Equivalent of Nix which command in PowerShell

Question

How do I ask PowerShell where something is     For instance   which notepad  and it returns the directory where the notepad exe is run from according to the current paths

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I like Get-Command   Format-List  or shorter  using aliases for the two and only for powershell exe   gcm powershell   fl   You can find aliases like this   alias -definition Format-List   Tab completion works with gcm

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A quick-and-dirty match to Unix which is  New-Alias which where exe   But it returns multiple lines if they exist so then it becomes  function which  where exe command   select -first 1

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Here is an actual  nix equivalent  i e  it gives  nix-style output   Get-Command  lt your command gt    Select-Object -ExpandProperty Definition   Just replace  with whatever you re looking for   PS C   gt  Get-Command notepad exe   Select-Object -ExpandProperty Definition C  Windows system32 notepad exe   When you add it to your profile  you will want to use a function rather than an alias because you can t use aliases with pipes   function which  name        Get-Command  name   Select-Object -ExpandProperty Definition     Now  when you reload your profile you can do this   PS C   gt  which notepad C  Windows system32 notepad exe

User · Answer

This seems to do what you want  I found it on http   huddledmasses org powershell-find-path     Function Find-Path  Path   switch  All    false   Microsoft PowerShell Commands TestPathType  type    Any      You could comment out the function stuff and use it as a script instead  with this line   param  Path   switch  All    false   Microsoft PowerShell Commands TestPathType  type    Any      if   Test-Path  Path -Type  type           return  path      else          string    paths      pwd          paths      pwd  env path  split              paths   Join-Path  paths   Split-Path  Path -leaf        Test-Path    -Type  type         if  paths Length -gt 0             if  All                return  paths             else               return  paths 0                             throw  Couldn t find a matching path of type  type    Set-Alias find Find-Path

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If you want a comamnd that both accepts input from pipeline or as paramater  you should try this   function which  name        if   name     input    name       Get-Command  input   Select-Object -ExpandProperty Path     copy-paste the command to your profile  notepad  profile    Examples     echo clang exe   which C  Program Files LLVM bin clang exe    which clang exe C  Program Files LLVM bin clang exe

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I usually just type   gcm notepad   or  gcm note    gcm is the default alias for Get-Command   On my system  gcm note  outputs    27     gcm note   CommandType     Name                                                     Definition -----------     ----                                                     ---------- Application     notepad exe                                              C  WINDOWS notepad exe Application     notepad exe                                              C  WINDOWS system32 notepad exe Application     Notepad2 exe                                             C  Utils Notepad2 exe Application     Notepad2 ini                                             C  Utils Notepad2 ini   You get the directory and the command that matches what you re looking for

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You can install the which command from https   goprogram co uk software commands  along with all of the other UNIX commands

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Check this PowerShell Which   The code provided there suggests this     Env Path  Split        Get-ChildItem -filter notepad exe

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I usually just type   gcm notepad   or  gcm note    gcm is the default alias for Get-Command   On my system  gcm note  outputs    27     gcm note   CommandType     Name                                                     Definition -----------     ----                                                     ---------- Application     notepad exe                                              C  WINDOWS notepad exe Application     notepad exe                                              C  WINDOWS system32 notepad exe Application     Notepad2 exe                                             C  Utils Notepad2 exe Application     Notepad2 ini                                             C  Utils Notepad2 ini   You get the directory and the command that matches what you re looking for

User · Answer

Try the where command on Windows 2003 or later  or Windows 2000 XP if you ve installed a Resource Kit     BTW  this received more answers in other questions   Is there an equivalent of  which  on Windows   PowerShell equivalent to Unix which command

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The very first alias I made once I started customizing my profile in PowerShell was  which    New-Alias which get-command   To add this to your profile  type this     nNew-Alias which get-command    add-content  profile   The  n at the start of the last line is to ensure it will start as a new line

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Try the where command on Windows 2003 or later  or Windows 2000 XP if you ve installed a Resource Kit     BTW  this received more answers in other questions   Is there an equivalent of  which  on Windows   PowerShell equivalent to Unix which command

User · Answer

I have this which advanced function in my PowerShell profile      function which        lt        SYNOPSIS     Identifies the source of a PowerShell command       DESCRIPTION     Identifies the source of a PowerShell command  External commands  Applications  are identified by the path to the executable      which must be in the system PATH   cmdlets and functions are identified as such and the name of the module they are defined in     provided  aliases are expanded and the source of the alias definition is returned       INPUTS     No inputs  you cannot pipe data to this function       OUTPUTS      PARAMETER Name     The name of the command to be identified       EXAMPLE     PS C  Users Smith Documents gt  which Get-Command          Get-Command  Cmdlet in module Microsoft PowerShell Core           Identifies type and source of command       EXAMPLE     PS C  Users Smith Documents gt  which notepad          C  WINDOWS SYSTEM32 notepad exe           Indicates the full path of the executable        gt          param           String  name                         cmd   Get-Command  name          redirect    null         switch   cmd CommandType                 quot Alias quot              quot  0   Alias for   1   quot  -f  cmd Name       which  cmd Definition                    quot Application quot        cmd Source                quot Cmdlet quot             quot  0    1   2  quot  -f  cmd Name   cmd CommandType       if   cmd Source Length     quot in module  0  quot  -f  cmd Source  else    quot from unspecified source quot                       quot Function quot           quot  0    1   2  quot  -f  cmd Name   cmd CommandType       if   cmd Source Length     quot in module  0  quot  -f  cmd Source  else    quot from unspecified source quot                       quot Workflow quot           quot  0    1   2  quot  -f  cmd Name   cmd CommandType       if   cmd Source Length     quot in module  0  quot  -f  cmd Source  else    quot from unspecified source quot                       quot ExternalScript quot     cmd Source               default             cmd

