\Reports\q3-sales.xlsx

"Folder:    $($file.DirectoryName)"
"Name:      $($file.Name)"
"Base name: $($file.BaseName)"
"Extension: $($file.Extension)"

Output:

Folder:    C:\psfaqs\Reports
Name:      q3-sales.xlsx
Base name: q3-sales
Extension: .xlsx

I ran every example in PowerShell 7.6 and Windows PowerShell 5.1. Two handy options exist only in PowerShell 7, and I show the 5.1 way next to them.

Get the paths of all files in a folder

Get-ChildItem returns file objects, so pick FullName to get one path per line:

Get-ChildItem -Path C:\psfaqs\Reports -File | Select-Object -ExpandProperty FullName

Output:

C:\psfaqs\Reports\budget-2026.xlsx
C:\psfaqs\Reports\q3-sales.xlsx

Add -Recurse to include subfolders. Finding files by name covers the search options.

How do I convert a relative path to an absolute path?

Resolve-Path and Convert-Path both turn a relative path, like ..\Archive, into a full path. The difference is what they return:

Set-Location -Path C:\psfaqs\Reports

$resolved  = Resolve-Path -Path ..\Archive
$converted = Convert-Path -Path .\q3-sales.xlsx

"Resolve-Path: $resolved ($($resolved.GetType().Name))"
"Convert-Path: $converted ($($converted.GetType().Name))"

Output:

Resolve-Path: C:\psfaqs\Archive (PathInfo)
Convert-Path: C:\psfaqs\Reports\q3-sales.xlsx (String)

Use Convert-Path when you need a plain string, for example to pass to a .NET method or save in a file.

For a file that doesn’t exist yet

Both cmdlets fail if the path doesn’t exist, which is a problem when you’re about to create a file. PowerShell has a method that builds the full path anyway:

Set-Location -Path C:\psfaqs\Reports

try {
    Resolve-Path -Path .\q4-sales.xlsx -ErrorAction Stop
}
catch {
    "Resolve-Path failed. $($_.Exception.Message)"
}

$ExecutionContext.SessionState.Path.GetUnresolvedProviderPathFromPSPath('.\q4-sales.xlsx')

Output:

Resolve-Path failed. Cannot find path 'C:\psfaqs\Reports\q4-sales.xlsx' because it does not exist.
C:\psfaqs\Reports\q4-sales.xlsx

It’s long, but it’s the reliable way to turn .\q4-sales.xlsx into a full path based on your current location.

Why [System.IO.Path]::GetFullPath gives the wrong folder

You’ll often see [System.IO.Path]::GetFullPath() suggested for this. Watch what happens after Set-Location:

Set-Location -Path C:\psfaqs\Reports

"PowerShell location:     $PWD"
"[IO.Path]::GetFullPath:  $([System.IO.Path]::GetFullPath('.\q3-sales.xlsx'))"
"Convert-Path:            $(Convert-Path -Path .\q3-sales.xlsx)"

Output:

PowerShell location:     C:\psfaqs\Reports
[IO.Path]::GetFullPath:  C:\psfaqs\q3-sales.xlsx
Convert-Path:            C:\psfaqs\Reports\q3-sales.xlsx

.NET resolves the path from the folder the PowerShell process started in, not from your PowerShell location, so it pointed at the wrong folder. Stick with Convert-Path, or pass .NET methods full paths only.

Split a path into parts

Split-Path works on path strings, even ones that don’t exist:

$path = 'C:\psfaqs\Reports\q3-sales.xlsx'

"Parent:    $(Split-Path -Path $path -Parent)"
"Leaf:      $(Split-Path -Path $path -Leaf)"
"Qualifier: $(Split-Path -Path $path -Qualifier)"

Output:

Parent:    C:\psfaqs\Reports
Leaf:      q3-sales.xlsx
Qualifier: C:

PowerShell 7 adds -LeafBase and -Extension:

$path = 'C:\psfaqs\Reports\q3-sales.xlsx'

"LeafBase:  $(Split-Path -Path $path -LeafBase)"
"Extension: $(Split-Path -Path $path -Extension)"

Output in PowerShell 7:

LeafBase:  q3-sales
Extension: .xlsx

Windows PowerShell 5.1 doesn’t have those two switches. Use [System.IO.Path]::GetFileNameWithoutExtension() and GetExtension() there. See how to get a file name without the extension.

Build a path from parts

Join-Path joins folders and file names and fixes extra or missing backslashes for you:

Join-Path -Path C:\psfaqs -ChildPath Reports
Join-Path -Path 'C:\psfaqs\' -ChildPath '\Reports\q3-sales.xlsx'

Output:

C:\psfaqs\Reports
C:\psfaqs\Reports\q3-sales.xlsx

In PowerShell 7, -AdditionalChildPath takes any number of extra parts:

Join-Path -Path C:\psfaqs -ChildPath Reports -AdditionalChildPath 2026, 'q3-sales.xlsx'

Output in PowerShell 7:

C:\psfaqs\Reports\2026\q3-sales.xlsx

Windows PowerShell 5.1 joins only two parts at a time, so nest the calls, or put the extra folders in the child path:

Join-Path -Path (Join-Path -Path C:\psfaqs -ChildPath Reports) -ChildPath '2026\q3-sales.xlsx'

Output:

C:\psfaqs\Reports\2026\q3-sales.xlsx

Get the path of the running script

Inside a script, $PSScriptRoot is the script’s folder and $PSCommandPath is its full path, no matter where you run it from:

Set-Location -Path C:\psfaqs
& C:\psfaqs\Tools\where-am-i.ps1