Write-Host

SYNOPSIS

Writes customized output to a host.

SYNTAX

Write-Host [[-Object] <Object>] [-NoNewline] [-Separator <Object>] [-ForegroundColor <ConsoleColor>]
 [-BackgroundColor <ConsoleColor>] [<CommonParameters>]

DESCRIPTION

The `Write-Host` cmdlet's primary purpose is to produce for-(host)-display-only output, such as printing colored text like when prompting the user for input in conjunction with Read-Host (Read-Host.md). `Write-Host` uses the ToString() (/dotnet/api/system.object.tostring)method to write the output. By contrast, to output data to the pipeline, use Write-Output (Write-Output.md)or implicit output.

You can specify the color of text by using the `ForegroundColor` parameter, and you can specify the background color by using the `BackgroundColor` parameter. The Separator parameter lets you specify a string to use to separate displayed objects. The particular result depends on the program that is hosting PowerShell.

> [!NOTE] > Starting in Windows PowerShell 5.0, `Write-Host` is a wrapper for `Write-Information` This allows > you to use `Write-Host` to emit output to the information stream. This enables the capture or > suppression of data written using `Write-Host` while preserving backwards compatibility. > > The `$InformationPreference` preference variable and `InformationAction` common parameter do not > affect `Write-Host` messages. The exception to this rule is `-InformationAction Ignore`, which > effectively suppresses `Write-Host` output. (see "Example 5")

EXAMPLES

Example 1: Write to the console without adding a new line

Write-Host "no newline test " -NoNewline
Write-Host "second string"

no newline test second string

This command displays the string 'no newline test' with the `NoNewline` parameter.

A second string is written, but it ends up on the same line as the first due to the absence of a newline separating the strings.

Example 2: Write to the console and include a separator

Write-Host (2,4,6,8,10,12) -Separator ", +2= "

2, +2= 4, +2= 6, +2= 8, +2= 10, +2= 12

This command displays the even numbers from two through twelve. The Separator parameter is used to add the string `, +2= ` (comma, space, `+`, `2`, `=`, space).

Example 3: Write with different text and background colors

Write-Host (2,4,6,8,10,12) -Separator ", -> " -ForegroundColor DarkGreen -BackgroundColor White

2, -> 4, -> 6, -> 8, -> 10, -> 12

This command displays the even numbers from two through twelve. It uses the `ForegroundColor` parameter to output dark green text and the `BackgroundColor` parameter to display a white background.

Example 4: Write with different text and background colors

Write-Host "Red on white text." -ForegroundColor red -BackgroundColor white

Red on white text.

This command displays the string "Red on white text." The text is red, as defined by the `ForegroundColor` parameter. The background is white, as defined by the `BackgroundColor` parameter.

Example 5: Suppress output from Write-Host

# The following two statements can be used to effectively suppress output from Write-Host
Write-Host "I won't print" -InformationAction Ignore
Write-Host "I won't print" 6>$null

These commands effectively suppress output of the `Write-Host` cmdlet. The first one uses the `InformationAction` parameter with the `Ignore` Value to suppress output to the information stream. The second example redirects the information stream of the command to the `$null` variable and thereby suppresses it.

PARAMETERS

-BackgroundColor

Specifies the background color. There is no default. The acceptable values for this parameter are:

Black
DarkBlue
DarkGreen
DarkCyan
DarkRed
DarkMagenta
DarkYellow
Gray
DarkGray
Blue
Green
Cyan
Red
Magenta
Yellow
White

Type: System.ConsoleColor
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:
Accepted values: Black, DarkBlue, DarkGreen, DarkCyan, DarkRed, DarkMagenta, DarkYellow, Gray, DarkGray, Blue, Green, Cyan, Red, Magenta, Yellow, White

Required: False
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False

-ForegroundColor

Specifies the text color. There is no default. The acceptable values for this parameter are:

Black
DarkBlue
DarkGreen
DarkCyan
DarkRed
DarkMagenta
DarkYellow
Gray
DarkGray
Blue
Green
Cyan
Red
Magenta
Yellow
White

Type: System.ConsoleColor
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:
Accepted values: Black, DarkBlue, DarkGreen, DarkCyan, DarkRed, DarkMagenta, DarkYellow, Gray, DarkGray, Blue, Green, Cyan, Red, Magenta, Yellow, White

Required: False
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False

-NoNewline

The string representations of the input objects are concatenated to form the output. No spaces or newlines are inserted between the output strings. No newline is added after the last output string.

Type: System.Management.Automation.SwitchParameter
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:

Required: False
Position: Named
Default value: False
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False

-Object

Objects to display in the host.

Type: System.Object
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases: Msg, Message

Required: False
Position: 0
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: True (ByValue)
Accept wildcard characters: False

-Separator

Specifies a separator string to insert between objects displayed by the host.

Type: System.Object
Parameter Sets: (All)
Aliases:

Required: False
Position: Named
Default value: None
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.Object

You can pipe objects to be written to the host.

OUTPUTS

None

`Write-Host` sends the objects to the host. It does not return any objects. However, the host displays the objects that `Write-Host` sends to it.

NOTES

When writing a collection to the host, elements of the collection are printed on the same line separated by a single space. This can be overridden with the Separator parameter.
Non-primitive data types such as objects with properties can cause unexpected results and not provide meaningful output. For example, `Write-Host @{a = 1; b = 2}` will print `System.Collections.DictionaryEntry System.Collections.DictionaryEntry` to the host.