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PowerShell Foreach Loop

A foreach loop is a loop that runs its block once for each item in a list. It visits every item in order, one at a time.

Double each number

The variable $n holds one number at a time, from 1 to 3.

foreach ($n in 1..3) { $n * 2 }

Add the numbers up

The total starts at 0 and grows by one number on each pass.

$total = 0
foreach ($n in 1..4) { $total = $total + $n }
$total

Print a line per item

The block can print a message that uses the current item.

foreach ($n in 1..3) { "Step $n" }

Example

$big = 0
foreach ($n in 1..6) { if ($n -gt 3) { $big = $big + 1 } }
"Numbers above 3: $big"

Key points

  • Foreach: a loop that runs its block once for each item in a list.
  • List: several values in order, such as 1..5.
  • Item variable: the variable in parentheses holds one item at a time, and changes on each pass.
  • Order: items are visited in the order they appear.
  • Use a foreach loop when you need to do the same job for every item.

In this example, $big starts at 0. The loop visits each number from 1 to 6. When a number is greater than 3, $big grows by one. The last line prints how many numbers were above 3.

Note

this foreach statement is not ForEach-Object. ForEach-Object works inside a pipeline, and this statement works on its own.

Try it Yourself

Edit the code, then press Run.

Running is simulated

Exercise

What does this loop print? foreach ($n in 1..3) { $n * 10 }