Read-Host

Reads a line of input from the console.

Syntax

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Read-Host [[-Prompt] <Object>] [-AsSecureString] [<CommonParameters>]

Description

The Read-Host cmdlet reads a line of input from the console. You can use it to prompt a user for input. Because you can save the input as a secure string, you can use this cmdlet to prompt users for secure data, such as passwords, as well as shared data.

Parameters

-AsSecureString

Displays asterisks (*) in place of the characters that the user types as input.

When you use this parameter, the output of the Read-Host cmdlet is a SecureString object (System.Security.SecureString).

Required?	false
Position?	named
Default Value
Accept Pipeline Input?	false
Accept Wildcard Characters?	false

-Prompt <Object>

Specifies the text of the prompt. Type a string. If the string includes spaces, enclose it in quotation marks. Windows PowerShell appends a colon (:) to the text that you enter.

Required?	false
Position?	1
Default Value
Accept Pipeline Input?	false
Accept Wildcard Characters?	false

<CommonParameters>

This command supports the common parameters: Verbose, Debug, ErrorAction, ErrorVariable, OutBuffer, OutVariable, WarningAction, and WarningVariable. For more information, see about_CommonParameters.

Inputs and Outputs

The input type is the type of the objects that you can pipe to the cmdlet. The return type is the type of the objects that the cmdlet returns.

Inputs

None

You cannot pipe input to this cmdlet.

Outputs

System.String or System.Security.SecureString

If the AsSecureString parameter is used, Read-Host returns a SecureString. Otherwise, it returns a string.

Example 1

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C:\PS>$age = read-host "Please enter your age" Description ----------- This command displays the string "Please enter your age:" as a prompt. When a value is entered and the Enter key is pressed, the value is stored in the $age variable.

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C:\PS>$age = read-host "Please enter your age"

Description
-----------
This command displays the string "Please enter your age:" as a prompt. When a value is entered and the Enter key is pressed, the value is stored in the $age variable.

Example 2

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C:\PS>$pwd_secure_string = read-host "Enter a Password" -assecurestring Description ----------- This command displays the string "Enter a Password:" as a prompt. As a value is being entered, asterisks (*) appear on the console in place of the input. When the Enter key is pressed, the value is stored as a SecureString object in the $pwd_secure_string variable.