How to Get Hidden Files Using Get-ChildItem in PowerShell

To get hidden files using the Get-ChildItem cmdlet in PowerShell, you can use the -Force parameter or the -Hidden switch parameter.

The following methods show how you can do it with syntax.

Method 1: Using the -Force parameter

Get-ChildItem -Force

This example will return hidden files and folders in the current directory.

Method 2: Using the -Hidden parameter

Get-ChildItem -Hidden

This example will return hidden files and folders in the current directory.

The following examples show how you can use these methods.

How to Get Hidden Files Using Get-ChildItem with -Force Parameter

You can retrieve hidden files and folders using the Get-ChildItem cmdlet with the -Force parameter. It retrieves all items in the specified directory including hidden files and folders.

# specify the directory path
$folderPath = "C:\temp\log"

# Get hidden files in a specific directory
$files = Get-ChildItem -Path $folderPath -Force

Write-Output $files

Output:

In this script, we define a $folder variable that stores the path to the directory from where we want to retrieve hidden files or folders.

We then use the Get-ChildItem cmdlet in PowerShell with the -Force parameter to retrieve all files and folders including hidden files in the specified $folderPath and store them in the $files variable.

Finally, we use the Write-Output cmdlet to output the hidden files or folders. In the output screenshot, the hidden files are shown by Mode -h.

How to Get Hidden Files or Folders Using the Get-ChildItem with -Hidden Parameter

Another option to get hidden files and folders is to use the Get-ChildItem cmdlet in PowerShell with the -Hidden parameter.

# specify the directory path
$folderPath = "C:\temp\log"

# Get hidden files in a specific directory
$files = Get-ChildItem -Path $folderPath -Hidden

Write-Output $files

Output:

In this script, we define a variable $folderPath to store the directory path.

We then use the Get-ChildItem cmdlet in PowerShell with the -Hidden parameter to retrieve hidden files and folders in a specific directory and store them in the $files variable.

Finally, we use the Write-Output cmdlet to output the hidden files and folders.

You can also get hidden files recursively in the specified directory and its subdirectories by using the following syntax.

# specify the directory path
$folderPath = "C:\temp\log"

# Get hidden files in a specific directory
$files = Get-ChildItem -Path $folderPath -Force -Recurse

Write-Output $files

Output:

(base) PS C:\> $files = Get-ChildItem -Path $folderPath -Hidden -Recurse
(base) PS C:\> Write-Output $files


    Directory: C:\temp\log


Mode                 LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                 -------------         ------ ----
-a-h--         4/16/2024   3:49 PM              2 syslog.txt
-a-h--         4/16/2024  11:12 AM            147 win_log.log


    Directory: C:\temp\log\System log


Mode                 LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                 -------------         ------ ----
-a-h--         4/13/2024   8:12 AM            120 security_log.txt


(base) PS C:\>

It retrieves hidden files from the directory and subdirectories.

Conclusion

I hope the above article on getting hidden files and folders in the Windows system using the Get-ChildItem cmdlet in PowerShell is helpful to you.

You can find more topics about Active Directory tools and PowerShell basics on the ActiveDirectoryTools home page.