Examples of bash commands and how to do the same thing in PowerShell

Echo

Write text to the screen.

Bash

echo "Hello, World!"
echo -e "Hello, \t World!"

PowerShell

Write-Output 'Hello, World!'
Write-Output "Hello, `t World!"

Dirty version:
echo 'Hello, World!'

Execute a Script

Save and execute a script with bash and PowerShell.

Bash
Assume that echo1.sh has the following contents.
```
echo "Hello, World!"
```
You would the execute it with the following command line.
```
bash echo1.sh
```
PowerShell
Assume echo1.ps1 has the following contents.
```
Write-Output "Hello, World!"
```
You would then execute it with the following command line.
```
pwsh echo1.ps1
```

Comments

Comments are the same in PowerShell and bash.

Bash
```
# My Comment!
```
PowerShell
```
# My Comment!
```

Multiline Comments

Multiline comments are different between bash and PowerShell.

Bash
```
: 'Multi
line
comment'
echo "42"
```

PowerShell

<# 
Multi
line
comment
#>
Write-Output "42"

While Loop

Bash

valid=true
count=1
while [ $valid ]
do
echo $count
if [ $count -eq 5 ];
then
break
fi
((count++))
done

PowerShell

$count = 0
while ($true) {
  Write-Host $count
  if ($count -eq 5) {
      break
  }
  $count++
}

For Loop

Bash

for (( counter=10; counter>0; counter-- ))
do
echo -n "$counter "
done

PowerShell

for ($counter = 10; $counter -gt 0; $counter--) {
    Write-Host $counter
}

Get User Input

Bash

echo "Enter Your Name"
read name
echo "Welcome, $name!"

PowerShell

$name = Read-Host "Enter Your Name"
Write-Host "Welcome, $name!"

If Statement

Bash

n=10
if [ $n -lt 10 ];
then
echo "It is a one digit number"
else
echo "It is a two digit number"
fi

PowerShell

$n = 10
if ($n -lt 10) {
    Write-Host "It is a one digit number"
} else {
    Write-Host "It is a two digit number"
}

If with And Logic

Bash

echo "Enter username"
read username
echo "Enter password"
read password
 
if [[ ( $username == "admin" &amp;&amp; $password == "secret" ) ]]; then
echo "valid user"
else
echo "invalid user"
fi

PowerShell

$UserName = Read-Host "Enter username"
$Password = Read-Host "Enter password"
 
if ($username -eq 'admin' -and $password -eq 'secret') {
    Write-Host 'valid user'
} else {
    Write-Host 'invalid user'
}

If with Or Logic

Bash

echo "Enter any number"
read n
 
if [[ ( $n -eq 15 || $n  -eq 45 ) ]]
then
echo "You won the game"
else
echo "You lost the game"
fi

PowerShell

[int]$n = Read-Host "Enter any number"
 
if ($n -eq 15 -or $n -eq 45) {
    Write-Host "You won the game"
} else {
    Write-Host "You lost the game"
}

If Else Statements

Bash

echo "Enter your lucky number"
read n
 
if [ $n -eq 101 ];
then
echo "You got 1st prize"
elif [ $n -eq 510 ];
then
echo "You got 2nd prize"
elif [ $n -eq 999 ];
then
echo "You got 3rd prize"
 
else
echo "Sorry, try for the next time"
fi

PowerShell

[int]$n = Read-Host "Enter your lucky number"
 
if ($n -eq 101) {
    Write-Host "You got 1st prize"
} elseif ($n -eq 510) {
    Write-Host "You got 2nd prize"
} elseif ($n -eq 999) {
    Write-Host "You got 3rd prize"
} else {
    Write-Host "Sorry, try for the next time"
}

Case Statement

Bash

echo "Enter your lucky number"
read n
case $n in
101)
echo "You got 1st prize" ;;
510)
echo "You got 2nd prize" ;;
999)
echo "You got 3rd prize" ;;
*)
echo "Sorry, try for the next time" ;;
esac

PowerShell

[int]$n = Read-Host "Enter your lucky number"
switch($n) {
    101 { Write-Host "You got 1st prize" }
    510 { Write-Host "You got 2nd prize" }
    999 { Write-Host "You got 3rd prize" }
    default { Write-Host "Sorry, try for the next time" }
}

Command Line Arguments

Bash

echo "Total arguments : $#"
echo "1st Argument = $1"
echo "2nd argument = $2"

PowerShell

Write-Host "Total arguments: $($args.Length)"
Write-Host "1st Argument: $($args[0])"
Write-Host "2nd Argument: $($args[1])"

Named Command Line Arguments

Bash

for arg in "$@"
do
index=$(echo $arg | cut -f1 -d=)
val=$(echo $arg | cut -f2 -d=)
case $index in
X) x=$val;;
 
Y) y=$val;;
 
*)
esac
done
((result=x+y))
echo "X+Y=$result"

PowerShell

param([int]$X, [int]$Y)
 
$Result = $X + $Y
Write-Host "X+Y=$Result"

Concatenating Strings

Bash

string1="Linux"
string2="Hint"
echo "$string1$string2"
string3=$string1+$string2
string3+=" is a good tutorial blog site"
echo $string3

