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Resolve-Path

Module:
Microsoft.PowerShell.Management

Resolves the wildcard characters in a path, and displays the path contents.

Syntax

Resolve-Path
       [-Path] <string[]>
       [-Relative]
       [-RelativeBasePath <string>]
       [-Credential <pscredential>]
       [-Force]
       [<CommonParameters>]
Resolve-Path
       -LiteralPath <string[]>
       [-Relative]
       [-RelativeBasePath <string>]
       [-Credential <pscredential>]
       [-Force]
       [<CommonParameters>]

Description

The Resolve-Path cmdlet displays the items and containers that match the wildcard pattern at the ___location specified. The match can include files, folders, registry keys, or any other object accessible from a PSDrive provider.

Examples

Example 1: Resolve the home folder path

The tilde character (~) is shorthand notation for the current user's home folder. This example shows Resolve-Path returning the fully qualified path value.

Resolve-Path ~

Path
----
C:\Users\User01

Example 2: Resolve the path of the Windows folder

Resolve-Path -Path "windows"

Path
----
C:\Windows

When run from the root of the C: drive, this command returns the path of the Windows folder in the C: drive.

Example 3: Get all paths in the Windows folder

"C:\windows\*" | Resolve-Path

This command returns all the files and folders in the C:\Windows folder. The command uses a pipeline operator (|) to send a path string to Resolve-Path.

Example 4: Resolve a UNC path

Resolve-Path -Path "\\Server01\public"

This command resolves a Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path and returns the shares in the path.

Example 5: Get relative paths

Resolve-Path -Path "C:\prog*" -Relative

.\Program Files
.\Program Files (x86)
.\programs.txt

This command returns relative paths for the directories at the root of the C: drive.

Example 6: Resolve a path containing brackets

This example uses the LiteralPath parameter to resolve the path of the Test[xml] subfolder. Using LiteralPath causes the brackets to be treated as normal characters rather than a regular expression.

Resolve-Path -LiteralPath 'test[xml]'

Example 7: Resolve a path relative to another folder

This example uses the RelativeBasePath parameter to resolve the path of the pwsh executable relative to $Env:TEMP. When the command includes the Relative switch parameter, it returns a String representing the relative path from $Env:TEMP to the pwsh executable.

$ExecutablePath = Get-Command -Name pwsh | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Source
Resolve-Path -Path $ExecutablePath -RelativeBasePath $Env:TEMP -Relative

..\..\..\..\..\Program Files\PowerShell\7\pwsh.exe

Example 8: Resolve paths for hidden items

By default, Resolve-Path does not return hidden items. This example uses the Force parameter to resolve hidden items. The Get-Item command confirms that the .git folder is hidden. Using Resolve-Path without the Force parameter returns only the visible items. Adding the Force parameter returns all items, including hidden items.

PS> Get-Item .git -Force

    Directory: D:\Git\PS-Docs\PowerShell-Docs

Mode                 LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                 -------------         ------ ----
d--h-           9/25/2024  4:46 PM                .git

PS> Resolve-Path .git*

Path
----
D:\Git\PS-Docs\PowerShell-Docs\.github
D:\Git\PS-Docs\PowerShell-Docs\.gitattributes
D:\Git\PS-Docs\PowerShell-Docs\.gitignore

PS> Resolve-Path .git* -Force

Path
----
D:\Git\PS-Docs\PowerShell-Docs\.git
D:\Git\PS-Docs\PowerShell-Docs\.github
D:\Git\PS-Docs\PowerShell-Docs\.gitattributes
D:\Git\PS-Docs\PowerShell-Docs\.gitignore

Parameters

-Credential

Specifies a user account that has permission to perform this action. The default is the current user.

Type a user name, such as User01 or Domain01\User01, or pass a PSCredential object. You can create a PSCredential object using the Get-Credential cmdlet. If you type a user name, this cmdlet prompts you for a password.

This parameter is not supported by any providers installed with PowerShell.

Type:PSCredential
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:True
Accept wildcard characters:False

-Force

Allows the cmdlet to get items that otherwise can't be accessed by the user, such as hidden or system files. The Force parameter doesn't override security restrictions. Implementation varies among providers. For more information, see about_Providers.

This parameter was added in PowerShell 7.5-preview.5.

Type:SwitchParameter
Position:Named
Default value:False
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

-LiteralPath

Specifies the path to be resolved. The value of the LiteralPath parameter is used exactly as typed. No characters are interpreted as wildcard characters. If the path includes escape characters, enclose it in single quotation marks ('). Single quotation marks tell PowerShell not to interpret any characters as escape sequences.

Type:String[]
Aliases:PSPath, LP
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:True
Accept pipeline input:True
Accept wildcard characters:False

-Path

Specifies the PowerShell path to resolve. This parameter is required. You can also pipe a path string to Resolve-Path. Wildcard characters are permitted.

Type:String[]
Position:0
Default value:None
Required:True
Accept pipeline input:True
Accept wildcard characters:True

-Relative

Indicates that this cmdlet returns a relative path.

Type:SwitchParameter
Position:Named
Default value:False
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

-RelativeBasePath

Specifies a path to resolve the relative path from. When you use this parameter, the cmdlet returns the System.Management.Automation.PathInfo object for the resolved path.

When you use this parameter with the Relative switch parameter, the cmdlet returns a string representing the relative path from RelativeBasePath to Path.

This parameter was added in PowerShell 7.4.

Type:String
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

Inputs

String

You can pipe a string that contains a path to this cmdlet.

Outputs

PathInfo

By default, this cmdlet returns a PathInfo object.

String

If you specify the Relative parameter, this cmdlet returns a string value for the resolved path.

Notes

PowerShell includes the following aliases for Resolve-Path:

  • All platforms:
    • rvpa

The *-Path cmdlets work with the FileSystem, Registry, and Certificate providers.

Resolve-Path is designed to work with any provider. To list the providers available in your session, type Get-PSProvider. For more information, see about_Providers.

Resolve-Path only resolves existing paths. It cannot be used to resolve a ___location that does not exist yet.