How to record a PowerShell command session on Windows 10

On Windows 10, if you piece of work with PowerShell commands and scripts regularly, you probably want to proceed a record of those commands and the output you see on the screen to a text file for troubleshooting or documentation purposes.

While you can ever copy the data y'all need manually, or employ different commands to export outputs individually, PowerShell as well includes a much simpler command that allows you lot to create a transcript of an entire console session. Also, the transcript command has dissimilar options to control diverse aspects of the output file.

In this Windows x guide, we'll walk y'all through the steps to create a transcript of a PowerShell control session into a text file.

How to tape a command session in PowerShell

To create a transcript of every command that you type in PowerShell in a particular console session, utilize these steps:

Open First.
Search for PowerShell, click the pinnacle result to open the feel.
Type the following control to start recording the session to a text file and press Enter:

Start-Transcript -Path "C:\Folder\PATH\POWERSHELL_TRANSCRIPT_FILENAME.txt" -NoClobber

In the command, make sure to update the text output file with the location and filename that y'all want to apply. The -NoClobber switch will preclude overwriting an existing recording.

Once yous complete the steps, you can continue running commands ordinarily, and in the background, PowerShell will create a transcript in a text file, and it'll salvage it in the path that you lot specified in the command.

After you finish using PowerShell, you can close the panel or use the Finish-Transcript command to cease the recording. Then you tin can open the text file with any text editor to see all the commands you typed likewise as their output as they appeared in the console.

In add-on, you'll find that the control also saves other relevant information, such as outset time of the transcript, whether the console was using elevated privileges, computer name, version of Windows 10, and more.

Boosted parameters

The Start-Transcript control also includes a number of other switches to control the beliefs. For instance, if you use the -Append switch in the command instead of the -NoClobber, then the new session volition be saved at the cease of the existing output file.

Case:

Commencement-Transcript -Path "C:\sessions\ps_recording01.txt" -Append

You can also employ the -IncludeInvocationHeader switch at the end of the control to log the exact time when each command in the session was executed.

Example:

Start-Transcript -Path "C:\sessions\ps_recording01.txt" -NoClobber -IncludeInvocationHeader

If you don't desire to bargain with filenames, then you can utilise the -OutputDirectory switch, instead of the -Path switch, in the control to allow PowerShell to name the output files automatically.

Case:

Get-go-Transcript -OutputDirectory "C:\sessions"

Other bachelor switches include:

-Confirm: Instructs PowerShell to inquire for confirmation earlier starting the recording session.
-Force: Allows you salvage the commands you lot blazon and output to a read-only file.
-LiteralPath: Lets y'all specify a path literally without identifying any of the characters as wildcards.
-WhatIf: Allows to exam the command before starting a transcript.

Nosotros're focusing this guide on Windows 10, merely you tin also use these instructions in older versions of the OS, and other supported platforms, including macOS and Linux.

More than Windows 10 resource

For more helpful manufactures, coverage, and answers to common questions almost Windows x, visit the post-obit resource:

Windows x on Windows Primal – All you need to know
Windows ten assist, tips, and tricks
Windows 10 forums on Windows Central

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