User · Answer

Use   function Which  string   cmd       path      Env Path  Split        Select -uniq   Where      Length     Where   Test-Path        Get-ChildItem -filter  cmd  FullName   if   path     path ToString          Check if Chocolatey is installed if  Which  cinst bat        Write-Host  yes    else     Write-Host  no      Or this version  calling the original where command   This version also works better  because it is not limited to bat files   function which  string   cmd       where   iex   Join-Path  env SystemRoot  System32 where exe  cmd 2 gt  amp 1      first      where -split    r n      if   first getType   BaseType Name -eq  Array          first    first 0        if  Test-Path  first         first          Check if Curl is installed if  which  curl        echo  yes    else     echo  no

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This seems to do what you want  I found it on http   huddledmasses org powershell-find-path     Function Find-Path  Path   switch  All    false   Microsoft PowerShell Commands TestPathType  type    Any      You could comment out the function stuff and use it as a script instead  with this line   param  Path   switch  All    false   Microsoft PowerShell Commands TestPathType  type    Any      if   Test-Path  Path -Type  type           return  path      else          string    paths      pwd          paths      pwd  env path  split              paths   Join-Path  paths   Split-Path  Path -leaf        Test-Path    -Type  type         if  paths Length -gt 0             if  All                return  paths             else               return  paths 0                             throw  Couldn t find a matching path of type  type    Set-Alias find Find-Path

User · Answer

You can install the which command from https   goprogram co uk software commands  along with all of the other UNIX commands

User · Answer

This seems to do what you want  I found it on http   huddledmasses org powershell-find-path     Function Find-Path  Path   switch  All    false   Microsoft PowerShell Commands TestPathType  type    Any      You could comment out the function stuff and use it as a script instead  with this line   param  Path   switch  All    false   Microsoft PowerShell Commands TestPathType  type    Any      if   Test-Path  Path -Type  type           return  path      else          string    paths      pwd          paths      pwd  env path  split              paths   Join-Path  paths   Split-Path  Path -leaf        Test-Path    -Type  type         if  paths Length -gt 0             if  All                return  paths             else               return  paths 0                             throw  Couldn t find a matching path of type  type    Set-Alias find Find-Path

User · Answer

A quick-and-dirty match to Unix which is  New-Alias which where exe   But it returns multiple lines if they exist so then it becomes  function which  where exe command   select -first 1

User · Answer

The very first alias I made once I started customizing my profile in PowerShell was  which    New-Alias which get-command   To add this to your profile  type this     nNew-Alias which get-command    add-content  profile   The  n at the start of the last line is to ensure it will start as a new line

User · Answer

Check this PowerShell Which   The code provided there suggests this     Env Path  Split        Get-ChildItem -filter notepad exe

User · Answer

The very first alias I made once I started customizing my profile in PowerShell was  which    New-Alias which get-command   To add this to your profile  type this     nNew-Alias which get-command    add-content  profile   The  n at the start of the last line is to ensure it will start as a new line

User · Answer

My proposition for the Which function   function which  cmd    get-command  cmd          Path      PS C   gt  which devcon  C  local code bin devcon exe

User · Answer

Check this PowerShell Which   The code provided there suggests this     Env Path  Split        Get-ChildItem -filter notepad exe

User · Answer

Use   function Which  string   cmd       path      Env Path  Split        Select -uniq   Where      Length     Where   Test-Path        Get-ChildItem -filter  cmd  FullName   if   path     path ToString          Check if Chocolatey is installed if  Which  cinst bat        Write-Host  yes    else     Write-Host  no      Or this version  calling the original where command   This version also works better  because it is not limited to bat files   function which  string   cmd       where   iex   Join-Path  env SystemRoot  System32 where exe  cmd 2 gt  amp 1      first      where -split    r n      if   first getType   BaseType Name -eq  Array          first    first 0        if  Test-Path  first         first          Check if Curl is installed if  which  curl        echo  yes    else     echo  no

User · Answer

Try this example    Get-Command notepad exe  Path

User · Answer

I usually just type   gcm notepad   or  gcm note    gcm is the default alias for Get-Command   On my system  gcm note  outputs    27     gcm note   CommandType     Name                                                     Definition -----------     ----                                                     ---------- Application     notepad exe                                              C  WINDOWS notepad exe Application     notepad exe                                              C  WINDOWS system32 notepad exe Application     Notepad2 exe                                             C  Utils Notepad2 exe Application     Notepad2 ini                                             C  Utils Notepad2 ini   You get the directory and the command that matches what you re looking for

