2/26/2025 PM Publish

reference/5.1/Microsoft.PowerShell.Management/Get-ChildItem.md

@@ -33,44 +33,6 @@ Get-ChildItem [[-Filter] <string>] -LiteralPath <string[]> [-Include <string[]>]
  [<CommonParameters>]
 ```
 
-### Items (Default) - Certificate provider
-
-```
-Get-ChildItem [[-Path] <string[]>] [[-Filter] <string>] [-Include <string[]>]
- [-Exclude <string[]>] [-Recurse] [-Depth <uint>] [-Force] [-Name]
- [-CodeSigningCert] [-DocumentEncryptionCert] [-SSLServerAuthentication]
- [-DnsName <string>] [-Eku <string[]>] [-ExpiringInDays <int>]
- [<CommonParameters>]
-```
-
-### LiteralItems - Certificate provider
-
-```
-Get-ChildItem [[-Filter] <string>] -LiteralPath <string[]> [-Include <string[]>]
- [-Exclude <string[]>] [-Recurse] [-Depth <uint>] [-Force] [-Name]
- [-CodeSigningCert] [-DocumentEncryptionCert] [-SSLServerAuthentication]
- [-DnsName <string>] [-Eku <string[]>] [-ExpiringInDays <int>]
- [<CommonParameters>]
-```
-
-### Items (Default) - Filesystem provider
-
-```
-Get-ChildItem [[-Path] <string[]>] [[-Filter] <string>] [-Include <string[]>]
- [-Exclude <string[]>] [-Recurse] [-Depth <uint>] [-Force] [-Name]
- [-Attributes <FlagsExpression[FileAttributes]>] [-FollowSymlink] [-Directory]
- [-File] [-Hidden] [-ReadOnly] [-System] [<CommonParameters>]
-```
-
-### LiteralItems - FileSystem provider
-
-```
-Get-ChildItem [[-Filter] <string>] -LiteralPath <string[]> [-Include <string[]>]
- [-Exclude <string[]>] [-Recurse] [-Depth <uint>] [-Force] [-Name]
- [-Attributes <FlagsExpression[FileAttributes]>] [-FollowSymlink] [-Directory]
- [-File] [-Hidden] [-ReadOnly] [-System] [<CommonParameters>]
-```
-
 ## DESCRIPTION
 
 The `Get-ChildItem` cmdlet gets the items in one or more specified locations. If the item is a
@@ -81,9 +43,10 @@ of levels to recurse.
 `Get-ChildItem` doesn't display empty directories. When a `Get-ChildItem` command includes the
 **Depth** or **Recurse** parameters, empty directories aren't included in the output.
 
-Locations are exposed to `Get-ChildItem` by PowerShell providers. A location can be a file system
-directory, registry hive, or a certificate store. Some parameters are only available for a specific
-provider. For more information, see
+The `Get-ChildItem` cmdlet is designed to work with the items exposed by any provider. For example,
+items can be a file system file or directory, registry hive, or a certificate store. To list the
+providers available in your session, use the `Get-PSProvider` command. Some parameters are only
+available for a specific provider. For more information, see
 [about_Providers](../Microsoft.PowerShell.Core/About/about_Providers.md).
 
 ## EXAMPLES
@@ -125,7 +88,7 @@ as follows:
 - `s` (system)
 
 For more information about the mode flags, see
-[about_Filesystem_Provider](../microsoft.powershell.core/about/about_filesystem_provider.md#attributes-flagsexpression).
+[about_Filesystem_Provider](../Microsoft.PowerShell.Core/About/about_Filesystem_Provider.md#attributes-flagsexpression).
 
 ### Example 2: Get child item names in a directory
 
@@ -347,8 +310,8 @@ authority.
 Get-ChildItem -Path Cert:\* -Recurse -CodeSigningCert
 ```
 
-For more information about the Certificate provider and the `Cert:` drive,
-see [about_Certificate_Provider](../Microsoft.PowerShell.Security/About/about_Certificate_Provider.md).
+For more information about the Certificate provider and the `Cert:` drive, see
+[about_Certificate_Provider](../Microsoft.PowerShell.Security/About/about_Certificate_Provider.md).
 
 ### Example 8: Get items using the Depth parameter
 
@@ -439,26 +402,27 @@ For example, to get non-system files (not directories) that are encrypted or com
 To find files and folders with commonly used attributes, use the **Attributes** parameter. Or, the
 parameters **Directory**, **File**, **Hidden**, **ReadOnly**, and **System**.
 
