Import-Clixml
SYNOPSIS
Imports a CLIXML file and creates corresponding objects in PowerShell.
SYNTAX
ByPath (Default)
Import-Clixml [-Path] <String[]> [-IncludeTotalCount] [-Skip <UInt64>] [-First <UInt64>] [<CommonParameters>]
ByLiteralPath
Import-Clixml -LiteralPath <String[]> [-IncludeTotalCount] [-Skip <UInt64>] [-First <UInt64>]
[<CommonParameters>]
DESCRIPTION
The `Import-Clixml` cmdlet imports a Common Language Infrastructure (CLI) XML file with data that represents Microsoft .NET Framework objects and creates the PowerShell objects. For more information about CLI, see Language independence (/dotnet/standard/language-independence).
A valuable use of `Import-Clixml` on Windows computers is to import credentials and secure strings that were exported as secure XML using `Export-Clixml`. For an example, see Example 2.
`Import-Clixml` uses the byte-order-mark (BOM) to detect the encoding format of the file. If the file has no BOM, it assumes the encoding is UTF8.
EXAMPLES
Example 1: Import a serialized file and recreate an object
Get-Process | Export-Clixml -Path .\pi.xml
$Processes = Import-Clixml -Path .\pi.xml
Example 2: Import a secure credential object
$Credxmlpath = Join-Path (Split-Path $Profile) TestScript.ps1.credential
$Credential | Export-Clixml $Credxmlpath
$Credxmlpath = Join-Path (Split-Path $Profile) TestScript.ps1.credential
$Credential = Import-Clixml $Credxmlpath
The `Export-Clixml` cmdlet encrypts credential objects by using the Windows Data Protection API (/previous-versions/windows/apps/hh464970(v=win.10)). The encryption ensures that only your user account can decrypt the contents of the credential object. The exported `CLIXML` file can't be used on a different computer or by a different user.
In the example, the file in which the credential is stored is represented by `TestScript.ps1.credential`. Replace TestScript with the name of the script with which you're loading the credential.
You send the credential object down the pipeline to `Export-Clixml`, and save it to the path, `$Credxmlpath`, that you specified in the first command.
To import the credential automatically into your script, run the final two commands. Run `Import-Clixml` to import the secured credential object into your script. This import eliminates the risk of exposing plain-text passwords in your script.
PARAMETERS
-First
Gets only the specified number of objects. Enter the number of objects to get.
Type: System.UInt64
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:
Required: False
Position: Named
Default value: False
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
-IncludeTotalCount
Reports the total number of objects in the data set followed by the selected objects. If the cmdlet can't determine the total count, it displays Unknown total count . The integer has an Accuracy property that indicates the reliability of the total count value. The value of Accuracy ranges from `0.0` to `1.0` where `0.0` means that the cmdlet couldn't count the objects, `1.0` means that the count is exact, and a value between `0.0` and `1.0` indicates an increasingly reliable estimate.
Type: System.Management.Automation.SwitchParameter
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:
Required: False
Position: Named
Default value: False
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
-LiteralPath
Specifies the path to the XML files. Unlike Path , the value of the LiteralPath parameter is used exactly as it's typed. No characters are interpreted as wildcards. If the path includes escape characters, enclose it in single quotation marks. Single quotation marks tell PowerShell not to interpret any characters as escape sequences.
Type: System.String[]
Parameter Sets: ByLiteralPath
Aliases: PSPath, LP
Required: True
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: True (ByPropertyName)
Accept wildcard characters: False
-Path
Specifies the path to the XML files.
Type: System.String[]
Parameter Sets: ByPath
Aliases:
Required: True
Position: 0
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: True (ByPropertyName, ByValue)
Accept wildcard characters: False
-Skip
Ignores the specified number of objects and then gets the remaining objects. Enter the number of objects to skip.
Type: System.UInt64
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:
Required: False
Position: Named
Default value: False
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
CommonParameters
This cmdlet supports the common parameters: -Debug, -ErrorAction, -ErrorVariable, -InformationAction, -InformationVariable, -OutVariable, -OutBuffer, -PipelineVariable, -Verbose, -WarningAction, and -WarningVariable. For more information, see about_CommonParameters.
INPUTS
System.String
You can pipeline a string that contains a path to `Import-Clixml`.
OUTPUTS
PSObject
`Import-Clixml` returns objects that were deserialized from the stored XML files.
NOTES
When specifying multiple values for a parameter, use commas to separate the values. For example, `\<parameter-name> \<value1>, \<value2>`.