User · Answer

Check this PowerShell Which   The code provided there suggests this     Env Path  Split        Get-ChildItem -filter notepad exe

User · Answer

Here is an actual  nix equivalent  i e  it gives  nix-style output   Get-Command  lt your command gt    Select-Object -ExpandProperty Definition   Just replace  with whatever you re looking for   PS C   gt  Get-Command notepad exe   Select-Object -ExpandProperty Definition C  Windows system32 notepad exe   When you add it to your profile  you will want to use a function rather than an alias because you can t use aliases with pipes   function which  name        Get-Command  name   Select-Object -ExpandProperty Definition     Now  when you reload your profile you can do this   PS C   gt  which notepad C  Windows system32 notepad exe

User · Answer

Try this example    Get-Command notepad exe  Path

User · Answer

I like Get-Command   Format-List  or shorter  using aliases for the two and only for powershell exe   gcm powershell   fl   You can find aliases like this   alias -definition Format-List   Tab completion works with gcm

User · Answer

If you want a comamnd that both accepts input from pipeline or as paramater  you should try this   function which  name        if   name     input    name       Get-Command  input   Select-Object -ExpandProperty Path     copy-paste the command to your profile  notepad  profile    Examples     echo clang exe   which C  Program Files LLVM bin clang exe    which clang exe C  Program Files LLVM bin clang exe

User · Answer

The very first alias I made once I started customizing my profile in PowerShell was  which    New-Alias which get-command   To add this to your profile  type this     nNew-Alias which get-command    add-content  profile   The  n at the start of the last line is to ensure it will start as a new line

User · Answer

My proposition for the Which function   function which  cmd    get-command  cmd          Path      PS C   gt  which devcon  C  local code bin devcon exe

User · Answer

I usually just type   gcm notepad   or  gcm note    gcm is the default alias for Get-Command   On my system  gcm note  outputs    27     gcm note   CommandType     Name                                                     Definition -----------     ----                                                     ---------- Application     notepad exe                                              C  WINDOWS notepad exe Application     notepad exe                                              C  WINDOWS system32 notepad exe Application     Notepad2 exe                                             C  Utils Notepad2 exe Application     Notepad2 ini                                             C  Utils Notepad2 ini   You get the directory and the command that matches what you re looking for

User · Answer

I have this which advanced function in my PowerShell profile      function which        lt        SYNOPSIS     Identifies the source of a PowerShell command       DESCRIPTION     Identifies the source of a PowerShell command  External commands  Applications  are identified by the path to the executable      which must be in the system PATH   cmdlets and functions are identified as such and the name of the module they are defined in     provided  aliases are expanded and the source of the alias definition is returned       INPUTS     No inputs  you cannot pipe data to this function       OUTPUTS      PARAMETER Name     The name of the command to be identified       EXAMPLE     PS C  Users Smith Documents gt  which Get-Command          Get-Command  Cmdlet in module Microsoft PowerShell Core           Identifies type and source of command       EXAMPLE     PS C  Users Smith Documents gt  which notepad          C  WINDOWS SYSTEM32 notepad exe           Indicates the full path of the executable        gt          param           String  name                         cmd   Get-Command  name          redirect    null         switch   cmd CommandType                 quot Alias quot              quot  0   Alias for   1   quot  -f  cmd Name       which  cmd Definition                    quot Application quot        cmd Source                quot Cmdlet quot             quot  0    1   2  quot  -f  cmd Name   cmd CommandType       if   cmd Source Length     quot in module  0  quot  -f  cmd Source  else    quot from unspecified source quot                       quot Function quot           quot  0    1   2  quot  -f  cmd Name   cmd CommandType       if   cmd Source Length     quot in module  0  quot  -f  cmd Source  else    quot from unspecified source quot                       quot Workflow quot           quot  0    1   2  quot  -f  cmd Name   cmd CommandType       if   cmd Source Length     quot in module  0  quot  -f  cmd Source  else    quot from unspecified source quot                       quot ExternalScript quot     cmd Source               default             cmd

User · Answer

This seems to do what you want  I found it on http   huddledmasses org powershell-find-path     Function Find-Path  Path   switch  All    false   Microsoft PowerShell Commands TestPathType  type    Any      You could comment out the function stuff and use it as a script instead  with this line   param  Path   switch  All    false   Microsoft PowerShell Commands TestPathType  type    Any      if   Test-Path  Path -Type  type           return  path      else          string    paths      pwd          paths      pwd  env path  split              paths   Join-Path  paths   Split-Path  Path -leaf        Test-Path    -Type  type         if  paths Length -gt 0             if  All                return  paths             else               return  paths 0                             throw  Couldn t find a matching path of type  type    Set-Alias find Find-Path

[unix] Equivalent of *Nix 'which' command in PowerShell?

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