-The **Attributes** parameter supports the following properties:
-
-- **Archive**
-- **Compressed**
-- **Device**
-- **Directory**
-- **Encrypted**
-- **Hidden**
-- **IntegrityStream**
-- **Normal**
-- **NoScrubData**
-- **NotContentIndexed**
-- **Offline**
-- **ReadOnly**
-- **ReparsePoint**
-- **SparseFile**
-- **System**
-- **Temporary**
-
-For a description of these attributes, see the [FileAttributes Enumeration](/dotnet/api/system.io.fileattributes).
+The **Attributes** parameter supports the following values:
+
+- `Archive`
+- `Compressed`
+- `Device`
+- `Directory`
+- `Encrypted`
+- `Hidden`
+- `IntegrityStream`
+- `Normal`
+- `NoScrubData`
+- `NotContentIndexed`
+- `Offline`
+- `ReadOnly`
+- `ReparsePoint`
+- `SparseFile`
+- `System`
+- `Temporary`
+
+For a description of these attributes, see the [FileAttributes](xref:System.IO.FileAttributes)
+enumeration.
 
 To combine attributes, use the following operators:
 
@@ -754,7 +718,7 @@ Accept wildcard characters: False
 
 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
+by provider. For more information, see
 [about_Providers](../Microsoft.PowerShell.Core/About/about_Providers.md).
 
 ```yaml
@@ -829,7 +793,8 @@ typed. No characters are interpreted as wildcards. If the path includes escape c
 it in single quotation marks. Single quotation marks tell PowerShell to not interpret any characters
 as escape sequences.
 
-For more information, see [about_Quoting_Rules](../Microsoft.Powershell.Core/About/about_Quoting_Rules.md).
+For more information, see
+[about_Quoting_Rules](../Microsoft.PowerShell.Core/About/about_Quoting_Rules.md).
 
 > [!NOTE]
 > The **Include** and **Exclude** parameters have no effect when used with the **LiteralPath**
@@ -867,8 +832,9 @@ Accept wildcard characters: False
 
 ### -Path
 
-Specifies a path to one or more locations. Wildcards are accepted. The default location is the
-current directory (`.`).
+Specifies a path to one or more locations. If not specified, the default location is the current
+directory (`.`). Wildcards are accepted. Use care when using the **Path** parameter with the
+**Recurse** parameter. For more information, see the [NOTES](#notes) section of this article.
 
 ```yaml
 Type: System.String[]
@@ -1047,20 +1013,41 @@ Windows PowerShell includes the following aliases for `Get-ChildItem`:
 - `dir`
 - `gci`
 
-`Get-ChildItem` doesn't get hidden items by default. To get hidden items, use the **Force**
-parameter.
+**Recursion behavior with the Path parameter:**
 
-The `Get-ChildItem` cmdlet is designed to work with the data exposed by any provider. To list the
-providers available in your session, type `Get-PSProvider`. For more information, see
-[about_Providers](../Microsoft.PowerShell.Core/About/about_Providers.md).
+When you use `Get-ChildItem -Recurse` with the **Path** parameter, the cmdlet searches for the last
+path component whether or not it's a wildcard pattern or a literal name.
+
+- If the last path component matches an existing immediate subdirectory of the target directory, the
+  cmdlet performs recursive enumeration on the matching directory.
+- If the last path component doesn't match an existing immediate subdirectory of the target
+  directory, the cmdlet recursively searches the target directory's hierarchy for items that match
+  the last path component
+
+When you use `Get-ChildItem -Recurse` with the **Path** and **Name** parameters, the behavior
+changes. The command searches for the last path component among the immediate child items of the
+target directory.
+
+- If there is a match among the immediate child items, the cmdlet performs recursive enumeration on
+  the matching items. Wildcard matching happens only once, at the top level of the target directory.
+  The results are processed as if they had been individually passed to the **LiteralPath**
+  parameter.
+- If the last path component doesn't match any items at the top level, an error occurs.
+
+You should avoid using the **Path** parameter with the **Recurse** parameter. For best results:
+
+- Use **LiteralPath** to specify the target directory to avoid triggering a recursive search for the
+  last path component.
+- Use **Filter** or **Include** parameters to specify wildcard or literal patterns that should be
+  searched for in every level of the target directory's hierarchy.
 
 ## RELATED LINKS
 
 [about_Certificate_Provider](../Microsoft.PowerShell.Security/About/about_Certificate_Provider.md)
 
 [about_Providers](../Microsoft.PowerShell.Core/About/about_Providers.md)
 
-[about_Quoting_Rules](../Microsoft.Powershell.Core/About/about_Quoting_Rules.md)
+[about_Quoting_Rules](../Microsoft.PowerShell.Core/About/about_Quoting_Rules.md)
 
 [about_Registry_Provider](../Microsoft.PowerShell.Core/About/about_Registry_Provider.md)