PowerShell

$string1 = "Ironman"
$string2 = "Software"
Write-Host "$string1$string2"
$string3 = $string1+$string2
$string3 +=" makes good software"
Write-Host $string3

Substring of a String

Bash

Str="Learn Linux from LinuxHint"
subStr=${Str:6:5}
echo $subStr

PowerShell

$Str = 'Learn PowerShell from Ironman Software'
$subStr = $Str.Substring(6, 10)
Write-Host $subStr

Functions

Bash

function F1()
{
echo 'I like bash programming'
}
 
F1

PowerShell

function F1 {
    Write-Host "I like PowerShell programming"
}
F1

Functions with Parameters

Bash

Rectangle_Area() {
area=$(($1 * $2))
echo "Area is : $area"
}
 
Rectangle_Area 10 20

PowerShell

function RectangleArea {
    $Area = $Args[0] * $Args[1]
    Write-Host "Area is: $Area"
}
RectangleArea 10 20

Use the Return value of a Function

Bash

function greeting() {
 
str="Hello, $name"
echo $str
 
}
 
echo "Enter your name"
read name
 
val=$(greeting)
echo "Return value of the function is $val"

PowerShell

function Greeting {
    "Hello, $Name"
}
 
$Name = Read-Host "Enter your name"
$Val = Greeting
Write-Host "Return value of the function is $val"

Make a Directory

Bash

echo "Enter directory name"
read newdir
`mkdir $newdir`

PowerShell

$newdir = Read-Host "Enter directory name"
New-Item $newdir -ItemType Directory

Dirty version:
mkdir $newdir

Make Directory if it doesn’t exist

Bash

echo "Enter directory name"
read ndir
if [ -d "$ndir" ]
then
echo "Directory exist"
else
`mkdir $ndir`
echo "Directory created"
fi

PowerShell

$newdir = Read-Host "Enter directory name"
if (Test-Path $newdir)
{
    Write-Host "Directory exists"
} else {
    New-Item $newdir -ItemType Directory
}

Dirty version:
$newdir = Read-Host "Enter directory name"
if (gi $newdir -ea si)
{
echo "Directory exists"
} else {
mkdir $newdir
}

Read a File

Bash

file='book.txt'
while read line; do
echo $line
done < $file

PowerShell
```
Get-Content 'book.txt'
```

Delete a File

Bash

echo "Enter filename to remove"
read fn
rm -i $fn

PowerShell
```
$fn = Read-Host "Enter a file to remove"
Remove-Item $fn
```
Dirty version:
$fn = Read-Host "Enter a file to remove"
rm $fn

Append to a File

Bash

echo "Before appending the file"
cat book.txt
 
echo "Learning Laravel 5">> book.txt
echo "After appending the file"
cat book.txt

PowerShell

Write-Host "Before appending the file"
Get-Content book.txt
 
"Learning Laravel 5" >> book.txt
Write-Host "After appending the file"
Get-Content book.txt

Wait for a Process

Bash

echo "Wait command" &amp;
process_id=$!
wait $process_id
echo "Exited with status $?"

PowerShell

Start-Process notepad -Wait
Get-Process -Id $ProcessId | Wait-Process

Sleep

Bash

echo “Wait for 5 seconds”
sleep 5
echo “Completed”

PowerShell
```
Write-Host "Wait for 5 seconds"
Start-Sleep 5 
```
Dirty version:
sleep 5
Write-Host "Completed"

Download Files

Bash

curl -o newname.txt http://www.het.brown.edu/guide/UNIX-password-security.txt

PowerShell

Invoke-WebRequest http://www.het.brown.edu/guide/UNIX-password-security.txt -OutFile .\newname.txt

Dirty version:
iwr http://www.het.brown.edu/guide/UNIX-password-security.txt -o newname.txt

Search a File for a String

Bash

error log.txt     # Search a file
grep error *      # Search a directory
grep -r error *   # Recursively search a directory
grep -l error *   # List matching files
grep -c error *   # Measure number of objects
grep -C 2 error * # Display lines before and after

PowerShell

Select-String error log.txt                     # Search a file
Select-String error *                           # Search a Directory
Get-ChildItem * -Recurse | Select-String error  # Recursively search a directory
Select-String error * | Select-Object path      # List matching files
Select-String error * | Measure-Object          # Count Matches
Select-String error *                           # Display lines before and after

Sources:

2021-12-09: Bash vs PowerShell Cheat Sheet
2021-12-09: 30 Bash Script Examples

Tags:
PowerShell - A command-line shell and scripting language to manage Windows system and automate administrative tasks

Anton's Digital Garden

Table of Contents

Bash Equivalents - Replace code from Linux Bash with PowerShell equivalents

Echo

Execute a Script

Comments

Multiline Comments

While Loop

For Loop

Get User Input

If Statement

If with And Logic

If with Or Logic

If Else Statements

Case Statement

Command Line Arguments

Named Command Line Arguments

Concatenating Strings

Substring of a String

Functions

Functions with Parameters

Use the Return value of a Function

Make a Directory

Make Directory if it doesn’t exist

Read a File

Delete a File

Append to a File

Wait for a Process

Sleep

Download Files

Search a File for a String

Backlinks