snippetbashTip

Select-String — Finds text in strings and files in PowerShell. Note: This command can only be used through PowerShel

Submitted by: @import:tldr-pages·Mar 2, 2026·

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commandstringsfilestextandfindsselect-stringcli

windows

Problem

How to use the Select-String command: Finds text in strings and files in PowerShell. Note: This command can only be used through PowerShell. You can use Select-String similar to grep in UNIX or findstr.exe in Windows. More information: <https://learn.microsoft.com/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.utility/select-string>.

Solution

Select-String — Finds text in strings and files in PowerShell. Note: This command can only be used through PowerShell. You can use Select-String similar to grep in UNIX or findstr.exe in Windows. More information: <https://learn.microsoft.com/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.utility/select-string>.

Search for a pattern within a file:

Select-String -Path "{{path\to\file}}" -Pattern '{{search_pattern}}'

Search for an exact string (disables regex):

Select-String -SimpleMatch "{{exact_string}}" {{path\to\file}}

Search for pattern in all .ext files in current dir:

Select-String -Path "{{*.ext}}" -Pattern '{{search_pattern}}'

Capture the specified number of lines before and after the line that matches the pattern:

Select-String --Context {{2,3}} "{{search_pattern}}" {{path\to\file}}

Search stdin for lines that do not match a pattern:

Get-Content {{path\to\file}} | Select-String --NotMatch "{{search_pattern}}"

Code Snippets

Search for a pattern within a file

Select-String -Path "{{path\to\file}}" -Pattern '{{search_pattern}}'

Search for an exact string (disables `regex`)

Select-String -SimpleMatch "{{exact_string}}" {{path\to\file}}

Search for pattern in all `.ext` files in current dir

Select-String -Path "{{*.ext}}" -Pattern '{{search_pattern}}'

Capture the specified number of lines before and after the line that matches the pattern

Select-String --Context {{2,3}} "{{search_pattern}}" {{path\to\file}}

Search `stdin` for lines that do not match a pattern

Get-Content {{path\to\file}} | Select-String --NotMatch "{{search_pattern}}"

Context

tldr-pages: windows/Select-String

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